Thread: macros for cutting

Originally Posted by dsc123

i weigh 185lbs maintenance around 3000 calories, how do my macros look?

Calories- 2300
Protein- 260
Carbs-114
Fats- 118

these do not include olive oil which is used to cook chicken and 2 portions of veg..

Include the olive oil, that's significant. You'll be surprised at how many calories 2 tbsp of the stuff contains.

I suggest you increase calories to something like maintenance (or just over) on workout days (generally, you can't build muscle or even maintain it after a workout on a deficit), and keep what you have above for rest days. Proteins are very high - 185g per day should be more than enough for you to maintain muscle mass.

So you would say maybe a carb load day? 4x week? Or 5 including cardio day?

Bump

Medium carbs on your lifting days. High carbs on one lifting day. Low carbs on other days (rest days and cardio).
What days are you lifting?

How much above and below maintenance are you planning to hit?

Originally Posted by dsc123

i weigh 185lbs maintenance around 3000 calories, how do my macros look?

Calories- 2300
Protein- 260
Carbs-114
Fats- 118

these do not include olive oil which is used to cook chicken and 2 portions of veg..

So, with the olive oil you're looking at 2600.
3000 is your maintenance on which days? Do you lift every day? Work every day?

You need to adjust your calories on a day by day basis to account for energy expenditure, or lack thereof. If Sunday is a day off of everything, is your maintenance still 3000? (I'm thinking not).

Are you sure your small intestine can absorb 260 grams of protein a day? Whey is a 'fast' protein at 10 grams an hour, 24 hours in a day... you gonna be waking up in the middle of the night to down a protein shake? If you can't absorb it, you can't use it for energy. If you're counting it as calories but aren't absorbing it, you might end up cutting too hard and losing muscle.

Resistance training uses primarily stored carbs. At 114 grams, if it all went to lifting, you're looking at 450-500 kcals worth of exercise. It won't all go toward muscle glycogen, so if you're going to stick to 114 grams of carbs, I'd say cut back on lifting or lower the fats and increase the carbs. Or better yet, switch 80 grams of the protein for 80 grams of carbs.

Training
Mon- Chest
Tues-Back & Bis
Weds- Cardio
Thurs-Shoulders & Tris
Fri- Legs
Sat & Sun rest
DIET

8:00 3 liquid egg whites 1 cup oats 2 scoops whey 1 cup whole milk blended
12:00 chicken and bacon salad
3:00 almonds and whey shake
6:00 200g chicken 250g new potatos and veggies
during workout bcaas
postwork out 8:30 2 scoop shake creatine
9:00 260g salmon and veggies

Apologies about Bold & underlining (getting used to new site)

Mon- Medium
Tues-Medium
Weds-Low
Thurs-High
Fri-Medium
Sat & Sun Low

Originally Posted by dsc123

i weigh 185lbs maintenance around 3000 calories, how do my macros look?

Calories- 2300
Protein- 260
Carbs-114
Fats- 118

these do not include olive oil which is used to cook chicken and 2 portions of veg..

Just so we are clear, you do not know how to do math. Practice your mathematics.

2300 =/= (260X4) + (118x9) + (114x4)

(260X4) + (118x9) + (114x4) >2500.

Before you worry about cutting anymore kcal and going low carb creating that mental fog you need to read a rudimentary mathematics text book.

Okay, not quite sure how i managed to get 2300

Low macros
Calories-2800
Protein-260
Carbs- 114
fats-118

Medium macros
Calories-3000
Protein-260
Carbs-200
Fats-130

High macros
Calories-3300
Protein-260
Carbs-300
Fats-118

Hows this starting to look?

Liquid egg whites are a shit source of protein. 50% bioavailability and the lowest absorption rate of any common protein source (1.5 grams/hour), plus it inhibits absorption of any other protein eaten with them. Cook them, or better yet eat one or two whole eggs.

Low macros 2800 kcals.... so you're not taking any days off of the gym?
Answer the question: how many calories do you burn on a day you don't work and don't go to the gym.

Otherwise it doesn't look bad, aside from the fact that you still have too much protein in the diet. Are you *sure* you want to train your metabolism to use protein for energy? Because you'll be making it really efficient at eating its own muscle.

yh sorry i have been cooking them, my initial plan was to drink liquid egg whites until i heard about the bioavailability...you say 2 whole eggs is better than just having the whites, whilst cutting?

how many calories do you burn on a day you don't work and don't go to the gym?
not many...hows this look?

Low macros- (3 less scoops of whey)
Calories-2500
Protein-200
Carbs- 114
fats-118

Medium macros-(3 less scoops of whey + 80g dextrose)
Calories-2800
Protein-200
Carbs-200
Fats-130

High macros
8:00 100g oats with 1cup whole milk and 50g whey shake 1 bannana
12:30 100g pasta 1 chicken breast
3:00 whey shake
5:30 125g white rice 2 chicken breast
8:00 post workout 50g whey 40g dextrose
9:00 150g pasta 1 can of tuna/ salmon

MACROS
Calories: 3300 (including olive oil)
Protein:318
Carbs:377
Fats:25

Is white rice and white pasta okay just for the High macro day?

I say two eggs because the yolks have a lot of vitamins and nutrients in them. When you're cutting, you need as much nutrient density as you can get (in relation to calories).

If your maintenance is around 3000, then 2500 looks good. I just don't know where you got 3000 from.

I recommend you work UP from a base rate.
i.e. Figure out your calorie needs on a complete day off, then subtract 500. Add in calories for your job, add in calories for your workouts. I don't know about you, but I need more calories on a leg day than on a chest day, and a lot less on days I don't hit the gym or go to work.

First things first: What is your body fat at? Height, age, etc is also helpful.

you've been a great help thanks, will stick to my proposed diet above and see how things go. 3000 calories is the amount i was once eating when bulking and there was mo fluctuation in weight..so thought it is somewhere good to start from.

Stats
age:21
Height: 5ft 9
weight: 185
Bf: unknown approx 13-14
Training exp: 4 years
Previous cycles: none

Originally Posted by dsc123

Stats
age:21
Height: 5ft 9
weight: 185
Bf: unknown approx 13-14
Training exp: 4 years
Previous cycles: none

And what are your goals? Want to bulk, cut, lean gains??

Cut down to single digits...look at title