Lose weight or add muscle?

rosecropper

Used to be size 2 (5'8" and 125lb). Messed up my knee & kept me from running- gained lots of fat & lost lots of muscle. None of my clothes fit, so got back on mfp this year. Slowly ramping up my workouts.
Was doing fine on 1200 cal goal for a while, but past 8 weeks I've gone over my total (not net) average for each week. Averaging closer to 1600 cal/day total. Some days really needed the energy to get through work & exercise. Other times just sick of being hungry!
Now I'm hovering around 140lb. Been focused on the weight loss because still have so much fat & clothes barely fit, but wondering if it would be better to eat more & lift more instead. Thoughts from those who've done it themselves?

goldthistime

At 5'8" you should definitely be eating more than 1200 calories. If focussing on lifting first is what it will take to get you to eat more then it gets my vote!!!

rileyes

Maybe consider eating at maintenance and get on a lifting program. Eating lots of protein and lifting heavy can help retain and perhaps build muscle. Focus more on recomposition and less on scale numbers.

Ghostlight1

Eat smart, if you need energy before working out I would go with a protein /whey powder shake. I would also balance your work outs with weights one day cardio the next. Muscle will burn calories when not working out so building them up will help you reach your goals but keep in mind muscle is weight so what you are losing is fat. the scale may not change much when you build muscle but with the lose of fat you will look and feel better.