New to macros; please give me your advise

[Alex.stmpnk]

hello guys
So; I continue learning about this lifestyle and I have learned now the importance of having a good nutrition while on AAS; I have to admit that for the first 4 weeks of my current cycle I didn't care about nutrition and I realize now that I might have been in a catabolic state; I estimate I was eating about 1200 cal per day.
So; here is my second day watching my macros, I am trying to keep carbs low to maximize fat burning; so, tell me what you think, am I on the right path to fat burning and preserving muscle mass?? Or even increasing muscle???
Thanks a lot

 

[Ray9]

What is your cycle?' and whats your stats?

 

[Alex.stmpnk]

What is your cycle?' and whats your stats?

I'm on test E 500mg a week; arimidex 0.5 mg EOD and tamoxifen 10 mg daily and 250 IU HCG 3x a week.
My stats are 5 ft 7 in; 165 lbs and 15% bf; male 33 years old
Thanks!

 

[Eman]

How in the actual fuck are you eating a meal like lunch that contains 237 calories? I'll use the term "meal" loosely... The proper term is a light snack.

1200cal a day on average?

If I were going to give you good advice I'd tell you to forget about taking steroids... It'll be a fruitless endeavor for you.

Now that I've got that out of my system... What are your goals?

Best way to organize this is to first find your TDEE, look it up. Use a few calculators, figure up an average and go from there.

Once you have a TDEE established, decide if you want to lose weight or gain it. Let's say your TDEE is 3000cal, if you want to gain weight then start eating 3500-4000cal... Lose weight, start eating around 2500cal.

Macros - you can do this any number of ways, easiest for you will probably be to get about 1-1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight. I'd shoot for at least 200 grams a day at your bodyweight. Then you have fats and carbs, you can split them evenly to get the rest of your calorie needs or you can get more of one and less of the other depending on what kind of foods you like.

The math works out like this: 4 Cal per gram of carb, 4 Cal per gram of protein and 9 Cal per gram of fat... Bonus - 7 cal per gram of alcohol.

 

[Rockclimber]

Calories way way way too low. 109 fats is too high, its better to have more carbs while on cycle. Try for a 40-40-20 ratio between protein, carbs, fat.

 

[Alex.stmpnk]

How in the actual fuck are you eating a meal like lunch that contains 237 calories? I'll use the term "meal" loosely... The proper term is a light snack.

1200cal a day on average?

If I were going to give you good advice I'd tell you to forget about taking steroids... It'll be a fruitless endeavor for you.

Now that I've got that out of my system... What are your goals?

Best way to organize this is to first find your TDEE, look it up. Use a few calculators, figure up an average and go from there.

Once you have a TDEE established, decide if you want to lose weight or gain it. Let's say your TDEE is 3000cal, if you want to gain weight then start eating 3500-4000cal... Lose weight, start eating around 2500cal.

Macros - you can do this any number of ways, easiest for you will probably be to get about 1-1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight. I'd shoot for at least 200 grams a day at your bodyweight. Then you have fats and carbs, you can split them evenly to get the rest of your calorie needs or you can get more of one and less of the other depending on what kind of foods you like.

The math works out like this: 4 Cal per gram of carb, 4 Cal per gram of protein and 9 Cal per gram of fat... Bonus - 7 cal per gram of alcohol.

Thanks for your advise; I know I have not been doing this the right way and I am working to correct this; I will calculate the TDEE; my goal is to burn fat while preserving lean muscle.
So, regarding macross I agree with you; I am aiming to at least 240 he protein a day and keep carbs real low; I've read about ketosis and it seems to be an effective way to burn fat,

 

[Alex.stmpnk]

Calories way way way too low. 109 fats is too high, its better to have more carbs while on cycle. Try for a 40-40-20 ratio between protein, carbs, fat.

