Calories while heavy lifting

eliblish

I apologize if this has been asked already. I'm going to start heavy lifting next week. I'm 5'5" 125 lbs. I don't have a weight loss goal nor do I mind if I gain weight, I just want to lose some inches. My body fat is currently around 25% and i'd like to get it down to 22%. My question is, should I keep my calories at maintenance or should I be eating at a small deficit. I know that eating at a deficit while lifting will maintain the muscle I have but not create more. (is this right?) But will eating at maintenance still allow me to get rid of the fat that I need to lose? Thanks in advance!!

obsidianwings

You will need to eat in a deficit to lose fat

Matt_Wild

Set calories at total daily expenditure. Take 300-400 cals off this figure.

Lift heavy, maintain mass as best you can so your BMR and thus TDEE is kept higher allowing more fat burnt with a higher level of lean body mass.

itsuki

Eating at a deficit while lifting will not maintain your current muscle mass, you will lose fat AND muscle. If you're not looking to lose weight, have you considered a cutting/bulking cycle (that is, eating at a surplus with lots of protein to build muscle, then eating at a deficit to burn fat)?

eliblish

Thank you!!!

No I have not thought of that. I will look into it! I really don't want to lose any of the muscle I have because I don't have much.

Chief_Rocka

Generally speaking, you can't lose fat and gain muscle at the same time, but it might happen for you a bit because you're new to lifting.

I would recommend starting out at maintenance, and keep the option open of reducing calories later on down the road if you decide you want some additional fat loss.

Also, keep in mind that when changing your exercise program, "maintenece" can change.

Matt_Wild

Eating at a deficit while lifting will not maintain your current muscle mass, you will lose fat AND muscle. If you're not looking to lose weight, have you considered a cutting/bulking cycle (that is, eating at a surplus with lots of protein to build muscle, then eating at a deficit to burn fat)?

A small amount of muscle will always be lost when one diets.

However living heavy will maintain muscle as much as possible.

I took the OP as maintenance of LBM, not to gain.

eliblish

Ok I read a bit on cutting/ bulking and it seems it's not really recommended. My ultimate goal is to have more muscle than I do now and get rid of the extra fat I have. My immediate goal is to get rid of the fat. I would like to maintain the muscle I have if I can. I'm ok with losing the fat first and then building the muscle later. I just don't want to lose a lot of muscle. I guess I will start at maintenance and see what happens. Do I figure my maintenance calories as moderately active ( I use the formula recommended by the roadmap 2 article) or do I figure lightly active and then add in exercise calories? Also, I should mention that i'm breastfeeding so if I don't consume extra calories for that, it would create a sort of natural deficit anyways....if I choose to have a deficit.

Chief_Rocka

Ok I read a bit on cutting/ bulking and it seems it's not really recommended. My ultimate goal is to have more muscle than I do now and get rid of the extra fat I have. My immediate goal is to get rid of the fat. I would like to maintain the muscle I have if I can. I'm ok with losing the fat first and then building the muscle later. I just don't want to lose a lot of muscle. I guess I will start at maintenance and see what happens. Do I figure my maintenance calories as moderately active ( I use the formula recommended by the roadmap 2 article) or do I figure lightly active and then add in exercise calories? Also, I should mention that i'm breastfeeding so if I don't consume extra calories for that, it would create a sort of natural deficit anyways....if I choose to have a deficit.

Calculators are just estimations, they have to be adjusted for real world conditions. The best way to look at what you've been doing, and adjust from there.

For example, if you're currently in a deficit, add 10-20% to your intake for maintenece. If you're adding/subtracting any training sessions, make allowances for that as well.

eliblish

Thank you! I'm going to try a very small deficit for awhile and see how that does. I'll just play it by ear and adjust up or down if I need to.

fittiephd

You could try this method that NROLFW suggests:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/538943-how-to-calculate-calorie-goals-according-to-nrolfw

If I do the calculations for you I get...

1925 calories net goal. If you workout, eat those calories back.

If you want to lose fat, subtract no more than 250 calories from this, giving you a total of 1675 calories per day.

Hope this helps!

LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo

Eating at a deficit while lifting will not maintain your current muscle mass, you will lose fat AND muscle. If you're not looking to lose weight, have you considered a cutting/bulking cycle (that is, eating at a surplus with lots of protein to build muscle, then eating at a deficit to burn fat)?

A small amount of muscle will always be lost when one diets.

However living heavy will maintain muscle as much as possible.

I took the OP as maintenance of LBM, not to gain.

^ This and also if you're eating sufficient amount of protein, your chance of maintaining more muscle in a deficit will be greater.

eliblish

You could try this method that NROLFW suggests:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/538943-how-to-calculate-calorie-goals-according-to-nrolfw

If I do the calculations for you I get...

1925 calories net goal. If you workout, eat those calories back.

If you want to lose fat, subtract no more than 250 calories from this, giving you a total of 1675 calories per day.

Hope this helps!

That does help! Thanks! That's the book i'm going to be following, i'm just waiting for it to come in so that's perfect!

eliblish

Eating at a deficit while lifting will not maintain your current muscle mass, you will lose fat AND muscle. If you're not looking to lose weight, have you considered a cutting/bulking cycle (that is, eating at a surplus with lots of protein to build muscle, then eating at a deficit to burn fat)?

A small amount of muscle will always be lost when one diets.

However living heavy will maintain muscle as much as possible.

I took the OP as maintenance of LBM, not to gain.

^ This and also if you're eating sufficient amount of protein, your chance of maintaining more muscle in a deficit will be greater.

Thanks! I usually aim for between 80-100 grams of protein but mostly end up on the high end of that or higher sometimes. My lean body mass right now is estimated at 92 I think...or somewhere around there so I think my protein goal is pretty good right?