Macro Breakdown (Me)

In one of our many fitness and food related discussions, Ryan and I thought, pondered, argued, and debated over a few topics involving macronutrient breakdown and nutrient timing. That said I'd like to write a duel post -- one involving my thoughts and one involving his (or maybe he'll write it!). First, one is on macro breakdown.

Please keep in mind, although some of our goals are the same such as building muscle and staying lean, we've come at it from very different places mentally and physically. While I was frequently yo-yo dieting and more than half of the time, overweight, he was always a "skinny kid" trying desperately to put on mass and muscle. I have gone through the dangerous route of anorexia while he has experimented with bulking and cutting in a much more healthy way. This means, of couse, our interpretations will be slightly different and our focus on different things.

This is mine.


Macro Breakdown:

I've read a lot about different types of macronutrient breakdown in terms of diets. Most everyone is familiar with "high-protein low-carb" Atkins type diets as well as the popular "low-fat" type of diets etc. I read a great book once on training for women called "The New Rules of Weight Lifting for Women" by Lou Shculer, Cassandra Forsythe and Alwyn Cosgrove. If you haven't already read it, I highly suggest it. The authors also write a version for men (the original version I believe) called "The New Rules of Lifting". In the book it argued for a 40/30/30 split carbs/prot/fat.

In my experimentation with macro breakdowns, I have found this one works the best for me. I keep myself within a range though, and tend to be on the higher end for protein and the lower end for fat (up to 40/35/25 :: c/p/f). I have nothing against fat, nor am I scared of it, I just find that I don't eat a lot of it naturally.

Bodybuilding.com's Muscle Macro Breakdown.

I watch my macros about as closely as I watch my calories, if not more so. I always shoot for between 110-150 g of protein/day = 1-1.4g/lb of BW. I aim for the higher end on lifting days (especially on back and leg days) and am fine with the lower end on non-lifting days. I get between 125-175 g of carbs/day, although a good 30-ish g of this is from dietary fiber.

In talking to my nutritionist, she told me I should be trying to up the carbs especially pre and post workout, so I have been trying to incorporate this in on workout days. This fits more under the nutrient timing post though, which I (we) will do later.

I have definitely seen a marked increase in how I feel during the day as well as how my lifts are going. The higher protein diets seems to suit my tastes well as well as help me build muscle.

I use an online tool called MyFitnessPal to track my calories and macros. I have been doing this for about 13 months and it's helped tremendously. I measure and weigh most of my food so I know exactly how much I'm getting. This is just my personal preference though, while others like Ryan, tend to log for a week here or there to get a good ballpark on what their typical days look like. I believe that either method works, it's just finding the one best suited for you.\

What macro breakdowns do you use? How strict are you with them?