But more carbs = more body fat, right??? I am aiming to achieve a ketogenic state; I've read wonders about the keto diet; my only doubt is if being on ketosis also burns lean muscle as well as fat

 

[Eman]

Thanks for your advise; I know I have not been doing this the right way and I am working to correct this; I will calculate the TDEE; my goal is to burn fat while preserving lean muscle.
So, regarding macross I agree with you; I am aiming to at least 240 he protein a day and keep carbs real low; I've read about ketosis and it seems to be an effective way to burn fat,

But more carbs = more body fat, right??? I am aiming to achieve a ketogenic state; I've read wonders about the keto diet; my only doubt is if being on ketosis also burns lean muscle as well as fat

Chill out with your little war on carbs there dude... Stop thinking in terms of carbs and start thinking in terms of calories.

If you want to do keto, that's fine. I'll tell you why I prefer not to utilize this method:

• You really can't cheat or be flexible on keto. If you want a cookie, forget it. If I flexible diet, I can almost always make room for a cookie or a candy bar or something and STILL burn fat.
• I don't want to feel/look like my muscles are flat with zero carbs.
• I don't want keto breath.
• It's not a sustainable way for me personally to diet for a long period of time.
• I don't want to sacrifice strength and feel like shit while my body is going to ketosis.
• I don't want to sacrifice strength and feel like shit while my body is going BACK into ketosis because I decided to enjoy myself with a few cookies... Cookies I could have eaten without a problem if I was flex dieting.
• Fats are not THAT satiating to me... Unless it's a steak maybe. I feel a lot fuller if I have carbs with my meal. You need a LOT of fat to get your macros right to get into keto too... I'm not really into a side of butter or Olive oil with my steak.

Now, none of this means that keto isn't an effective way to diet... It's just not for me. If I had cancer, I would very much consider going to a keto diet. Other than that, I am more than happy getting the same kind of results with a sustainable diet that includes moderate carbs and fats.

Docd is going to cream his pants if he reads this.

 

[Docd187123]

Chill out with your little war on carbs there dude... Stop thinking in terms of carbs and start thinking in terms of calories.

If you want to do keto, that's fine. I'll tell you why I prefer not to utilize this method:

• You really can't cheat or be flexible on keto. If you want a cookie, forget it. If I flexible diet, I can almost always make room for a cookie or a candy bar or something and STILL burn fat.
• I don't want to feel/look like my muscles are flat with zero carbs.
• I don't want keto breath.
• It's not a sustainable way for me personally to diet for a long period of time.
• I don't want to sacrifice strength and feel like shit while my body is going to ketosis.
• I don't want to sacrifice strength and feel like shit while my body is going BACK into ketosis because I decided to enjoy myself with a few cookies... Cookies I could have eaten without a problem if I was flex dieting.
• Fats are not THAT satiating to me... Unless it's a steak maybe. I feel a lot fuller if I have carbs with my meal. You need a LOT of fat to get your macros right to get into keto too... I'm not really into a side of butter or Olive oil with my steak.

Now, none of this means that keto isn't an effective way to diet... It's just not for me. If I had cancer, I would very much consider going to a keto diet. Other than that, I am more than happy getting the same kind of results with a sustainable diet that includes moderate carbs and fats.

Docd is going to cream his pants if he reads this.

I need tissues. Lots of them.

To all my friends out there, now is the time to buy stock in Kleenex....

 

[Alex.stmpnk]

Chill out with your little war on carbs there dude... Stop thinking in terms of carbs and start thinking in terms of calories.

If you want to do keto, that's fine. I'll tell you why I prefer not to utilize this method:

• You really can't cheat or be flexible on keto. If you want a cookie, forget it. If I flexible diet, I can almost always make room for a cookie or a candy bar or something and STILL burn fat.
• I don't want to feel/look like my muscles are flat with zero carbs.
• I don't want keto breath.
• It's not a sustainable way for me personally to diet for a long period of time.
• I don't want to sacrifice strength and feel like shit while my body is going to ketosis.
• I don't want to sacrifice strength and feel like shit while my body is going BACK into ketosis because I decided to enjoy myself with a few cookies... Cookies I could have eaten without a problem if I was flex dieting.
• Fats are not THAT satiating to me... Unless it's a steak maybe. I feel a lot fuller if I have carbs with my meal. You need a LOT of fat to get your macros right to get into keto too... I'm not really into a side of butter or Olive oil with my steak.

