my head is spinning and i dont know what to do. please help

[guyfromkop]

i've heard so much about eat this and eat that, my question is this, right now i'm 240 at about 25-28% bodyfat. according to the 12 x bodyweight i shoudl be eating 2880 calories. but i've also heard that you should be eating 1.5-2 grams of protein per lb. so at 1.5 grams it puts me at 3040 calories and 1.75 puts me at 3460 calories. now that's a pretty big change in calories. which one do i do??? oh by the way i'm giong on a timed carb diet, pretty much my ratios will look like this 45/10/45. and i will be doing powerlifting routine m/w/f and cardio on tuesday and thursday and about 20 min low impact after weights on m/w/f. someone please help

 

[sdupdike]

Ok, first thing is read the sticky found here: http://www.ironmagazineforums.com/showthread.php?t=21113. Next thing, I think your math may be off a bit. Each gram of protein is 4 calories, so if you want 1.5 g of protein per lbs of body weight (which I think some people use lean body mass here instead of total body weight), that gives you 360g of protein, and at 4 calories each, that's 1440 calories. Hope that helps.

 

[guyfromkop]

my math isnt off, that's total calories per day

 

[sdupdike]

Ok, from your post, it sounded like you meant just from protein. My bad. Like I said, I've read here that some people say you should use LBM to calculate your calories or protein or whatever. Maybe you should try it that way.

Or maybe the 3040 is a good starting point for you. If it's less than what you're eating now, it may be. I'm definitely not the expert here.

 

[Emma-Leigh]

i've heard so much about eat this and eat that, my question is this, right now i'm 240 at about 25-28% bodyfat. according to the 12 x bodyweight i shoudl be eating 2880 calories. but i've also heard that you should be eating 1.5-2 grams of protein per lb. so at 1.5 grams it puts me at 3040 calories and 1.75 puts me at 3460 calories. now that's a pretty big change in calories. which one do i do??? oh by the way i'm giong on a timed carb diet, pretty much my ratios will look like this 45/10/45. and i will be doing powerlifting routine m/w/f and cardio on tuesday and thursday and about 20 min low impact after weights on m/w/f. someone please help

I don't use those generic z x bodyweight formula (for most people). They can be horribly inaccurate for people who are not in the 'norm' for bodyfat% (the 'norm' being ~15-20% for men and 18-25% for females). So that formula can grossly over-estimate your calorie requirements.

You need to base everything on your lean mass (total mass - fat mass) - as this is the metabolically active part of your body. And, as you are ~26% BF, your lean mass is ~175-180 pounds.

So you can either calculate your maintainence the easy way (maintain your weight and record how much you are eating for the next two weeks). And start to decrease calories from that.... Or I use the following rough formula:

Lean mass = ~175
In kg = 79.5
BMR for the day = (lean mass (kg) x 21) + 400 = ~2000
Multiply in activity factor = for you that is ~1.5 = ~3000 to maintain
So to start cutting you want to decrease your cals by about 10% (~300) - so I would start at ~ 2700 cals.

Then you want ~1.5g protein per pound lean mass (260g - or ~40%). More than this is overkill.

Personally, I would stick to ~100g of carbs (keeps you out of ketosis), which would be 15% carbs - but it is up to you if you want to do lower.

And fill in your fats (~140g or ~45%). Make sure you get EFA's (6 x fish oil caps/day) and then get most of the rest of your fats from avocado, olive oil, nuts/seeds (esp walnuts and linseeds), lean meats and the occasional egg yolk.

Make sure you eat a WHOLE heap of vegetables.

Drink lots of water.

Train hard.

Watch yourself in the mirror/on the scales for the first 2-3 weeks. If you are not seeing positive changes then decrease your calorie intake by another 10% (which would be 270 cals). Repeat the process until you are satisfied with your progress.

Simple.

 

[guyfromkop]

thank you, one of the best descriptions i've heard

 

[Kracin]

thats emma for ya!