Thanks man, much appreciated. Right now I'm 21, 5'9, 212. I'm pretty sure I have a slow metabolism, or at least slower than others.
Okay, then if your goal is to lose fat and build or maintain muscle (which you absolutely must do to keep your metabolism elevated), then it sounds like your plan is on track percentage-wise.
If you had a fast metabolism (meaning you could eat all the time and not gain body fat), then I would tell you to put your carbs at 50% of your caloric intake. Hell, the skinny guys need even more because their bodies metabolize glucose so rapidly. But since I'm assuming that isn't the case with you, I think you'd be better off having protein at 40% of your calories, fats at 30% (sounds high, but it supports recovery, cell growth, and healthy testosterone, and as long as it's healthy fats then it probably won't affect your cholesterol negatively), and carbs at 30%.
If you take in 2100 calories per day now, as you mentioned, that breaks down to about:
CARBS - 2100 x 0.3 = 630 Cals from Carbs, or 158g carbs
PROTEIN - 2100 x 0.4 = 840 Cals from Proteins, or 210g protein
FAT - 2100 x 0.3 = 630 Cals from Fats, or 70g fat
(Remember when doing calculations that Carbs and Proteins each have 4 calories per gram, and fats have 9 calories per gram)
The best way to approach this is pretty much how you've explained it. Eat more of those carbs in the morning and post-workout, and spread the fats and proteins evenly over 5 or 6 meals. That said, it wouldn't make much difference if you decided to spread it all out evenly. Averaging everything out over 6 meals it breaks down to:
CARBS - 25-27g/meal
PROTEIN - 35g/meal
FAT - 11-12g/meal
You could stay at 2100 calories. However, if you notice you stop losing bodyfat, that means that something is wrong with training, nutrition, or both. It's usually nutrition and it's a simple fix. Most people freak out when I tell them to lose more body fat by INCREASING their food intake by 400 cals/day, but all of them have broken through their weight loss plateaus without drugs/stimulants. JUST DIET, good exercise program, cardio here and there, and of course good 8 hours of sleep per night. How do they add the 400 calories? I usually tell them to add an extra meal. It is not a replacement meal. It is an ADDITIONAL meal. And it is usually added in the form of mainly protein, fats and raw green vegetables.
I cannot prove this (and please don't think that my approach is the only way to go here) but I think adding the extra protein and fats assists in muscle growth, increases body heat through digestive thermogenesis, and in the long run will increase your metabolism above baseline. This helps burn fat and maintain muscle -
you said you run, and that can burn muscle if your nutrition isn't specific to your program. That is why runners are skinny. And most people who don't run enough simply end up burning off precious and highly metabolic muscle, so running can sometimes work against you... UNLESS your nutrition is on point. I'm not saying stop running. That is not going to hurt things as long as you notice you're always making progress.
But DON'T add a meal if you know your current nutrient intake is working. Never change something if it works - unless it is causing you a health issue of course, at which point I would consult a doctor. In fact, I wouldn't change your nutrition unless you know that you're healthy enough to do so. I assume most people on the forums are healthy, but a small percentage are sensitive to eating too much protein because of kidney issues.
Hope this helps. PM me if you have any other questions. I don't want to hog your thread anymore. Let us know how the cycle is going and how your nutrition is going. Most people don't focus hard enough on the nutrition.
