losing weight and gaining muscle on a 1200 caloric intake?

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taylorwaylor
taylorwaylor Posts: 417 Member
in Food and Nutrition
MFP ha me at 1200 calories a day... I'm tryin to lose weight but I'm also trying to gain muscle... people told me I just need to eat more, but how much more? and should I still stick with 1200 on workout days?? il take any advice! thanks lotssss:)

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  • 2hobbit1
    2hobbit1 Posts: 820 Member
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    Hi,
    You do not need to loose weight your BMI of 21 is already on the low end of normal.
    Your BMR calculatd with out your BF% is 1384 this is the number of calories you body would burn if you were in a coma. You should not eat below your BMR.

    If you want to change your shape you need to start strength training. Do you have access to a gym? Take a look at the new rules of lifting group here
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/119-new-rules-of-lifting-for-women-nrol4w-
    or the stronglifts 5x5
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/4618-stronglifts-5x5-for-women
    both are good programs

    You should be eating well above the 1200 cal MFP gave you when you told it you wanted to loose - to gain muscle you need to eat at maintenance not at a deficit.

    Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk) 1903
    Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) 2145
    Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk) 2387
    Extremely Active (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.) 2630

    The new rules of lifting for women book has a good section on nutrition and how much you should be eating to build muscle.
    Understand that as you gain muscle you will change your shape by loosing inches not pounds!
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
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    No. You're not going to gain muscle eating 1200 calories a day.

    Set your weekly weight loss goal to a half pound a week, and your activity to lightly active, eat that level. Eat about 90 grams of protein a day. Start doing StrongLifts 5x5.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/560459-stronglifts-5x5-summary
  • LtTonie
    LtTonie Posts: 2
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    Don't use the scale to measure muscle gains and fat lost, use measuring tape.

    Muscle weights more than fat do, your weight could hover around the same range and you would look totally different.

    You should diffinitely eat more than 1200 cal a day, at that pace your metabolism is slowed down since you are eating less than your BMR which is 1384 ( Basal metabolic Rate, the rate at which you body burns calorie just to function everyday.)

    hope this helps.
  • HeidiMightyRawr
    HeidiMightyRawr Posts: 3,343 Member
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    You won't gain muscle on 1200 calories. Maybe small newbie gains with the right lifting and good protein levels, but even then, 1200 is really low!

    If you want to focus on muscle as well as fat loss I would choose a small deficit. (10% below maintenance) for around 1/2 a week loss. Consume adequate protein (at least 1g per lb lean mass) and set yourself up with a good strength training routine (Stronglifts 5x5 is good)
    From this, you'll probably make small gains of muscle in the beginning, while losing fat. This won't happen forever, most people need a calorie surplus to gain muscle, but assuming you've never lifted before you'll probably benefit from this.
  • taylorwaylor
    taylorwaylor Posts: 417 Member
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    alright, thanks guys! and I've been thinking about starting a program but not so sure yet... but thanks for the directions everyone:)
  • K_Train450
    K_Train450 Posts: 122 Member
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    I wish. Would be nice wouldn't it? You need a calorie surplus to seriously build mass.
  • Matt_Wild
    Matt_Wild Posts: 2,673 Member
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    You won't build muscle whilst dieting; how you gonna build a house with no bricks?
  • weezieleopard
    weezieleopard Posts: 41
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    You won't build muscle whilst dieting; how you gonna build a house with no bricks?

    Haha I love this!

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