Bulking up instead of slimming down?

Bjninja
Bjninja Posts: 44
in Health and Weight Loss
I've been working out for about five months now, doing a five or six day regiment of cardio and circuit strength training. However, I'm not seeing any changes in my weight or measurements. I am pretty good about sticking to my 1550 daily calorie limit, I drink plenty of water and get lots of sleep. Last time I used MFP, I lost 20 lbs, but I only did cardio. Has this happened to anyone else? I'm wondering if I should drop my strength training.
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Replies

  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,431 MFP Moderator
    Well unless you are eating more calories, you can't "bulk". Now, if you are struggling to lose weight, there is a strong possibility you are not eating enough. If anything, drop the cardio (1-2 days max) and concentrate on weight training. WT helps maintain your metabolic rate and maintain your lean body mass. Also, you will see greater body composition changes with WT over cardio. I will mention, every woman I know working out as much as you is eating 1700-2100 calories. Why don't you try to add an additional 300 calories a day or if you want, post your height and weight and I can run the numbers for you.
  • Bjninja
    Bjninja Posts: 44
    Do you mean add 300 calories on top of my 1550? I usually eat back whatever I work off, so my total for the day is 1550. I'm 5'5 and 212 lbs right now.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,431 MFP Moderator
    Do you mean add 300 calories on top of my 1550? I usually eat back whatever I work off, so my total for the day is 1550. I'm 5'5 and 212 lbs right now.

    I was wrong, you should probably be closer to 500 calories more than you are currently eating. I would have you eat around 2000 calories, 35/40/25 (c/p/f) for macro nutrition. And this would be for weight loss. If you want, you can always add 200 calories a week until you hit your goal. This will also mitigate some water weight increases.
  • Bjninja
    Bjninja Posts: 44
    Thanks, I will try to get my total calories after exercise up to 2000. And the 35/40/25 c/p/f is for carbs/protein/fiber, yes?
  • RepsnSets
    RepsnSets Posts: 805 Member
    Would you mind calculating my calorie intake?

    222pounds 5'3" in height.

    I lift heavy three times a week and do cardio the other 4 days.

    Thanks kindly
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,431 MFP Moderator
    Would you mind calculating my calorie intake?

    222pounds 5'3" in height.

    I lift heavy three times a week and do cardio the other 4 days.

    Thanks kindly
    How old are you? Also do not work out everyday, you need to give your body time to rest. I would suspect you should be around the same as the OP.
  • natalienora
    natalienora Posts: 67 Member
    I hate to ask as well but I'm so confused about how many calories I should be consuming daily. I'm currently at 1320 on mfp and eat back some of the exercise calories, but never all.

    I'm 22, 144 lbs and do intense cardio 3 x a week with 1-2 days of resistance training.

    I'm looking to drop 1-1.5 lbs of fat a week while toning muscle.

    Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

    Edit: I'm 5'5"
  • Jester522
    Jester522 Posts: 392
    "Bulking" is for people like me who don't give a ____ about his waist line in January as long as I pack on a new 8-10lbs of muscle for keeps. So lets call it "lean mass gains."

    Take what your doing now and lets add an additional 300-400 calories. You need to be in a hypercaloric state to allow hypertrophy. First, protein intake needs to go up (can't build a house without bricks). Best way to calculate it would be to find your current lean body mass and multiply by 1.5-2.0g. A 110lb female with 98lbs LBM would want about 150-200g protein. Or, the more subjective and perfectly acceptable way: what weight to you want to be? Eat that many grams daily. At 165 I'm getting in about 230.

    Don't be afraid of carbs... just avoid sugars. INcrease your carb intake to give quick burning fuel and feed the muscles recovery. By percetages a 40/40/20 C/P/F is good to start.

    Also be aware that resistance (strength) training is FAR superior to cardio for both cardiovascular output and caloric expenditure. Cardios energy burning stops when you stop. Resistance training, besides the fact your doing more intense activity, requires additional energy use to aid the recovery process over the next 48-72hrs. An hour of cardio is not the same as an hour of weight lifting.
  • RepsnSets
    RepsnSets Posts: 805 Member
    Would you mind calculating my calorie intake?

