Question for women who lift

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taylormoooon
taylormoooon Posts: 130 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Okay, I'm about to start lifting and from my research, eating more (of the right foods of course) is obviously what our body needs to build muscle and do its overall functions. So, how many calories would you say you eat in a day? I feel like I've never really eaten 2000 calories a day even when I'm not tracking and of course I'm afraid of eating that much just from the fear of gaining unwanted fat. The more I type this though the more I think I'm sounding foolish because if I'm lifting, my body's going to be demanding more. But back to the point, how many calories do you eat a day?

I'm 5'3, 134lbs and right now I'm eating between 1400 and 1700 calories a day however I tend to end up on the lower side.

Replies

  • rachaelbarton
    rachaelbarton Posts: 57 Member
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    I'm 5'7" and 135 lbs...I eat 1500ish calories a day to lose weight and add in weight lifting as a cardio activity when I lift. It doesn't give you a lot of calories back (I usually only earn back the calories for a low calorie protein shake or something like that). For weight maintenance I could eat probably 1650. I'm not all that strict about it; I just try to be more conscientious of giving my body protein after my workout to begin the rebuild.
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
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    i'm 5ft5, about 150lbs....i'm losing on a range of about 2000-2400 (changes according to training day). I was eating close to 3000 on "high days" to put muscle on a few weeks ago..

    I have set macros not cals, and when I was growing, they'd be adjusted weekly depending on what my measurements and weight were doing. the gradually increased week by week, mainly the carb g's, usually in 10g increments (or 5g fat)
  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
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    Use this calculator to estimate your calorie requirements: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    If you're still aiming to lose weight (fat) then choose a 10, 15 or 20% cut from TDEE.

    The calculator will also set your macros. The most common ratio for lifters around here to get their calories is 30% protein, 30% fat and 40% carbs.
  • 33Freya
    33Freya Posts: 468 Member
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    Michael Matthews suggests 1.2 grams of protein per pound of body weight, 1 gram carbohydrates per pound of body weight, and .2 grams of fat per lb of body weight.
  • kelly_e_montana
    kelly_e_montana Posts: 1,999 Member
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    I am eating 170 grams of protein per day. I am eating at about 1800-2100 calories on my easy or rest days and at closer to TDEE on my harder days (say 2300-2400). My TDEE is about 2650. I am still losing very slowly, although I have lost 3 pants sizes with not much weight loss. Right now I am doing more of a body recomposition approach.

    I eat about 50 grams of carbs as well as some protein before and after my workouts and I feel that helps fuel me. The rest of the time I go lighter on carbs, and I go lighter on carbs on my off days. Overall, my macros are about 40C/30p/30f but I am on Eat to Perform so I am timing my carbs around workouts and am really seeing massive improvements in my performance! For carbs, I am mostly eating spotted bananas, sweet potatoes, and oatmeal, although the program I'm using does allow some flexibility for eating for enjoyment. I'm just eating these things because they are carbs that I tend to tolerate well.

    Drink protein shakes if you need to bump up your calories or protein intake. I feel like I have to kill a small family of animals each day and eat them if I don't supplement. Also, for more calories, you can eat healthy fats like avocados, olive and coconut oil, and almonds.
  • tessmca
    tessmca Posts: 27 Member
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    Im trying to work that out for myself at the moment,
    From what I have read a female can only put on.12 to.25 pounds a week of muscle but and it takes excess of 350 calories a day to grow 1 pound of muscle. so its only a small increase in calories per day.

    As I want to do it as a 'clean' bulk ie not add fat as I am hoping to do a competition in May I decided to track in a note book my calories per day, but on days I lift I am increasing my calories from maintance by up to 150.by increasing protein and carbs.
    I will judge it by the scales an especially how I look and how my lifting is progressing, I will track also by measuring I can loose in thighs waist and hips but not chest or bicep's, I just have to make sure I measure at the same time every week (same as weight fluid etc and alter readings)
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    Okay, I'm about to start lifting and from my research, eating more (of the right foods of course) is obviously what our body needs to build muscle and do its overall functions. So, how many calories would you say you eat in a day? I feel like I've never really eaten 2000 calories a day even when I'm not tracking and of course I'm afraid of eating that much just from the fear of gaining unwanted fat. The more I type this though the more I think I'm sounding foolish because if I'm lifting, my body's going to be demanding more. But back to the point, how many calories do you eat a day?

