Calorie intake for TONING

KimBernz

Hello all! I'm having an issue determining how many calories I should be eating everyday. I am looking to get rid of body fat and tone up. I do not have many layers of fat on me and I will be excising, which is why I think I wouldn't have to create a large calorie deficit. Please correct me if i'm wrong. How many calories should I be eating? I'm eating 1200-1300 daily right now.

meshashesha2012

eat at your maintenance and at your maintenance. and you will also need to lift weights, as heavy as you can. toning is actually more about chalkenging your muscles than your being in a calorie deficit

CoryIda

There is no such thing as toning - you can decrease body fat % and increase lean muscle mass, both of which will improve the appearance of your body, but you can't actually "tone" them.
Lift heavy things, eat well (plenty of protein), and be patient.

tjradd73

I agree...focus on what you are doing at the gym and less on your cals!! Set in how many lbs you wanna lose, if any...and then eat that calorie goal plus your exercise cals. Other than that...aim for higher protein, and find a macro setup that works for you!!!

good luck!

jenniejengin

bump

akiramezu

Eat above your maintenance to increase muscle mass, NO SUCH THING AS TONING.
If your maintenance is:

1200 calories, then eat 1600
1600 calories, then eat 2000
2000 calories, then eat 2400
2400 calories, then eat 2800
2800 calories, then eat 3200

It's not a magical number, the point of me writing out a pattern, was to show that
no matter what your maintenance is, eat above your maintenance to increase muscle mass =D
simple as that

Also, lift heavy

Anayalata

So is that why I'm not getting super results? Or maybe I'm expecting them too fast.

My maintenance is 2000~ and I do HIIT 3x a week and strength 3x a week. I burn an average of 500 each workout so I'm eating 2500~. Is this correct or should I be eating around 2800-3000~?

akiramezu

Are you serious? do you know how long pro body builders have been building muscle for,
even on steroids, before they compete in mr olympia and various other shows? 1 to 2 decades. and you expect super results
in a short amount of time? LOL reality check please, it will take you months and years. Proper bulking phases through out year
before cutting is usually 3-4 months at a time.

Anayalata

Well I had no idea it really took that long.

Excuse my ignorance.

Lukazetta

Hello all! I'm having an issue determining how many calories I should be eating everyday. I am looking to get rid of body fat and tone up. I do not have many layers of fat on me and I will be excising, which is why I think I wouldn't have to create a large calorie deficit. Please correct me if i'm wrong. How many calories should I be eating? I'm eating 1200-1300 daily right now.

Above maintenance but you can figure that out by calculating your BMR and your TDEE.

For example:
If your TDEE is around 2500, calories under that will lose more body fat.
If your BMR is around 1800, calories under that will lose more lean muscle.

You just have to find that perfect balance by finding your sweet spot between your TDEE and BMR where you build lean muscle.

Good luck!

KBmoments

Eat above your maintenance to increase muscle mass, NO SUCH THING AS TONING.
If your maintenance is:

1200 calories, then eat 1600
1600 calories, then eat 2000
2000 calories, then eat 2400
2400 calories, then eat 2800
2800 calories, then eat 3200

It's not a magical number, the point of me writing out a pattern, was to show that
no matter what your maintenance is, eat above your maintenance to increase muscle mass =D
simple as that

Also, lift heavy

I have the same question - I'm confused because it's everywhere that you have to eat at a deficit to lose the fat! So, if you eat at a maintenance, wouldn't you be keeping the fat (not losing) and also building muscle, making you look even bigger? Just need help understanding!

JAllen32

Eat above your maintenance to increase muscle mass, NO SUCH THING AS TONING.
If your maintenance is:

1200 calories, then eat 1600
1600 calories, then eat 2000
2000 calories, then eat 2400
2400 calories, then eat 2800
2800 calories, then eat 3200

It's not a magical number, the point of me writing out a pattern, was to show that
no matter what your maintenance is, eat above your maintenance to increase muscle mass =D
simple as that

Also, lift heavy

I have the same question - I'm confused because it's everywhere that you have to eat at a deficit to lose the fat! So, if you eat at a maintenance, wouldn't you be keeping the fat (not losing) and also building muscle, making you look even bigger? Just need help understanding!

It really depends on what your goals are. If you just want to lose weight, and you have a lot to lose, cut your calories. If you want to build muscle, you need to eat more. If you want to do both, eat more. You need to the food to build the muscle, the muscle will burn the fat and you will look amazing. Extremely simply put mind you.

jardimgirl

bump--- so if i still have a belly but everything else is fine should i still have a small deficit? and i will be doing stronglifts as well

geekyjock76

As much as I hate the word, "toning" simply means reducing body fat to reveal some muscle definition. To do so, your primary objective is to maintain muscle mass as you reduce fat mass. Following a progressive strength training program along with a reasonable deficit and adequate protein intake (100% of your lean mass in lbs to protein grams) will help spare muscle mass. To answer your question, your deficit should be rather small considering you don't have much weight to lose-about 500 calories below maintenance to lose 1 lb per week. When you have 15 lbs to go, 250 below maintenance.