Want to Know If I'm Okay

AyaKara

Hello everyone! Hope that you all are enjoying the New Year so far :flowerforyou:

I've been eating 10-15% from TDEE for a month & I've been seeing the muscles in my arms show more. I'm 106-107lbs & spent 4 years doing cardio before I began EM2WL after reading IPOARM. My focus is cutting BF%, not losing weight; I want to be 115-125, just have a better composition -- I want to be fit, not skinny!

On average, I eat 1700-1850 a day (TDEE ~2050). Would this be okay? Is this the proper way to recompose my body? Should I eat more on lifting days (~2000-2200) than on rest days? Should I eat at maintenance & get my deficit from lifting instead, & eat at said deficit on non-lifting days? I only strength-train, no cardio besides warm-ups because I'm sick of it.

Thanks for all of your help!

heybales

Hello everyone! Hope that you all are enjoying the New Year so far :flowerforyou:

I've been eating 10-15% from TDEE for a month & I've been seeing the muscles in my arms show more & more. I'm 106-107lbs & spent 4 years doing cardio before I began to EM2WL after following IPOARM. My main focus is on cutting BF%, not losing weight; I want to be 115-125, just have a better composition -- I want to be fit, not skinny!

On average, I eat 1700-1850 a day (TDEE ~2050). My questions are, would this be okay? Is this the proper way to recompose my body? Should I eat more on lifting days (eating ~2000-2200) than on my rest days? Should I eat at maintenance & get my deficit from my lifting instead, & eat at that deficit on non-lifting days? I only strength-train, no cardio besides my warm-ups because I'm sick of it.

Thanks for all of your help!

With your goal, you should not be eating at a deficit at all. You'll keep benefiting from newbie gains for a bit, even better eating at maintenance.
Eventually that won't keep adding LBM or muscle, so you'll have to eat at slight surplus, 24 hrs after a lifting session is best time for body to use it.

No deficit at all, eat at true TDEE until then.

Which will be very hard to tell since you'll be making body improvements that involve water retained, and that could mask fat still being lost.

But make your best guess, and if you see any weight drop, just keep in mind the math of 250 calories is 1/2 lb.
So if you lose 1 lb in 2 weeks, increase daily eating by 250 calories.

AyaKara

Thanks heybales! I respect your opinion on this forum, it's an honor to talk to you!

Since I should eat at TDEE & eventually a surplus -- should I eat at surplus on a lifting day or non-lifting? I have a female friend whom is a bodybuilder & she suggested >TDEE on lifting days & TDEE on non-lifting.

Is there anything else I should know? I'm doing StrongLifts with supplementary dumbbell work.

Thank you again!

heybales

Thanks heybales! I respect your opinion on this forum, it's an honor to talk to you!

Since I should eat at TDEE & eventually a surplus -- should I eat at surplus on a lifting day or non-lifting? I have a female friend whom is a bodybuilder & she suggested >TDEE on lifting days & TDEE on non-lifting.

Is there anything else I should know? I'm doing StrongLifts with supplementary dumbbell work.

Thank you again!

Well, your body's max need for that extra calories is going to be the 24 hrs after the lifting.

So prime setup, would be eat more those 24 hrs after. But you can still be at TDEE actually.

If evening workouts, then bigger dinner, protein shake before bed, bigger breakfast and lunch, then back to smaller dinner and snack, and breakfast and lunch the next day.

So for 6 days you are just shifting where the majority of the calories is eaten.

If morning workouts, even easier, you can match up the normal 24 hr day.

It's also suggested that while you keep the protein high at 1 g per lb of LBM, you shift to higher carbs for the post lifting recovery time, so again that 24 hrs, but then shift to higher fat for the next 24 before the next lift.