Is it time to start trying to gain muscle? Or too soon?

mauryr

Hello, all. I seek the wisdom of the crowd here. Is it time to up my calories, to change my body composition?

In this past year, I've lost a bunch of weight, and my bmi is now at a pleasant 23. (5'7", 147 lbs, male)

I've been well trained by MFP to keep my net cals at about 1400, and I'm comfortable with that, as I exercise regularly - mainly cardio type stuff, racquetball in particular (now adding biking, as my new apartment is within biking distance of both my office and gym). My typical gross calorie intake is about 1900-2000 or so daily, eating back exercise cals. My weight loss has pretty much stopped at this point, even with the low net calorie intake - I vacillate between 145 and 149, weights that I am happy with.

My diet is high in lean protein, and low in carbs, and very low in sugar. (this style of eating is what suits my taste)

I added some resistance training - mostly body-weight exercises like pull-ups/chin-ups, push ups, and a little bit of weights (I bought a set of "powerblock" dumbbells, but only 25 lbs each). I can see the difference in my "tone", though I'm now kinda "slim" (which is also a nice change from last year at this time).

My scale has a body fat indicator, but it varies widely; Usually reads 16% fat, but after exercise it reads 13%. I would believe that the 16% is likely more accurate. My stomach, when completely relaxed poofs out a little, but just the smallest ab tension makes it pretty flat. No "6 pack" if relaxed, but when tensed up it's kinda there - perhaps a 4 pack, with a distinct vertical line down the middle. I'm not really interested in a 6 pack, but if it's a side effect of a better body composition, I'd be thrilled.

So, my next step is to improve my body composition to have a better lean to fat ratio. I have been reading that in order to gain muscle mass, one has to greatly increase calories, and in my case, it would mean increasing carbs (my protein consumption is already quite high). I have read that calorie restriction doesn't give the body the "raw materials" needed to build muscle - which makes sense. Still, after so much mental conditioning to keep the cals low, I am fearful of gaining fat again.

So, net-net, my question is this: With my body fat at 16%, should I try to lose more fat before increasing cals to gain muscle? If so, what's a good body fat number to shoot for?

Thanks for taking a look at this, all help is appreciated.

-Maury

koosdel

It's never too soon to gain, in fact most wait way too long.

ster81

Are you eating your calories back when you do cardio? I was in a similar situation as you when I hit a plateau and just could not lose any more weight. I was stuck at about 16 percent body fat and now I'm down to approximately 11-12%. Just a suggestion, but what I did was cut out cardio completely, focus on weight lifting, while being on a calorie deficit. I noticed the fat shrinking quickly and lean mass staying the same. If you just want to gain some mass, you can start lifting now with a slight calorie surplus. If you're trying to be ripped, I would continue to eat at a deficit while pushing hard at the weight room to preserve as much lean mass as possible. You will lose some, but you'll save more than if you just cut weight and continue with cardio.

rileysowner

No it is not too early. I would start seriously trying to build up muscle and strength including increasing your calories at least to maintenance to start.

mauryr

Thanks folks. I seem to be at maintenance, as my weight hasn't really changed for a while... 1400 cals net (after eating back exercise cals). @Rileysowner - Isn't the definition of maintenance the number of cals it takes to have your weight remain constant?

rileysowner

Thanks folks. I seem to be at maintenance, as my weight hasn't really changed for a while... 1400 cals net (after eating back exercise cals). @Rileysowner - Isn't the definition of maintenance the number of cals it takes to have your weight remain constant?

Yes, but weight loss can stop for various reasons. The generally accepted minimum for males is 1500 calories a day, and that would be considered a deficit. If you look at your MY HOME>Goals page it will show in the second column the number of calories you burn from normal daily activity. That would be your maintenance calories. I can pretty much guarantee that is higher than 1400. The problem is eating at a deficit for a long time will result in your body slowing down its metabolism, so unless you are eating so little that you are literally starving, you can be eating less than you should and still not losing weight. That is why many people start losing again by increasing the number of calories they eat so the deficit is smaller.