How many calories should i eat when lifting

Barbosas77

I am female 5'0 and weigh 145.i want to lose 15 and tone. I heard lil cardio and more lifting burns fat faster cuz it turns into muscle. If so, how many calories should i eat a day?

EvanKeel

There is no process by which fat turns into muscle, as such. Burning more than you eat will result in weight loss. Lifting while doing so will help maintain muscle, which will help with definition; as the fat decreases, muscle will show more. Cardio will help burn some calories, but it isn't necessary, though some cardio is nice to do for other health reasons.

There are various online calculators that will you determine what you should be eating. With any of them, your best bet will be to log your food as accurately as you can and make adjustments over time to reach your goals. Also, be patient and consistent.

maxit

Fat doesn't turn into muscle Lifting will help you retain muscle as you lose fat (but you still will lose some muscle). Cardio will help overall with aerobic capacity. My suggestions would be to eat at a slight deficit - around 250 calories less than what you are burning, and eat a well balanced diet; engage in some structured lifting program 3 days a week (strong lifts, strong curves, new rules of lifting for women, or "convict conditioning" if you don' have access to a workout facility); walk 30 minutes daily. It's not rocket science. But you have to be willing to weigh and measure your food, & keep track of your data so that you can adjust calorie intake as needed to meet your weight loss goal.

Barbosas77

EvanKeel wrote: »

There is no process by which fat turns into muscle, as such. Burning more than you eat will result in weight loss. Lifting while doing so will help maintain muscle, which will help with definition; as the fat decreases, muscle will show more. Cardio will help burn some calories, but it isn't necessary, though some cardio is nice to do for other health reasons.

There are various online calculators that will you determine what you should be eating. With any of them, your best bet will be to log your food as accurately as you can and make adjustments over time to reach your goals. Also, be patient and consistent.

Barbosas77

Thanks for the reply.. Also, I heard that light weight w/more reps will burn more fat and heavier weights w/less reps will get you bulky. Now is this true?

Barbosas77

maxit wrote: »

Fat doesn't turn into muscle Lifting will help you retain muscle as you lose fat (but you still will lose some muscle). Cardio will help overall with aerobic capacity. My suggestions would be to eat at a slight deficit - around 250 calories less than what you are burning, and eat a well balanced diet; engage in some structured lifting program 3 days a week (strong lifts, strong curves, new rules of lifting for women, or "convict conditioning" if you don' have access to a workout facility); walk 30 minutes daily. It's not rocket science. But you have to be willing to weigh and measure your food, & keep track of your data so that you can adjust calorie intake as needed to meet your weight loss goal.

segacs

Barbosas77 wrote: »

Thanks for the reply.. Also, I heard that light weight w/more reps will burn more fat and heavier weights w/less reps will get you bulky. Now is this true?

Nope. Myth. Your best bet is to lift heavy (for you) to better tone and retain that lean muscle mass. Don't worry, you won't get bulky -- you're a woman and women need to work extremely hard (and usually use illegal substances) to get that big muscle bodybuilder look.

Barbosas77

Yes my job has a gym and I just started lifting on Monday... I have a co-worker that is in great shape and has been lifting for a while. Everyday we do a different section of the body. He also gave me an example of what I should be eating and how many calories but I think 1500is too much calories if I want to lose a lil weight. He said I'm still burning fat so it's ok.

Barbosas77

segacs wrote: »

Barbosas77 wrote: »

Thanks for the reply.. Also, I heard that light weight w/more reps will burn more fat and heavier weights w/less reps will get you bulky. Now is this true?

Nope. Myth. Your best bet is to lift heavy (for you) to better tone and retain that lean muscle mass. Don't worry, you won't get bulky -- you're a woman and women need to work extremely hard (and usually use illegal substances) to get that big muscle bodybuilder look.

Barbosas77

Oh wow I didn't know that. Thanks! I was afraid I would get bulky, especially my arms! Thanks so much you've been a great help!!!