A few diet queries

Ed said:

Hi folks,

Wonder if you can confirm my thinking is OK:

I'm male, 30, 1.79 m (5 foot 10 and a half) and 69 kilos (152 pounds). I
have a sedentary lifestyle.

I understand that I will need 3000 cals daily to gain muscle weight. Is that
correct? I plan to eat 160 g protein daily.

Therefore:

20% cals from good fats = 600 cals

Cals from 160 g protein = 160 x 4 cals per g protein = 640 cals

Balance from carbs = 1760 cals

Does the amount of carbs seem too high or is it OK?

A final query: do blueberries count as a "low-glycemic" carb and are sweet
potatoes so much better to consume than regular, white potatoes?

Thanks alot for any advice! :-)

Cheers, Ed

You don't mention lifting weights! Don't over think it all. Just eat 500
cals per day more than you need and repeat it over and over, which
should include lots of protein and whatever "clean eating" is; I
personally get most of my carbs from alcohol 🙂. Yes I know, empty
carbs, but still... I avoid potatoes like the plague but then I am
walking the fine line of trying to gain muscle whilst not gaining weight.

The Sunday night depression begins to set in.... ugh, Monday looms here
in the lost continent.
--
Bob Volkmer
rev@IRC

Ed said:

I understand that I will need 3000 cals daily to gain muscle weight. Is that
correct? I plan to eat 160 g protein daily.

Just wondering where did you come up with that 3000 calorie number? One
size does not fit all. Use a free online program like FitDay
http://www.fitday.com to log all your food intake. Find out how much
you eat now to maintain your current weight. Add in a modest 500 extra
calories to that (an extra chicken breast & a baked potato as an
example) If you add in too many calories it just gets stored as fat.

Quoted message said:

Therefore:
20% cals from good fats = 600 cals
Cals from 160 g protein = 160 x 4 cals per g protein = 640 cals
Balance from carbs = 1760 cals
Does the amount of carbs seem too high or is it OK?

When you log your foods into FitDay it will give you a graph breakdown
of what you have eaten and you can make adjustments as you go along.
The ratios of the foods you eat can be guided by your activity level,
and the goals you set for yourself.
Just as an example, if you were to eat 3000 calories a day and wanted
higher carbs in say a 50/30/20 ratio (carbs/protein/fats) then it might
look like this:
3000 x .50 = 1500 calories from carbs
3000 x .30 = 900 calories from carbs
3000 x .20 = 600 calories from fat

Now remember: 1 gram of protein = 4 calories, 1 gram of carbs = 4
calories and 1 gram of fat = 9 calories. (and btw 1 gram of alcohol is
7 calories)

Then convert the above figures to grams:
1500 divided by 4 calories per gram = 375 grams of carbs
900 divided by 4 calories per gram = 225 grams of protein
600 divided by 9 calories per gram = 67 grams of fat
(The above is a daily total)

A breakdown of six smaller meals would then contain:
375 grams divided by 6 = 62 grams of carbs per meal
225 grams divided by 6 = 38 grams of protein per meal
67 grams dvided by 6 = 11 grams of fat per meal

You can use the above example to figure out other different ratios that
may suite your needs better, because you may not need 3000 calories a
day.

Quoted message said:

A final query: do blueberries count as a "low-glycemic" carb and are sweet
potatoes so much better to consume than regular, white potatoes?

Sweet potatoes have a bit more fiber than regular potatoes,
betacarotene/vitC, lower glycemic (if that matters)and you dont have to
smother them in something to taste good. Regular potatoes tho are a
good source of potassium. You can compare food nutrients here:
http://tinyurl.com/bzsq5

Most berries are moderate to high on the glycemic index due to their
sugar content, but one cup of blueberries contains lots of antioxidents
and almost four grams of fiber so dont cut them out yet:
http://www.topfitonline.com/chartglycemic.htm

joanne

"joanne" <[email hidden]> wrote

<snip reasonably accurate, useful, post>

OK, who are you, and what have you done with <<joni>>?

David

Ed,

A man your age should consume 2000 - 2500 calories a day with the
nutritional ratio being: 20% good fats, 40% complex carbs, and 40%
protein.

This should include at least 4 weight training sessions per week, and
cardio to help reduce body fat.

I used this book to guide me in the right direction: The Body Sculpting
Bible for Men by Hugo A. Rivera
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/157826085X/fitnessbag-20/104-5522738-9704749?%5Fencoding=UTF8&camp=1789&link%5Fcode=xm2

For nutritional supplements like protein and creatine I use
http://www.fitnessbag.com/, they are very reliable.

Spend the money on the book I recommended or any other reliable fitness
book in order to get yourself on the right track.
It's worth every penny.

Good luck!

Mr. S.