Tracking Macros for the first time

[Gene61]

Ok, Jordan, I'm going to take the plunge and start tracking macros. I've signed up on myfitnesspal and now all I need are some macro targets.

I've been on SS for 7 months eating huge quantities of Paleo type foods plus root vegetables and rice, but no dairy (except butter). I've gained 25 lbs and about half of that went right to my waist. Now that my SS gains have come to an end, I'd like to stabilize my weight while I continue on with an intermediate program I've been working on with Rob Miller.

Stats:
Age 62
Hight 6' 5.5"
Weight 218 (was 193 last summer)
BF ~25%+

Lifts 5x3:
SQ 165
PR 60
BP 135
DL 200
PC 100 3x5

Pretty pathetic, but I'm a geezer with no lifting history. I'm pretty excited to have gotten this far!

Planned intermediate program:
Lifting 2x per week with age modified volume and intensity days.
One "sport" per week: mountain biking, surfing or skiing, and one HIIT session. If I can't work in a sport day, I'll do two HIITs on the rowing machine.

The goal is to see my waist size go back down as I continue to get stronger. I'm not in a rush. I would prioritize strength gains over weight loss, but the fat gains have to come to an end and then go down to the point where I can get back into my pants!

What macro mix should I start out with? Any modifications for the lifting days or the "sport"day?

Thanks for all of your help on this forum!

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

What's your diet been looking like so far, i.e. is it low carb, high carb, etc.?

[Gene61]

For the longest time its just been eggs, meat, fish, berries, nuts and veggies and olive oil for cooking and salads; so probably high protein and fat and relatively low carbs. Recently I've started eating potatoes and yams on workout days. I've also recently replaced some of my olive oil with coconut oil and butter. I've also been doing BCAA with Creatine before workouts, and a PW shake with berries, walnuts, whey protein and Creatine.

I've never tracked macros, so I don't really know. I guess I will soon find out!

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

Let's do something like 260g protein (+ bcaas), 150g carb (all starches around workout times on training days or spread throughout day on off days), and 150g fat. That's around where I'd start, sir.

[Gene61]

Thanks, Jordan. I'll let you know how it goes. I'm off to Australia for a wedding where there will be lots of dinner parties and wine, but I will hit it hard when I return!

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

Enjoy!

[Gene61]

Well, I'm am back from my trip and attempted to start this plan today. Today was a workout day so I really wanted to hit the 3000 calories you recommended. I felt like I stuffed myself all day but I only got to 2400 calories. This is the first time I have ever measured my food, so I didn't know how much 3000 calories is. It's a LOT! Are you sure you think I can stabilize my fat gains at 3000 calories? This is how I ate (apparently 2400 calories/day) during my LP and gained ~15lbs of fat while working out 3x a week. Remember I'm 62 years old and my metabolism isn't what it once was. If it helps here is what I ate today:

BF: 4 eggs, cup of stir fried veggies in olive oil, cup of black berries
Pre workout: 5gr BCAA, 5gr Creatine
PWS: 1 orange, cup of raspberries, 2 scoops of wey protein isolate, 5 grams Creatine
Lunch: 10 oz rib eye, baked yam
Dinner: 12 pieces of nigiri sushi, mixed green salad, two glasses of wine.

I felt stuffed all day.

I'm pretty sure if I ate this much food every day I would still keep gaining fat, much more if I boosted it to 3000 calories. I'm I missing something here?

Thanks, Jordan.

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

It's extremely hard to predict what optimal macros are from the jump-off without somewhat accurate prior information. . Any idea what your macros tracked out to be on 3/25? Looks to me like ~ 200-220g/protein, ~100-200g+ carb (sushi is hard to predict), and 150+g of fat. It might be wise to set your protein intake at 260 (2 shakes a day might help), have starchy carbs pre and post, and then limit servings of fat/fatty meats to the 2 meals not surrounding the workout so you're doing 260/150/100 and 30-35g of fiber per day.

[Gene61]

According to Myfitnesspal.com my macros on the 25th were:

Totals 2,343 kcals 205gr Carbs 45gr fat 165gr protein

Low on the protein, a little high on the carbs and low on the fat. I'll try to hit your suggested targets and see what happens. However, I'm thinking of becoming a paying client of yours so that I can really dial this in. I'll be in touch.

Gene

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

MyFitnessPal lied to you on the cals, as those macros add up to 1750. Some of the "crowd-sourced" info on there is wrong or they just put in cals without all the macros (and other quirks). I got your email, thank you :-) Just hit the macros and forget about the calories for the next few days.