Increase calories when strenght training or not?

LisaUlrey

Just curious, because I would like to see both sides of the argument, has increased their calories when they started adding strenght training?

mperrott2205

This all depends entirely on your goals.

If you want to gain significant muscle then yes - You raise your calorie intake to above your TDEE.

If you want to cut then no - maintain at a sensible caloric deficit.

rassha01

Just wondering what happens than if you eat at TDEE and lift heavy? Any experiences?

MzManiak

I raised mine to eat at maintenance when I first started. Once you are used to it, you can adjust as needed. Lower to lose weight, Higher to build muscle.

LisaUlrey

This all depends entirely on your goals.

If you want to gain significant muscle then yes - You raise your calorie intake to above your TDEE.

If you want to cut then no - maintain at a sensible caloric deficit.

When you raise your calories to your TDEE, do you still record all of the calories you burn and eat them back? I would like to add muscle and lose weight at the same time. I am doing cardio and plan on adding weights.

MzManiak

Just wondering what happens than if you eat at TDEE and lift heavy? Any experiences?

I lost quite a few inches and lowered my body fat% to 18 eating at TDEE.

ninerbuff

Just wondering what happens than if you eat at TDEE and lift heavy? Any experiences?

Slow body recomp. Done it myself and seen results with others doing the same.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
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Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

LisaUlrey

I raised mine to eat at maintenance when I first started. Once you are used to it, you can adjust as needed. Lower to lose weight, Higher to build muscle.

I still have a little ways to go until I hit my goal weight. Were you at your goal weight when you started strenth training or were you still working on losing weight? Seems a bit extreem to raise the calories so much if I still have to lose.

81Katz

You do NOT eat calories burned if using TDEE +/- % method.

deksgrl

This all depends entirely on your goals.

If you want to gain significant muscle then yes - You raise your calorie intake to above your TDEE.

If you want to cut then no - maintain at a sensible caloric deficit.

When you raise your calories to your TDEE, do you still record all of the calories you burn and eat them back? I would like to add muscle and lose weight at the same time. I am doing cardio and plan on adding weights.

TDEE means total daily energy expenditure (aka "maintenance calories") If you eat more than that you would gain weight. TDEE includes your exercise calories already so you don't eat back more.

To lose fat, you need a small calorie deficit. It is difficult to add muscle and lose weight at the same time, you may need to focus on one goal at a time and go through cut and bulk cycles to get to your ultimate goal.

AzGilrock

Several people told me I couldn't lose weight and build muscle at the same time. So I chose to lose weight in the mornings and build muscle in the afternoons.

cwolfman13

Just wondering what happens than if you eat at TDEE and lift heavy? Any experiences?

This is what I'm currently doing since I'm now in the healthy BF% range. It's really slow body re-composition so don't expect any overnight miracles. I figure I'll look pretty awesome in 18-24 months with the training I do.

LisaUlrey

This all depends entirely on your goals.

If you want to gain significant muscle then yes - You raise your calorie intake to above your TDEE.

If you want to cut then no - maintain at a sensible caloric deficit.

When you raise your calories to your TDEE, do you still record all of the calories you burn and eat them back? I would like to add muscle and lose weight at the same time. I am doing cardio and plan on adding weights.

TDEE means total daily energy expenditure (aka "maintenance calories") If you eat more than that you would gain weight. TDEE includes your exercise calories already so you don't eat back more.

To lose fat, you need a small calorie deficit. It is difficult to add muscle and lose weight at the same time, you may need to focus on one goal at a time and go through cut and bulk cycles to get to your ultimate goal.

Thank you! Thant helps a lot. I may wait until I get closer to my goal weight to start weights then.

MzManiak

I raised mine to eat at maintenance when I first started. Once you are used to it, you can adjust as needed. Lower to lose weight, Higher to build muscle.

I still have a little ways to go until I hit my goal weight. Were you at your goal weight when you started strenth training or were you still working on losing weight? Seems a bit extreem to raise the calories so much if I still have to lose.

No, I was not at goal. I was still a bit off. The lifting is what finally got me down to goal. If you aren't comfortable raising your calories a lot, you can always keep them the same and then just add in your exercise calories burned for now. You'll probably find that you need more energy though, and can raise it by 100 every couple weeks until you're at a number you're comfortable with. Keep in mind too, that a weight with a lower body fat % looks a bit different than a weight with a higher body fat %. So, if you lower your body fat, you may find that the extra 10 pounds or whatever actually gives you your goal look.

It's all about trying something and adjusting it to fit your lifestyle and goals. Finding what works for you is a guesstimation at first. You can always play with the numbers, so don't get discouraged if something doesn't work at first.

MzManiak

This all depends entirely on your goals.

If you want to gain significant muscle then yes - You raise your calorie intake to above your TDEE.

If you want to cut then no - maintain at a sensible caloric deficit.

