Nutrition Plan: Am I on the Right Track?

[abetterme]

Age: 26
Weight: 114kg - 251 lbs
Height: 185cm - 6''1
BF%: Unknown
Activity Level: Zero atm

To work out my daily calorie intake I used Markos formula from one of his PTC Newsletters:

114kg x 2.2046 (1lbs) = 251lbs (bodyweight) x 10 (to lose weight) = 2510 Calories.

Daily Calories: 2510 Breakdown: Fat 139g / 50% Pro 219g / 35% Carb 94g / 15%

Using the AusBB BMR calculator:

BMR: 2171 calories.
Average Daily Calorie: 2605 calories

Now this is my first effort of making up a food plan and using Excel spreadsheet.. 'It would be easier' she said... I was fine to use pen and paper so bare with me.

I've used Calorie King to get all those figures and after alot of fudging around with different protein for dinner to mix it up I thought I would make one solid plan hence Pic #2

ONE: Am I on the right track?
TWO: I've broken down FATx9/PROx4/CARBx4 so why doesn't ROW 29 ACTUAL INTAKE match ROW 19 TOTAL?
THREE: I realise I haven't hit my DAILY INTAKE TOTALS except PRO will I still be able to get away with it?

Any input would be greatly appreciated

Cheers
abetterme

 

[Semillon]

One: The specific breakdown of foods you plan to eat are irrelevant in my view, however your target macro nutrients sound good.

Two: Many foods, especially green vegies, have much of their carb count made up of dietary fiber which for the most part is not digested and thus the calorie count for those foods is lower

Three: It might really work for you, that is a lot of protein to consume every day, personally I would want more fats in my diet

 

[Bazza20]

I would be going for more carbs. Less than 100g of carbs a day sucks.

 

[nazzysmith]

Download fitness pal on your phone...

 

[Sydking]

dont jump into a diet ect thinking you will just be eating that....... Becasue you wont. And i for one would rather top myself.

Set marcos. Eat AS MANY good foods you can to fill them, Plenty of water and if your consitanct your on the road to good.

 

[Sydking]

also your scoth fillet macros are way way off, And you cant say no fat, They are a cut of meat full of fat.

 

[March83]

I would be going for more carbs. Less than 100g of carbs a day sucks.

lol: i would be going for less carbs. more than 100g of carbs a days sucks (for me). i guess we're all different though...

what are your specific targets? i assume that you want to lose fat?

at your dimensions i would guess that the AUSBB derived maintenance calories is probably more accurate. i have similar stats to you, just with less bodyfat and losing weight on 2500cals just isn't going to happen for me. at the moment i'm very slowly trying to strip body fat in an attempt to see single figure BF% and i use different calorie allowances for different days and my biggest day of eating only 2700cals, i'm very active and my weight loss has been very slow.

if you assume that your maintenance level is 2600 then dropping down to -20% (so about 2080) should see you in a deficit of ~500cals per day (which should be bearable mentally, physically, metabolically, hormonally) and should see you dropping a kilo every 2 weeks. if you stick to this and the rate of loss is faster/slower than expected after a month then you should re-asses your maintenance.

If you're weight training and want to maintain or increase muscle mass then yeah, hit 200g+ of protein, but if you're just trying to strip weight as quickly as possible and can accept a loss of muscle mass then this is more than you need.

regarding the carbs - eat as many as you need to keep training the way you want to train but no more. you may be surprised how little or how much you actually need, but everyone is different in this respect. carbs are the least satisfying macro on a calorie for calorie basis so by that logic eating fat or protein over carbs will make adherence to a calorie restricted diet that little bit easier.

make sure you take occasional breaks. living in deficit screws with your hormones (leptin, cortisol, everything...). it's the net calories from week to week and month to month over a long period of time that matter and so long as you can keep this deficit intact then there's nothing wrong with taking a break to fill up on the stuff you love to eat every few weeks.

edit: too many shakes - don't bother unless you NEED more protein (which at nearly 300g, you don't).

also, good work with the "nutritional information" - i do something similar (ie, keep a database of entries to be re-used as required). you will discover very quickly that you eat very similar stuff/servings from day to day and that you're just repeatedly logging the same foods over and over again...

