Eat More 2 Weigh Less

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Do my numbers look right?

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maruby95
maruby95 Posts: 204 Member
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Hi all. I am totally onboard with the concept of fueling the body adequately. And I keep running these numbers, hoping to see a bigger umber. But I guess being a small person just doesn't yield big numbers. Could someone please tell me if I've done thenumbers correctly?

40 yo female
5'3"
103 lbs
18% BF
When I used the calculators I get a BMR of 1200
For exercise I lift 3 days a week wth light cardio 2-3 days (30 min or so).
I have been using "lightly active" (could this be wrong?) which gives me a TDEE of 1650
Subtracting 15% to cut fat while I try to build lean mass gives me 1400.

Does that look right? I'd love to see some of these beautiful big numbers....

thanks,

anna

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  • maruby95
    maruby95 Posts: 204 Member
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    Bump. Help please :).
  • nutritionwhiz
    nutritionwhiz Posts: 221
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    What is your goal?
  • nutritionwhiz
    nutritionwhiz Posts: 221
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    What is your goal? Because at 5'3 103lbs you are underweight already and also have a low bf%.
  • nutritionwhiz
    nutritionwhiz Posts: 221
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    If you use the scobby calculator choose gain muscle, lose fat.....that will give you a number for surplus calories that will be over your tdee..sorry disjointed my phone is sucking
  • maruby95
    maruby95 Posts: 204 Member
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    My goal is to gain muscle and lose fat. I've been calorie cycling depending on lifting/ non-lifting days, but maybe I should just eat the same every day? The scooby calculator gave me a TDEE of 1655 at lightly active which is also the nuber it is giving me for "gain muscle lose fat". Sound reasonable?

    I've also been advised to decrease cardio and to expecyt the weight gain and plan on cutting later. It's getting really confusing at this point.

    What do you think....just go for the 1650 every day? Decrease cardio? Keep it the same?

    Ugh...choices, choices!
  • sedosher
    sedosher Posts: 142 Member
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    I would think with you exercising 6 days a week you are moderate exercise not light. And that would increase you to 2100 for gain muscle, lose fat.

    Since your BF% is already so low you might want to choose the build muscle option. Which even with light exercise is 2000.

    And yes, I think it is easier to just eat the same everyday, much easier to plan. :)

    ETA: This is the site I'm using in case you are using something different: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
  • ANewLucia
    ANewLucia Posts: 2,081 Member
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    Hi there, to gain muscle you want to bump calorie intake to 15% above TDEE, which means you will gain a little fat along the way. The cycle usually is about 10-12wks at a gain of .5lb a week whichhalf should be muscle. You would then start the cut cycle to unveil the new muscle, at first you can drop to TDEE and see if you start to loose, then 5%, 10%, etc...because you don't want to lose too quickly because of course you want to retain the new muscle built.

    Now the Scooby site does say eat TDEE you can gain muscle and lose fat, but I read a blog from Kiki and some other stuff that says you must gain a little weight in the process.

    I personally just went up to TDEE and make sure my protein is 1gr per lb of bodyfat to see what happens because I am just not quite mentally there to go into true "bulk" phase.
  • maruby95
    maruby95 Posts: 204 Member
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    This is really helpful input, gals. Thanks.

    I'm not sure I'm totally mentally there to do a real bulk, either :). Seems like a bad time of year to purposely be putting on weight (with bathing suits and all- ugh!). Maybe I should cut for a couple of months, plan for a bulk in the fall, and just keep lifting to maintain lean mass.

    I know my numbers look like I should be ripped...but I promise I'm not. I have four kids, and they did a number on my belly. I feel like I just look soft all over. I'm tired of it and am trying to figure out the best way to go about improving it. While I've always been athletic and active, this whole body recomp thing is relatively new to me. I've been reading a ton, which is helpful but can sometimes just add to my confusion.

    So thanks for any and all input as I try to figure this out...

    anna
  • ANewLucia
    ANewLucia Posts: 2,081 Member
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    This is really helpful input, gals. Thanks.

    I'm not sure I'm totally mentally there to do a real bulk, either :). Seems like a bad time of year to purposely be putting on weight (with bathing suits and all- ugh!). Maybe I should cut for a couple of months, plan for a bulk in the fall, and just keep lifting to maintain lean mass.

    I know my numbers look like I should be ripped...but I promise I'm not. I have four kids, and they did a number on my belly. I feel like I just look soft all over. I'm tired of it and am trying to figure out the best way to go about improving it. While I've always been athletic and active, this whole body recomp thing is relatively new to me. I've been reading a ton, which is helpful but can sometimes just add to my confusion.

    So thanks for any and all input as I try to figure this out...

    anna

    I think you should come out of cut and maintain by eating TDEE, keep up your heavy lifting and get in your protein and the muscle you have will tone up nicely.

    I have been in cut mode and my musculature has gotten better, as the fat burns off, you are seeing the muscle. Since you are a good weight, just work on lifting and the rest will fall into place.

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