Need Some Help Adjusting Diet

Nutrition
1

Hi guys im 160 pounds at the moment and i have stopped lifting for around 4 months now due to some chronic injuries that i am trying to fix once and for all before i pick up lifting again.
I aim to eat 130 grams of protein every day and on days i do some bodyweight exercises i might eat a little more.

I train Bjj 5 times a week and i’m pretty sure i eat less calories than i burn most of the days, especially when you include what i burn wth Bjj.
After years of counting every calorie i stopped and just focus on my protein intake.

Now the thing i dont get is my weight is remaining the same, first i thought the explanation could be that i ate enough protein to maintain muscle mass and that i was even gaining a little muscles in a couple of muscles that i normally underused due to activation problems, bad technique, tight muscles etc. (like glutes, lower traps) so while burning some fat i figured i also gained some beginnergain-muscle which made my weight stay the same.

But lately i have been noticing my fat % doesnt seem to get any less, so this theory doesnt really hold. After 4 months of undereating calorie wise and lots of exercise my fat% doesnt seem to change…

(Looking to get as lean as possible and maintain as much muscle as possible and i dont mind everything going a little slower than say if i were to eat say 200 grams of protein i understand that would be more optimal)

2

I don’t know much about your training specifics (I assume you do weight training in addition to BJJ?). Regardless, doing x5 BJJ sessions a week should be burning a stack of energy. You may be doing too much and having cortisol issues but this is a bit of a guess without knowing more about your diet/training. Judging from the injuries you mention, it could be a factor. For this reason, recovery is key.

From personal knowledge of combining martial arts and weights, I would suggest bumping up the protein slightly (30-50g). That said, I genuinely believe it is possible to build mass with far less protein than traditionally advised (but that’s based on personal experience). The simplest answer to your query is an increase in quality carbs, e.g. sweet potato, rice, quinoa, etc. Assuming your recovery is good everything else should follow.