Calorie Surplus..but how much? Guidance Needed.

valeriewarfel

Hey! So I have been doing a lot of research and I get the general idea. Want to build muscle= calorie surplus, and so on. I am just not entirely sure where I particularly stand in this all. I am a female in her 20's and I weigh 126 pounds and I'm 5'4 . I have been lifting and lifting heavy, going to the gym about 4 days a week, little to no cardio. Although I would say I have pretty skinny legs and arms naturally, I do have the typical spots with more "squishy" spots than I like including my whole tummy area and pretty much the areas where my bra would be on, especially my back. Anyways, the idea of a calorie surplus obviously slightly frightens me but what scares me the most is not correctly calculating the calorie surplus that is best for me. I am also wondering if a calorie surplus or maintenance is what I need considering that I do struggle with "squishyness" in those areas.

What is driving me crazy is that I keep seeing different recommendations for how many more calories I should be intaking and I just don't know :,(


MAIN QUESTION if you don;t want to read the explanation is: What is the BEST most accurate way to determine what my calorie intake should be. Does it require that I find out my fat percentage, or not really? Different formulas are giving me different results but I have never done one that includes my fat percentage.

Help! I need guidance. ( I will be writing another post for another question shortly..)

-V

jendiaz9732

I am in similar situation. Feel free to add. Hope this helps..

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10228769/can-anyone-explain-to-me-macros/p1

ndj1979

valeriewarfel wrote: »

Hey! So I have been doing a lot of research and I get the general idea. Want to build muscle= calorie surplus, and so on. I am just not entirely sure where I particularly stand in this all. I am a female in her 20's and I weigh 126 pounds and I'm 5'4 . I have been lifting and lifting heavy, going to the gym about 4 days a week, little to no cardio. Although I would say I have pretty skinny legs and arms naturally, I do have the typical spots with more "squishy" spots than I like including my whole tummy area and pretty much the areas where my bra would be on, especially my back. Anyways, the idea of a calorie surplus obviously slightly frightens me but what scares me the most is not correctly calculating the calorie surplus that is best for me. I am also wondering if a calorie surplus or maintenance is what I need considering that I do struggle with "squishyness" in those areas.

What is driving me crazy is that I keep seeing different recommendations for how many more calories I should be intaking and I just don't know :,(


MAIN QUESTION if you don;t want to read the explanation is: What is the BEST most accurate way to determine what my calorie intake should be. Does it require that I find out my fat percentage, or not really? Different formulas are giving me different results but I have never done one that includes my fat percentage.

Help! I need guidance. ( I will be writing another post for another question shortly..)

-V

set MFP For .5 pound per week gain < this assumed you are using MFP method…

you may need to eat more than the number MFP gives you, it really is trial and error.

AliceDark

How long have you been lifting? Are you still making progress in your lifts while eating at maintenance, or have you stalled? (These would help you determine if you need to bulk or if you can stay at maintenance a little longer).

If you decide you need to bulk...do you know what your maintenance calorie intake is? If yes, add 250 calories. If not, plug your numbers into MFP or Scooby's Workshop and see what you would need to gain .5 pounds per week. Eat that for a month, then reassess. Don't freak out if your weight jumps around a lot in the beginning, because it probably will.

DvlDwnInGA

Try this. http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/

Plug your numbers in, track for a month. Aim for 2-4 pounds a month or a half pound to a pound a week.

Keep it simple as possible and also keep in mind, that these are just calculators that are using data points for what it "thinks" you need to eat to accomplish your goal. They can be reasonably accurate, but it is up to you to track and use your "real" world data and adjust accordingly.

I typically like to use the body weight formula, and set my protein and fat goals by total body weight instead of LBM. That is entirely up to you though.

xmichaelyx

valeriewarfel wrote: »

MAIN QUESTION if you don;t want to read the explanation is: What is the BEST most accurate way to determine what my calorie intake should be. Does it require that I find out my fat percentage, or not really? Different formulas are giving me different results but I have never done one that includes my fat percentage.

Use whatever formula you want, because none are more accurate than others (or, put another way, all are equally inaccurate).

Adjust your intake every month or so as needed based on weight loss/gain and your goals.

After 6 months, you'll know precisely how much to eat.

Yi5hedr3

You do not need to gain weight. Your weight is about right, just need to recompose.