Macronutrient Ratios for Different Body Types and Metabolisms

Macronutrient Ratios

The nutritional contents of all foods are a combination of one or more of the following 3 macronutrients: Protein, Fat, and Carbohydrates.

Below I have listed the typical recommendations for the percentage of calories each of these should make up in your diet, based on your body type & metabolism.

Ectomorph or "Hard Gainer"














Protein: anywhere from 20 - 25%, or at least 1 g Protein/lb bodyweight

Fat: 15 %

Carbohydrates: 60 - 65%

Notes: Ectomorphs are usually pretty good with carbohydrate metabolism and can handle more carbohydrates in a given meal than a mesomorph and much more than an endo-morph. They also usually have trouble gaining any kind of weight (they can eat anything and everything and not get fat) so it is commonly recommended that they eat anywhere from 60 - 65 % calories to get the scale moving and fuel the compound movements they will need to be performing in order to gain the most amount of muscle in the shortest time (i.e. Deadlift, Squat, etc.)

In short: 25% Protein, 15% Fat, 60% Carbohydrates or 25/15/60 Macronutrient Ratio

Mesomorph or "Genetic Freak"














Mesomorphs can usually get away with pretty much eating anything they want, as long as they have all their nutrional bases covered, are eating enough calories for growth or a little less for fat loss, and are ensuring adequate amounts of the 3 macronutrients of protein, fat and carbohydrates necessary for optimal growth.

They have better carbohydrate metabolism or insulin managment than endomorphs, but not as good as an ectomorph.

For the best results and for even greater performance in the gym, it is commonly recommended that 50% of calories come from carbs (moderate carb intake) from the slow-digesting complex carbs that provide a slower and more sustained energy release over a greater period of time. This will have you looking, performing, and feeling your best both inside and outside of the gym.

Since they build muscle quite easily and have a slight trouble with insulin management, it is commonly recommended that a larger portion of their calories come from protein. 30% or 1 - 1.5 g of protein/lb bodyweight should be enough to cover all their nutritional bases.

Fat will round out the number, anywhere from 15 - 20% whichever one you find you respond best to.

In short: 30% Protein, 20% Fat, 50% Carbohydrates or 30/20/50 Ratio

Endomorph or "I Gain Weight Just Smelling Food"














Most endomorphs will need to go on a lower calorie or maintenance diet even if they are trying to gain weight in the form of muscle. It is a lot easier for them to gain weight, particularly in the form of fat mass, and they are the ones who need to pay extra care and attention to their diets as one misstep here or cheat meal there could throw off their entire progress.

Endomorphs usually have the most trouble with carbohydrates and insulin management, and one of the best ways to get these under control is with regular meals throughout the day every 3 hours. Eating high-quality proteins at the beginning of every meal is key as it will help in balancing your blood sugar levels, and throw off sugar cravings and other related insulin imbalances.

Protein: anywhere from 30 - 40% or 1 - 2 g protein/lb of bodyweight.

Also remember that whenever you decrease your calories from carbohydrates because of carb intolerance or insulin sensitivity, you will need to make up the difference with protein so that you meet your calorie requirements.

Fat: 30% of calories

Carbohydrates: anywhere from 30 - 50%

(keep in mind that if you go below 30 - 40% your energy levels may begin to suffer in the gym and you may not be able to achieve maximum results for whatever goal you are looking to achieve. It is therefore only recommended that you drop your calories from carbs to 30% or below if you are extremely insulin sensitive and have no other choice.)

In short: 30-40% Protein, 30% Fat, 30-40% Carbohydrates or 30/30/40 Ratio
Remember that if you reduce the amount of carbs you will need to make up the difference with protein, and should only be done if you are reasonably sure that you are insulin sensitive and the 30/30/40 ratio fails to provide the weight loss results you were looking for at a maintenance or below maintenance level.

***********************************************************************************

Note: Please keep in mind that these are only suggestions and typical recommendations. You may need to play around with the numbers a little bit to find the ratio that works best for you, especially if you have problems with carbohydrate or insulin management, or find that personally you can't eat a lot of protein.

***********************************************************************************

So there you have it, a list of common recommendations for how much of each of the macronutrients you should eat in your diet, depending on your goals, body type, and metabolism.

I hope you found the information you were looking for and wish you all the best.

To your success,

Joeseph C

7 Easy Steps to Creating Your Own Fat Loss and Lean Muscle Building Nutrition Plan (A Quick-Start Guide)

In this guide I'll show you how to create your own basic nutrition plan with the goal of either losing fat, maintaining your weight, or building lean muscle mass. I will try to keep it simple, to the point, and without a lot of superfluous information.

I have provided more in-depth notes where appropriate, however, in order to provide more detailed information on the subjects discussed, and more detailed guidance for applying the recommendations to your individual circumstances.

Ready? Here we go!

