Stats: 5'8'', 207 lbs

I work 7 days on and 7 days off. The week I work I do make it to the gym 5 days. Other than the gym on work weeks I am sedentary (sleep, drive 2.5 hours roudtrip to work, work sitting, home and sleep again).

So the last 3 months or so I used an online coach. Started me off on macros for training, off and refeed days. During the process I have hovered around 205-209 lbs. I have lost fat and gained muscle. At the end of the program he gave me some macros to start off on my own. I'm still gaining strength as I am increasing in weight at the gym. 

Currently I am trying for the unicorn....build muscle while losing fat. It's been working slowly. But I am wondering if the macros are on point or not.

Off Day: P 200, C 130, F 41

Training Day: P 200, C 170, F 50

Refeed Day: P 170, C 300, F 42

Since starting these new macros I feel heavier, as in fat. Could just be me.

How do these numbers look?

Thanks

Those fat numbers are WAY too low. I think the rest of the macros look OK-ish.. the carbs are fine for sure. High on re-feed days, low-ish on training days and then quite low on off days. No problems there really in terms of fat loss.

Protein should be higher though. You have to remember that the usual time you will see fat loss and muscle gain simultaneously is when you're a newbie. If you're past that stage, it will be much harder to do both, so you kind of have to pick one or the other and make that a priority.

These nubers I'm guessing must have you in a deficit. On your training days, you're getting less than 2000 calories.. about 1930 by my count? At 207lbs that's probably way too low if you're training 5 days a week. You probably need more than 2000 calories on your off days. However, if you're increasing weight I guess you are doing something right.. still, the fats need to come up in my opinion. Not going over 50g is just too low. Fat is essential for healthy testosterone levels.

At the end of the day, everyone is different and you have to find what works for you.. so if you have actually been seeing progress with these numbers maybe you can keep them? It just seems odd to me that you could be in a surplus at less than 2000 calories on your training days. The reason you might be feeling 'fat' is that your in such a deficit that you body is holding onto as much fat as it can as a survival instinct because it thinks you're not feeding it enough.

Do you know what the macros were BEFORE you finished with this trainer? What were you using when you felt that you hovered around 205-209lbs but gained muscle and lost fat?

Hey Scott,

Not a newbie but its been about 15 years since I really hit the gym hard though.

Prior macros were:

Training day P 200, C 130, F 45

Off Day P 200, C 100, F 41

Refeed Day P 170, C 210, F 38

I did mention that I thought some macros were low, especially fats. Although I think we were trying for a deficit.

My weight fluctuates between 205-208 lbs based on the macros I gave you in the original post.

I'm just not sure where I should be at. I agree that I thought the macros were off although weight isn't fluctuating up or down but muscle has improved. Becuase it hasn't fluctuated much I do worry about adding fat to my diest and subsequently gaining fat as well.

I'll add some pictures for reference. Guidance?

thanks,

newest on left, delt and tricep improvement

newest on left increased fat loss on sides

Oh and thanks from Southie of Boston area....Near Taunton ;)

I mean, you can tell from you photos that you have lost some fat.. but on your training days, your prior macros had you at 1725 calories, which is SUPER low even for a cut. You could very well be in a bit of a 'starvation' phase where your body is just holding onto the fat you have and is why your weight hasn't been moving much at all.

I think the carbs are pretty good, you do want them low for fat loss, but you don't need your calories so low, in my opinion. I suggest you try a bit of a recomp of sorts. Start adding in a bit more fat to your diet each week. Maybe this week you shoot for 60g daily, which will add an extra 100-200 calories straight away.

Having a refeed day is fine too.. but that's a day where you should increase your carbs and leave the other two macros alone. The point of a refeed is extra calories.. not just extra carbs. I wouldn't cut back protein and fat just because you get more carbs that day, because the current refeed still has your calories pretty low.

Ideally I would suggest you go to the @mealplan page and use the calculator to get some numbers. They will be A LOT higher than what you have at the moment, but that would be something you slowly work up to. That's my two cents anyway.. what do you think?

Hey man!

Sorry for the late reply. So in using the meal planner and the calculator it states for lean muscle gain I should be at:

Protein: 162 g

Carbs: 501 g

Fat: 73 g

I understand it's using lean body mass and that's why the protein looks so low. But the carbs also seem very high. Are the results of your calculator looking correct?

I calculate....

Wt :208

Ht: 5'8''

Age: 37

Fat %: I think 19-22

Moderate exercise

BMR Rest: 1973

BMR Motion: 3060

Average 2500 - (protein + fat) = 1165/4= 291 g of carbs

Final Totals:

Daily 2500

Protein: 163

Carbs: 291 g

Fat 73 g

Should I pull some calories from the others to supplement more protein? It just seems low. How do those numbers look?

Thanks.

Yeah it looks like you used the calculator correctly. The protein at the moment is only sitting at 1g per pound of lean weight. Because you're cutting, I'd suggest anywhere between 1.2g-1.5g protein per pound of lean weight, which would mean I'd have you aiming for around 195g-240g protein.

If you go with the 240g option, that would give you some room to reduce carbs further, and fats could still increase from 73g, going closer towards 100g. What do you think of these macros below...

Protein: 240g (960 Calories)

Carbs: 175g (700 Calories)

Fat: 100g (900 Calories)

Total Calories - 2560

Keep in mind that because your macros have been so low, you'll need to work your way up to these numbers slowly over the course of a couple of weeks. Don't just jump straight to 2500 calories daily, because that would be a 500-800 calorie jump in your case.