Possible to Build Upper Body/Arm Muscle on 1200 P/D?

jmsspr93

I am currently eating 1200 per day and want to work on my upper body strength using dumbells , If not how much to eat as I dont want to be using them and having no effect. Roughly does anyone have a routine to use for beginners that tells you how many calories you burn so that I can eat them back so my Net is 1200 Cheers

TeaBea

I am currently eating 1200 per day and want to work on my upper body strength using dumbells , If not how much to eat as I dont want to be using them and having no effect. Roughly does anyone have a routine to use for beginners that tells you how many calories you burn so that I can eat them back so my Net is 1200 Cheers

You can build strength on a calorie deficit.....not add muscle. Doing strength training while eating at a deficit helps you KEEP the muscle you have. This is provided the deficit is not too large.

Because 1200 is MFP's lowest minimum default (for WOMEN) it is LIKELY that the deficit is pretty large. How aggressive is your weekly weight loss goal? How much weight do you want to lose?

Here's a thread with lots of helpful info.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1235566-so-you-re-new-here?hl=so+you're+new+here

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

jmsspr93

I was pretty aggressive for 5 months losing 5 stone in 5&1/4 months. I was eating 750 Net, excersising of course, and since then although I do not believe I have metabolic damage as the weight loss is consistant i.e if I up it to 1200 I lose 2lbs and If I eat my daily intake I dont increase weight so I can only assume its ok, I just dont want to jump up too much at a time

TeaBea

I was pretty aggressive for 5 months losing 5 stone in 5&1/4 months. I was eating 750 Net, excersising of course, and since then although I do not believe I have metabolic damage as the weight loss is consistant i.e if I up it to 1200 I lose 2lbs and If I eat my daily intake I dont increase weight so I can only assume its ok, I just dont want to jump up too much at a time

MFP recommends more calories to adult males for a reason. It's not just metabolic damage you are risking....it's lean muscle mass too. Morbidly obese people can eat very low (and often do so under a doctor's supervision to get all the vital nutrients needed). But when people eat very low calorie diets (and are not obese) they risk losing fat+muscle....as opposed to mainly fat.

2 pounds a week is appropriate if you are at least 75 pounds overweight still. You may need to dial it back if you are less overweight. Look up skinny-fat. You may get to your goal quicker, but not like how you look.

DeguelloTex

If you're a beginner and obese, you can add muscle at a caloric deficit. Even so, it most likely won't be fast or much, and arms aren't necessarily known for adding a lot of bulk compared to larger muscle groups even under ideal conditions.

darrensurrey

I agree with TeaBea, speaking from personal experience. Strength went up nicely but lost loads of muscle mass. If I started over again, I'd not have eaten as little as 1200. I'd probably have just made sure I ate a decent amount (2000) and focus on lifting.