Few questions about dieting and eating cleanly

Good job! It's great to hear that you are setting a new goal to improve your physique. It always excites me when I hear people setting positive goals for themselves. As for you, 5"11 ft @ 175 lbs is impressive! You can get a killer physique in no time. However, I would definitely advise you to lean down to single digit body fat before you start on your bulk. You see, I am a big proponent of "looking good all year around" lol. When you start at your bulk at your current stage, there is a possibility you might gain too much fat in short amount of time. This will lead to excess fat gain compared to lean body mass. Lean body mass is what makes physique super impressive. Conversely, if you were to lean down first, you will look good (even though you are lighter), and can always control your bulk after the lean phase. Lean bulk do exist and I am currently on the regimen. I leaned down to 7% and will probably lean bulk until I am 14-15% and start on my cut again. I haven't lost my six pack and I am steadily up 5-7 lbs since December. As for your questions, here are my answer.

  1. Forget about your MFP daily calories. You need to figure this out on your own and it will be more reliable way instead of depending on on MFP. You need to find out your total energy expenditure (TDEE) and set your calorie/macro intake.

  2. Based on your weight, your protein intake is quite low. I would advise sticking with (1gram per lb) so you should be consuming in the 165-175 range. As for dietary fat, 20%-25% is usually the sweet spot for most people. This is scientifically proven range where people see the most benefits with their hormonal effects. Anything above that, you risk reducing your calories from protein & carbs which are critical with your gym performance. For me, I get most of my fat from meat sources.

I just wrote an article of setting macros so you should check it out. It's a fairly easy read and I don't want to type everything out again. There's a lot to cover and I hope you can take away something valuable. Good luck buddy! Good job! It's great to hear that you are setting a new goal to improve your physique. It always excites me when I hear people setting positive goals for themselves. As for you, 6 ft @ 195 lbs is super impressive! You can get a killer physique in no time. However, I would definitely advise you to lean down to single digit body fat before you start on your bulk. You see, I am a big proponent of "looking good all year around" lol. When you start at your bulk at your current stage, there is a possibility you might gain too much fat in short amount of time. This will lead to excess fat gain compared to lean body mass. Lean body mass is what makes physique super impressive. Conversely, if you were to lean down first, you will look good (even though you are lighter), and can always control your bulk after the lean phase. Lean bulk do exist and I am currently on the regimen. I leaned down to 7% and will probably lean bulk until I am 14-15% and start on my cut again. I haven't lost my six pack and I am steadily up 5-7 lbs since December. I just wrote an article of setting macros so you should check it out. It's a fairly easy read and I don't want to type everything out again. There's a lot to cover and I hope you can take away something valuable. Good luck buddy!

/r/Fitness Thread