how to stop losing weight and gain some mucsle

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dan11222
dan11222 Posts: 90 Member
in Motivation and Support
the long and short of it is in around 8/9 months i managed to loose 117 pounds at which point i was obviously pretty pleased and decided to try and get lean , on a typical day i get through about 2000 kals and still loseing weight and failing to gain any muscle mass,so does anybody have any advice or tips to stop losing weight and maybe gain some muscle? im 5ft 10 ,145pounds if that helps any advice would be great :)

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  • Meg_78
    Meg_78 Posts: 998 Member
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    First you need to find what your maintence is, which can take some trial and error...then eat at a surplus...and lift ... I think you will need a lot more than 2000 though ...I'm 5'4" 107lbs ans aiming for 2000 + exercise cals and that is a small surplus...my maintenance is 1800, and when I was really gaining I was eating 2300 + exercise cals. So as an example compared to me you will probably need more. With ample protein too.
  • nz_deevaa
    nz_deevaa Posts: 12,209 Member
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    Do you lift heavy?

    (congrats on your weight loss by the way!!)

    Eat above maintence and lift heavy would be my advice.
  • dan11222
    dan11222 Posts: 90 Member
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    thank you:) i lift as heavy as i can but i dont think thats much to be honest but im guessing eating over maintence might help witht that? also when im working out my calorie intake do i have to account for the ammount of cardio i do beacuse i do a fair bit,around 40- 50 minutes everyday or at this point should i maybe get rid of the cardio?
  • Moniqua1
    Moniqua1 Posts: 195 Member
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    Minimize the cardio if you no longer want to lose fat. Make sure you're getting enough protein, it helps with muscle gain.
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
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    The average man needs 2500 to maintain so you need at least that and 300 or so extra on your lifting days, with an emphasis on protein.

    The cardio depends on your goals - if you want to run a race, for example, you can't train for that just lifting. If you enjoy it, keep it up and eat back all your exercise calories.

    Have you tried running your MFP numbers set to maintenance, and eating back your exercise calories plus the extra to build more muscle?
  • GW1970
    GW1970 Posts: 81 Member
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    lift heavy and eat just over maintance as already stated. but you need to concentrate on protein. the guide i'm going by is a gram of protein to each pound in weight you are. for me this is 155g-180g of protein a day . its been difficult getting that amount every day so i have had to use suppliments, but i have seen results from it in a relative short space of time. check out bodybuilder.com for more info
  • Spartan_Maker
    Spartan_Maker Posts: 683 Member
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    If I were you, I'd eat around 2,600 calories a day, and perform the major compound lifts with a heavy weight. By "major compound lifts," I mean: deadlifts, squats, bench press, and standing shoulder press, along with some sort of rowing exercise or pull-ups. By "heavy," I mean a weight that challenges you to complete 7 repetitions. As you continue to get stronger, increase the weight on each exercise so that 7 repetitions is difficult again.

    Try to get about 1.7 grams of protein per kg of body weight. http://www.jacn.org/content/19/suppl_5/513S.full

    That should work.
  • dan11222
    dan11222 Posts: 90 Member
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    i usally end up with a little bit over 200 grams of protein most days yeah same here i get most of it from whey yeah ill check that site out thanks also berry im not really training for anything specific more habit of doing cardio than anything else also ive tinkerd with the mfp goals and calore settings but even when i account for exercise and everything i do they suggest quite a low calorie intake based on the info im getting here 2500 plus calories does anybody know any good macro calculators to work out my maintence etc
  • dan11222
    dan11222 Posts: 90 Member
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    thanks for that spartan so lower reps with more weight is better than low weight with higher reps?
  • determinedbutlazy
    determinedbutlazy Posts: 1,941 Member
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    Eat at a surplus and weight train
  • Spartan_Maker
    Spartan_Maker Posts: 683 Member
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    One of my favorite formulas, advocated by an elite bodybuilding coach, is to take your goal weight x 10 x 1.3 for maintenance. If you want to bulk, add 100 to 500 calories. If you want to cut, subtract 100 to 500 calories. This makes things very simple.

    So, for instance, if you wanted to get to 160 lbs., by adding 15 lbs. of mostly muscle over the next year, you'd eat 160 x 10 x 1.3 + 500 = 2,580 calories per day.
  • Spartan_Maker
    Spartan_Maker Posts: 683 Member
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    thanks for that spartan so lower reps with more weight is better than low weight with higher reps?

    As a general rule:

    Power: 1 - 2 reps.
    Strength: 3 - 7 reps.
    Muscle Growth (hypertrophy): 8 - 12 reps.
    Muscular Endurance: 13 + reps.

    By doing around 7 reps, it puts you right on the cusp between strength and muscle growth. This is typically what most people want: being strong and looking like it. Again, this means using a weight that challenges you at 7 reps. Doing 7 reps with light weight won't do anything.
  • Mischievous_Rascal
    Mischievous_Rascal Posts: 1,791 Member
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    bump
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
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    check out strstd.com it is a 5/3/1 plan that has really helped me build mass and strength in a short amount of time and i'm really enjoying it.
  • dan11222
    dan11222 Posts: 90 Member
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    thanks for that man thats really usefull ill keep all that in mind!
  • dan11222
    dan11222 Posts: 90 Member
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    guess i need to sort my training out big time then rather than messing about for twenty reps with with weights a baby bird could lift lol thanks spartan
  • vailias
    vailias Posts: 5
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    decent read on macronutrient breakdowns vs age of subject, tuned for building muscle

    http://www.biolayne.com/nutrition/anabolic-eating-for-your-age/

    also Spartan_Maker is right on. You'll need to stress the body to make it grow. Its a physiological adaptation to the environment, cause keeping on muscle takes a lot of energy, so your body won't do it without good reason.
  • dan11222
    dan11222 Posts: 90 Member
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    yeah thanks for that was an interseting read i never realised the high ammount of carbs suggested for buliding muscle i always just presumed it was protien i really need to up my carbs thanks for the link!
  • vailias
    vailias Posts: 5
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    Sure thing. :)

    Protein is useful for building the muscles, but the carbs help stimulate insulin release so your body will actually put those nutrients away as muscle (and potentially body fat if you have enough extra over your maintenance levels)

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