Formula for EFA's?????????????

bushidodad

Hey guys got a question or 2. If I have to eat 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight, is it my current body weight or my ideal body weight? There is 30-40 lbs. difference.

If I eat 40% protein 40% carbs and 20% EFA's that is 106 grams of fat? Sounds like a tremendous amount of fat, considering I am trying to cut.

Lastly what do you do to consume EFA's? I have been using grapeseed oil and it is delicious. It has 5 times the omega's. What else could I eat to better diversify my EFA's.

Thanx

bulldozer

You need to be eating 1 gram of protein minimum per lb of your body weight now bud.

One thing to remember, eating dietry fat does not mean you will store body fat, eating an excess of calories is what will make you fat! I think any diet should have 20 % minimum of fat in it, just my opinion mind.
It depends on your body type, i find i am quite carb sensitive, so when i wanna cut i restrict carbs, not fats.

Pscarb has a great thread on this forum about carb cycling, i would take a look if i was you bud. Im using it right now and its working for me!

EFA, i mainly supplement with fish oils capps, but also oily fish and peanut butter

Good luck with the cut bud

bushidodad

I have CLA too. thanx BD i will chk that out

razg

I'd like to clarify something. Just because a fat is a 'healthy' fat, i.e. plant/fish based, it does not make it an EFA. An EFA is an Omega 3 or 6 fatty acid, with Omega 9 being conditionally essential assuming 3/6 requirements are met. If you source the majority of your fats from oily fish, nuts, and very little from meat/dairy, you will be in good hands.

LeeB

106g of fat is not a massive amount. i use optimum oil blend from holland and barret with each meal. also snack on nuts throughout the day.

40/40/20 is always a good starting point in my opinion. although as has been said... you need to ensure your getting 1-2g of protein per pound of lean bodyweight. (actual figures in my opinion vary per individual).

now we come to that phrase above "lean bodyweight". this is basically your bodyweight if you had a very very very low bodyfat percentage. so whatever you weigh... estimate your bodyfat percentage.. work out what this translates to in actual lbs... and take that number from your bodyweight. this is the number you should plan on your nutrition on whilst cutting.

hope this helps

zara-leoni

Here is some useful info that Robert wrote for our website and might be helpful here:

(Advice :: Nutrition :: Protein :: Physique Body Shop)

Type of Athlete g protein/kg.BM/day
Sedentary individual 0.8
Athlete undertaking general training program 1.0
Endurance athlete undertaking moderate/heavy training 1.2 - 1.6
Endurance athlete undertaking extreme training program 2.0
Strength athlete undertaking heavy training program 1.2 - 1.7
Adolescent Athletes 2.0

So what does this really mean to people concerned with increasing muscularity or wanting to maintain a protein based diet to control fat levels or those involved in an intense exercise program which stresses skeletal muscle? I think it shows that anecdotal evidence relating to high protein intakes doesn't relate to the people who are most likely to be consuming the most protein, because almost all studies are done on people with medical problems in which a high protein intake may effect them negatively. The studies we have mentioned were done on healthy individuals who regularly exercised and the most important fact to take away was that they found no problems with their health. Once more definitive proof has been established as to weather or not a (prolonged) very high protein diet has adverse effects of renal function, we will report it here. But for now, we are confident to say that providing you are healthy, you are not at risk of damaging your liver or kindneys by eating lots of protein.

We hope this conveys to you that the old 30g - 40g of protein per serving theory is not only out dated but also incorrect, this figure was a conclusion drawn by an American study done in the 1970's on recovering alcoholics who were suffering from a degree of liver and renal failure! It was found that servings of over 30g protein at any one time was not fully digested and caused stress to the subjects renal system as the demands put on the kidneys to process the additional nitrogen (and elevated urea) were increased.

Did Arnold Schwarzenegger build such a physique on 6 meals a day containing 30g of protein? We think not!

As individuals with differing numbers of muscle fibres and muscle density, we can all digest differing amounts of protein, that's a fact! This physiological factor coupled with the demands we all put on our bodies both mentally and physically has an effect on our ability to digest protein. We can work out exactly how much protein is being used by our muscle fibres for growth and repair. We can do this by working out our Protein Turn Over Rate (PTOR). We will come back to this shortly. It is worth saying simply that until a study is done on people who are pushing the boundaries of protein consumption, we must do what we feel to be right for ourselves, and follow what seems to allow us to recover from our chosen form of exercise swiftly and allow those of us who want added muscle tissue to still have enough excess protein in our diet to support this new tissue growth.

The body has a hormone controlled balance between anabolisim (muscle making) and catabolism (muscle degradation), this balance has a fancy name called homeostasis. This protein making and breaking process by muscle groups is called the PTOR. The body has a base PTOR of body weight (in lbs) multiplied by a factor of 1.818. So a 200lb person would have a PTOR of 200 x 1.818 = 363.6g. However, different muscle groups have different PTOR and so muscles grow and shrink and different rates. The rate is governed by a number of factors including circulating nutrient and hormone supply, the number and nature of receptor sites on the cell surface and the type of stress through training placed on the muscle. So why is this important? Well the PTOR will favour catabolism when dietary protein consumption fails to provide adequate amounts and correct ratio's of amino acids. So if you want to stay at your maximum anabolic level then you will have to at least consume your body's base PTOR in protein daily (remembering that the correct ratio's of amino acids must be met). You may have come across the general rule “take at least 2g per lb body weight”? Well this is good, as it is easier to remember 2 than 1.818 and this marginal increase will provide roughly 35g surplus protein which is available for your body to use. From the example above, the 200lb person has a PTOR of 363.6g. If they used 2g/lb this would become 400g giving a difference of 36.4g protein excess which if the body is in an anabolic environment could be used for new muscle growth. If the person was on 4g/lb body weight they would be consuming 800g protein per day giving 436.4g surplus available to the body to construct tissue (although even the most genetically blest wont be able to build new muscle at that rate per day, every day!)

How much protein should I take?

We advise that you work out your base PTOR and consume at least this amount if you wish to improve your physique. Remember you must mix protein sources to ensure correct amino acid quantities are met. We suggest you take half from drinks and half from sources including red meat, fish, eggs and low fat dairy products. If your intention is to gain a lot of muscle then we advocate quantities of 2g-4g per pound of body weight on a daily basis. Remember you get 4 calories per gram protein so if you have a calorie target diet then you will have to work out exactly how many calories are coming from protein. For example if you are on a mass gaining diet of 7000 calories, weigh 220 lbs and are taking 4g/lb body weight then total calories from protein are 220lb x 4g/lb x 4cal/g = 3520 calories, leaving the rest to come from carbohydrates and fats. Lastly, if you were having six meals per day then you would be looking to eat around 147g of protein per meal (880g/6 meals) but remember you would want to consume a larger protein portion post workout than any other meal of the day.