    222pounds 5'3" in height.

    I lift heavy three times a week and do cardio the other 4 days.

    Thanks kindly
    How old are you? Also do not work out everyday, you need to give your body time to rest. I would suspect you should be around the same as the OP.

    I am 36 and workout Monday-Saturday. the days Im not lifting I do cardio. Is that too much?
  • Jester522
    Jester522 Posts: 392
    Thanks, I will try to get my total calories after exercise up to 2000. And the 35/40/25 c/p/f is for carbs/protein/fiber, yes?

    Carbs Protein Fat.

    Personally I like 40/40/20 P/F/C
  • girlykate143
    girlykate143 Posts: 220 Member
    yes, i would echo what psulemon has said.
    So, if we're doing stats: As a woman who's 5'10", 150, (44 years, 18% bf) doing weight training has not dropped poundage for me as much as it's defined my muscles, made me stronger, and made me leaner through the torso. However, it is a sllllllow process for me to get my last 10 pounds off.
    Also, I notice that if I do mostly lean protein and higher fat, versus lean protein and starchy carbs, i tend to hold onto the water weight and thus, i look bulkier. Now that I'm doing lean proteins/higher fat (good for me fats), green veggies, I'm doing much better.

    I'm doing a tiny bit of cardio on top of my 3x week weight training and it's paid off. My bf percentage has dropped 1% in a few weeks.

    I try to aim for 1800 a day. Some days it's hard to get there without getting massive amounts of grains or potatoes. Maybe for me 1800 is still too little. shrug.
  • buildingdreams
    buildingdreams Posts: 173 Member
    what do you suggest as far as weight training for at home with no equipment...for at home workouts? I an currently doing illian michael 30 shed ( on day 7) and Zumba 2 /nights a week 44.5 years old
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,431 MFP Moderator
    Would you mind calculating my calorie intake?

    222pounds 5'3" in height.

    I lift heavy three times a week and do cardio the other 4 days.

    Thanks kindly
    How old are you? Also do not work out everyday, you need to give your body time to rest. I would suspect you should be around the same as the OP.

    I am 36 and workout Monday-Saturday. the days Im not lifting I do cardio. Is that too much?

    I would have you on 2000 calories as well. Also, are you working out 6 days or 7. If it's 7 cut it back to 6. Exercise will tear down the muscles, rest repairs them. Rest is where you see your gains, not during exercise. Three days of each is fine. If at some point you wan to do a pilates or yoga class, then cut a cardio day for it.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,431 MFP Moderator
    what do you suggest as far as weight training for at home with no equipment...for at home workouts? I an currently doing illian michael 30 shed ( on day 7) and Zumba 2 /nights a week 44.5 years old

    I would suggest picking up a few different resistance bands from your local sports store or amazon. If you want to do a workout DVD, i highly recommend chalean extreme (one of the packages comes with all the equipment you need). It incorporates weight training, HIIT and flexibility training. If you don't want equipment, you can look up body weight exercises on youtube or www.bodyrock.tv
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,431 MFP Moderator
    I hate to ask as well but I'm so confused about how many calories I should be consuming daily. I'm currently at 1320 on mfp and eat back some of the exercise calories, but never all.

    I'm 22, 144 lbs and do intense cardio 3 x a week with 1-2 days of resistance training.

    I'm looking to drop 1-1.5 lbs of fat a week while toning muscle.

    Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

    Edit: I'm 5'5"

    You can't lose 1-1.5 lbs per week, its too aggressive. You have to aim to lose 1/2-1 lb per week. Ideally, you want to retain you lean body mass and cut fat. "Toning" is a fancy word for cutting fat. Also, reverse your workouts. Do 3 days of weight training (heavier = better [less than 10 reps]) so you optimize strength gains and 1-2 days of cardio (HIIT is better than steady stead). Calories would be 1800 daily and macro's around what I or the other guy suggested. It's all personal preference.

    Lemon
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,431 MFP Moderator
    One last thing, for all those I ran the numbers, you do NOT eat back exercise calories as exercise is built into the equation.
  • Bjninja
    Bjninja Posts: 44
    One last thing, for all those I ran the numbers, you do NOT eat back exercise calories as exercise is built into the equation.

