seriously confused

phillyrain

I consider myself a fairly healthy eater. Lots of fruits, vegetables, lean protein, whole grains and fiber. On the weekends I drink a fair amount and find myself eating more than I probably should. That being said, during the week I am frequently under 1200 calories or just around then and on the weekends I probably reach around 3000. I work out almost every day (circuit training, elliptical, stair climber, soccer). I also am in college on a walking campus, so I probably walk around 2-3 miles every day. I have been fluctuating between 122-130 for the past two months and while I am trying to lose a few pounds, my main concern is building lean muscle mass and replacing the fat but that hasn't been happening. I had a friend tell me that with the amount of exercise that I do that my muscle mass is low and that I need to eat more. Is this a situation where I need to eat more during the week and not count the calories from drinking/weekend meals for maintenance? Or are those calories causing me to retain fat and not see the muscle?

I've read a lot of these message boards and am genuinely just confused and if I am not eating enough I really want to change that because it frankly really scares me. Thanks! Hope everyone is looking forward to friday

nikki_zav

The eat or not to eat exercise calories question is a neverending debate on here. The way it was explained to me that helped me best understand it is: Your body needs fuel. When you do extra work, you run out of fuel quicker. Unlike a car which has no reserves, you body has two kinds: fat and muscle. When your body feels like it is 'starving' or going to run out of fuel soon it will switch over to muscle for consumption, saving the fat for last. Why? Because you can survive without muscle. Fat is essential to brain function, major organ function, keeping you body lubed up to be able to move, and it's more nutritious, so it's saved for last.

So more work = more fuel. Stay at or just under what extras you work off. Keep with the lean meats and healthy eating during the week. Do some more weight training as well in there to help build muscle. Muscle requires fuel. More muscle, more food, which can help lead to a more efficient metabolism.

This is all boiled down pretty simple, the science behind it all is fascinating. At the end of the day, it's pretty simple though. Best of luck!

Elzecat

Definitely add some strength training (either free weights or machines) in--you will build lean muscle and drop body fat, whether you lose actual "pounds," you will look great! Your cardio sounds great but add the weights to balance things out...hope you see some results soon!

mrstyler

Definitely add some strength training (either free weights or machines) in--you will build lean muscle and drop body fat, whether you lose actual "pounds," you will look great! Your cardio sounds great but add the weights to balance things out...hope you see some results soon!

I agree with this, if you are hoping to add muscle. Cardio is helpful with fat loss, but it won't rebuild sculpted muscle on it own.

falloner

I'll second the idea of adding some strength training to your cardio and you should more than likely be eating more. When you significantly reduce your calorie consumption your body can think that you are starving and switches into survival mode slowing your metabolism. Then when you "binge" on the weekends, your body stores as much as it can because it is still thinking "when is my next meal?" It can take some time to counteract this, you just have to make sure that you are eating good food at the right times. It's imperative that you eat healthy food after a workout. You are breaking down muscle tissue when working out and if the body doesn't have the nutrients to build them back up from what you are taking in then it takes the nutrients from other places in your body. If you aren't replenishing the nutrients your body needs right after a workout, it won't have anything to build the muscle that you seek. You should also balance your calorie intake across the entire week. When your body gets a constant flow of the right nutrients your metabolism should come back into norm.

I'm not a trainer, but this is what I have found works best for me and I can't argue with the results. I take a multivitamin every day (everyone should) and drink a protein shake after each workout even though I'm not a musclehead. I also cheat every so often just because I can't give up steak and ice cream But after cheating, I don't try to make up the difference in one day or one week. I'd bet that if you evened out your calorie intake, and switched to a plan that would lose between 1 and 2 pounds a week you, you will have a lot more energy and start seeing some results.

phillyrain

Does circuit training not count as weight training? What I do is 45 minutes of a circuit with weight machines, abs, box jumps, TRX, etc. with just resting time in between moving between stations twice a week and then I try to do one separate arms session on the weekend.