Eating over my cals and lifting

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Honeycat89
Honeycat89 Posts: 149
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi there,

My daily calorie intake without exercise is 1600 a day for maintenance, I usually do 4 cardio sessions a week burning around 500 cals each time. I eat back all my cals. However I quite often eat over my daily allowance because i'm always hungry. (I'm 23, 5ft5 and weigh about 123lb). Now I also lift and do weights about 3 times a week. My question is if i'm eating over my cals and lifting will I put on fat or muscle? The last time I checked my body fat was 18% which I was told was slightly low, but since I eat well and exercise my trainer told me it was fine as I was athletic. Can I continue to eat over my cals without gaining fat or will it eventually catch up with me? I'm fine putting on a few lb as long as it's muscle!

Thanks :)

Replies

  • Honeycat89
    Honeycat89 Posts: 149
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    (fyi in the last few months I've put on approx 2-4lb but my body fat has decreased and I've stayed the same clothes size)
  • JoshD8705
    JoshD8705 Posts: 390 Member
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    When you eat a surplus you gain both muscle and fat. The point of a calorie surplus is to bulk up. When you finsh a bulk you switch to eating under your calories with a higher protien intake to maintain the new muscle, but lose the new fat.
  • Honeycat89
    Honeycat89 Posts: 149
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    I know if I do it every day I'd get weight but is it ok to go over every so often and not have to worry about making it up?
  • la_te_ra_lus
    la_te_ra_lus Posts: 243 Member
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    as long as you notice you're not putting on any extra fluff.. keep doing what you're doing.
  • JoshD8705
    JoshD8705 Posts: 390 Member
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    If it's ocassional it won't matter. It all comes down to if there is a surplus, or deficit over an extended amount of time. Alot of people on here use a system where they eat high, and low over the week, where the week still finishes in a deficit.

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