Calorie Target?

StayPositive82

Hello!! Hopefully this isn’t a dumb question.. but I’m really looking for some clarification.

I am currently 5’9 and 195lbs. The lowest I got down to was 175lbs but I felt I looked too skinny for my liking. Covid unfortunately halted my progress with all the gyms shutting down and whatnot and that is why I’m back up to 195lbs.

Now I am finally getting back to things! But I’d really like to focus more on muscle building rather than losing weight. I just want to tone up basically… I actually kind of like my weight where it is.. and just want to tighten up and build muscle.

For my goals should I be eating in a calorie deficit? Or a calorie surplus? I’m really confused about this.

Also just so I can give as much info as possible I only work out at the gym 2-3x a week. I have 1 FT job to where I’m not that physically active and mostly sit at my desk.. and then I have a PT job where I am extremely active and always on my feet and walking.

Thank you in advance for anybody’s help!!

Jthanmyfitnesspal

@staypositive82 : You have not stated exactly what you are willing to do to to get more fit, but we can infer that you want to work out perhaps more than you are now?

In any case, the challenge for workouts is not to overcompensate in eating back the calories. If your weight is stable (on average over ~7 days), then you are doing fine. If you find you are gaining weight, you might consider tracking more carefully (using this platform) with your goal set to "maintain weight." Then you add in for your workouts and eat them a bit conservatively. (E.G., save a few extra for the weekends!) You can also do an estimate for you 2nd job, if it's very active. If everything is set up correctly, you'll maintain while getting more fit.

Tracking fitness is much easier and compelling than tracking a body metric (aside from weight). All those at-home body-fat measurements are highly innacurate. Things like how far and fast you can ride, walk, swim, or run, for example. I hesitate to recommend weightlifting goals, only because, without coaching, you can get injured.

Final note: Tracking activity level throughout your day is a bit difficult. You might try getting a fitness tracker (e.g., fitbit). While not perfect, they can be helpful.

StayPositive82

Yes that makes a lot of sense!

And sorry about that, I will do cardio at the gym but I’d like to focus more on weights now. All different types of weight training. Arms, legs, back, shoulders, etc…

So should I calculate my calories to maintain my weight and go from there you think? Trial and error basically?

Also I have the Apple Watch 8 which is helpful in some ways but I still feel it’s off a bit.. for instance it says I have burned 250 calories since I put it on at 7am this morning but I’ve barely moved from my desk so I’m not sure how accurate it really is..

Retroguy2000

It's your choice what weight is best for you. If you're happy at 195 then take calories at maintenance. Your workout program will then hopefully adjust the % of bodyfat down while the % of lean muscle goes up.

If you have a good estimate for your maintenance calories in a typical day with work, and then add on net workout calories to that, then in theory if you take in that many calories you'll stay at the weight you want. I say in theory because those estimates are based on averages. Track how you go over time and adjust as needed. If you're doing weights with progressive load, you'll recomp fat into muscle.

I recommend trying the Navy's body fat calculator. For waist measurements, for men at least it means the navel, not sure if same for women, you will relax the stomach, exhaled, without pushing it out. I suspect you'll find the estimate high enough that you're in a good position to recomp. If your body fat was already low then you'd likely want to be in a slight calorie surplus to build muscle.

https://www.calculator.net/body-fat-calculator.html

pridesabtch

StayPositive82 wrote: »

Yes that makes a lot of sense!

And sorry about that, I will do cardio at the gym but I’d like to focus more on weights now. All different types of weight training. Arms, legs, back, shoulders, etc…

So should I calculate my calories to maintain my weight and go from there you think? Trial and error basically?

Also I have the Apple Watch 8 which is helpful in some ways but I still feel it’s off a bit.. for instance it says I have burned 250 calories since I put it on at 7am this morning but I’ve barely moved from my desk so I’m not sure how accurate it really is..

Toning up is a very catchy phrase, but it usually involves dropping some excess fat to see the muscles you have or are building...

Cardio is a great warm up/cool down for weight training. If you haven't worked much with weights, you may want to try working with a trainer a few sessions to develop good form and avoid injuries.

As far as calories, if you are happy where you are, as the others said eat at maintenance plus your exercise calories. Remember that heart rate is relatively good for calculating calories burned for cardio, but not for weight training.

