A good protien/carb/fat % ? And how many calories?

caracarn · Wed, January 21st, 2004, 05:15 PM

I am 194cm and weight about 87kg (6"6 and about 190 pounds I think) and am not very strong but not fat either. According to the program Healthguard (swedish prog) I should eat about 2100 cals a day to stay at this weight. I'm going to the gym 3 times a week and walks prob 60min a day and I want to gain some muscles and loose some fat.

I'm thinking of eating maybe 20% fat, 40% carbs, 40% protein and about 2000cals a day. Is this a good way to do it you think? Also have to say I have a hard time getting to 2000 without eating fat food..

To calculate this %... You take the weight of fat times 9, and carbs times 4, and protein times 4 and then divides each with the total amount of calories?

NME · Wed, January 21st, 2004, 06:14 PM

You got it right with your calorie calculations (fats x 9, carbs and protein x 4).

As far as your daily intake, it depends on your metabolism and your body type. If you are ectomorphic (a "hard gainer") than you'll want to stick to about 2200 calories a day (that's 12 times your body weight in pounds). If you're mesomorphic (that is, you can gain/lose weight relatively easily), than you'll want to be between 1900 and 2200 calories per day (start on the higher end and make changes as necessary). If you're endomorphic (that is, you gain weight easily and find it difficult to lose weight), stick closer to 1900 calories per day.

Also, walking isn't going to cut it for your cardio. You can add in 3 days a week of HIIT cardio, and/or some mid-range cardio for about 45 minutes a day (I personally do both on different days of the week).

TheWhoRocks · Wed, January 21st, 2004, 06:46 PM

To answer your macronutrient ratio question, a 40/40/20 split does seem to be the best, but it can differ on a person to person basis. For calories, I would suggest lowering it to 1900 to get a 200 daily calorie deficit. That is also 10 calories per pound of body weight, which seems to be good for losing fat but not losing too much muscle.

Good luck in achieving your goals!

d!abolic · Wed, January 21st, 2004, 08:08 PM

You're not gonna get anywhere without a clear goal in mind. Do you want to gain muscle or lose fat? Pick one because you can't do both at the same time. So either get really lean first and start bulking, or bulk up and then get really lean. You don't sound particularly fat, so you should probably look into the latter and bump up your intake to 2800-3000.

caracarn · Wed, January 21st, 2004, 08:16 PM

Ok, thanx for the advices.. I will probably keep people posten on the advance. And maybe take pics which is a great way to motivate oneself.