Hi! i'm new in the forum, and i want to say that i'm sorry if my english isn't perfect, i'm still trying to improve it... i'll make my best to speak properly :)

 

I watched the fantastic video of SH about building your meal plan, i followed it and i have all the informations that i need.

I've been training in the gym since last year, i didn't have a real diet or meal plan, i've just trained hard in the gym and i saw some results of course... but now i want to train harder and eat clean to go further :)

Some info:

Age: 18

Weight: 155lbs

Height: 170cm

Body fat: around 21% :(

Goal: Actually, i'd like to "mantain" i mean, i don't want a drastic loss weight diet, i just want a nice and clean meal plan to mantain while training and maybe lose some fat, and in a few months start a real loss weight diet. My goal is to gain muscle, and build a nice body, but i need to lose some weight at least, before thinking to gain weight.

Average of BMR (BMR at rest+BMR in motion /2): 2245 calories

Daily macros:

It's an average of my daily macros that i calculated with my info

Protein: 150g (600 calories)

Fat: 42g ( 378 calories )

Carbs: 316g (1267 calories)

 

Now, the problem i have is: with these informations, how can i find the right range of protein-fat-carbs, are my carbs ok or too high? should i cut some carbs and adjust with fat or protein? how are macros in a maintenance diet? i'm so confused and tired, i mean i'm thinking about this all the day and i really need help to create a nice diet... Thanks to anyone wants to help me or give some advices :)

 

I hope that my english is at least Decent and that you can understand me, i don't have any problem understandint or translating english, the issue is when i have to explain something or speaking a lot as you can see

Excuse me again

Luca,

 

Your English is fine :-)

 

It is understandable to be a bit confused on macro counts. Everyone is unique so it will just take time for you to find the right ratios that work for you. Since your goal is to eat clean but maintain what you have while you train, you will want to increase your protein and fat a bit and cut back on the carbs. It is best to lose weight gradually while building muscle than look to more rapid weight loss later. This is not good for you metabolism and hormones. It is best to do lean gains - gain lean muscle while losing fat.

 

The macro that needs the most manipulation to achieve this goal is carbs. I am assuming from your name that you live in Italy. If so, In Europe the Mediterranean diet is perfect for this goal. The key is to eliminate or reduce your intake of pasta and bread. Unless these are made using 100% whole wheat durum flour (pasta) or 100% whole wheat flour (bread), they will be converted to simple sugars in your body and spike your insulin levels leading to fat and weight gain. The diet gets plenty of good fats thru olive oil, fish, nuts, and whole eggs so you should be fine there. I would recommend the following as a starting point that you can then modify based on your results and a target of 2250 calories:

 

Protein = 186g (155Lbs x .8 (body fat @ 20%) = 124Lbs x 1.5g/Lb) Mostly from chicken, fish, eggs, and lean meat

Fat = 90g Mostly olive oil, oily fish, whole eggs, nuts, coconut oil

Carbs = 175g Complex carbs (brown rice, whole wheat/durum pasta, oats, whole wheat bread), whole vegetables, whole fruit only

 

Avoid fruit juice - fruit juice is as bad as soda sugar-wise. Fructose - the sugar in fruit - needs to be absorbed slowly and only the fiber in the whole fruit accomplishes this. Fruit juice has no fiber just pure fructose.

 

The lower carbs will have you lose body fat and weight. The high protein and fat will support muscle growth and repair (protein) and hormone levels and cell membranes (fats). If you find you are dropping weight too fast or are having low energy, you can increase the carbs and drop the fats accordingly - remember carbs are 4 calories/gram and fats are 9 calories/gram so it won't be a 1:1 swap. Keep the protein levels high and train as intensely as you can. Increase the protein a bit if you are not recovering as consistently as you would like. Make sure to get at least 7 hours sleep each night and drink plenty of water.

 

Hope that helps,

 

John

 

Hi Jmboiardi, first i want to thank you so much, it really helped me a lot! this is the most complete answer i've ever had

And yes i'm italian, that's why my english isn't so good ahah, anyway yes here i don't have problems to find healty food... :)

 

Anyway you got the point, i mean, my goal right now is to maintain what i have, building some muscle but losing some fat, so lean gains. So in the next winter i will have my body fat ok so i can go for a bulking diet maybe or something to gain weight and build more muscle, but for now, all i want is as you said to lose some fat while gaining a little of muscle.

 

Now i'm less confused on macros, i mean your examples are good to make me understand, and i think the starting point you recommend me will be perfect and i'm gonna try it now

 

Yes, i'll eliminate bread at least and i'll reduce pasta to a whole wheat pasta for lunch maybe and eliminate it totally for dinner, i'll see what i can do to fill macros in the meal plan.

 

And one problem for me is sleep. I often sleep only 5-6 h per night and is not enough... i have to adjust this.

Fortunately i drink plenty of water around 2-3 l a day

 

Now i'll try to create a "meal plan" with these informations, i want to thank you again, this really helped me and now i can start this change! I'll update my situation and maybe i'll open a thread for the meal plan i'm gonna create now, so you or other users can critique and help me to adjust something... :)

 

Luca

 

No problem Luca. Glad I could help out. Once you have gotten to a physique you are happy with, I would recommend continuing lean gains. Traditional bulking leads to more fat gain than muscle gain unless you are using steroids and growth hormone. You also then need to cut your calories drastically to lose the fat and lean out. This wreaks havoc on your metabolism and hormones when you are natural. Sleep is critical as this is when the majority of your growth hormone is released unless you are doing intermittent fasting (IF). Try to get the minimum of 7 hours. Any less and you are limiting your growth and fat burning potential.

 

Be patient and consistent and keep doing lean gains. The more muscle you add, the more calories you burn even at rest. Natural physique transformations need to be slow and steady. Only then will they last and be healthy. Quick muscle gain for natural bodybuilders is limited to the first 2 years of lifting after which the process slows. Again, only anabolics and growth hormone override this slow down and as you already know we don't advocate the use of anabolics on this site :-)

 

John

Oh yes, i'll follow your advices, i won't try any anabolic and steroids, i just want my physique to be healthy and how i like it. Don't mind if it takes time, this is my goal and i want to reach it. So if you recommend this i think i'll go on with lean gains until this winter, then maybe i'll try with a bulking diet and a cut in spring, (for the last time) because it will be the 2nd year i train, then i'll just go on with maintainance and lean gains :) do you think is a good plan?

Anyway now i'll go on with lean gains and maintainance meal plan. :)

 

Of course now i'll try to sleep at least 7-8 hours. and i'm still following the lines of the diet until i create the meal plan.

 

You opened my eyes, now i know what to do for myself :)

 

Thank you again

 

Luca