Now, none of this means that keto isn't an effective way to diet... It's just not for me. If I had cancer, I would very much consider going to a keto diet. Other than that, I am more than happy getting the same kind of results with a sustainable diet that includes moderate carbs and fats.

Docd is going to cream his pants if he reads this.

I know adhering to a keto diet might be a pain in the ass; but I tend to gain fat very easily with carbs; or maybe I was not eating the right kind of carbs (complex carbs); so that's why I'm kind of carbofobic; could you share with me a link to a flex diet as you call it or some articles with more info?? Or even better an example of your diet and how it has worked for you??

 

[Docd187123]

A Primer on DCA/IIFYM for Aspiring Dieters

 

[Eman]

Or even better an example of your diet and how it has worked for you??

Sure! I've been dieting for about 16 weeks and I've lost about 20 pounds... I think I've lost about 8% bodyfat, that's a little tricky to measure for me but I'm trying to improve it. Calipers are a bitch.

I've adjusted my calories lower as I've progressed, I'm at around 2600 calories now. Protein at 260, fat at 85 and carbs at 190. If I want to get a higher carb day, I eat less fats. Want a big burger? I have less carbs for the rest of day... If you start getting worried about "good and bad carbs" you're going to make it awfully hard on yourself.

Something else to consider about keto, you'll hear stories about how people lose ten pounds in the first week or two of keto... I'll let you in on a secret, they didn't lose ten pounds of fat. I can gain or lose ten pounds in a day depending on what my carb intake has been and where my weight is at.

I have been able to eat just about whatever I want and still consistently lose weight, I was on vacation for about a week over July 4th and stopped tracking and I did gain weight but it was more to do with the extra carbs I was getting... Once I got back into my routine for a week I was not only back to pre vacation weight but I had lost an additional pound.

I have at least one high carb day a week also. Sometimes more, sometimes none... Just depends. It's easier for me to just stay consistent but I do get great results by a cheat day or just a clean high carb day.

Hope this helps.

Edit- I really enjoy Layne Norton's articles regarding diet and nutrition... He's working with a company now called Avatar Nutrition that I think is really cool, it's a paid service though. I recommend checking him out.

 

[Alex.stmpnk]

Sure! I've been dieting for about 16 weeks and I've lost about 20 pounds... I think I've lost about 8% bodyfat, that's a little tricky to measure for me but I'm trying to improve it. Calipers are a bitch.

I've adjusted my calories lower as I've progressed, I'm at around 2600 calories now. Protein at 260, fat at 85 and carbs at 190. If I want to get a higher carb day, I eat less fats. Want a big burger? I have less carbs for the rest of day... If you start getting worried about "good and bad carbs" you're going to make it awfully hard on yourself.

Something else to consider about keto, you'll hear stories about how people lose ten pounds in the first week or two of keto... I'll let you in on a secret, they didn't lose ten pounds of fat. I can gain or lose ten pounds in a day depending on what my carb intake has been and where my weight is at.

I have been able to eat just about whatever I want and still consistently lose weight, I was on vacation for about a week over July 4th and stopped tracking and I did gain weight but it was more to do with the extra carbs I was getting... Once I got back into my routine for a week I was not only back to pre vacation weight but I had lost an additional pound.

I have at least one high carb day a week also. Sometimes more, sometimes none... Just depends. It's easier for me to just stay consistent but I do get great results by a cheat day or just a clean high carb day.

Hope this helps.

Edit- I really enjoy Layne Norton's articles regarding diet and nutrition... He's working with a company now called Avatar Nutrition that I think is really cool, it's a paid service though. I recommend checking him out.

Thanks for your input; I am also planning to have one carb day per week; to recharge glycogen according to what I have read in an article about the "anabolic diet"; for starters I can say that after 3 days of monitoring my macros and the increased caloric intake I feel a lot better with more energy; I can't believe I haven't paid attention to a proper nutrition before. I will check the articles and the information @Doc187123 shared, thanks a lot
What is your cycle by the way???