    Oh, so if MFP tells me to eat 1550 calories per day but my exercise burns 500 calories, wouldn't that even out? 1550-500 (exercise) + 500 = 1550. Or am I horribly confused because it's amazingly early right now and I've not had my coffee?

    You are awesome, by the way, for helping out!
  • buildingdreams
    buildingdreams Posts: 173 Member
    what do you suggest as far as weight training for at home with no equipment...for at home workouts? I an currently doing illian michael 30 shed ( on day 7) and Zumba 2 /nights a week 44.5 years old

    I would suggest picking up a few different resistance bands from your local sports store or amazon. If you want to do a workout DVD, i highly recommend chalean extreme (one of the packages comes with all the equipment you need). It incorporates weight training, HIIT and flexibility training. If you don't want equipment, you can look up body weight exercises on youtube or www.bodyrock.tv


    Thank you ! I will def look into those suggestions!!
  • wareagle8706
    wareagle8706 Posts: 1,090 Member
    Follow Coach Calorie's advice and decrease calories by 200 and see if you gain/lose weight. If that doesn't work try eating 200 more than what you're eating right now and see what happens.

    In other words, 1550 may not be the right number. So give some wiggle room for a few weeks and see how that changes things.
  • wareagle8706
    wareagle8706 Posts: 1,090 Member
    I don't really think I agree with 2,000 per day for all of you. Just saying.... check out this website and be totally honest with yourself in the calculations.



    http://thefitgirls.com/tdee-calculator.aspx
  • kooltray87
    kooltray87 Posts: 501 Member
    I hate to ask as well but I'm so confused about how many calories I should be consuming daily. I'm currently at 1320 on mfp and eat back some of the exercise calories, but never all.

    I'm 22, 144 lbs and do intense cardio 3 x a week with 1-2 days of resistance training.

    I'm looking to drop 1-1.5 lbs of fat a week while toning muscle.

    Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

    Edit: I'm 5'5"

    You can't lose 1-1.5 lbs per week, its too aggressive. You have to aim to lose 1/2-1 lb per week. Ideally, you want to retain you lean body mass and cut fat. "Toning" is a fancy word for cutting fat. Also, reverse your workouts. Do 3 days of weight training (heavier = better [less than 10 reps]) so you optimize strength gains and 1-2 days of cardio (HIIT is better than steady stead). Calories would be 1800 daily and macro's around what I or the other guy suggested. It's all personal preference.

    Lemon

    Just to clarify you are referring to 1800 "net" correct?
  • love4fitnesslove4food_wechange
    love4fitnesslove4food_wechange Posts: 6,897 Member
    wow, for your size the weight should be FLYING OFF. How long have you been doing this? It could be inflammation of the muscles causing water retention.
  • love4fitnesslove4food_wechange
    love4fitnesslove4food_wechange Posts: 6,897 Member
    Would you mind calculating my calorie intake?

    222pounds 5'3" in height.

    I lift heavy three times a week and do cardio the other 4 days.

    Thanks kindly
    How old are you? Also do not work out everyday, you need to give your body time to rest. I would suspect you should be around the same as the OP.

    I am 36 and workout Monday-Saturday. the days Im not lifting I do cardio. Is that too much?

    Probably not...However, if you're doing more than 60 minutes a day then I think you're probably over doing it.
  • wareagle8706
    wareagle8706 Posts: 1,090 Member
    *Use the calculator I posted above to get your total daily energy expenditure then set your MFP goals to that*

    *Do NOT work out 7 days a week! Your body needs to recover. There is such a thing as over-training*

    *Do not try to lose more than 1-2 lbs per week. It won't work and you will be left disappointed*
  • Bjninja
    Bjninja Posts: 44
    I don't really think I agree with 2,000 per day for all of you. Just saying.... check out this website and be totally honest with yourself in the calculations.

