Advice from female lifters please....

GeorgiPorgi1989

Hi All

I've been tracking calories and exercising (cardio/weights) for a good couple of years now. Granted I know I wasn't as strict as I should have been and was lazy at times and made excuses for not going to the gym or finding a reason to not eat healthy.

However the past couple of months I have really got on my game. I've upped my weights and how often I'm doing my sets. I now go to the gym 4 times a week... I have a PT who is working with me to ensure I've got balanced routines, usual sets of squats, deadlifts, accessory moves etc.

But I'm just struggling to figure out what level I should be eating at.

I am quite small (like 5ft 6in and 125lbs), I am not the leanest of 125lb'ers but I reckon that's probably due to lack of weights and usual cardio mentality from years ago.

People have said about eating at deficit to reduce fat then try build up, but I really don't think it's possible for me to get any lower in weight without looking ill.. Then I've been told just to skip that and lift heavy and eat loads...

I'll admit that I do eat about 80% homemade, non-processed, balanced (protein, carbs, fats) food and then the odd time of chocolate, pizza etc to stop myself from hating food and life haha!

There's just so much information out there and conflicting conversations. I'd really appreciate advice from those of you who have been there and done that. I know it's not a quick fix and nothing will happen overnight... Please help!

elfin168

suggest first set your goal. 2nd find out what you need to be eating in order to achieve that goal. talk to your pt?

KarenJanine

What are your lifting/physique goals? Do you know what your bodyfat % is?

There are three main options::

1. Eat at a small calorie deficit to continue decreasing fat - (but I note you say you don't necessarily want to lose more weight).

2. Eat at maintenance to do a 'recomp'. This is a slow process but over time with a decent lifting programme will decrease bodyfat % (i.e. get leaner).

3. Eat at a small surplus to gain muscle (i.e. bulk). There may be some associated fat gain but you can always go back to option #1 at a later stage to take that off again.

Use a TDEE calculator to work out your calorie intake guide for each of these options.
http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

If you know your BF% there are more accurate calculator options on the same site.

GeorgiPorgi1989

Hey! My goal is to get myself a bit bulkier. I know that's not really a definition! But I just want shape to me, I love the look of bulky, muscly women. I don't want to be skinny, I'd love to have that muscle definition and some 'meat on my bones' as my mother would say! But I don't have a figure of weight I want to be, the number on the scales doesn't bother me.

Unfortunately I don't know my bf%, I don't know the best way to do this. I know you can do online calculators but I know these aren't as accurate as using calipers.

I'd say recently I have probably been doing a 'recomp' as I can tell changes in my body, mainly my legs and bum from my lower body workout my PT has set me up. And I love it, but I think I'd just like to have a bit more meat on me.

I noticed whilst doing squat jumps yesterday how thin my arms are. They have some shape too them but generally more thin than the muscle look I'd like.

I've used the scoobys workshop previously and just tried again and for 'lose fat, gain muscle' I should be on 2100 calories a day. I think I just have that fear in me that I will end up gaining fat and becoming 'squishy' as opposed to my desired muscle definition!

sengalissa

I feel exactly the same!!!! I go back and forth because sometimes lifting makes me so hungry ("shouldn't I fuel my workouts?!)... ANd sometimes I just hate my saddlebags next to my quads and want to restrict to 1500. Of course, the flip flopping has not gotten me anywhere!
Right now I am trying 1600 (tdee method, i.e. not eating lifting calories but eating back 1/2 of cardio calories) and I am hoping to get down to 120. (Am 127 now.)

Would love to chat about this here a little more!

DangerousDUCK

Its very difficult to do both simultaneously(without drugs anyway!), bodybuilders have long since tried to find a method to gain "size" while losing fat. Its extremely fine balance hence most go for "cycles" bulking cutting or maintaining.

If you "eat big" you know you wont be hampering any gains you could get due to lack of available fuel but you probably will gain some fat, and visa versa if you cut you will lose the fat an at best try to maintain your strength an muscular gains.