When you raise your calories to your TDEE, do you still record all of the calories you burn and eat them back? I would like to add muscle and lose weight at the same time. I am doing cardio and plan on adding weights.

TDEE means total daily energy expenditure (aka "maintenance calories") If you eat more than that you would gain weight. TDEE includes your exercise calories already so you don't eat back more.

To lose fat, you need a small calorie deficit. It is difficult to add muscle and lose weight at the same time, you may need to focus on one goal at a time and go through cut and bulk cycles to get to your ultimate goal.

Thank you! Thant helps a lot. I may wait until I get closer to my goal weight to start weights then.

It's still a good idea to start weights, even if only to preserve your muscles, even if you aren't looking to gain muscle right now. When I focused on only losing weight, I ended up losing muscle and my body fat % actually increased because of it.

cwolfman13

This all depends entirely on your goals.

If you want to gain significant muscle then yes - You raise your calorie intake to above your TDEE.

If you want to cut then no - maintain at a sensible caloric deficit.

When you raise your calories to your TDEE, do you still record all of the calories you burn and eat them back? I would like to add muscle and lose weight at the same time. I am doing cardio and plan on adding weights.

Don't confuse TDEE method with MFP and the NEAT method. The TDEE method includes an estimation of exercise in your activity level...it should already be in there if you're doing the TDEE method, so you do NOT log and eat those back. You only do that with the NEAT method because exercise is EXCLUDED from your activity level when you set your profile.

You can't really build muscle while you're dieting...you can burn fat and build muscle slowly at maintenance...but it's very slow. Lifting now (do not wait until you're at a goal weight) will preserve LBM and you'll look a lot better at goal. It's a lot easier to preserve what you have than to re-build muscle mass later...building muscle is very hard work.

I waited until I got to a healthy BF% before I increased my calories to maintenance, though I've been lifting since pretty much the get go. While dieting I wasn't able to up my weights exactly on schedule as per my program because I didn't have the energy...but I still made good strength gains...they just came a little slower.

SpecialSundae

I raised mine to eat at maintenance when I first started. Once you are used to it, you can adjust as needed. Lower to lose weight, Higher to build muscle.

I still have a little ways to go until I hit my goal weight. Were you at your goal weight when you started strenth training or were you still working on losing weight? Seems a bit extreem to raise the calories so much if I still have to lose.

I'm losing weight whilst doing strength training. I did increase my calories from what I was eating before I began strength training but I'm still maintaining a good deficit and losing at a reasonable rate.

mperrott2205

You do NOT eat calories burned if using TDEE +/- % method.

What this guy said.

LisaUlrey

I am about 22 pounds away from my goal weight, so I think I am going to start when I lose about another 10 pounds.

deksgrl

Don't wait to start strength training. It will help you to shed fat when eating at a small calorie deficit, and help you to retain lean body mass. This is important and beneficial for many reasons.

jlapey

This all depends entirely on your goals.

If you want to gain significant muscle then yes - You raise your calorie intake to above your TDEE.

If you want to cut then no - maintain at a sensible caloric deficit.

When you raise your calories to your TDEE, do you still record all of the calories you burn and eat them back? I would like to add muscle and lose weight at the same time. I am doing cardio and plan on adding weights.

TDEE means total daily energy expenditure (aka "maintenance calories") If you eat more than that you would gain weight. TDEE includes your exercise calories already so you don't eat back more.

To lose fat, you need a small calorie deficit. It is difficult to add muscle and lose weight at the same time, you may need to focus on one goal at a time and go through cut and bulk cycles to get to your ultimate goal.

Thank you! Thant helps a lot. I may wait until I get closer to my goal weight to start weights then.

NO NO NO, you still want to lift NOW in order to retain the muscle you currently have. It's much harder to build it back once you've lost it. Don't wait.

LisaUlrey

I see there are four TDEE methods. Mifflin-St Jeor, Harris-Benedict, Activity Level
and Katch-McCardle. Any suggestions on which to use?

jlapey

I see there are four TDEE methods. Mifflin-St Jeor, Harris-Benedict, Activity Level
and Katch-McCardle. Any suggestions on which to use?

I figured all three and then took an average of the three. Doesn't really matter as none are completely accurate and should only be used as a guideline. After 4 weeks at one caloric intake, you can adjust it according to whether you are losing, maintaining or gaining.

cwolfman13

I am about 22 pounds away from my goal weight, so I think I am going to start when I lose about another 10 pounds.

Don't wait...you want to preserve what you have. It is much easier to preserve what you have now than to try to build it back later. Building muscle is incredibly slow and hard.

cwolfman13

I see there are four TDEE methods. Mifflin-St Jeor, Harris-Benedict, Activity Level
and Katch-McCardle. Any suggestions on which to use?

The biggest difference here is not going to be your actual TDEE number...it will vary somewhat, but shouldn't be substantial. The biggest difference is going to be the BMR calculation....even then, the difference is usually not too substantial...maybe 100 calories or so.