Thread: Help Please!!!!!!!

dont eat carbs at night man, because then you just store the energy up.

whole wheat pasta, brown rice, yams, and as said above, you can try stayin away from carbs after about 8 or 9 pm as late night carbs may be stored while you sleep.

Originally Posted by ABLQ2

dont eat carbs at night man, because then you just store the energy up.

Carbs at night don't "make you fat". Too many calories/poor calorie balance, inactivity and poor partitioning will make you fat. You can eat carbs at night if you want...

Infact, eating some carbs later in the evening has been shown to be beneficial in both trying to bulk AND in trying to cut. When bulking, it helps to stimulate anabolism during sleep and during cutting it helps prevent against lean mass loss...

Sure - you are better off to eat the majority of your carbs around workouts and when you are active (typically early in the day) because you want easily available energy at these times... But, if you are so inclined, then there is no reason to strictly avoid carbs at night.

Originally Posted by pereari

Hey!!im trying to put on more muscle but I usually have a problem with the kind of carbs I eat.If I eat a lot of rice i gain fat,same with baked potatoes and pasta.Can you guys tell me what kinda of carbs i could eat that wont make me gain a lot of fat and what type of carbs should i eat at night(10 to 12pm) to go along with my chicken???

Some fat gain is going to be unavoidable... But, if you want to, you coild see if sticking to the lower GI carbs helps... So try the higher fibre/less calorie dense options like legumes (beans, lentils), whole grains (barley, oats, buckwheat, rye), brans (oatbran), sweet potato (lower GI), fruits.... But you might just find that the reason why you are gaining excess fat is because you are eating too many calories and you have to pull back on your intake.

The degree of fat you gain is also going to be related to your bodyfat% at the moment (generally speaking, the higher you are to start with, the more BF you will gain when bulking).

In terms of carbs at night - if you have some carbs 'left over' from your day that you want to eat at night then this is fine. But you may want to stick to those higher in fibre (eg: legumes) or you could have some high fibre fruit (such as berries) or skim dairy (milk or sugar-free yoghurt).

ok,thank you all for your help!!!!!

Originally Posted by Emma-Leigh

Some fat gain is going to be unavoidable... But, if you want to, you coild see if sticking to the lower GI carbs helps... So try the higher fibre/less calorie dense options like legumes (beans, lentils), whole grains (barley, oats, buckwheat, rye), brans (oatbran), sweet potato (lower GI), fruits.... But you might just find that the reason why you are gaining excess fat is because you are eating too many calories and you have to pull back on your intake.

The degree of fat you gain is also going to be related to your bodyfat% at the moment (generally speaking, the higher you are to start with, the more BF you will gain when bulking).

In terms of carbs at night - if you have some carbs 'left over' from your day that you want to eat at night then this is fine. But you may want to stick to those higher in fibre (eg: legumes) or you could have some high fibre fruit (such as berries) or skim dairy (milk or sugar-free yoghurt).

Thanxx!!But i have another question now.ok,currently I weight 211,so im supposed to eat around 212grams of protein a day and about 428 of carbs a day right?.Now, Im not lean at all,so, should i still eat 212 grams of protein and about 428 of carbs,or should I cut back on both at the same time?Would that help to lower my body fat% and still gain muscle?thank you for the help!!!!

Originally Posted by pereari

Thanxx!!But i have another question now.ok,currently I weight 211,so im supposed to eat around 212grams of protein a day and about 428 of carbs a day right?.Now, Im not lean at all,so, should i still eat 212 grams of protein and about 428 of carbs,or should I cut back on both at the same time?Would that help to lower my body fat% and still gain muscle?thank you for the help!!!!

You don't "have to eat 211g protein and 428g carbs"... your intake should be based on your lean mass, your goals, and your activity level (along with many other things).

What is your BF%? Height? Age? What type of exercise do you do?

If you are "not lean at all" then you probably have a high BF% and you will not need anything NEAR 428g of carbs/day...

