Sport Some questions about nutrition...

[Henetra]

Ok well I am 6'2, and I am 185 pounds. I am about to start weight training so im curios how many calories a day I should take in? Should I avoid certain foods with saturated and trans fats?

Uhm how much protien and carbs do you think I should take in, and what are considered the good carbs?

And what kind of food is rich in protien?

 

[spicypumpkin]

Well, it depends on whether you are trying to gain or lose weight. Maybe you are just trying to maintain. If you begin weight training, you will have to eat more to maintain.

You should definitely avoid trans fats. Don't try to avoid all saturated fats though, just don't eat too much of them. There are some healthy saturated fats in dairy products and eggs.

Many foods are rich in protein. Eggs are my favorite. One egg has 6-7 grams of protein depending on it's size. They're easy to cook, and they taste pretty good. Lean meats are also a good way to get protein without a lot of added fat. Lean chicken and turkey are good. Fish is my favorite meat protein because it's also high in omega 3.

After your workouts, you should be getting protein and carbs. Some good carbs are complex carbs from whole grains. After your workout however, you may want to consume some of the simple carbs found in fruit. Fruit si a pretty healthy option for simple sugars. Bananas are my favorite.

 

[Wrangell]

Ok well I am 6'2, and I am 185 pounds. I am about to start weight training so im curios how many calories a day I should take in?

There are no hard and fast rules on exactly how many calories you should eat to help you gain mass - which is why I assume you're weight training - to add muscle.

In some ways, the sky's the limit when you talk about adding calories. The real issue for most gym rats is how much extra fat can you tolerate along the way as you add muscle - cause in most cases, when you boost your calories a fair bit to help build muscle, you tend to also see some fat gained along with gains in muscle mass...especially when you see significant gains in mass.

As to your question " how many calories a day I should take in ", one approach to boosting calories you could start with is to first nail down your ' maintenance calories ' and then bump that number by 20%. Here's a link that does the ' maintenance calories ' calc for you .......



Also, ( and this is more of an ' fyi ' only ) there is a highly regarded book out on the market by Lou Schuler " The New Rules of Lifting " in which he cites some academic findings that suggest a ' rule of thumb ' for how many calories strength athletes should take when it comes to issues of muscle mass. The findings he cites suggests....

- to simply maintain muscle mass : 20 calories per pound of bodyweight

- to ADD muscle mass : 25 - 30 calories per pound of bodyweight​

........which, if nothing else , it just serves to show that the process of adding muscle shouldn't skimp on calories.

Should I avoid certain foods with saturated and trans fats?

Once you figure out your daily calorie needs, try to keep your total calories from saturated at or under 7%.

IMO - I'd try & eliminate all trans fats.

Uhm how much protien

About 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight is more than enough to meet your needs IMO. One gram of protein is 4 calories btw.

and carbs do you think I should take in

Take your estimated daily calories. Convert your daily protein grams to calories and subtract that from your estimated daily calories. Then, allocate about 25% +/- of your estimated daily calories to fat and subtract that from your estimated daily calories as well.

The remaining calories from your estimated daily calories (after deducting fat and protein calories ) will come from carbs. One gram of carb is 4 calories btw.

, and what are considered the good carbs?

Unrefined, unprocessed, complex, low to moderate Glycemic Index carbs are generally considered to be " good carbs " .

And what kind of food is rich in protien?

Dairy and eggs, meat and fish, legumes and nuts and grains.