    http://thefitgirls.com/tdee-calculator.aspx

    I'm not sure if I understand their TDEE calculator, or their Diet Calculator. According to the diet one, I need to take in 2231 calories a day. I feel like I'm doing something wrong here...
  • alasin1derland
    alasin1derland Posts: 575 Member
    http://thefitgirls.com/tdee-calculator.aspx
    [/quote]

    wow this is the easiest website I've seen to get these numbers. thanks
  • wareagle8706
    wareagle8706 Posts: 1,090 Member
    I don't really think I agree with 2,000 per day for all of you. Just saying.... check out this website and be totally honest with yourself in the calculations.

    http://thefitgirls.com/tdee-calculator.aspx

    I'm not sure if I understand their TDEE calculator, or their Diet Calculator. According to the diet one, I need to take in 2231 calories a day. I feel like I'm doing something wrong here...

    I wasn't sending you the website for you to click on the Diet Calculator. I've never used that one. I would recommend using the TDEE calc and following the instructions I gave in the PM.
  • kooltray87
    kooltray87 Posts: 501 Member
    I don't really think I agree with 2,000 per day for all of you. Just saying.... check out this website and be totally honest with yourself in the calculations.

    http://thefitgirls.com/tdee-calculator.aspx

    I'm not sure if I understand their TDEE calculator, or their Diet Calculator. According to the diet one, I need to take in 2231 calories a day. I feel like I'm doing something wrong here...

    Seems like you should do your own research on BMR and TDEE as well as weight loss in general. People here can give suggestions and advice but until you gain an understanding for yourself your journey will be harder than need be. With that said take the TDEE number they gave you and start with eating 20% less than that (for weight loss). From there you can adjust according to how your body reacts. The one constant is that your NET intake should never be lower than the BMR number.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,431 MFP Moderator
    One last thing, for all those I ran the numbers, you do NOT eat back exercise calories as exercise is built into the equation.

    Oh, so if MFP tells me to eat 1550 calories per day but my exercise burns 500 calories, wouldn't that even out? 1550-500 (exercise) + 500 = 1550. Or am I horribly confused because it's amazingly early right now and I've not had my coffee?

    You are awesome, by the way, for helping out!

    Don't worry about net calories. The method I use (based on Katch McArdle) utilizes a deficit over a weeks period of time. I never track my net calories. This method has worked for over 300 people on this board. Ideally, I try to maximize fat loss and minimize muscle loss. Even though short term weight loss might be a tad slower (yours is around 1.5 lb per week), it shouldn't hinder your weight loss in the long term.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,431 MFP Moderator
    I hate to ask as well but I'm so confused about how many calories I should be consuming daily. I'm currently at 1320 on mfp and eat back some of the exercise calories, but never all.

    I'm 22, 144 lbs and do intense cardio 3 x a week with 1-2 days of resistance training.

    I'm looking to drop 1-1.5 lbs of fat a week while toning muscle.

    Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

    Edit: I'm 5'5"

    You can't lose 1-1.5 lbs per week, its too aggressive. You have to aim to lose 1/2-1 lb per week. Ideally, you want to retain you lean body mass and cut fat. "Toning" is a fancy word for cutting fat. Also, reverse your workouts. Do 3 days of weight training (heavier = better [less than 10 reps]) so you optimize strength gains and 1-2 days of cardio (HIIT is better than steady stead). Calories would be 1800 daily and macro's around what I or the other guy suggested. It's all personal preference.

    Lemon

    Just to clarify you are referring to 1800 "net" correct?

    It's total. I don't play around with net calories. The deficit is built into the weekly calculation.


    To give everyone some perspective. My estimated BMR is 2080, I have a desk job so I am sedentary, and I workout 6 days a week for an hour. That makes me moderately active. Below is my caloric requirements.

    TDEE = 2080 * 1.55 = 3224
    CR = 3224 * .8 = 2579


    I use a 20% reduction for those closer to a normal weight. It's a bit more adaptive based on weight, height and age. A person like me can sustain a large deficit than someone who is 5'1 and 125 lbs. I use 30% for those with 50+ lbs to lose. This equates to about a 1.5 lb per week. Upon getting closer to a normal weight, the percentage shrinks. And I incorporate exercising into your lifestyle and simply things.

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