How much to eat?

rf1583

I'm a newbie and just started a 3 day a week weightlifting program consisting of squats, Deadlifts, bench press, rows, overhead press, and 1-2 isolation exercises mixed in about 3-4 weeks ago. I'm a female, 5'2", 99lbs. I do have some body fat to lose (caliper measurement said I'm like 25% body fat) but I want to build muscle and put on some weight so I decided to bulk. I've done different calculators and get mixed results. I am getting at least 1g of protein per pound of body weight. My carb/ fat/protein macros are around 45/20/35. MFP said I need around 1660 calories to gain .5lbs a week. The problem I'm having with the calculators is I have a desk job so I'm mostly sedentary all day but I do my intense workout 3 days a week. I started out only eating a little over 1500 calories and that wasn't enough. I weigh myself every day and then take the average at the end of the week. Even at 1650 calories my weight has been staying anywhere from 98-100 lbs. how much more should I increase my calories? I feel it's going to be hard to eat so much!

butlersoft

Since you just started - you need to give yourself time to see some difference.

What were you eating before in terms of calories?? 1660 isn't a whole lot of calories - particularly if you're exercising and it could be that your TDEE is significantly higher ... which then puts you at either maintenance (or even a defecit)

butlersoft

Use this to check your TDEE :

http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

TavistockToad

1 week isnt long enough to say if its enough calories or not... that being said 1600 isnt a massive amount, so i would add another 100 and then weigh yourself in a couple of weeks. if your weight is still stable then add some more cals till you see a gain.

I have found that MFP sets maintenance calories a little low.

rf1583

Since you just started - you need to give yourself time to see some difference.

What were you eating before in terms of calories?? 1660 isn't a whole lot of calories - particularly if you're exercising and it could be that your TDEE is significantly higher ... which then puts you at either maintenance (or even a defecit)

I have no idea what I was eating before but my weight has literally not changed much in the past 10 years. Since I started working full time 7 years ago (I'm 31) , I maybe went up a few pounds to being more sedentary. I must've been eating less than 1600 calories especially since I wasn't exercising much at all then. I'll give it time, I know this is a slow process. I just want to make sure I'm doing the right thing to eventually see gains.

rf1583

Use this to check your TDEE :

http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

Ok I just used that calculator and it said my TDEE is 1538 so should I increase another 100 calories a day (1750 or so) or more? I don't know how much more I can eat!

mebepiglet123

High dense calorie foods will help

Olive oil, peanut butter, nuts, my minds gone blank sure others will come up with more. Geeze wish I had your problem....????????????????????

geekyjock76

I would buy a digital food scale and use it to weigh all the food you eat. Calculators only provide estimates; and each formula will utilise a different set of variables. That's why you get a wide range of estimated intake.

With that said, your actual TDEE could be as much as 1750 calories. Once you establish actual TDEE, you can add 200-300 calories to gain about 0.5 per week. How much muscle to fat you gain depends on genetics as well as training age.

rf1583

I would buy a digital food scale and use it to weigh all the food you eat. Calculators only provide estimates; and each formula will utilise a different set of variables. That's why you get a wide range of estimated intake.

With that said, your actual TDEE could be as much as 1750 calories. Once you establish actual TDEE, you can add 200-300 calories to gain about 0.5 per week. How much muscle to fat you gain depends on genetics as well as training age.

I did buy a digital good scale and have been meticulously weighing my foods. I think maybe since I just recently increased calories to 1650-1700 I should stick around 1700 just for a little while longer to see if I do gain weight and go from there. I don't want to gain weight too fast.

chani8

It's real easy to gain fat and very hard to gain actual muscle mass. So really, go very slow on the weight gain.

Are you already toned and in shape?

rf1583

It's real easy to gain fat and very hard to gain actual muscle mass. So really, go very slow on the weight gain.

Are you already toned and in shape?

I added a pic to my profile so you can see what I look like now. I don't look out of shape but I'm not toned at all and I have little muscle. After reading so much I figured it was best for me to bulk because I really can't afford to lose any weight at this point. I know I'll gain muscle very slowly so that's why I don't want to eat too much and put on too much fat because on my frame that will not be too flattering!

NRBreit

Sounds like you're off to a good start. Do what you're doing for a couple of weeks and, if the scale isn't moving at all, you can experiment with increasing your cals by 150-200 cals. Keep monitoring your rate of gain and adjust cals as needed.

