High protein, high carb, low-ish fat.

[Alex Ptacek]

Coach Santana,

Stats: M/21/235. I'm currently working with Andrew Jackson through SSOC. I just recently competed at WFAC, squatting 435, pressing 178, and pulling 440. I've been training for about 2.5 years.

In the past three months or so I've started tracking my macros seriously. This has been in an attempt to improve my performance. My performance has definitely increased and I've been feeling great in the gym. My current macros are around 225 protein, 100 fat, and 550 carbs. I weigh around 235 currently, slowly gaining weight. Before this, I was eating the same calories, but with a much higher fat intake (around 175g). I've found my current split works much better for me.

I just wanted to check this type of macro-split with you and see if you had any suggestions or feedback. My goals are to gain muscle and get as competitive in strength lifting as I can. I've seen some of my favorite powerlifters recommend low fat/high carb diets, but I'm not exactly sure why this is optimal. Is it just because more of the total caloric intake is going to the recovery/performance nutrients, or is there something detrimental about high intake?

Thank you!

[Robert Santana]

Thanks for posting buddy. Andrew is a fine Strength & Nutrition Coach so you are in good hands there. Your split looks good, just tell me about how much you are lifting compared to where you started. High carb/low fat is ideal for this type of training because it pushes the carbs needed to train, recover, and replenish glycogen without getting too much unwanted fat mass. I discussed this extensively on my Barbell Logic and Art of Manliness podcasts. Check them out if you haven't already!

Nutrition Basics with Robert Santana SSC, RD

Fitness, Nutrition, Diet, and Weight Loss | Art of Manliness Podcast