Fluffy math: Macros, bodygem, and swimming

[fjboka]

Jordan,

Thank you for putting your time into these message boards, they are truly a great resource! I have a few questions pertaining to my situation that I couldn’t find any info on in the boards.
First, here are my stats:

M, 28, 6’5”, 357LBS, BF~35%
B: 405 DL: 450 S: 450

I’ve been doing SS off and on for a couple years and recently switched to 5/3/1. While I want to sustain strength gains I also desperately need to recomp to under 20% BF. Counting calories and macros over the past several days it is apparent that I am nowhere close to where I should be nutritionally. Currently I average about 3100 Kcal/ 180P/120C/130F daily. Needless to say, my strength gains are stalling and im not losing fat. With all that being said, here are my questions:

1. Is 4641/428/321/90 a good starting place for me? The “To Be A Beast” blog entry gives me a range up to 6069/481/464/124 but I’m not sure if those ratios level off after a certain BF%.

2. I would imagine that after years of undernutrition I will initially gain weight with the new diet until my body realizes that it is being fed properly. I’m not sure how long it will take to Un-eff my metabolism but would you recommened a bodygem or similar metabolic measurement test to calculate current metabolic rate and track it over time?

3. Are freestyle sprints in a pool (1 length sprint, 3:00 rest) adequate for HIIT?

Thank you for your time!

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

1. Is 4641/428/321/90 a good starting place for me? The “To Be A Beast” blog entry gives me a range up to 6069/481/464/124 but I’m not sure if those ratios level off after a certain BF%.

No. I'd put you at like 300/300/75 (pro/carb/fat w/ 40g of fiber per day).

2. I would imagine that after years of undernutrition I will initially gain weight with the new diet until my body realizes that it is being fed properly. I’m not sure how long it will take to Un-eff my metabolism but would you recommened a bodygem or similar metabolic measurement test to calculate current metabolic rate and track it over time?

No. I wouldn't use any of these methods TBH and I don't think you should gain any weight either :-)

3. Are freestyle sprints in a pool (1 length sprint, 3:00 rest) adequate for HIIT?

Not unless you're a really good swimmer, i.e. efficient. You'd get more out of a prowler or rower or exercise bike.

[fjboka]

Thanks, brotha!

So those macros put me in the ballpark of ~3000kcal/day, right?

I'll update my progress in a couple weeks

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

Yessir.

[edmondantes]

Jordan, 2 questions:

1. I'm surprised by your low macro recommendations. Are you going by estimated LBM from the BW and BF%?
2. Most of your recommendations are pretty low fat, provided they stay over 20%. Is the high intake of carbs purely for the sake of performance? Do you start basically roughly how many calories you would want to take in for your goals - set range of protein - carbs you need to continue to make strength gains and what's left is pretty much for fat?

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

Jordan, 2 questions:

1. I'm surprised by your low macro recommendations. Are you going by estimated LBM from the BW and BF%?
2. Most of your recommendations are pretty low fat, provided they stay over 20%. Is the high intake of carbs purely for the sake of performance? Do you start basically roughly how many calories you would want to take in for your goals - set range of protein - carbs you need to continue to make strength gains and what's left is pretty much for fat?

1) No. Look at his current intake level. If it's at all accurate, going much higher calorically would be, ahem, bad.

2) That's a basic way I go about it. There are a lot more factors I take into consideration though and tweak from there. Sorry, it's just not an algorithm I can fully describe in a forum post.