OVERALL QUESTIONS-Macro ratio %, Carb/calorie cycling/nutrient timing? page

[shoelvr27]

Hi All,
I am totally new to this forum. I have been doing a bit of research and recently picked up your book. I have a couple of questions though...
1. When eating your meat (higher in fat and grain fed)-do you eat this with a vegi? Or another source of fat?
2. How do you decide on the Macronutrient %? My current BMI intake should be 1650 for neutral energy, about 1250 for loss.
3. Also, about nutrient timing-should you/shouldnt you eat fruit post workout? I also have read that if you are trying to accomplish "fat loss" to minimize your fruit intake and replace w/vegi...
My goal is fat loss. I would like to loose about 5%.
4. What about carb/calorie cycling? Should you ONLY do this if you are lean and want to tweak the last bit of fat you want to loose? I have also read that these "refeeds" should only last up to 3 months then you should return to a neutral balance energy requirement. Instead of eating grains, could you just refeed w/ vegi? Just using starchy ones?
What are your thoughts?

[smartin08]

You should probably read Mark's book. That should answer all your questions. If you still have more, come on back.

But I can try and answer to the best of my knowledge:

1) Wouldn't you want to eat your meat with a fat and veggie? It would be a complete meal and much more satisfying.
2) No calorie counting in Primal
3) Use sweet potatoes or tubers. But only if you need the energy. Most people don't unless they're elite athletes.
4) Not sure. There's tons of threads on here about refeeding.

Hope that helps a bit. But again, read the book

[CandylandCanary]

1)I don't think it's worth it to worry about it. But veggies are a nice side to meats. You usually don't have to add further fat unless it's a superlean protein, or you just think its more tasty that way. But I wouldn't sweat it.

2)I think it matters to a certain extent- less carbs mean more satiety due to more blood sugar balance from eating more protein and fat and more slow-burn vegetables in general. The SAD is super-carb centered, and most of those carbs are grains and sweets, and very few vegetables. But beyond a few things- enough protein to get 1g per pound of lean body mass, carbs in the sweet spot for weight loss, a decent amount of fat, since cutting fat out has plenty of nutrient absorption and malnutrition consequences... BUT I think that 30% fat is probably fine, though more is okay too- it...really..doesn't matter. Really. I think, anyway. So eat whatever makes you happiest, most satisfied, least deprived within those stipulations.

My BMR clocks in at about 1680kcal to maintain, 1800-1900 when doing fairly intense exercise. I do about 100g protein, and keep my carbs at 100g-120g I'm not looking to lose, though. My fat grams tend to naturally fall around 60-65g to get up to 1680kcal. I usually hit about a 28% carb, 29% protein, 43% fat ratio. That isn't really far off the Zone's 30-30-40. I know I hear about a lot of primal people going 25% protein, 25% carb, 50% fat. But I think there's a pretty big margin for variation.

3)Don't know much about this one.

But I figure it would be exercise and lifting to discourage muscle loss, and calorie deficit to lose weight. PB can help by cutting out the stuff that makes people feel constantly hungry and deprived and prone to overeating. The more nutrient-dense foods also eliminates overeating due to nutrient deprivation. I dunno about timing. I've mostly been CW-programmed to put carbs either at the beginning of the day or after a workout. I'm not sure whether this is real or typical CW.

4)I think it would be easier to just try straight PB with calorie deficit first before monkeying around with that. Less complicated is easier to execute. You may not need to worry about this stuff.

I guess you could tinker with it anyway if you genuinely enjoy it. If it's fun, go for it. But if it's getting stressful and creating anxiety due to worries that you have to get it just right to successfully lose weight, I think it's counterproductive to weight loss. Stressed dieters aren't happy dieters. And unhappy dieters cheat.

Just IMO. If you're have serious and precise fitness goals, you may need more specialized advice.