Losing weight / gaining muscle - female

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  • toshie333
    toshie333 Posts: 295 Member
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    To the OP, a quick question to help the folks around here give you better guidance. Per your posting history, you have been defending your choice of eating between 1200-1300 calories per day, while you are constantly being given the advice to up your calorie intake, since July of 2012. So, out of curiosity, in the last 18 months how much weight have you lost? You didn't have much to lose to begin with, so if you are not close to your target by now, maybe you need to reassess your plan rather than seeking validation of it?

    Fair point. I haven't been counting calories etc as I just used to run and luckily I've stayed pretty consistent within half a stone but I'm wanting to now add some muscle so am keep to start taking nutrition a bit more seriously.

    It's not that I'm defending the 1200-1300. Id love to eat more and not put on fat.
    as said open to advice that's why here just putting a few debates out there. It's on my because I am wanting to lose body fat that I thought I needed to create the defecit to lose fat whilst maintaining muscle to the cut down bf % to then increase muscle after??

    Thanks to everyone that's posted so far.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    To the OP, a quick question to help the folks around here give you better guidance. Per your posting history, you have been defending your choice of eating between 1200-1300 calories per day, while you are constantly being given the advice to up your calorie intake, since July of 2012. So, out of curiosity, in the last 18 months how much weight have you lost? You didn't have much to lose to begin with, so if you are not close to your target by now, maybe you need to reassess your plan rather than seeking validation of it?

    Fair point. I haven't been counting calories etc as I just used to run and luckily I've stayed pretty consistent within half a stone but I'm wanting to now add some muscle so am keep to start taking nutrition a bit more seriously.

    It's not that I'm defending the 1200-1300. Id love to eat more and not put on fat.
    as said open to advice that's why here just putting a few debates out there. It's on my because I am wanting to lose body fat that I thought I needed to create the defecit to lose fat whilst maintaining muscle to the cut down bf % to then increase muscle after??

    Thanks to everyone that's posted so far.

    you do need to be on a deficit to lose weight- but you can lose weight in fat and in muscle (this is why we recommend strength training)

    but 1200 doesn't mean the RIGHT deficit. It might be too much. for me 1200 is barely survivable- I think my BMR is like 1500- so eating 1200 is torture and I lose a lot of everything- not just fat.

    So give it a shot for a few weeks and see what happens.
  • fbmandy55
    fbmandy55 Posts: 5,263 Member
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    1200 calories is way too little with all that exercise. I would personally increase your calories to about 1600 which would leave you with a net of 1200-1300. You need to fuel your body properly to be able to build muscle. I am currently in Stage 6 of The New Rules of Lifting for Women and I have lost fat and built muscle while eating 1600-1800 calories a day.

    +1
  • hannah_chan
    hannah_chan Posts: 3 Member
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    Why does it matter what weight you are, if at the end you look better? If you lift heavy and build muscle, you may actually end up gaining weight since you are gaining muscle - but you will look a lot better.

    Secondly, 1200 calories is WAY too low. No one should be eating at 1200 calories. What are your stats?

    Unless you're a beginner, you cant gain muscle and lose weight at the same time. Pick one goal and focus on that first.
    If you want to build muscle, figure out your TDEE and eat at a surplus of around 250cals per day on average. For women, since we build muscle so slowly it's better to slow bulk to minimize fat gains. If you're trying to lose fat (i dont suggest eating 1200 that is too low) eating at a calorie deficit is the most important thing.

    In terms of macro split, don't do it by percentages. Do it like this -
    PROTEIN : eat 1 to 1.5g of protein per pound of bodyweight.
    FATS: 0.45 to 0.55g of fat per pound of bodyweight
    CARBS: fill the rest of your calories with carbs.

    Focus on big lifts such as squats, deadlifts, pullups, etc. dont even bother with isolation exercises like bicep curls
  • Quieau
    Quieau Posts: 428 Member
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    If you eat below your BMR, (I'm told and have read in several reputable sources), you are just hurting yourself unnecessarily. Your lowest intake should be at BMR at least to ensure that you don't have your body adapt to your lower intake and slow your burn.

    Why slow the burn and then have a cheat meal when you can have what you want in the plan without it being cheating?

    I was skeptical too. But I'm 1/3 of the way to my goal and have lost a lot, and I am following the skinny people like a scientist following the wild animals, observing their habits and prowling their diaries.

