Macro issues

xraychick01

Hello. I'm 36 years old, female, and new to weight lifting. I'm naturally thin and want to add some muscle mass and definition. I'm 5'5 120#.

I've used iifym to determine my macros. It's all a little confusing right now as I'm learning. But I tend to fall short on my carbs and go over on the fat almost daily. Any thoughts or suggestions or good sites out there for a newbie?

Also, I've been lifting since the end of Dec and see very little change in my body. I have not gained any weight. Should I increase my caloric intake? According to iifym I should be eating 1800 calories to gain muscle.

Chieflrg

xraychick01 wrote: »

Hello. I'm 36 years old, female, and new to weight lifting. I'm naturally thin and want to add some muscle mass and definition. I'm 5'5 120#.

I've used iifym to determine my macros. It's all a little confusing right now as I'm learning. But I tend to fall short on my carbs and go over on the fat almost daily. Any thoughts or suggestions or good sites out there for a newbie?

Also, I've been lifting since the end of Dec and see very little change in my body. I have not gained any weight. Should I increase my caloric intake? According to iifym I should be eating 1800 calories to gain muscle.

Nothing wrong with falling short on carbs in general unless your energy level is low.

Over on fats isn't a bad thing assuming it's not including a abundance of saturated fats at the same time.

Any site that calculates your caloric intake is giving you a estimate to get you in the ball park. You must adjust that estimate for the weight change you desire. So if you haven't gained weight since December, your are not eating in a surplus and should increase your caloric intake. If on average you have stayed the same weight since December, congrats you've found your TDEE & should add 10% of your TDEE to eat in a small surplus and continue your weight program that includes a progressive overload to stimulate muscles enough for growth.

psuLemon

To add to the above, if you are trying to add muscle through a bulk, you will also be adding fat. This is why you need to cut afterwards. If you want to recomp by eating at maintenance and following a good progressive overload lifting program, you will then need to realize its going to take time.... often 6 to 24 months.

What lifting program are you following ?

xraychick01

Chieflrg wrote: »

xraychick01 wrote: »

Hello. I'm 36 years old, female, and new to weight lifting. I'm naturally thin and want to add some muscle mass and definition. I'm 5'5 120#.

I've used iifym to determine my macros. It's all a little confusing right now as I'm learning. But I tend to fall short on my carbs and go over on the fat almost daily. Any thoughts or suggestions or good sites out there for a newbie?

Also, I've been lifting since the end of Dec and see very little change in my body. I have not gained any weight. Should I increase my caloric intake? According to iifym I should be eating 1800 calories to gain muscle.

Nothing wrong with falling short on carbs in general unless your energy level is low.

Over on fats isn't a bad thing assuming it's not including a abundance of saturated fats at the same time.

Any site that calculates your caloric intake is giving you a estimate to get you in the ball park. You must adjust that estimate for the weight change you desire. So if you haven't gained weight since December, your are not eating in a surplus and should increase your caloric intake. If on average you have stayed the same weight since December, congrats you've found your TDEE & should add 10% of your TDEE to eat in a small surplus and continue your weight program that includes a progressive overload to stimulate muscles enough for growth.

Thank you for the info! My weight has remained pretty much the same. I will add 10% and see what happens.

xraychick01

psuLemon wrote: »

To add to the above, if you are trying to add muscle through a bulk, you will also be adding fat. This is why you need to cut afterwards. If you want to recomp by eating at maintenance and following a good progressive overload lifting program, you will then need to realize its going to take time.... often 6 to 24 months.

What lifting program are you following ?

I'm not sure what you mean by "cut?" I've heard the term before just don't know what it's referring to.

I guess I'm just impatient haha. I've seen some small changes but look forward to more noticeable ones.

I'm not really following a specific listing program. I have free weights and resistance bands that I use at home.

Gallowmere1984

xraychick01 wrote: »

psuLemon wrote: »

To add to the above, if you are trying to add muscle through a bulk, you will also be adding fat. This is why you need to cut afterwards. If you want to recomp by eating at maintenance and following a good progressive overload lifting program, you will then need to realize its going to take time.... often 6 to 24 months.

What lifting program are you following ?

I'm not sure what you mean by "cut?" I've heard the term before just don't know what it's referring to.

I guess I'm just impatient haha. I've seen some small changes but look forward to more noticeable ones.

I'm not really following a specific listing program. I have free weights and resistance bands that I use at home.

Cutting is the dieting phase that comes after bulking (intentionally gaining weight), as there's always some amount of fat gain in a surplus. However, the more reasonable your surplus and the slower you gain, the less fat you are likely to put on. This is however, also affected by the efficacy of your training program, genetics, starting bodyfat levels, etc.

comptonelizabeth

I am always over on fats and protein and under on carbs. As said above,it's fine as long as your energy levels are ok and there is no medical reason to keep fat low.

psuLemon

xraychick01 wrote: »

psuLemon wrote: »

To add to the above, if you are trying to add muscle through a bulk, you will also be adding fat. This is why you need to cut afterwards. If you want to recomp by eating at maintenance and following a good progressive overload lifting program, you will then need to realize its going to take time.... often 6 to 24 months.

What lifting program are you following ?

I'm not sure what you mean by "cut?" I've heard the term before just don't know what it's referring to.

I guess I'm just impatient haha. I've seen some small changes but look forward to more noticeable ones.

I'm not really following a specific listing program. I have free weights and resistance bands that I use at home.

To give some basic information: Bulking refers to the processes of trying to gain muscle; this requires an energy surplus which also drives fat gains. Recomping refers to the process of eating a maintenance and training hard in hopes of gaining muscle and losing some fat (technically, you will have days you are in a deficit and days in a surplus, which is why this can occur). And cutting refers to the process of breaking down fat. Cutting is a bit different than weight loss, because there is a component in trying to retain muscle mass, so it's primarily fat loss.

The bold is going to be inefficient and probably why you aren't seeing results. Putting together random moves (which are probably isometric) are is just not efficient. If you want continue strength and potentially muscle gains, you need progressive overload and the focus should mainly be compound (more than one muscle group) lifts. The 4 primary lifts are overhead press, bench press, deadlift and squat. These moves engage more muscle fibers than any other moves. Progressive overload means, that you are adding to your total volume (weights x reps x sets) each week. So by getting on a structured lifting program, like one found in the link below, you will optimize your training and engage more muscle fibers than just pulling together random moves.

If you want to start, there are a few dumbbell routines in my link below. The Aworkoutroutine and the M&S ones are fairly similar and have worked with some of the new lifters I know.


http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

xraychick01

I am doing those 4 primary lifts along with others. And I add to my total volume weekly as well. I will check out the link you provided. Thank you for good info!

not_a_runner

xraychick01 wrote: »

I am doing those 4 primary lifts along with others. And I add to my total volume weekly as well. I will check out the link you provided. Thank you for good info!

An established program will help you learn about what other movements you can pair well with squat/bench/dead/press, as well as frequency, rep ranges, etc. There's a lot more to it than just adding weekly volume.

AbelMendoza

Look up AmerTheHammer and or Layne Norton, two of the best Dietitians/trainers (both PHDs) in the game and both believe highly in IIFYM.