Hey Team,

I'm very big guy currently weighing in at 308lbs and I a few questions around what my macros should be. But before I ask the questions I'll try and provide you with much information as possible.

Using the Building Your Meal Plan Guide + BMR Calculator (Meal Planner) this is what I came too.

My Info

Weight: 308 Pounds 

Height: 5'8''

Age:  24

Exercise: Moderate Exercise

Male

Occupation: IT Officer

BMR 

BMR at Rest  = 2685

BMR in Motion = 4162

BMR Average  = 3423

Fat Weight =  308*0.4 = 123

Lean Weight =  308-123 = 185

Final Macros with -250 cal

Protein 185g 740 caloires

Fat 65g 585 calories

Carbs 462 1848 calories

Total Calories = 3173

Weight Loss Goals

1. Weight Loss under 220lbs

2. Weight Loss under 200lbs

3. Maintain Achieved Weight Loss Goals

4. Reduce Body Fat to Optimal percentage.

Final Goal 

Gain Lean Mass + Definition 

Questions

1. As mentioned in the Building Your Meal Plan that the final macro is just a baseline, how do I manipulate the above final macros to archive my weight loss goals?

2. On days of rest and little to no exercise what should my macros be?

3. On days of intensive workout what should my macros look like with keeping in mind my goal is currently to lose weight.

I understand that everyone bodies react differently and what may work for you may not work for me but if I can get an understanding on how to manage my macros then I can do it.

Sorry for the wall of text but if you could answer this that would be great!

Thanks in advance.

Cheers,

Vincent

Hey Vincent! Let's go through your questions...

1. The macros you have definitely need some adjusting. The total calories are probably OK at around 3000 to start off with, but we'll need to reduce your carb intake and boost protein and fats to make up the numbers. I suggest something more like this as a start...

Protein: 280g (1120 Calories)

Carbs: 200g (800 Calories)

Fat: 120g (1080 Calories)

Total Calories = 3000

The only thing is, if you are doing moderate exercise, you'll actually possibly need a bit more to be in a 250-500 calorie deficit. If your BMR in motion is 4000, that means on days you workout you probably need to be around 3500 calories, so going for 3000 could leave you in a pretty big deficit. You could try 3000 calories daily for 5-7 days though and see how quickly the weight is coming off. Do you know how many calories you generally eat in a day at the moment? That could be helpful.

2. I'd keep your macros the same on your rest days simply because your defcit might be quite high at the moment, just cut the carbs to about 150g.. there's nothing wrong with increasing fats some more (to about 140g-150g) which would make up for the lost carbs. Actually, you could even go up to 140g-150g fat if you need more calories to make the deficit a bit smaller on workout days too.

3. Macros should be as above.. maybe add some extra fat in like I just mentioned if you need to make your overall deficit a bit smaller.

You're right everyone is different, that's why there are a couple of options there that you can try to start with, see what results you get, and then move forward from there.

Hope that all made sense!

Hi @Scott_Herman

Thanks again for taking time out of your day to answer my questions.

1. Alright that looks really good and makes a lot more sense then my numbers.

In relation to tracking my calories I haven't really tracked them at all yet. I've been tracking over the last couple of days but that won't give you the information you need because I was trying to eat food based on the above macros I had instead of what I just normally eat. I soon realised my macros didn't seem right hence this thread but I will be tracking everything I eat from now on.

I can give you heaps of excusses why I wasn't tracking eariler but maybe some other time if your up for a good story haha. 💪 ðŸ˜€ ðŸ˜­ 

2. Ok sounds good.

3. Yep alright sounds good. I do have a few further questions though.

Questions

1. How do you know how many carbs i need based of the information provided?

What I know

Based off what I've learnt thus far you need to reduce carb intake as you need to burn carbs before you can burn fat. But you don't want to burn through your carbs to quick because if you go through your carbs to quick and burn to much fat your not getting enough energy for your body which then causes your body to retain fat and/or starts taking it from other sources. The other end of the scale if you have to many carbs then you won't burn fat means you won't loss weight, you will either maintain or gain weight.

Daily Carb Intake Guidelines

Accelerated Fat Loss: 0g – 50grams

Fat Loss: 50 grams – 100 grams

Maintenance: 100 grams – 150 grams

Weight Gain: 150 grams – 300 grams

Excessive Weight Gain: 300 grams

What I dont know

You mentioned above I should have around 150g to 200g of carbs however according to this I should be between 50g and 100g. I'm aware it says "guideline" but I just want your opinion on this. I believe the reason your not taking my carbs down any further is because it's unrealistic to increase my protein and fat any further?

The effects of carbs and insulin is what tends to make people gain and store fat. They kind of go hand-in-hand, so limiting carbs when trying to lose weight is always a good idea.

From what you've told me, you're 308lbs at 5'8, so I'm guessing you have a bit of extra bodyfat that you don't need, right? The body is going to probably use carbs for energy first - we don't really want that for you, we want your body to be using stored fat for energy. That's why you don't need many carbs, so that hopefully your body gets through them quickly and then looks to your fat mass for energy next.

By keeping your protein high and still training with some intensity, you minimize your body choosing to use muscle for energy and ideally body fat is burned instead.

And yes, you're right. The numbers I gave you above already have your protein and fat high-ish. Now there's actually nothing wrong with increasing either of those macros further, BUT, it is good to have room to lower your carbs further later down the fat-loss track, when you hit a plateau. If you start at 50-100g carbs daily and end up hitting a plateau, then you don't have much room to move them down any further.

Does that make sense?

Hi @scott_herman

Thanks for answering the questions and definitley makes a lot of sense. I'll be able to calculate my macros from now on for my Weight Loss goals.

Cheers,

Vincent

Glad I could help Vincent! Let's see some progress pics on your profile soon 😁 ðŸ‹