My ultimate goal, as detailed in this question, is to "build sufficient strength to do standard powerlifts (squats/presses/deadlifts) in multiples of bodyweight - e.g DL 3x my body weight, Squat 2x my body weight", using Starting Strength in a reasonable period of time (6-8 weeks would be best, but I can stretch it upto 12 weeks if so required)
For that, I want to ensure that I'm eating correctly, both in terms of calories consumed and proportion of macro-nutrients absorbed. I used a number of sources to build some sort of a eating plan, I want the community's opinion on it (I don't want to find out, after 3 months, that I've been over/under eating all along!)
- Before I started SS, I was a "skinny-fat" person, so I went looking for an eating plan targeted at people like me. I found this post in a supposedly reputable forum, which advised that I need to eat 10-20% over my maintenance calories.
- Armed with that info, I used online calorie calculators (like this) to estimate my maintenance calories, which came down to between 2300 - 2400 calories for my body type/fat % etc.
- Then, I wanted to know what balance of macro-nutrients to have every day - I followed Rippletoe's advice in his wiki, and decided to give a Carb/Fat/Protein ratio of 50/25/25 a try.
With all the above, the following became my diet plan for everyday:
Net Calories ~ 2700(2350 + 15%) KCal
Carbs : 337g = 1350 KCal Fat : 75g = 675 KCal Protein: 170g = 675 KCal
I want to bulk up both in terms of mass and lifting capacity in a week-to-week basis. My current stats are:
Age: 28,
Height: 5'11"
Body Weight: 159 lb
Fat %: 12-14 (using callipers)
I believe that for my height, a body weight of 175- 185 lbs with the same/lower fat % would help me achieve my strength goals.
My question(s) are:
- Is my target weight/strength goals realistic, given the time frame - if not, what should I be aiming at? (I'm not looking for a quick fix - its just that I'll have significantly less time once Fall semester starts, and I want to make the most of Spring/Summer).
- Am I eating too much/too little in terms of sheer calories?
- For my fitness goals, are the balance of macros sufficient?
- As long as I'm staying mostly clean of junk food/refraining from eating out more than once a week, are there any specific food items that are better than others that I should either try to get more of (veggies/fish) /try to avoid (red meat, whole milk etc) - despite them adding up to the exact total for each day? (In other words, are th sources of macro-nutrients important as well? )