Carb Intake Guidelines

If I had a dollar for every time someone has asked, “how many grams of carbs should I have each day?” I’d have enough money to buy a few copies of Madonna’s latest album… or fill up my car with gas.  I think I’d go for the latter.

While I, nor anyone else, can tell you exactly how many grams of carbs you should take in each day, there are some guidelines I can give you to help you reach your goals.

Two Key Points Regarding Carb Intake

• If your goal is to lose fat, then you should eat less carbs.
• If your goal is to build muscle, then you should eat more carbs.

Additionally, you need to consider how important strength, stamina, mental clarity, and a good mood are to you.  As your carb intake reaches critically low levels, all of those things can suffer.

So if your job requires you to be vivacious, chipper, and smart as a whip, then a very low carb diet (at least long term) is probably not realistic for you.  Don’t worry, there are ways to manipulate your carbs so that you can burn lots of fat without feeling and/or performing like poop.

Before we get to specific carb guidelines, let me give you a couple more nuggets of information.

Your fat and carbohydrate intake should be inversely proportional.  If you eat more carbs, you should eat less fat, and vice versa. 

Here are three sets of guidelines for daily carb intake.  (Select your goal and match with your bodyweight.)

I want to get lean FAST and I don’t care how tough it is!

Bodyweight                                          Carb Intake

100 – 150 pounds                                 30 – 70 grams

151 – 200 pounds                                 50 – 100 grams

201 and up pounds                               75 – 150 grams

I want to get lean fairly quickly but still feel good and maintain most of my strength.

Bodyweight                                          Carb Intake

100 – 150 pounds                                 70 – 125 grams

151 – 200 pounds                                 100 – 150 grams

201 and up pounds                               150 – 200 grams

I want to slowly lean up, feel great, keep (and even gain) muscle and strength.

Bodyweight                                          Carb Intake

100 – 150 pounds                                 100 – 200 grams

151 – 200 pounds                                 150 – 300 grams

201 and up pounds                               200 – 350 grams

Summary

If you use the above carb intake guidelines, consume moderate amounts of healthy fat (~40g), eat plenty of protein (~1g/lb), all spread over 5 or 6 small meals per day, you will most likely make substantial improvements in your physique!

As always, train hard and expect success!

Yours in health,

Dr Clay

as always, the above is for informational purposes only.  see your doctor before beginning any diet or exercise program.