It's easy to overestimate calories burned, but monitoring for a month can help you set the proper level. Eat at what you have determined to be maintenance then see how it goes. If you are losing, up it a bit. If you are gaining drop it a bit or only eat a portion of your exercise calories.

Good luck!

AnnPT77

StayPositive82 wrote: »

Yes that makes a lot of sense!

And sorry about that, I will do cardio at the gym but I’d like to focus more on weights now. All different types of weight training. Arms, legs, back, shoulders, etc…

So should I calculate my calories to maintain my weight and go from there you think? Trial and error basically?

Also I have the Apple Watch 8 which is helpful in some ways but I still feel it’s off a bit.. for instance it says I have burned 250 calories since I put it on at 7am this morning but I’ve barely moved from my desk so I’m not sure how accurate it really is..

I'd endorse the idea that "toned" is a combination of a certain level of muscularity, alongside enough fat loss for that muscularity to show in the way you personally prefer.

Working with a well-qualified trainer to start was a good suggestion. Watch out, though, for "trainers" at some discount gyms, who are barely trained at all themselves. Ask about their certifications, look those up to check them out.

If you don't use a trainer, or a group class led by a well-qualified person, then this thread may help you find a strength program:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

While almost any strength approach will improve muscularity in a beginner, you increase your odds of good overall results by following a professionally-designed program like those, rather than just making up a program on your own.

At 5'9" and 195, you're at BMI (body mass index) 28.8, which is in the higher end of the overweight BMI range (25–29.9 range). BMI is an approximation, and will be inaccurate for some people, but reasonable for the majority of the population. It would be quite unusual for a woman without a history of strength training who is at BMI 28 to be lean enough for muscularity to show up well.

As women, we tend to have something of an overall fat layer, and it does obscure muscularity (i.e., we don't look "toned" even with moderately good muscle mass, because that thin fat layer hides it). Every individual is different, but even as a woman who'd been very active for 15+ years while just above that BMI, definition ("toning") didn't start to show up for me until probably around the time I got down into the normal BMI range (top end is 24.9), or close. (Profile photo is about BMI 21, FWIW.) But every individual is different, of course.

Muscle mass gain is quite gradual, perhaps especially so for women, so no worries about going too fast or too far - you'll have plenty of time to monitor and adjust. On the plus side, strength gain can be pretty rapid, much faster than mass gain at first, and strength is very useful in daily life.

As far as your Apple watch calories: Keep in mind that we burn calories all day, and the biggest single chunk of them comes from our BMR (basal metabolic rate), basically the calories we burn just by being alive with functioning organs, before even doing anything. I don't see where you mention your age, but if you were 30 (wild random guess), we'd expect your BMR alone to be close to 1700 calories daily, roughly 70 per hour. If you've had the watch on since 7 until 1:30ish, that's several hundred calories right there. If you're talking just about active calories on the watch, even fidgeting, typing, etc., burn a surprising number of calories. Sedentary all day, using those same personal-data guesses, would be around 2000 calories, so around 300 above BMR, very approximately.

A couple of links here on MFP that may have helpful information for your general goals/situation:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat

That one has lots of details about increasing muscularity while staying at/near the same bodyweight, so reducing body fat at more or less constant weight.

For determining maintenance calories, there's a discussion here of various methods:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10638211/how-to-find-your-maintenance-calorie-level/p1

Best wishes!

Jthanmyfitnesspal

StayPositive82 wrote: »

Also I have the Apple Watch 8 which is helpful in some ways but I still feel it’s off a bit.. for instance it says I have burned 250 calories since I put it on at 7am this morning but I’ve barely moved from my desk so I’m not sure how accurate it really is..

Yes, as @AnnPT77 says: We're burning calories all the time, even while sleeping! Your brain burns about 20% of your daily calories, and it increases with cognitive load. So, you can burn calories just by thinking about burning calories. 🤯

And, @AnnPT77 very complete post on finding your maintenance level is fantastic. I can just endorse doing it the simplest way, which is to fill in your MFP profile with your sex, age, weight, and height. It uses the standard "Mifflin-St. Jeor" formula, which is at least a good starting point. I like to set for "sedentary" and let my Garmin watch add in for any activity above that.