 

[Bazza20]

lol: i would be going for less carbs. more than 100g of carbs a days sucks (for me). i guess we're all different though...

I like keeping carbs up high during a cut. Keeps strength levels up or even increasing. At the moment I am getting min 300g carbs a day and that is low for me. But I suppose my maintenance is around 4000 calories and 5000 during footy season.

 

[March83]

way off topic, but yeah, i find it very interesting how different people respond to certain macro splits. i run WAAAY better with <50g carbs, cycling them on only for very particular high intensity anaerobic workouts. with an ongoing low carb intake i can do things like ride my bike for 4hrs at good intensity at the tail end of a 16hr fast. with carbs in the mix i simply can't do that. i also recover better (less muscle soreness, fatigue and post-exercise sleepiness) and i'm not susceptible to the insulin comas that used to leave me knocked out for the rest of the day after a long ride.

i totally accept that i may not be the norm.

also, interestingly, my maintenance at 6'1" and 90kg is about 2000cals - jealous that you get to eat 2x as much food as me :\ I have to do a butt-load of exercise to even get to eat at 2500cals/day...

 

[abetterme]

*Opens thread, info overload, head explodes*

Thanks for your input guys..

Two: Many foods, especially green vegies, have much of their carb count made up of dietary fiber which for the most part is not digested and thus the calorie count for those foods is lower

Is it ignorant of me to then say I could pretty much stack up on green vegies?

I have signed up for myfitnesspal and Im trying to navigate my way around the site.

Re: sticking to a diet - Im aiming to show discipline through eating for a minimum of 4 weeks following my plan once I have it fine tuned since all my life I have lacked discipline in the eating department..

Yes my target is to lose weight through nutrition and lifting.

I had not considered stripping weight quickly and accepting muscle mass loss so excusing my naivness, my protein intake should be more than enough to maintain/increase muscle mass?

Please bare with me as its very overwhelming trying to grasp calories:

If, for example, I stick to my current macros and food plan posted here but also lift 3 times a week and weighted cardio twice does that mean I'll create a deficit through burning calories versus calories eaten?

I will work on my plan and make adjustments replacing a shake or two with something else that benefits fats/carbs.. we shall see what I come up with.

Im going to keep my food log in Excel and will track everything in there once I start adding other items as my calorie intake change.

edit - My brain is fryed atm and I have seriously sat on this reply for the last hour or so, so If i dont make sense I apology.. aargghh

 

[Semillon]

Is it ignorant of me to then say I could pretty much stack up on green vegies?

The calories still count, its just that carbs * 4 will not = calories for these foods, or any foods with dietary fiber. As a general rule, it will be beneficial for you to eat lots of vegetables of course, assuming they fit within your macro nutrient goals.

 

[nazzysmith]

Im going to keep my food log in Excel and will track everything in there once I start adding other items as my calorie intake change.

If excel works for you then do that....

But your recreating the wheel... My fitness pal does all that for you...

Don't over complicate things...

You don't need 6 meals (Unless this is what suits you)... It is easier to track 3 bigger meals... (I eat two meals for 2650 cals a day)

Rather then worry about your macros... Just concentrate on learning to track your calories consistently for a couple of weeks...

Success flows directly from your ability to consistently calorie count... This includes cheat days when you have a few beers or a bar of chocolate....

Once you gain a snap shot of how you eat... you can then start adjusting your macros and calorie intake to suit....

 

[March83]

Is it ignorant of me to then say I could pretty much stack up on green vegies?

no it's not and it works to some extent, but you're not going to hit your protein and fat requirements solely eating veggies - you do need to eat something else. every night before dinner i eat a bowl of ~half a kilo of mixed veggies (brocc, cauli, zucc, cabbage or whatever's going) plus some water to help fill me up. fibre, fat and protein all play an important role in "satiety" which is what stops you from eating any more...