If you don't know your BF% you could get a rough estimate from www.mybodycomp.com or you could use bodyfat scales (such as tanita or omron) or get someone to do a caliper reading (most gyms will do these)...

Originally Posted by Emma-Leigh

You don't "have to eat 211g protein and 428g carbs"... your intake should be based on your lean mass, your goals, and your activity level (along with many other things).

What is your BF%? Height? Age? What type of exercise do you do?

If you are "not lean at all" then you probably have a high BF% and you will not need anything NEAR 428g of carbs/day...

If you don't know your BF% you could get a rough estimate from www.mybodycomp.com or you could use bodyfat scales (such as tanita or omron) or get someone to do a caliper reading (most gyms will do these)...

Ok,i just got my body fat % and 80.33% is lean mass and 19.67% is fat.Im 21 years old,height is about 5'11 and workout 3 times a week.My workouts look like this:
Monday
bench press-4sets of 6 reps
incline press-" " " " " '
Shoulder press- " " ' " "
side lateral raises-4sets of 10 to 12 reps
close grip bench presses-4sets of 6 to 8 reps
pushdowns-4sets of 8 reps

Wednesday
Barbell rows- 4sets of 6 reps
pulldowns- " " " " "
dumbbell rows- " " " "
dumbbell curls-" " " "
hammer curls- " " "

Friday
Squats-4sets of 6reps
leg presses-" " "
leg extensions- " ' " "
hamstring curls-" " "

Im using this regime because my goals are to gain muscle and more strength.My job is pretty active so im walking around all over the place during the day.also my workouts last about an hour and 15 minutes.Now with this info,what is the ideal amount of carbs and protein that I should eat a day Emma?? Thank You for the help!!!!!(sorry if im being a pain in the ass)LOL

Originally Posted by pereari

Ok, i just got my body fat % and 80.33% is lean mass and 19.67% is fat. Im 21 years old,height is about 5'11 and workout 3 times a week. My job is pretty active so im walking around all over the place during the day.also my workouts last about an hour and 15 minutes.

Any cardio?

Now with this info,what is the ideal amount of carbs and protein that I should eat a day Emma?? Thank You for the help!!!!!(sorry if im being a pain in the ass)LOL

So your goal is to lose fat right?

Do you know how many calories you eat daily at the moment (your maintainence calorie intake)? If not, what you can do is calculate a rough 'guestimate' of your maintainence calories and then see how your body responds to that intake - and go from there...

Based on 211 pounds and 20% BF, you have ~168.8 pounds lean mass. So your maintainence could be something close to 2900-3000 cals...
2 x lean mass carbs (338g - but lets call it 340g)
1.5 x lean mass protein (253g - say 250g)
0.4 x lean mass fats (67.5g - lets say 68g)
TOTAL CAL = 2972


So, you can either choose to start at that figure and stay there for 2-3 weeks to see if it is infact your maintainence intake (so you want to see if your weight changes over this time) and then calculate from there.... OR you could just take this as ~ maintainence and then just start by decreasing ~10% of calories (290-300 cals). Which would leave you with 2600-2700 cals..

You would still want the same amount of protein, but you could decrease fats/carbs to a variable degree - depending on your preference, activity level and carb sensitivity.

If you prefere carbs to be higher then something like:
250g protein (1.5 x lean mass)
300g carbs (~1.75g x lean mass)
60g fat (0.35 x lean mass)
That would be fine.

If you prefere carbs to be lower then:
250g protein (1.5 x lean mass)
250g carbs (1.5g x lean mass)
68g fat (0.4 x lean mass)

Or, if you really do not want to eat a lot of carbs you could do:
250g protein (1.5 x lean mass)
210g carbs (1.25 x lean mass)
85g fat (0.5 x lean mass)


Stay at that calorie intake for ~2-3 weeks and monitor your progress. If nothing happens then decrease cals again (by 10% of 2600 - so decrease to ~2300-2400). OR, better yet, if you are not doing anything - start to add in some cardio training. You don't want your calories to get too low.