 

[Eman]

Thanks for your input; I am also planning to have one carb day per week; to recharge glycogen according to what I have read in an article about the "anabolic diet"; for starters I can say that after 3 days of monitoring my macros and the increased caloric intake I feel a lot better with more energy; I can't believe I haven't paid attention to a proper nutrition before. I will check the articles and the information @Doc187123 shared, thanks a lot

My suggestion to you would be to keep it simple right now. The Anabolic Diet really isn't a keto diet, at least not a traditional one. Dr. Pasquale mentions several times in his book it's not a keto diet if I recall correctly.

I love the idea of the Anabolic Diet but I don't know that it translates to real world application all that well... But, I haven't actually put it to practice myself because I prefer consistency. Strength is also a big goal for me so fluctuating carbs often means fluctuating strength... No, thanks.

I'm not on cycle right now. My next cycle will be around mid November probably... It will include test, npp, anadrol and GH.

 

[MassiveEating]

I didn't read anything except the calories you are consuming, start eating more progressively until you start gaining weight, keep it there to bulk, back up a little to maintain or reduce a little to cut. You'll figure out your numbers in some time.

 

[Alex.stmpnk]

My suggestion to you would be to keep it simple right now. The Anabolic Diet really isn't a keto diet, at least not a traditional one. Dr. Pasquale mentions several times in his book it's not a keto diet if I recall correctly.

I love the idea of the Anabolic Diet but I don't know that it translates to real world application all that well... But, I haven't actually put it to practice myself because I prefer consistency. Strength is also a big goal for me so fluctuating carbs often means fluctuating strength... No, thanks.

I'm not on cycle right now. My next cycle will be around mid November probably... It will include test, npp, anadrol and GH.

Thanks for the advise; my goal is to achieve a lean physique; not looking to get huge and super strong; so I guess the "flat" muscle appearance due to low carbs should not be a problem to me; man!!! It's hard to eat all this food thru the day; I realize now how bad my nutrition was; that explains why I had very little gains until now; hope this will improve as I improve my nutrition

 

[Alex.stmpnk]

I didn't read anything except the calories you are consuming, start eating more progressively until you start gaining weight, keep it there to bulk, back up a little to maintain or reduce a little to cut. You'll figure out your numbers in some time.

Yeah; it's been hard to eat all this much food since I'm not used to it; I even bought an optimum nutrition whey protein shake to suplement my daily protein intake and I can barely manage to hit the 200 ~ 240 g of protein and 2000 ~ 2300 calories; I will continue increasing my caloric intake until I find the numbers that work best for me; thanks a lot for the advise

 

[Rockclimber]

Brother,
12oz chicken = 91g protein
ON protein shake = 48g protein
That is in water, add milk for more protein.
That is lunch 1 and 2 right there. This is easy, don't overthink it.

 

[MassiveEating]

Yeah; it's been hard to eat all this much food since I'm not used to it; I even bought an optimum nutrition whey protein shake to suplement my daily protein intake and I can barely manage to hit the 200 ~ 240 g of protein and 2000 ~ 2300 calories; I will continue increasing my caloric intake until I find the numbers that work best for me; thanks a lot for the advise

That's right mate, keep adding calories and you will get used to it, trust me. I started a bulk couple of months ago, I was struggling to get 3800 calories so I had a shake after breakfast to achieve them. After a month or so I got used and could even raise to 4300 without feeling bad and without shakes. Right now I'm at 4000 all whole foods and I'm feel fine.

 

[Alex.stmpnk]

That's right mate, keep adding calories and you will get used to it, trust me. I started a bulk couple of months ago, I was struggling to get 3800 calories so I had a shake after breakfast to achieve them. After a month or so I got used and could even raise to 4300 without feeling bad and without shakes. Right now I'm at 4000 all whole foods and I'm feel fine.

Wow; 4000 calories that's impressive; i will try to add more calories next week; I still need to calculate my TDEE; will do it this weekend