What percentage of fat, carbs, and protein should I consume when trying to build muscle?
I have started weightlifting but I feel like I lack the proper nuitrition knowledge. I want to gain muscle mass, so what percent of fat, calories, and protein should I eat of my daily calorie intake, and also I am 6’3 195 is 4000 calories right or should i try to eat more cal.
August 5th, 2010 at 11:11 pm
The breakdown for building muscle should be 33/33/33 and as for calories eat as many as you can without getting fat.
August 5th, 2010 at 11:48 pm
I don’t think you have to focus on percentage as much as amount. If you are building muscle you need 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. You need healthy fats, but you should limit them. Best to get it from fish, nuts, and olive oils. Carbs are a tricky subject – they are good for energy but avoid the white breads and things that break down quickly into sugar.
Good luck.
August 6th, 2010 at 12:27 am
You’ll need to consume…
16-18 calories per pound of body weight,
1 gram of protein per lb.,
20% of fat from total calorie intake,
and the rest in carbohyderates.
If you find you’ve stopped (or cannot start) gaining weight than increase your by 300-500 calories per week, good luck!
August 6th, 2010 at 1:05 am
First, let’s get a rough idea of how many calories you need to maintain. To do that, take your weight (195) and multiply it by 11 (that gives you 2,145). From there, multiply that number by 1.25 if you’re mostly sedentary, 1.3 if you’re moderately active, or 1.35 if you’re very active. Since you’re lifting we’ll go with very active. That comes out to 2,895.75 calories just to maintain your weight. Now, bear in mind this is a rough estimate — you may need more or less. Since you’re trying to build muscle, let’s ball-park it at 3,000 calories per day. If you want to add one pound of muscle per week (and that’s really about all you’ll be able to do unless you’re genetically gifted to add muscle easily), add 500 calories per day. That would be 3,500 calories a day to build muscle.
A basic rule of thumb for men who are trying to build muscle is to get one gram of protein per pound of body weight per day. That would be 195g (780 calories worth) per day. The rest would be split evenly between carbs and fat. That means you’d need to get 1,360 calories per day from fat and the same from carbs. That’s 340g of carbs per day and about 150g of fat per day.
A few warnings:
1. Eating extra protein will make your kidneys work harder, but there’s an easy fix: Drink more water — aim for at least 3/4 of a gallon per day or at least 1 gallon on workout days.
2. Your fat intake needs to be at least 80% monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fat. Avoid trans fat like the plague, and keep saturated fat (found mostly in dairy products and meats) to a minimum. Best sources of the fats you want are: Avocadoes, eggs, fish, fish oil, flax seed, flax seed oil, nuts, and olive oil.
3. Some carbs are better than others. Fresh fruits and vegetables are better than fruit or vegetable juice, whole grain breads, cereals, and pasta are better than those made with white flour, sweet potatoes are better than white potatoes, brown rice is better than white rice, and keep processed sugar to a minimum. Also, avoid high fructose corn syrup like the plague (soft drinks and energy drinks are LOADED with it).
August 6th, 2010 at 1:20 am
4000 seems way too much, even for someone 6’3. I suggest between 2800-3200 calories per day. Remember, most abundant calories turn into fat if you are unable to burn it off thru cardio.
On an off day (i.e. when not lifting), consume about 75-80% compared to lifting days.
I am not expert enough to tell you how much fat, but in the mass building stage, you should get some fat thru meats like pork or chicken.
Protein level should be between 1 and 2 grams per pound of body weight, consumed best after each meal and spread out throughout the day. So for a 195lb guy, it should be minimum 39 grams of whey protein after each meal on a 5-meal diet. This doesn’t include the pre and post-workout protein shakes.
August 6th, 2010 at 1:33 am
how much cardio are you doing? how much muscle are you trying to gain over how much time? are you strength training or are you lifting for general fitness? 4000 calories sounds high for your weight. you WILL gain weight at that rate, but id venture to say all of it wont be muscle. every body is different and over time you will settle in on a diet that works best for you. im sorry i cant give you percentages, but i wouldnt recommend sticking to them anyway. imagine lifting hard one day, you tear through your 60 minutes and feel incredibly strong or possibly setting a new personal best.
later that night after your shake and dinner, youre still hungry. should you now say, “well i ate my calories for the day, i cant eat anymore” thus sacrificing all the gains you just made? heck no!
stick to high quality calories (theres a difference between 500 mcdonalds calories and 500 steak/potatos/steamed veggies calories!).
shoot for 1 gram of protein per pound of LEAN body mass. depending on your fat percentage, you might be anywhere from 100 – 160 grams of protein each day.
remember, it takes energy to process protein, so you need carbs when you take protein in.
no supplement can replace actual food.
sore muscles are hungry muscles.
drink your shake IMMEDIATELY after your workout, when youre still at the gym.
get a book that starts you in on the basics of nutrition. you can then use your newly gained knowledge and apply it specifically to your wants and needs. check out amazon on which book to get, i find their user reviews pretty helpful at times and thre are several tailored to sports nutrition.
“effort is often the difference between winning and losing” – US navy seals
August 6th, 2010 at 1:56 am
Calories and protein are the most important of what you listed.
To calculate protein:
http://www.kqzyfj.com/click-2846629-10523302
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