I clear goal an direction will make the path to progress alot more straight foward

Terry

GeorgiPorgi1989

I know my goal... but it's just trying to figure out the best way to get there.

As I've said previous, I've pretty much been on maintenance for the past few months and I know I have made progress, albeit a little, but it's still progress.

I'm starting to believe eating slightly above my maintenance would be beneficial but would I eat at say 2100 every day, or just my workout days?

sardelsa

You sound like you are in a similar place I was last summer. I didn't want to lose more weight, but I was really scared to start a bulk, so I stayed at maintenance for a few months, but I didn't get the results I really wanted, so I started my bulk in September. Best decision I made.
Based on your goals, I think bulking would be something to consider. But you have to definitely be ready mentally as it is a mind game.

GeorgiPorgi1989

Thanks for your reply @sardelsa. Can I ask why its a mind game? But also how much of a bulk did you do i.e. how much did you add to daily intake, how long did it last, did you go straight to cut after? Apologies for the questions, I just want to try and do it right!

sardelsa

GeorgiPorgi1989 wrote: »

Thanks for your reply @sardelsa. Can I ask why its a mind game? But also how much of a bulk did you do i.e. how much did you add to daily intake, how long did it last, did you go straight to cut after? Apologies for the questions, I just want to try and do it right!

Hey no problem, ask away!

Well bulking can be difficult, seeing the scale and measurements go up, the bloat, some days eating when you aren't even hungry or even full to hit your cal goal and the worry that you are only putting on fat and not muscle, and you will go back to your old self.

Well coming from my deficit I did a reverse diet, I added 100-150 cals every week to my daily intake and monitored my weight for changes until I reached maintenance. Then when I started my bulk I ate 300-400 cals surplus, gaining ~0.5lb per week.

I am actually still bulking at the moment, I only have over a week left until I transition into maintenance and go from there (not sure if I will cut or not).

GeorgiPorgi1989

Ahh right okay! Yeah I do reckon I'd have days of feeling like there's no progression, just fat!

I have pretty much eaten at maintenance for the past few months. I think its only been past couple of weeks where I've eaten at a slight deficit to try trim body fat but that's when I've realised I've become too thin in places which is not what I really want.

I may try to get myself mentally prepared for this. I'm seeing my PT on Tuesday morning so will also see what she says!

Thank you for all your help!

89nunu

Listen to Sardelsa she knows her stuff...
I really only comment to say check out the women who bulk group. Lot's of women doing the mind game so you wil find a lot of questions answered and worried spelled out there

KarenFord1988

I'm doing something similar to sardelsa -- reverse dieting. I started at the very end of December, increasing my calories by 50 each week. I started at 1,660/day and am now up to 1,860/day. I've actually lost 4 pounds doing this (wasn't trying to lose weight, though. It just happened.) So I'm not at my maximum daily caloric intake yet. I go to the gym 5 days a week, lifting all 5 days and do some cardio (10 - 20 minutes) about 3 times a week. Prior to doing all of this I did mostly cardio with very little lifting. Then I started reading about reverse dieting and I'm trying this to try to "reset" my metabolism so that when I start cutting, I'll lose the belly fat that's still hanging around. I've definitely gained strength, which I love. You just have to listen to your body. Everyone's body responds differently to diet and exercise.

GeorgiPorgi1989

Thank you so much for all your help and advice.

I think I might have a phase of trying to figure out my maintenance, I think it should be around 1,800 ish but I need to know for sure.

To try and reduce my body fat I recently have been eating around 1,600-1,700 a day (although I did struggle to do this day after day!). But I've stopped this reduction since I've felt a bit too skinny.

It's like today, I will have consumed about 1,900 once my dinner is included and I've not felt hungry which is a good thing surely.

I think I'm so overwhelmed, I'm not sure where to start!