I'm stuck!!

oliviaroseee
oliviaroseee Posts: 8
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello everyone! I am a 21 year old female. I'm 5'9 and I weigh 145 currently. I have 28% body fat percentage. I am looking to lose body fat and gain muscle. Gaining muscle is my biggest goal without putting on tons of weight. I do 40 minutes of cardio, weight train, and do insanity 6 days a week. My BMR is 1497 and my TDEE is 2582. I eat super healthy and workout a lot, yet I still have a high body fat percentage. I credit this to me not eating enough calories per day- I find it difficult to eat 1200 I get full easily. I recently bought ON 100% gold whey protein powder and am going to start taking that to help build muscle - I read you should eat your body weight in protein. Can anyone offer advice?? How many calories a day should I be consuming and do I eat back excersice calories? Also, since I will be consuming protein powder do I count those calories as part of my set number of calories for the day or are those additional? I guess a main question I should be asking is which I should do first: lose weight or gain muscle or do both at the same time. Any advice is welcome, I need to learn! Thanks :)

Replies

  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    Well first off you can't gain muscle while eating at a deficet.

    BF% is lowered by a good diet, and by that I mean eating enough food.

    As well are 21 or 41 there is both on your profile...I went to look at your diary as I find it hard to understand someone having a hard time eating 1200 calories while doing all that exercise but without seeing your diary it's hard to say. If you feel you "can't" eat enough food start eating regular fat items such as whole milk, butter, nuts etc.

    As for what you need to eat if your TDEE is correct, -20% off that and you have that magic number. And if you use TDEE -20% no you don't eat back exercise calories.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    You don't need to lose any weight so quit worrying about a eating at a deficit and focus on building and strengthening your muscles. The scale shouldn't be what you use as a judgment, rather take measurements. You can be 10 lbs heavier of solid muscle and yet look 10 lbs thinner.
  • uconnwinsnc
    uconnwinsnc Posts: 1,054 Member
    You don't need to lose any weight so quit worrying about a eating at a deficit and focus on building and strengthening your muscles. The scale shouldn't be what you use as a judgment, rather take measurements. You can be 10 lbs heavier of solid muscle and yet look 10 lbs thinner.

    10 lbs of solid muscle is really hard to put on, but your point is completely right. OP, you should be weight training.
  • myurav
    myurav Posts: 165 Member
    It sounds like you are focusing most of your routine on cardio - I would reverse that. Find a lifting program that you can stick with for a few months (not weeks, months) - I know that 5/3/1, Starting Strength, 5x5 are all ones that come up quite often on here, but feel free to find one that works best for you. Focus on lifting heavy, and maybe incorporate some interval training for your cardio. Trust me, you will start to notice a difference.

    Also, in terms of protein, it's recommended about 1 g/lean body mass, so you should be aiming for at least 100g of protein per day. Ways I incorporate protein: Greek yogurt, burgers, edamame, salmon, omelettes, and protein shakes. I also find easy recipes online, like "Easy Mini Chicken and Broccoli Quiche" (http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/impossibly-easy-mini-chicken-and-broccoli-pies/c3ca630f-1c3e-4053-bea3-5745b5e14980), which tastes delicious.

    Feel free to add me :) Good luck!

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