1. Calculate the amount of calories your body burns just by being alive. This is the amount of calories your body burns at rest and is called your Resting Metabolic Rate, or RMR for short. The formula for calculating your RMR is below.

*********************************************

Note: This formula however does not take into account your lean body mass, and will be very accurate in all but the very muscular (will underestimate calorie needs) and the very fat (will overestimate calorie needs). For greater accuracy, I have provided a formula for calculating your RMR which takes into account your lean body mass, right below the metric RMR for men formula.

*********************************************

RMR for Women

RMR = 655 + (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years)

RMR for Men

RMR = 66 + (6.23 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years)

Metric RMR for Women

RMR = 655 + (9.6 x weight in kg) + (1.8 x height in cm) - (4.7 x age in years)

Metric RMR for Men

RMR = 66 + (13.7 x weight in kg) + (5 x height in cm) - (6.8 x age in years)

This is the formula for calculating your RMR which takes into account your lean body mass, for greater accuracy.

RMR = 370 + (21.6 x lean bodyweight in kg)

Lean Bodyweight In Pounds / 2.2 = Lean Bodyweight in Kilograms (kg)


2. From your RMR, calculate your TDEE, which is your Total Daily Energy Expenditure. This is how many calories your body burns in a day performing all your day's activities.

TDEE = RMR x Activity Level

Grouped into activity levels, you are either:

Sedentary:

1.30 (130%) = Very Light: Sitting, studying, talking, little walking or other activities through out the day

1.55 (155%) = Light: Typing, teaching, lab/shop work, some walking throughout the day

Moderately Active:

1.55 (155%) = Light: Typing, teaching, lab/shop work, some walking throughout the day

1.65 (165%) = Moderate: Walking, jogging, gardening type job with activities such as cycling, tennis, dancing, skiing or weight training 1-2 hours per day

Or Highly Active:

1.80 (180%) = Heavy: Heavy manual labor such as digging, tree felling, climbing, with activities such as football, soccer or body building 2-4 hours per day

2.00 (200%) = Very Heavy: A combination of moderate and heavy activity 8 or more hours per day, plus 2-4 hours of intense training per day

3. Take your TDEE and add or subtract 250 - 500 calories, or a percentage of your total calories (say add or subtract 10 - 15% of TDEE) depending on your goal. Subtract the suggested calories from your TDEE if you want to lose fat, and add the suggested amount of calories to your TDEE if you want to gain lean muscle tissue. Or you can just have your TDEE if you want to just maintain your weight.

4. Now that you have your total number of calories to be eaten in a day for your goal, divvy the calories up between the 3 macronutrients: Protein, Fat, and Carbohydrates, again depending on your goals, activity level, bodyweight, body type, metabolism, etc.

Below I have included a list of typical recommendations whether you're an ectomorph, mesomorph, or endomorph.

Ectomorph














Ectomorph: 25% Protein, 15% Fat, 60% Carbohydrates or 25/15/60 macronutrient ratio.

Mesomorph














Mesomorph: 30% Protein, 20% Fat, 50% Carbohydrates or 30/20/50

Endomorph














Endomorph: 30-40% Protein, 30%, Fat, 30-40% Carbohydrates or 30/30/40 - 40/30/30

***********************************************************************************

Note: Please keep in mind that these are only suggestions and typical recommendations. You may need to play around with the numbers a little bit to find the ratio that works best for you, especially if you have problems with carbohydrate or insulin management, or find that personally you can't eat a lot of protein.

***********************************************************************************

Once you have your percentages or macronutrient ratio, convert them into the actual amount of calories to be eaten from each macronutrient. (Ex. In order to convert your macronutrient percentage of 25% protein into calories, simply multiply .25 by the total daily amount of calories to be eaten. Using 2000 calories as our daily calorie requirement example, you would multiply .25 x 2000. So 2000 x .25 = 500 calories from protein. Continue on with your fat and carbohydrate percentages.

5. Once you have the actual amount of calories to be eaten from each macronutrient, convert these calories into grams.

For every gram of protein, there are 4 calories of protein.

For every gram of fat, there are 9 calories of fat.

For every gram of carbohydrate, there are 4 calories of carbohydrates.

(Ex. In order to convert the 500 calories into grams from our above example, we would simply divide 500 calories by 4. 500 / 4 = 125 grams of protein. Continue on and convert your calories of fat and carbohydrate into grams.

6. Once you have the total amount of grams to be eaten for each of the macronutrients, divide them into how many meals you want to eat for the day, making sure to eat every 3 hours and always including a concentrated protein source (containing all the essential amino acids) in adequate amounts with all your meals, in order to stay in a positive nitrogen balance when looking to build on or maintain your current muscle mass.

It is commonly recommended that you divide by 5 for 5 meals/day for maximum results in building lean muscle, and by 6 for 6 meals/day for maximum results in losing fat.

