Hello,
I just wanted some extra advice in terms of learning what I need to eat each day to fill in my macros effectively.
First off, let me describe me:
- Male
- 6'0"
- 182lbs
- Moderate to very active lifestyle; my job requires me to be on my feet almost the entirety of my 8 to 10 hour shifts, also required to go up and down ladders and occasionally lift heavy objects. On the weekends, I am either working on my car, doing some form of manual labor, or camping or something of the sort.
- Do not consistently workout, and how often I workout over the course of X amount of days is hard to say for certain, however, the days that I do workout include a short run, and a couple sets of push ups, flutter kicks, etc. So, no, I do not perform 'real intense' workouts.
- I have been un-satisfied with my body for years, and recently took a liking to nutrition and paying attention to what I eat. My end goal is to gain muscle, while losing fat at the same time (due to increase muscle mass in general + watching what I eat). Just as long as I gain SOME muscle, and lost enough fat to be able to see my muscle, then I will be happy.
- I am vegan, so I do not have access to the high protein, satiating benefits of meat
- In addition to being vegan, cost is my main driving factor to what I eat. For example, as much as I want to add hemp hearts to my diet for their protein and low carb content, they are just too expensive.
For reference, today I kept track of EVERYTHING that I ate, and added up all of the numbers (this is a rather bland day of eating for me, normally though I eat tofu or tempeh to up my protein intake):
Breakfast:
2 cups rolled oats - 600 cal, 10 fat, 108 carbs, 20 prot
2 cups flax milk - 140 cal, 7 fat, 4 carbs, 16 prot
2 scoops protein powder - 150 cal, 4.5 fat, 3 carbs, 24 prot
1 tbsp chia seed - 60 cal, 4g fat, 5 carbs, 2 prot
= 950 calories, 25.5 fat, 120 carbs, 62 prot
Lunch:
2 medium bananas - 210 cal, 1 fat, 54 carbs, 2 prot
1 large apple - 150 cal, .5 fat, 37 carbs, .5 prot
= 360 cal, 1.5 fat, 91 carbs. 2.5 prot
Dinner:
1 can of beans - 350 cal, 57 carbs, 25 prot
1.5 cups spinach - 30 cal
3 servings multigrain chips - 420 cal, 21 fat, 51 carb, 6 prot
4 tbsps hummus - 120 cal, 9 fat, 8 carbs, 2 prot
= 920 cal, 30 fat, 116 carbs, 33 prot
Dessert:
1 cup blueberries - 85 cal, .5 fat, 21 carbs, 1 prot
1/2 bar dark chocolate -260 cal, 22 fat, 14 carbs, 4 prot
= 345 cal, 22.5 fat, 35 carbs, 5 prot
Total: 2,575 calories, 79.5 fat, 362 carbs, 102.5 prot
I have tried multiple online macro calculators, and they all give me between 2,600 to 3,200 needed calories. That just seems a little high, considering that I do not workout often - however, I am new to nutrition so I would very much like to learn what the nutrition and workout experts have to say; what would you change about my diet? I am wary that consuming too little calories forces your body into starvation mode, I just truly don't know what a good range of calories would be for me to consume.
As a rule, I avoid simple carbohydrate foods, I do not drink soda, consume candy bars, or highly processed foods such as boxed 'anything'. Less processed chips (multigrain or the likes), the occasional clif bar or bobo bar, or the occasional cookie or brownie are what I consider the "worst" things that I eat. I drink at least half a gallon of water a day - which is the only thing that I drink, besides flax milk or almond milk.
Please let me know what you think. Thanks!