I’ve been reading through a lot of the nutrition threads here and there are a lot discussions around how many calories per day people eat, but I don’t see much talk about the % of carbs / protein / fat in ones diet. Any of you that strictly track your calories, are you also striving for a specific nutrient mix?
I’m in the process of reading Racing Weight, and while so far I’m very happy with the book, his recommended carb intake surprised me. Right now my workouts are usually in the 11 - 14 hours per week range, and the book recommends 8 - 9 grams of carbs per kg of bodyweight for that exercise volume. For me, at 200 pounds, that would be around 800g of carbs per day. Man, that just seems really high and I’m just curious what others are doing.
Jason
that does seem awfully high. at 4 kcal/gram, that’s 3200 calories just in carbohydrates. But then again, 2 hrs per day of training burns roughly 1500-2000 kcal/day, so maybe not.
I’m curious about other’s feedback also.
That seems really high. I am reading the Primal Blueprint (which is admittedly low on the carb scale) and he recommends 100-150 grams of carbs per day, plus an extra ~100 or so per hour of exercise. On my good days I am around there, some days, especially weekends, I am higher.
As an aside, when eating well according to the PB, this is as good as I’ve ever felt. I’ve never had a weight issue, been 6’ and ~160 for years, but energy levels, digestive issues (or lack thereof) and body composition are the best I have ever felt (when I am sticking to the guidelines).
can you post an example of a day’s menu, training, and time you eat stuff?
Racing Weight is a really good book. What you also have to remember to take into account is your BMR. As a trained athlete, your BMR is probably over 2000 calories per day. Training also burns another 2000 on a good day. That’s 4000, so 3200 might just be right for you. When I was in the middle of swim season this past year I would eat around 5000 calories a day and i’m 135 lbs.
As far as percents, the rough estimates for normal people are around 50-65% cal from carbs, 20-30% from fats, and 15-20% from protein.
for an endurance athlete, go high on the carbs, 60-70%, and lower on the fats and proteins. You will be eating more so don’t worry about not getting enough protein, as long as you get around 1.2g/kg.
I do not strive for a specific nutrient mix, but i try to eat lots of hummus and whole grain bread. Also, cereal is a great source of vitamins and minerals due to the fortification process.
Experiment and find out what works. What is “right” may not be what is right for you.
Dave