Not eating enough to build muscle

TC2429

Hey guys, I've lost some weight recently and now I'd like to tone up and get some better defined muscles. The problem is i don't think i eat enough to manage it. I probably eat 800 calories a day if not less. I don't really have a good appetite anymore. How many calories should i reasonably add in order to gain some muscle? Also what type of fat, carb, protein ratio is best?

sammyliftsandeats

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10226536/bulking-for-beginners

Essentially, you need more food. A lot more.

Calculate your TDEE and add about 250 calories per day to gain weight.

Calorie dense foods such as nuts, cheese, and nut butters will work for you as you get a lot of calories for small volume.

Head over to the 'gaining weight' subforum where you will find lots of information.

ninerbuff

500 over your TDEE is good to start.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Spliner1969

Unless you are 3-4' tall 800 is certainly not enough. The old saying is that you need to eat at a surplus to gain muscle well. That's not completely true, you can do a slight deficit and trade some fat for muscle, but there is no such thing as toning.. you really just need to build a little muscle to look toned. So figure out your TDEE and eat near it or just above it to start adding muscle. The usual stipulations apply.. are you actually eating 800 or is that your own guess-timate? Are you weighing your food, logging everything that passes your lips? Drinks? Condiments? If you are.. then you are pretty much starving yourself and your body will be doing the opposite of what you want, it'll cannibalize your muscle for sustenance.

cwolfman13

all you're doing eating 800 calories is burning muscle mass...you aren't even close to maintenance, let alone a surplus that you would need to efficiently put on mass.

Ready2Rock206

Whoa - you've probably lost a lot of muscle by eating so low. You could probably double that amount and that might not even be enough. Calculate your TDEE as mentioned above and go from there.

TC2429

I definitely don't want to gain weight or bulk up. I just want to not be skinny fat pretty much.

sammyliftsandeats

TC2429 wrote: »

I definitely don't want to gain weight or bulk up. I just want to not be skinny fat pretty much.

Okay, let's start with your stats.

Age, Height, Weight, Gender?

If you don't want to be skinny fat, you will have to do some sort of progressive resistance training and you're definitely going to have to eat more than 800 calories.

jessef593

800? That's dangerously low. I don't know what your stats are but you'll have to be 250-500 calories above your maintenance. Which I'm guessing will be closer to 1600-3000 depending on your stats and gender.

TC2429

I'm 5'2 about 131 pounds and female.

diannethegeek

TC2429 wrote: »

Hey guys, I've lost some weight recently and now I'd like to tone up and get some better defined muscles. The problem is i don't think i eat enough to manage it. I probably eat 800 calories a day if not less. I don't really have a good appetite anymore. How many calories should i reasonably add in order to gain some muscle? Also what type of fat, carb, protein ratio is best?

Having your stats (height, weight, age, activity level) would probably help people give more specific advice. There's no way to know how much you should eat without them. And start logging your calories since it sounds like you aren't yet. 800 calories for most people would lead to nutrition deficiencies, hair loss, brittle nails, saggy skin, etc. That's no good.

It sounds like you want to do something like a recomp. This thread might be a good starting place: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat/p1

sammyliftsandeats

TC2429 wrote: »

I'm 5'2 about 131 pounds and female.

Okay, I have about an inch on you and ten pounds but my TDEE is about 2100 calories.

You need more fuel if you are going to do anything (breathing and walking require fuel and 800 calories is not enough).

Find your maintenance calories and eat that. Start a progressive strength training program. The recomp article that @diannethegeek posted is great.

TC2429

Ok thanks guys. I'll try the calorie dense foods suggested earlier.

Michael190lbs

TC2429 wrote: »

I definitely don't want to gain weight or bulk up. I just want to not be skinny fat pretty much.

Ok look eating 800 calories is Dangerous get some help!! You will stay skinny fat unless you eat in a surplus because 800 calories can't build muscle 1500 calories can. The weight you can gain can be muscle which will make you look better than skinny fat. Stop looking at the scale its screwing with your head eat some more calories and lift heavy in a decent program..

Good Luck

Spliner1969

TC2429 wrote: »

I'm 5'2 about 131 pounds and female.

According to IIFYM.com (a site I trust) here is what their TDEE calculator recommends:

Your BMR Is: 1294 (This is the amount of calories your body needs to survive and not cannibalize itself).
Your TDEE Is: 1488 (This is the amount of calories your body uses just doing every day things, no exercise)

So 800 is way too low like others mentioned as well. You're already at a healthy weight so try to get yourself up to around 1400-1500 calories a day if you don't exercise. If you exercise, eat back those calories on top of the 1500. You won't bulk up or add weight more than a few fluctuating pounds (remember fluctuating +/- 5 lbs is normal so don't panic if it happens, it'll go away on its own). My guess is that if you started some sort of light (or body weight) weight training you would probably need to eat in the 1600-1800 calorie range to see results. It all depends on what you do for exercise/weight training. Unless you take testosterone supplements you aren't going to get bulky, what you want is to just build basic muscle for aesthetic reasons right?

If I were you (just a suggestion) I'd immediately up my calorie intake to 1200 or a tad higher. Start body weight training (plenty of info on the web about how to get started), and eat back those calories on top of the 1200. After the first week, add 100-200 more calories, and repeat for a week.. then add more.. until you hit the 1500ish range per day. Then keep an eye on your weight for a month and see where it lands. If it's going down you need to add more calories again, so add 200 a day and wait for a few weeks and see. Maintenance can be tricky, but worst case is you may lose a few extra pounds or gain a few, but at your current height and age, it looks like your normal weight should be between say 110 and 138. You're already in that range so you have room to adjust.

Good luck and remember, weight training isn't going to make you bulky, it's going to do exactly what you want as long as you give your body the calories and protein it needs.

peaceout_aly

TC2429 wrote: »

Hey guys, I've lost some weight recently and now I'd like to tone up and get some better defined muscles. The problem is i don't think i eat enough to manage it. I probably eat 800 calories a day if not less. I don't really have a good appetite anymore. How many calories should i reasonably add in order to gain some muscle? Also what type of fat, carb, protein ratio is best?

800 is 100% not enough! I'm 5' and have managed a "slow bulk" (really probably more maintenance) eating 1,400-1,600 calories per day. This is around 250 over my TDEE. Some people suggest 450 calories more than your TDEE but that always makes me nervous to gain too quickly and just load on fat versus building muscle. It's good to try and get .5-1 gram of protein per lb. of bodyweight. I stay under 100 grams of carbs and 40 grams of sugar just to make sure I eat a nutritional diet, but it's not required.