Should I worry about not hitting my daily carbs intake?

[u/MonoLolo]

Im currently on a lean bulk, and in finishing it very easy to hit every macro, except carbs.

I’m eating 3000 calories per day, 200 gr of protein, 123 gr of fats and 277gr of carbs, but I can barely hit half of my carb intake while fulfilling my daily amount on every other macro.

Are carbs important when lean bulking or should I view my carb intake more like a limit than a minimum?

[u/Limp_Day1216]

Carbs are fuel. Protein is good but the short term fuel that keeps you going during workouts and daily activity is heavily affected by carbs as well. Now, if you feel okay on what you are getting it’s likely no big deal, but definitely don’t sell them short or fear getting too near the 277g mark.

I also have trouble hitting carbs at time and there where the protein pasta dishes come in handy :)

[u/MonoLolo → u/Limp_Day1216]

Thanks, I’ll try adding some pasta to my meals. Lately all I’ve been eating is the good ‘ol chicken breast and rice.

[u/Limp_Day1216 → u/MonoLolo]

Oh man you have to add in some other stuff to mix it up.

Beans are a great carb, fiber, protein source

Sweet potatoes taste like healthy dessert and are good carbs, macro and micronutrients

Even break is a good fast acting carb before a workout so slap some of that chicken on a sandwich

[u/outside_comfort_zone]

Oats brotha! Can make them sweet or savory (sub them for rice for some of your meals and add veggies and chicken, cook the oats with chicken broth). Whole grain cereals and bread. Any other hot cereal like cream of wheat or cream of buckwheat are great too, can always mix them with protein powder to make them super tasty

[u/outside_comfort_zone → u/outside_comfort_zone]

At the end of the day it comes down to calories in, so as long as you are hitting that by making it up with other macros, I guess it wouldn't really matter. However, from everything I've read (and I go through A LOT of forums about this) carbs will replenish your glocogen and will get stored in your muscles (up to a certain point) meanwhile, extra fats don't have anywhere to be stored other than adipose tissue. So when eating at a surplus, I always try to keep my fats low and push more carbs. Not sure how much of it is bro science, but i feel like I'm able to push harder in the gym this way too

[u/queenle0]

Make an intra workout drink with carb or Gatorade powder. Easy way to pound them at the most beneficial time.

[u/Patient-Library7974]

Looks into a supplement called Carbolyn. Doesn’t compare to Whole Foods, but one serving is 50g of simple/complex carbs and is great for intra/post workout.

[u/Turbulent-Name2126]

Less fat and more carbs. How much do you weigh?

[u/MonoLolo → u/Turbulent-Name2126]

Just did exactly that. I lowered my fats to 90gr and raised my carbs to 300gr. I weight 160lb and my height is 5’10. My plan is going around 170lb and then cutting (again).

[u/Samuel_sags → u/MonoLolo]

You are overeating your protein, on a bulk you don’t need a high amount of protein, from .7 to max 1 g per lb of your body weight is more than enough, fats could still be reduced to something around 70/60 grams. Meanwhile carbs are your best option to increase and get the most out of your training in order to build muscle.

I suggest you to check on YouTube the video from Mind Pump Show called “eating too much protein could be killing your bulk” I bet it would help you a lot

Also, as someone already said, oatmeal is a great and versatile option alongside pasta , easy way to get your carbs, personally, I get the best stable energy during my day with an oatmeal overnight (cocoa, peanut/almond butter, whole milk, half a scoop of protein and a sliced banana)

[u/Sack_o_Bawlz → u/Samuel_sags]

How much protein do you shoot for on a cut?

[u/Samuel_sags → u/Sack_o_Bawlz]

On a cut 1gr per pound is recommended, even more like 1.25 (I reach this cuz I enjoy steaks) cuz on a cut it has benefits beyond muscle repair, like satiety effects (higher than fiber) muscle preservation and so

[u/mhobdog]

Dates are a superpower for carb intake. 30g of carbs per 100cal. Fruit juice is also great for me.

[u/laurenskz → u/mhobdog]

Is impossible as 1g carbs is 4kcal

[u/Nyamad12]

Try making your own mass gainers. Found it the easiest way to get carbs down quick. Protein + carb source (I use oats that are blended into powder form and threw in bananas)+sweetener (maple syrup, honey). You should be able to get 100g of carbs from that.

[u/No-Problem49]

If you don’t eat enough carbs your body is going to use protein as fuel instead of using it to build muscle. Now ask yourself: is that in line with your goals? Probably not.

[u/mohdasif → u/No-Problem49]

It will target stored fat until body fat percentage is very low. Then, if there is minimal fat remaining, it will begin to use protein as fuel.

[u/No-Problem49 → u/mohdasif]

Carbs are protein sparing: some protein will be used as fuel if you don’t eat carbs.

That is just fact. You are not just burning fat if you aren’t eating carbs. To think so is a gross oversimplification to the point of being wrong

[u/SonorousMuse]

Protein at least .71g per lb of bodyweight, carbs at bodyweight or higher, fats at least .3 - .5grams per lb of bodyweight.

[u/Obamasgaming1234]

Yes, carbs are incredibly important for performance and managing fatigue, they will quite literally allow you to recruit more muscle fibers and make better gains. I would say you probably don’t need that much fat either just don’t drop it too low. If you need any proof just eat like 500 grams for a day or two and see how your workouts improve.

[u/Objective-Door-513]

So way the science based lifters do it is

1. 1g protein per pound of body weight, so for you lets say 200g of protein.
   
2. 25% of calories to to fat so 3000*.25/9= 83g of fat. People start having hormone issues if they go less than 20-30% fat, so you can adjust up or down 5% if you feel like your t is down or you want more carbs and your t is fine.
   
3. All the rest in carbs. So 362 Carbs. The carbs provide the energy, so you do as many as you can after taking care of your other macros.

Anecdotally, with my friends who are super low body fat lifters, most of them at one point or another have added more carbs to their diet and commented on how much better they feel. I think we tend to undershoot carbs, simply because cutting carbs removes water weight, so we learn that carbs = higher numbers on scales so carbs = bad. But having the energy to lift hard is so important on a cut.

[u/GayCowsEatHeEeYyY]

I’m curious about this too since I have the same issue with hitting carbs. A lot of comments are revolved around how much more energy you’ll have when training, which is why the increased carbs is recommended.

But does that matter if I train early at 5am? I usually eat a slice of whole wheat bread and almond butter paired with 25g of whey and caffeine. My macros are closer to a 33/33/33 split.