Friends,

I have been tracking my macros since January with myfitness pal app. Ive been very consistent too. I started around 2800 kcals, currently I am at 3400kcals. Due to my profession (healthcare) it is very hard to get my daily nutrition in without a mass gainerbecause I dont always get a break and see so many patients we cant get behind here or i get in trouble. I would love to steer away from the weight gainers though due to expenses and get my macros in with solids or by making my own gainers at home to get a better idea of whats in them.

 My current statistics:

5'9.5"

175lbs

13% body fat (estimate)

Goal is muscle gain

3 years consistently, but overall since high school I have been lifting

Daily macros:

3400 kcals

90g fat

50g sugar

300g carbs

240g protein

Please help nation! I would love to see the day I get to a lean 185 :)

Try salmon, nuts, avocados, peanut butter, bananas. Make sure to get all natural peanut butter too.

Thanks, those are great suggestions. I am wondering though is it possible to get too many healthy fats in my diet?  I feel i could easily take down a couple table spoons on peanut butter two to three times a day, but would I end up gaining unfriendly pounds?

Don't go over your amount of fats per day.

Fats are calorically dense - 9 calories/gram - so you need to ensure you don't eat more than your allotted fat macro daily intake amount.

John

As @ohawkey and @jmboiardi said, don't go past your fat intake for the day.

Fat doesn't make you fat - excess calories make you fat.

Jordan

Thank you all for the responses. I am trying to learn how to figure out my macros. I came across this calculator on Scotts cite and the results are:

I weight 175 @69inches

BMR at rest 1814

BMR in motion 3448  so already based off these numbers it shows im below my caloric intake. I was getting 3200-3400.

For lean muscle gain to get my body at 9% which seems like a good obtainable goal for me it says at 1.5g I need 239g and at .35 fat my calorie goal needs to be 3698, fat 56g, carbohydrates 560g. I am not sure how accurate this is, however based off these numbers this is my comparison.

NOW                                            NEED

3200-3400kcals                            3700kcals

90g fat                                         56g fat

240g protein                                 239g protein

350-400g carbs                             560g carbs

Im definitely lacking in carbs and intaking too much fat. Reducing the healthy fats seems like its going to be hard because thats the easiest way to get in calories. My protein seems to be the same. The carbs based of the calculation seems high. @ohawkey @joehurricane @jmboiardi

To give you an idea of where I will be by 2pm. after updating myfitness pal to 3700 calories and to match the updated macros.

I am 700 calories away from hitting my goal.

Fat 68g

carbs 310 grams

protein 279g

So how do I add 700 calories without adding to fat and overload on the protein? I can hit macros quick, but maybe my meals are unbalanced?  This indicates I am low on my carbs so maybe after my evening workout, I need to consume some whole wheat penne pasta?

First off, I think you are looking at things from the wrong angle.

90g of fat isn't that much really. In fact for my mind, that is a pretty good number.

Your carbs on the other hand are a bit high. 300g is a pretty solid number - to be eating more than 500g seems a lot, although I know a lot of people will say there is nothing wrong with that many carbs, especially when you are trying to build muscle.

Anyway, the first thing I would ask is have you seen the video on the @mealplan page? Scott goes over how to calculate your macros and totaly caloric intake in more depth. You should look to add you BMR at rest and BMR in motion together, then divide them by two to get your average caloric intake.

For lean gains, you want to go lower than 500g of carbs, and probably less than 300g. Or you could try things like carb cycling...but as I say, make sure you watch that video first, then post again :)

Jordan

My daily macros have dropped now since I've dropped weight with the pneumonia. I did the calculation and at 172 I need about 2800 I kcals at light activity due to me resting right now. Starting to get some good solid food in and not just crackers and soup. Keep you posted