    I'm 5'3, 134lbs and right now I'm eating between 1400 and 1700 calories a day however I tend to end up on the lower side.

    Figure out what your maintenance TDEE calories is. There are many online calculators for this, Scooby's Workshop is a popular one, google it. This number is going to be different for everyone, so someone else telling you how much they are eating is not going to be helpful for you. If you eat the same as someone else, it might be too much and make you gain, or it might be too little and not be enough to fuel you.

    If your goal is still to drop some weight, you will need to eat at a small calorie deficit. If your goal is to add muscle (not just strengthen your muscles) you will need to eat at a calorie surplus and then you will gain weight.
  • xiamjackie
    xiamjackie Posts: 611 Member
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    Are you trying to build muscle or lose fat? Building muscle only comes at a surplus, so you will need to up your calories from what you were eating. Don't be afraid of weight gain. It will not be all 100% muscle, but if you are eating healthy foods at a slight surplus, you shouldn't see much fat gain.

    I did maintenance from November until about a week ago. I didn't log, but I estimated I was between 2000 and 2500 a day. I actually lost weight (I think I lost some muscle mass because I wasn't lifting as much).

    Currently I eat 1500 a day, but I'm back on the losing wagon and trying to lean out some body fat. I am 5'0 and weigh between 120 and 125. I lift 4 days a week and do cardio 4-5 days a week.
  • wolfsbayne
    wolfsbayne Posts: 3,116 Member
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    I used the Scooby's workshop calculater and came up with a little over 2000 calories to lose fat and build muscle. I set my goal at 1900. I'm 5'7" and weigh 201 lbs at the moment. I've been doing Stronglifts for about 2 months now and have lost 1/2 and inch off my waist and about 7 lbs since I started lifting. I didn't see a change at all in measurements when I set my cals to 1500, so I've been playing with it. I lost 4 lbs last week alone. Although, the measurements didn't change, my co workers said my body looks different. I feel better, too :smile:
  • quellybelly
    quellybelly Posts: 827 Member
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    bump to read later
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    Michael Matthews suggests 1.2 grams of protein per pound of body weight, 1 gram carbohydrates per pound of body weight, and .2 grams of fat per lb of body weight.

    I think that fat intake is way too low. aim for 0.35 to 0.45 grams fat per lb of body weight, and the 1 gram of protein (the 1.2 should be per lb of lbm not body weight) and set the rest of carbs, not a set number
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    At 5'4" 2000 calories might be a surplus. Where did that number come from?

    It appears you still want to lose more weight. You can either figured out your TDEE and subtract 10-20% or you can set MFP to a half pound a week and don't chose sedentary for a lifestyle.

    Once you've lost the weight you want, you can decide if you want to eat at a surplus to gain muscle (and a little bit of fat).
  • taylormoooon
    taylormoooon Posts: 130 Member
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    Are you trying to build muscle or lose fat? Building muscle only comes at a surplus, so you will need to up your calories from what you were eating. Don't be afraid of weight gain. It will not be all 100% muscle, but if you are eating healthy foods at a slight surplus, you shouldn't see much fat gain.

    I did maintenance from November until about a week ago. I didn't log, but I estimated I was between 2000 and 2500 a day. I actually lost weight (I think I lost some muscle mass because I wasn't lifting as much).

    Currently I eat 1500 a day, but I'm back on the losing wagon and trying to lean out some body fat. I am 5'0 and weigh between 120 and 125. I lift 4 days a week and do cardio 4-5 days a week.

    At the moment I'm trying to just lose fat, but the 2000 calories would be when I would start lifting so it would be both lose fat and gain muscle. I think that I will start at my high range on non lifting days and then add calories on lift days and see how my body reacts. Thanks!
  • DivaLuvsDisney
    DivaLuvsDisney Posts: 75 Member
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    I am 5'4" and 125lb. I use the TDEE method when calculating my daily needs. I eat 1600-1700 a day to lose weight and 2000-2100 to maintain. I had been doing stronglifts 3 days a week with 3 days of cardio, but got bored with it. Now I'm just cycling through some of Phase 2 & 3 of Jamie Eason's LiveFit program. I change things around and add/drop things.
  • taylormoooon
    taylormoooon Posts: 130 Member
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    At 5'4" 2000 calories might be a surplus. Where did that number come from?

