HI all. I want to start by saying I worked in health and fitness about 15-20 years ago, doing a lot of holistic stuff, nutrition, functional training etc, I feel like now I forgotten a lot of what I learnt.
I wanted to get some guidance on Macros v macros +micros.
I currently weight 203, I am 5’11" and about 24%ish B/F.
My goal is 175lb or 12-15% b/f, understanding that I could weight 180 at 15%>
I have my caloric deficit and my protein carbs and fats goal, my question is this…
I have been saving a lot of recipes from IG so I can make different meals. The issue I am finding with these recipes is that they may say ‘x g of protein’ but they are using only good protein and some nasty other ingredients, like flour, and corn flakes (this eg was for a ‘healthy’ crumbed chicken alternative) or a number of other foods that I would consider unhealthy just to reach their carb goal, I feel like everyone is on the “If it fits your macros” merry-go-round.
Is it really just back to as long as you eat x calories which are made of of your % prot/fat/carbs (no matter what carb) that the body fat starts coming off?
I wanted to open up a longer thread as I have other things to say, but wanted to start with this.
Some carbs are easier to overeat and less satiating
Fiber and micronutrients matter from a health perspective, so getting all if your carbs from Poptarts or similar is probably not great
Some food sources just make me feel better than others. I do well with white rice and potatoes, but sweet potatoes upset my digestion, for instance.
I think that if you’re able to hit your macros, you’re eating a reasonably “healthy” assortment of things (fruit and vegetables go a long way here), and you don’t feel bad after you eat something, you’re likely 99% of the way there.
Kind of. Really, it’s that fat will come off if you’re in a deficit - no matter the macros (possibly not true if eating 100% sugar, but lets not go there).
If you want some healthy recipes that are actually healthy, I’d look into the Renaissance Periodization cookbooks - “Renaissance Kitchen” series. I can manage chicken and rice without much issue - the wife cannot. This book helps her with meal prep stuff.
BTW, if you aren’t meal prepping - i suggest you start.
I’m pretty with @TrevorLPT on this one and literature really seems to support the health aspect as well: eating fewer calories and having a lower bodyweight/ fat = healthier.
Some nuance plays in, though:
People way overestimate their caloric needs, so they justify too much garbage when hitting their macros.
We way underestimate how fat we are; pretty much falls with the above.
Folks don’t accurately weigh/ count everything, especially as their food choice gets “worse,” so that throws the whole thing off.
Folks think the calculator is divine guidance and refuse to adjust based on their own real-world results.
It’s simply impractical to count every morsel from here to end of life (unless you’re currently chewing on a pistol barrel). “Better” food choices are going to go a long way to managing your count for you (it’s harder to overeat them). You can also eat the exact same thing every day, but most of us say we do that and then grab a handful of this and a little of that.
So, anyway, I do agree that it’s a simple numbers game. I have seen for myself some blood markers do respond better to certain choices (i.e. better fats creates a better lipid profile), but I don’t think that’s divorced of simply reducing my total calories and bodyweight.
There are essential amino acids. We call them this because, if you do not eat them: you die.
There are essential fatty acids. Guess why we call them that?
There is no essential carbohydrate.
Having a “carb goal” makes no sense to me, especially since VERY few people are at any sort of risk of UNDEReating carbs. I can understand wanting to eat enough carbs to stay outside of ketosis, but beyond that, I see SO many trainees that are just pounding carbs simply because some macro calculator told them they “need” to eat that many carbs.
Most of us are office drones, and our only real activity is an hour or two a the gym a few times a week. We don’t need to fuel up like Michael Phelps. Long tangent to say: if I had a recipe that was just throwing carbs in it for the sake of carbs, I’d probably just eat something else instead.
Yes, I will be doing meal prep for sure, I don’t like having to think daily about 3 meals, I just like cooking, so planning on getting the macros right and then just prep.
You are 100% right, and this is why I wanted to ask. I understand from a an energetic efficiency point carbs, especially post training to refill gylcogen stores, and there are many many ways to get that back in your system. This was also what baffled me as part of my main point in the first post is that they were using so many dirty carbs and what I would have considered excessive quantities. When I say carb goal, it was just a phrase, my allocation is 50-70g per day.
Some good points to think about, thanks for the reply.
Thanks all, this has been super helpful, I am going to probably start a log in the log section which will need to conincide with the competition, so I"ll take this info and pass it on over there.
Got my first few planned sessions in this week. I am using the method on here that is labeled “how to build superhero Muscle”. I am doing this in a 3 week on phase with a deload week being the week of christmas, because I will be in AZ with no gym, so that week I will be doing more calisthenics and body weight stuff.
If anyone has done that workout, would love a little advice. It is only 2 sets for most of the lift and it says that it should be your 10 rep weight for that exercise. I don’t know that I feel taxed enough. If I add in a 3rd set, that would increase my time under tension (the programe has some specific Eccentric movement numbers) as well as overall load.
I chose this becuase it does focus on upper body, which is what I want to do for the first phase of my program while I rehab.
Any thoughts? Below is the link to my training log where I’ll just update the workouts with notes.
I’m unfamiliar with that program, but I’d get through the first week as written. If you feel able to do more at that point, then a 3rd set seems reasonable.
I believe 6 weeks to superhero is a Christian Thibaudeau program… if it is, the fatigue sneaks up on you.