Originally Posted by Emma-Leigh

Any cardio?


So your goal is to lose fat right?

Do you know how many calories you eat daily at the moment (your maintainence calorie intake)? If not, what you can do is calculate a rough 'guestimate' of your maintainence calories and then see how your body responds to that intake - and go from there...

Based on 211 pounds and 20% BF, you have ~168.8 pounds lean mass. So your maintainence could be something close to 2900-3000 cals...
2 x lean mass carbs (338g - but lets call it 340g)
1.5 x lean mass protein (253g - say 250g)
0.4 x lean mass fats (67.5g - lets say 68g)
TOTAL CAL = 2972


So, you can either choose to start at that figure and stay there for 2-3 weeks to see if it is infact your maintainence intake (so you want to see if your weight changes over this time) and then calculate from there.... OR you could just take this as ~ maintainence and then just start by decreasing ~10% of calories (290-300 cals). Which would leave you with 2600-2700 cals..

You would still want the same amount of protein, but you could decrease fats/carbs to a variable degree - depending on your preference, activity level and carb sensitivity.

If you prefere carbs to be higher then something like:
250g protein (1.5 x lean mass)
300g carbs (~1.75g x lean mass)
60g fat (0.35 x lean mass)
That would be fine.

If you prefere carbs to be lower then:
250g protein (1.5 x lean mass)
250g carbs (1.5g x lean mass)
68g fat (0.4 x lean mass)

Or, if you really do not want to eat a lot of carbs you could do:
250g protein (1.5 x lean mass)
210g carbs (1.25 x lean mass)
85g fat (0.5 x lean mass)


Stay at that calorie intake for ~2-3 weeks and monitor your progress. If nothing happens then decrease cals again (by 10% of 2600 - so decrease to ~2300-2400). OR, better yet, if you are not doing anything - start to add in some cardio training. You don't want your calories to get too low.

ok.But my goal is to loose fat and add muscle simultaneously.Thats one of the reasons why i dont include cardio in my training,but during my workouts i keep my intensity a pretty high ,so i move pretty quick from one exercise to the other.Do you think the daily maintanence you have given me would work for this purpose???Also i eat a lot,im a pig when it comes to eating LOL.So im guessing i get in about 3500 calories or so during the day.I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR TIME AND YOUR HELP EMMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by pereari

ok.But my goal is to loose fat and add muscle simultaneously.Thats one of the reasons why i dont include cardio in my training,but during my workouts i keep my intensity a pretty high ,so i move pretty quick from one exercise to the other.

You would be better off treating your weights sessions as weights sessions and then adding 2-3 sessions of cardio/week instead.

Adequate muscle stimulation via weights is going to be a big factor in maintaining or adding muscle mass - and running around in the weights room turning into a cardio session is probably not the best way to go about it.

Do you think the daily maintanence you have given me would work for this purpose???Also i eat a lot,im a pig when it comes to eating LOL.So im guessing i get in about 3500 calories or so during the day.

Right - well, as I said before, I was only guestimating so it would be better off to know your actual intake.

Your best bet is to know how much you are eating now. I would, for 1 week, just write down everything you eat... Then go to:
www.nutritiondata.com
or:
www.nutridiary.com
and log the results for each day to calculate out a rough calorie intake. That will give you an indication of your maintainence and you can calculate from there.

Alternatively, you could just start at ~3000 cals and see what happens over 2-3 weeks. If you stay the same weight - great. That is your maintainence.

Now - If your goal is to re-compose then you do not want to drop cals drastically. You are generally better off sitting around maintainence intake (either at roughly maintainence or cycling around maintainence on different days). Sometimes people find that dropping slightly below maintainence (~5-10% below maintainence) is also effective.

Ok,thanxx a lot for your help.