7. Pick your foods for each of the macronutrients from the superior muscle building and fat loss foods list.

Putting it all together, you would eat a lean protein, good fats, complex carbohydrates, and 1 -2 servings of fruits or vegetables at each meal in the appropriate amounts according to your individual calorie requirements.

***********************************************************************************

A Note on Fruit: The amount of fruit you eat should be based on your tolerance of the simple sugars in the fruits. These simple sugars are best utilized by the body for energy in the morning, when your muscles are starving from the overnight fast and they are eager to take up the simple sugars in the fruit for needed energy. This effect from the overnight fast increasingly tapers off from the first few hours when you wake up in the morning, meaning that the later in the day you eat these simple sugars, the more likely result will be that it will imbalance your blood sugar and lead to fat gain, unless of course you have just completed a workout at any time of the day and once again your muscles will be starving for energy and ready to use the simple sugars most effectively. I recommend restricting your fruits to the morning (the first and second meals - not even the second if you're an endomorph, just the first) and only 1 - 2 servings, or whatever your body responds best to while still feeling full and satisfied.

***********************************************************************************

So there you have it, this was a quick-start guide on how to develop your own individual nutrition plan according to your goal whether it be lean muscle growth or fat loss.

If you would like more information, opinions, and suggestions in this or any area of health, fitness, and self-development, be sure to check out all my other articles and blog posts within this site.

Thank you for your time in reading this and for visiting my site. I hope you have enjoyed and continue to enjoy your stay here.

I hope you find what you are looking for and wish you all the best.

To your success,

Joeseph C

Joeseph Tyler Medical Disclaimer

When reading through Joeseph Tyler please keep in mind that this is just a blog. It contains opinions and thoughts, and links to other sources of information. For any important health or medical issues you should be talking to your doctor, not taking the advice of an on-line blog.

The medical information provided on Joeseph Tyler is of a general nature and cannot substitute for the advice of a trained medical professional. I am not a doctor, nutritionist, psychologist or psychiatrist. Nothing on Joeseph Tyler blogspot should be construed as an attempt to offer or render a medical opinion. Any information listed on this site is for my own education and the education of others. It is not intended to diagnose, prevent, treat, or cure any disease.

Before embarking on any major change in diet or exercise you must consult with your local physician.

Joeseph Tyler may contain blog posts and links to other sources of information on medical topics, however no warranty whatsoever is made that any of this information is accurate. There is absolutely no assurance that any statement contained or cited in a blog post with regard to medical matters is true, correct, precise, or up-to-date. These blog posts are written by a nonprofessional. Even if a statement made about medical matters is accurate, it may not apply to you or your symptoms.

The comments people make are their own and this blogger takes no responsibility for them. None of the contributors, the operators, advertisors, links to respective websites nor anyone else connected to Joeseph Tyler can take any responsibility for the results or consequences of any attempt to use or adopt any of the information presented on this blog.

The Best Workout Program for Developing a Strong, Lean, Fit and Athletic Body

The best workout program for developing a strong, lean, fit and athletic body is one that combines the training and development of all the markers of high-level fitness & athleticism - strength, energy system performance, speed, flexibility, accuracy, and endurance - all in a single systematic training program. It doesn't just train one at the expense of the other, or develop one area of fitness to the complete exclusion or neglect of another area.

Unfortunately when you are trying to craft a well-rounded athletic physique, developing one area of fitness exclusively (hypertrophy) is one of the major drawbacks of using a conventional bodybuilding-influenced training program.

In my own experience with this bodybuilding-influenced training paradigm, I felt that I was limiting myself in the ways that I could apply the strength I had been developing - in the limited ranges of motion provided by isolation exercises and the limited selection of compound movements I could chose from in the conventional approach.

But once you break free of the conventional bodybuilding-influenced training paradigm, as I did, you really can take your training, health, fitness, and physique to whole new levels.

I've been searching for a long time for such a program, and I believe I've finally found the answer in Eddie Lomax's Athletic Body Workout Training Program.

This is a great program because it tests, challenges, and improves all the markers for high-level all-around fitness mentioned above, all the while either promoting (or leaning toward) Strength & Size gain, Fat Loss, or General Fitness Preparedness. This is great because I didn't really feel challenged by my conventional bodybuilding routines, and I really felt like I needed to do a lot more with my body in order to get it to a certain point of high-level fitness and performance.

The new workout routines are actually a lot of fun, definitely more so (I found) than most conventional bodybuilding routines.

Also, the routines & exercises change on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis, so the chances of boredom drop to near zero, as does the chance of failing to follow through on your program because of boredom, which is one of the biggest problems in most people's training programs today.

So there you have it, the best workout program (and the only workout program for that matter) I've found for developing a strong, lean, fit and athletic body with weights, that anyone can use without the fear of getting bulky.

The link again:

Athletic Body Workout by Eddie Lomax