    It appears you still want to lose more weight. You can either figured out your TDEE and subtract 10-20% or you can set MFP to a half pound a week and don't chose sedentary for a lifestyle.

    Once you've lost the weight you want, you can decide if you want to eat at a surplus to gain muscle (and a little bit of fat).

    Right now that is a scary number to me, haha. I got the number from The New Rules of Lifting for Women. I think I will continue to lose some weight like you said since I seem to be successfully doing that currently and then once I'll start lifting I won't be as nervous to put on weight and eat more calories.
  • swenkj
    swenkj Posts: 5
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    I'm 5'6, 153 lbs. I lift 5 days a week and eat around 1600-1700 calories a day. If I was maintaining I would shoot for closer to 2000.
  • DrMAvDPhD
    DrMAvDPhD Posts: 2,097 Member
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    5'5" 135-140ish. I eat ~2200 calories to maintain my weight, ~2600 to gain muscle, ~1700-1800 to lose fat. I lift full body 3 times per week and play hockey once a week as my only cardio.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    Options
    At 5'4" 2000 calories might be a surplus. Where did that number come from?

    It appears you still want to lose more weight. You can either figured out your TDEE and subtract 10-20% or you can set MFP to a half pound a week and don't chose sedentary for a lifestyle.

    Once you've lost the weight you want, you can decide if you want to eat at a surplus to gain muscle (and a little bit of fat).

    Right now that is a scary number to me, haha. I got the number from The New Rules of Lifting for Women. I think I will continue to lose some weight like you said since I seem to be successfully doing that currently and then once I'll start lifting I won't be as nervous to put on weight and eat more calories.

    No no. Start lifting now. Don't wait until after your lose the weight you want. Lifting while losing will prevent muscle loss.
  • taylormoooon
    taylormoooon Posts: 130 Member
    Options
    At 5'4" 2000 calories might be a surplus. Where did that number come from?

    It appears you still want to lose more weight. You can either figured out your TDEE and subtract 10-20% or you can set MFP to a half pound a week and don't chose sedentary for a lifestyle.

    Once you've lost the weight you want, you can decide if you want to eat at a surplus to gain muscle (and a little bit of fat).

    Right now that is a scary number to me, haha. I got the number from The New Rules of Lifting for Women. I think I will continue to lose some weight like you said since I seem to be successfully doing that currently and then once I'll start lifting I won't be as nervous to put on weight and eat more calories.

    No no. Start lifting now. Don't wait until after your lose the weight you want. Lifting while losing will prevent muscle loss.

    True, yes I would but I injured my knee stepping off a high step a week and a half ago so I have to wait anyways. I'm keeping my protein up though and doing some other strength exercises in the meantime.
  • kelly_e_montana
    kelly_e_montana Posts: 1,999 Member
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    Are you trying to build muscle or lose fat? Building muscle only comes at a surplus, so you will need to up your calories from what you were eating. Don't be afraid of weight gain. It will not be all 100% muscle, but if you are eating healthy foods at a slight surplus, you shouldn't see much fat gain.

    I did maintenance from November until about a week ago. I didn't log, but I estimated I was between 2000 and 2500 a day. I actually lost weight (I think I lost some muscle mass because I wasn't lifting as much).

    Currently I eat 1500 a day, but I'm back on the losing wagon and trying to lean out some body fat. I am 5'0 and weigh between 120 and 125. I lift 4 days a week and do cardio 4-5 days a week.


    I have built muscle and I have not been eating at a surplus. I have been continuing to lose weight (slowly!) and body fat percentage while my lean mass has gone up. It takes really specific eating like I have been doing on Eat to Perform, or here is an article from Scooby's workshop on how to do it :http://scoobysworkshop.com/gain-muscle-lose-fat/. Some people might not not buy it, but I do because I've personally done it. It's easy to see gains this way when you're just starting out like the original poster is.

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