I had not considered stripping weight quickly and accepting muscle mass loss so excusing my naivness, my protein intake should be more than enough to maintain/increase muscle mass?

more than enough. 200g + 3x weights sessions per week should produce an increase in muscle mass. 300g is just unnecessary, especially when some of that is made up of supplements (shakes). drink them if you don't mind paying for them and think they're delicious, but if you're expecting to gain more muscle by drinking them then it's not going to happen.

If, for example, I stick to my current macros and food plan posted here but also lift 3 times a week and weighted cardio twice does that mean I'll create a deficit through burning calories versus calories eaten?

yes, that will work, but the more energy you expend, the more your appetite increases. lifting is all well and good, but you're only really doing weighted cardio to increase your energy expenditure and allow yourself to eat more calories and not feel like you're starving yourself...

 

[Semillon]

I had not considered stripping weight quickly and accepting muscle mass loss so excusing my naivness, my protein intake should be more than enough to maintain/increase muscle mass?

I believe that 300g of protein per day for you while attempting to lose weight is excessive, 200g would be plenty.

Please bare with me as its very overwhelming trying to grasp calories:

If, for example, I stick to my current macros and food plan posted here but also lift 3 times a week and weighted cardio twice does that mean I'll create a deficit through burning calories versus calories eaten?

Its pretty simple, change in weight = [calories in] - [calories burned]

In order to lose weight, you can either reduce calories, burn more calories or both. The rate at which your body burns calories while rested is an individual thing, the only way to truly know what your maintenance calories will be for your current level of activity is to try eat a fixed amount for 2-3 weeks and see how it goes, then adjust calories or activity accordingly.

You are on the right track, don't overthink things, just start at 2600 calories and see how it goes.

 

[abetterme]

nazzysmith - I now get what you meant by myfitnesspal *hurrduurr moment on my own behalf* I suck at Excel anyway and for the simplicity of your statement I will now track 3 bigger meals.

I will now make it my goal to track calories (whilst being honest with myself) for 2 weeks whilst I start out.

March83 - Again you are further helping my understanding of protein-nutrition/weights/cardio and how they play out in reflecting calories and expenditure

Its pretty simple, change in weight = [calories in] - [calories burned]
*snip*
You are on the right track, don't overthink things, just start at 2600 calories and see how it goes.

All this info is helping me heaps and Im very gratefull for all your guys advice.

Cheers

 

[nazzysmith]

nazzysmith - I now get what you meant by myfitnesspal *hurrduurr moment on my own behalf* I suck at Excel anyway and for the simplicity of your statement I will now track 3 bigger meals.

I will now make it my goal to track calories (whilst being honest with myself) for 2 weeks whilst I start out.

March83 - Again you are further helping my understanding of protein-nutrition/weights/cardio and how they play out in reflecting calories and expenditure



All this info is helping me heaps and Im very gratefull for all your guys advice.

Cheers

Mate!

You will be suprised how easy weight loss is once you gain control of your calorie intake...

Inevitably as you look for ways to reduce calories you generally end up eating healthier foods cause they have lower calories... But psychologically you have the benefit of eating what every you want...

Notably you can still eat ice cream chocolate big macs and french fries... All depends on what your prepared to trade it off against...

Everyone is different... At some stage you will figure out a diet and meal timing that is unique to you and works...

There is only one basic requirement for weight loss... A Calorie deficit...

To maintain lean mass... Lift heavy 3 times a week and eat 1.5gm protein per kilo of body weight...

 

[abetterme]

So this is what I've put together and I plan to follow this for 4 weeks starting today.

I will be using this as my weights program mon/wed/fri:

Ausbb - Australian BodyBuilding - View Single Post - Beginners program

I will be tracking my progress and Im looking forward to see results.

 

[Semillon]

Looks good mate, best of luck.

 

[jzpowahz]

Because I find FOR ME that carbs are a lot more filling than fats I'd up them a bit and lower fats e.g. use half the amount of olive oil and some sort of marinade with you're cooking. And it should taste a whole lot better too

 

[abetterme]

Cheers thanks for that..

And yeah Im yet to realise what different carb vs fat intakes will do for me but Im sure to find out as I go through with this plan.