    I think you should try 1400 net, making sure you eat back your calories. Then just see what happens in one month. You have to give it more than a week or two because your body is also adjusting to exercise and other factors and water fluctuations can play in.

    Lean bodybuilders EAT here, even and especially the ladies.
  • Always_Smiling_D
    Always_Smiling_D Posts: 118 Member
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    My advise to you is to forget about the losing weight and concentrate on the losing inches - cuz you might end up being very frustrated if you are lifting heavy

    I went from a size 9 -11 to a size 5 in jeans - started at 156 and only went down to 143 -- I did so on a combo of weights and cardio, if I may say so myself I looked my best. You have to realize that 5 lbs of muscle is much leaner than 5 lbs of fat (no such thing as muscle weights more than fat)

    I would recommend checking out www.bodybuilding.com - awesome information when it comes to what you are already doing

    Best of luck to you
  • Quieau
    Quieau Posts: 428 Member
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    You think you are creating the greater deficit by shaving a few hundred calories off a day so that you can lose fat, but when you eat below BMR you are going to lose muscle for sure --- which lowers your BMR, lowering your calorie burn 'round the clock, 24/7.

    So by trying to shave a few hundred off on the top of your balance sheet, you are cheating yourself of calories burned round the clock, perhaps even more than you're shaving.

    Not to mention all the other hazards of a very low calorie diet (1200 is the bare minimum for someone who is not into the activities you are into).

    Why would anyone make demands of their body and then refuse it the fuel and resources it needs to fulfill those demands? That's where things go wrong, sometimes TERRIBLY wrong (with your health) before you realize it and by then it could be too late to repair. You don't think about these things as much at your age, but when your friends start dying in their 30s from things like pickling their livers with alcohol, eating very low calorie diets for years on end, taking too many over-the-counter meds, stroking out from high blood pressure ... then you start paying attention. It's your one body. Trust me when I say there is much medical science still cannot fix. I recommend that you think in terms of long term performance of this body while you can.

    /oldladyrant
  • toshie333
    toshie333 Posts: 295 Member
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    Great thanks all.
    Will
    Up to 1400 bmr to start to see how I get on then look to up
    Again.
    Goal is to lose fat first then build muscle but thought by adding in heavy weights it would compliment my fat loss...
    Thought this way I would b able to get some definition whilst I lose weight.
  • Fullsterkur_woman
    Fullsterkur_woman Posts: 2,712 Member
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    Great thanks all.
    Will
    Up to 1400 bmr to start to see how I get on then look to up
    Again.
    Goal is to lose fat first then build muscle but thought by adding in heavy weights it would compliment my fat loss...
    Thought this way I would b able to get some definition whilst I lose weight.
    Only losing fat will accomplish this. Do not take this to mean that you should *not* do heavy weights. Heavy weights (in conjunction with *enough* calories but a smallish deficit) will help you retain muscle mass, the prime mover behind your BMR.

    The takeaway we're hoping you'll get is modest deficit, heavy weights, and a *loooot* more patience.
  • missADS1981
    missADS1981 Posts: 364 Member
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    i cant imagine lifting heavy on 1200 is easy or good to gain muscle, i could be wrong.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
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    Great thanks all.
    Will
    Up to 1400 bmr to start to see how I get on then look to up
    Again.
    Goal is to lose fat first then build muscle but thought by adding in heavy weights it would compliment my fat loss...
    Thought this way I would b able to get some definition whilst I lose weight.

    Why would you want to lose fat and then build muscle, rather than retain what you have now?

    Building muscle is extremely hard, plus with being a female, you're even further behind the 8 ball when it comes to building due to the lack of testosterone.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    i cant imagine lifting heavy on 1200 is easy or good to gain muscle, i could be wrong.

    unless you are vertically challenged and like 100 lbs with a TDEE of 1000 -no one is gaining muscle on 1200. Even your average woman (average 5'5") would be hovering around 1500 for maintenance and then 1800+ for bulk.

    That being said- you aren't going to see a lot of strength gains on 1200.. I ate at 1200 (which is below my BMR) for about 4 weeks. I ate back 50-75% of my work out calories- which put my at a grand total for the day between 1500-1800 average.... I was a hot mess. I was lifting- and I wasn't losing but 4-6 weeks I wasn't making gains- and I was slow- and clumsy.

    It's hard. You get no where fast.

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