Requesting diet tweaks

Nutrition Q&A [Moderated]
1

Hello,
I’m new to this website. Looked up a few articles & videos. Still absorbing

Question:
What macro-nutrient diet tweaks would be recommended to gain ~5 lbs muscle over the next 6 months?

Data available (DIET):
I am tracking daily dietary intake with an app called Nutrionix
I cook 90% of all my meals and log everything in the app

Average protein intake in this time period: 165 gm/day
Average carb intake in this time period: 143 gm/day
Average fat intake in this time period: 87 gm/day
Average fiber intake in this time period: 23 gm/day
Average net carb intake in this time period: 119 gm/day

Data available (DEXASCAN):
taken at the start and compared with 3 months of diet tracking Good news:
Body fat decreased from 26.6% to 21.9%
Visceral fat decreased from 1.69# to 1.17#
Bone density did not change much 1.38 g/cm^3 to 1.35 g/cm^3
Weight decreased from 166# to 155#
Bad news:
Lean mass did not improve. Stayed put at 17.0 kg/m^3 (115.3# to 115.1#… so no net change)
While I feel a bit stronger and people notice slight muscle definition for the first time in my life, the # did not move.

Background info (ACTIVITIES):​
I walk 8000 steps per day.
I’m a rock climber in the summer and skier in the winter. I gym-climb twice per week. 1 climb outdoors twice a month (typically in Yosemite).
I run once a week (1.5miles with a VO2max of 40).
I do weights twice a week using a low weight/high rep approach (25 reps and 3 sets for each exercise). I am supervised by a professional body builder who competes nationally and is the same age as me.

Background info (BIO):​
I’m 56 yr male retired tech-nerd.
I am Asian-Indian and cook most of my meals. I have no diet restrictions.​
My waist is 32#. I’m 5’9". My weight has been 160 +/-5 lbs for the last ~20 years. I started weight lifting just 4 months ago. Trying to gain muscle and increase my rock climbing stamina.
I do take daily supplements (AnimalPak).
I’m in great health overall. Do take a very low dose of statins due to family history and cholesterol issues which are well regulated with the statin.

2

Sanjiv,

Thanks for the post and welcome to Barbell Medicine. I have some feedback here.

  1. For your question regarding macronutrients, I would refer you to our macronutrient calculator. Put simply, there are many different macronutrient distributions that will work for muscle gain (or weight loss). I don’t think there’s likely to be a significant benefit towards one over another, save for preferences.
  2. Looking at your data, I would want to increase fiber intake to 35g/d minimum. The other macro targets re reasonable.
  3. I would favor a 4-6 week maintenance period of your current weight, which is likely ~ 500 Cal more than the energy intake you were losing on.
  4. I would discontinue use of AnimalPak due to concerns of contamination and dosing
  5. I’m excited that you’re training now includes lifting weights. That’s great! However, I do not think 3 sets of 25 repetitions for all exercises is likely be great for building strength, muscle, bone density, sports performance, and so on. We discuss our thoughts on programming for folks who are new to the gym here.
  6. I would also encourage you to do more conditioning to meet/exceed the current guideline minimums. I don’t think walking is going to be enough, unfortunately. -Jordan
1 Like