JoRocka

It's real easy to gain fat and very hard to gain actual muscle mass. So really, go very slow on the weight gain.

Are you already toned and in shape?

I added a pic to my profile so you can see what I look like now. I don't look out of shape but I'm not toned at all and I have little muscle. After reading so much I figured it was best for me to bulk because I really can't afford to lose any weight at this point. I know I'll gain muscle very slowly so that's why I don't want to eat too much and put on too much fat because on my frame that will not be too flattering!

I would really worry more about putting on some serious weight first than putting on the fat. You are in a good place to eat and lift and put on good size and build muscle- yes as a woman it's harder- but dont' let some fat gain scare you away- lift eat and get bigger.

Then worry about the cutting to look toned. Women get really uptight about not looking svelt all the time- but the reality is you aren't going to get some solid size muscle without putting on some fat. So either accept the process will be obscenely painfully slow and unsatisfying- or

go ahead- realize you are going to put on 10-15 lbs- and you are going to see amazing gains with your lifts- feel better- be stronger- and then in 4-6 months do a nice cut and look *kitten* hot.

rf1583

It's real easy to gain fat and very hard to gain actual muscle mass. So really, go very slow on the weight gain.

Are you already toned and in shape?

I added a pic to my profile so you can see what I look like now. I don't look out of shape but I'm not toned at all and I have little muscle. After reading so much I figured it was best for me to bulk because I really can't afford to lose any weight at this point. I know I'll gain muscle very slowly so that's why I don't want to eat too much and put on too much fat because on my frame that will not be too flattering!

I would really worry more about putting on some serious weight first than putting on the fat. You are in a good place to eat and lift and put on good size and build muscle- yes as a woman it's harder- but dont' let some fat gain scare you away- lift eat and get bigger.

Then worry about the cutting to look toned. Women get really uptight about not looking svelt all the time- but the reality is you aren't going to get some solid size muscle without putting on some fat. So either accept the process will be obscenely painfully slow and unsatisfying- or

go ahead- realize you are going to put on 10-15 lbs- and you are going to see amazing gains with your lifts- feel better- be stronger- and then in 4-6 months do a nice cut and look *kitten* hot.

Thanks for the pep talk! It is a little hard mentally I guess but I do know the end result could be great so I just need to keep eating and keep lifting heavier and heavier!

rf1583

Sounds like you're off to a good start. Do what you're doing for a couple of weeks and, if the scale isn't moving at all, you can experiment with increasing your cals by 150-200 cals. Keep monitoring your rate of gain and adjust cals as needed.

Thanks I think this sounds like a plan!

AliceDark

Ok I just used that calculator and it said my TDEE is 1538 so should I increase another 100 calories a day (1750 or so) or more? I don't know how much more I can eat!

Your appetite will catch up to your increased intake. This is just my experience, but every time I've upped my calories, I have a week or so when it feels like SO MUCH food, then a week or so when I'm constantly starving, then it normalizes. Just stay consistent and ride out the first few weeks, and you'll be fine.

likitisplit

It's real easy to gain fat and very hard to gain actual muscle mass. So really, go very slow on the weight gain.

Are you already toned and in shape?

I added a pic to my profile so you can see what I look like now. I don't look out of shape but I'm not toned at all and I have little muscle. After reading so much I figured it was best for me to bulk because I really can't afford to lose any weight at this point. I know I'll gain muscle very slowly so that's why I don't want to eat too much and put on too much fat because on my frame that will not be too flattering!

I would really worry more about putting on some serious weight first than putting on the fat. You are in a good place to eat and lift and put on good size and build muscle- yes as a woman it's harder- but dont' let some fat gain scare you away- lift eat and get bigger.

Then worry about the cutting to look toned. Women get really uptight about not looking svelt all the time- but the reality is you aren't going to get some solid size muscle without putting on some fat. So either accept the process will be obscenely painfully slow and unsatisfying- or

go ahead- realize you are going to put on 10-15 lbs- and you are going to see amazing gains with your lifts- feel better- be stronger- and then in 4-6 months do a nice cut and look *kitten* hot.

Praying, hoping, wishing, working.

Cause option 1 doesn't work for me at all.

but every time I've upped my calories, I have a week or so when it feels like SO MUCH food, then a week or so when I'm constantly starving, then it normalizes

This is true for me as well.

I also wait about 6 weeks before tinkering. I tend to get a lot of variation in my daily weight, so it takes about one cycle for me to see an actual trend.