Do I need to eat more not less?

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I know this topic is so flogged but I really need some feedback.

I worked out my TDEE on IIFYM a while ago and its around 1800 calories a day for fat loss. 2100 for maintenance.
I have my diary set to 1800 and I follow that strictly. I crossfit 5 times a week and am doing fasted sprints 2 or 3 times a week in the morning.
I feel like I eat a lot at the moment. I prep all my meals and eat through out the day. 100% paleo. I watch my macros carefully. I am nearly always over in protein which I don't really care about. On the weekend I treat myself to a paleo dessert. Nothing crazy like a whole pizza or anything.
Is it too soon for me to be assuming i should be leaner by now? I have been crossfitting for about 3 months now. I really want to put on muscle though (I think I have a solid muscle base now but I'd love more). I know I am eating at a deficit at the moment. Should I up the calories to at least maintenance to pack on some more muscle? I don't want to gain anymore body fat though.

I'd love to know your experiences. Thanks guys.

Replies

  • MUALaurenClark
    MUALaurenClark Posts: 296 Member
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    You will not gain muscle if you ar eating at a deficit. In my personal experience, I ate as much as I could on paleo and lost a TON of body fat. It went from about 24% down to 14% in a matter of 2-3 months. Eating quality foods will lose your body fat, but eat enough of them so that you're not going down on your lifts
  • s9foster
    s9foster Posts: 25 Member
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    I am struggling with the same issue. How many calories to eat to gain muscle?!
  • kls1628
    kls1628 Posts: 23 Member
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    There is no magic number for this- but in general eat above your TDEE to gain muscle and weight and eat below it to lose. But there is a sweet spot, especially if you're active cutting more than 10% will compromise energy levels.

    What has worked for me is to eat 1 gram of protein for each lb of body weight, 75g fat (normal recommendation for most ladies) and then use the rest of my calories for carbs. For me, that 220 grams of carbs on training days and 100 grams of carbs on rest days. When I train I eat more carbs/fuel.

    Paleo without counting my macros did not work out for me (although it does for a lot of people) because I burnt out on a low-carb diet while training hard. I actually gained quite a bit of fat while eating under 75 grams of carbs a day and exercising. It wasn't for me, but it works great for a lot of people. Experiment and find what works for you.
  • ashleearoha
    ashleearoha Posts: 165 Member
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    You will not gain muscle if you ar eating at a deficit. In my personal experience, I ate as much as I could on paleo and lost a TON of body fat. It went from about 24% down to 14% in a matter of 2-3 months. Eating quality foods will lose your body fat, but eat enough of them so that you're not going down on your lifts


    How many calories would you say you are/were eating when you were eating paleo and losing body fat? I don't want to copy you and eat those exact amount of calories but it would be good to know what to shoot for and whats too much. I am a huge eater, I know I could eat double what I eat now without trying! haha

    Also I am 170cms tall and I weigh around 63-64kgs at the moment.
  • ashleearoha
    ashleearoha Posts: 165 Member
    Options
    There is no magic number for this- but in general eat above your TDEE to gain muscle and weight and eat below it to lose. But there is a sweet spot, especially if you're active cutting more than 10% will compromise energy levels.

    What has worked for me is to eat 1 gram of protein for each lb of body weight, 75g fat (normal recommendation for most ladies) and then use the rest of my calories for carbs. For me, that 220 grams of carbs on training days and 100 grams of carbs on rest days. When I train I eat more carbs/fuel.

    Paleo without counting my macros did not work out for me (although it does for a lot of people) because I burnt out on a low-carb diet while training hard. I actually gained quite a bit of fat while eating under 75 grams of carbs a day and exercising. It wasn't for me, but it works great for a lot of people. Experiment and find what works for you.

    I am doing really well on low carb at the moment. I don't think its compromising my lifts at crossfit. I usually average 80grams carbs a day from veggies alone. I don't feel tired or cranky like some people say they do on low carb.
    Thanks for your answer :)
  • MUALaurenClark
    MUALaurenClark Posts: 296 Member
    Options
    You will not gain muscle if you ar eating at a deficit. In my personal experience, I ate as much as I could on paleo and lost a TON of body fat. It went from about 24% down to 14% in a matter of 2-3 months. Eating quality foods will lose your body fat, but eat enough of them so that you're not going down on your lifts


    How many calories would you say you are/were eating when you were eating paleo and losing body fat? I don't want to copy you and eat those exact amount of calories but it would be good to know what to shoot for and whats too much. I am a huge eater, I know I could eat double what I eat now without trying! haha

    Also I am 170cms tall and I weigh around 63-64kgs at the moment.

    I was probably eating about 2000. I'm 53kg
  • ashleearoha
    ashleearoha Posts: 165 Member
    Options
    You will not gain muscle if you ar eating at a deficit. In my personal experience, I ate as much as I could on paleo and lost a TON of body fat. It went from about 24% down to 14% in a matter of 2-3 months. Eating quality foods will lose your body fat, but eat enough of them so that you're not going down on your lifts


    How many calories would you say you are/were eating when you were eating paleo and losing body fat? I don't want to copy you and eat those exact amount of calories but it would be good to know what to shoot for and whats too much. I am a huge eater, I know I could eat double what I eat now without trying! haha

    Also I am 170cms tall and I weigh around 63-64kgs at the moment.

    I was probably eating about 2000. I'm 53kg

    Oh cool. I have upped my calorie intake to 2100 calories. Went on the eat to perform website and calculated my TDEE minus 10% so I will stick with that and see what happens and adjust accordingly!
  • bostonwolf
    bostonwolf Posts: 3,038 Member
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    Good luck, and I love the headstand photo. I want to be able to do that one day!
  • kls1628
    kls1628 Posts: 23 Member
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    Just anFYI- eat to perform is not low carb AT ALL. It's what I follow. And they suggest 50g pre and 50g carbs post workout, at a minimum.
  • ashleearoha
    ashleearoha Posts: 165 Member
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    Good luck, and I love the headstand photo. I want to be able to do that one day!

    Ever since I learnt them the other day I can't stop! Haha new party trick for me ;)
  • ashleearoha
    ashleearoha Posts: 165 Member
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    Just anFYI- eat to perform is not low carb AT ALL. It's what I follow. And they suggest 50g pre and 50g carbs post workout, at a minimum.

    Yeah I understand that. I am happy on low carb at the moment and have been eating around 50grams to 80grams of carbs a day for a few weeks now and I feel fine! Lots of energy during WODS and during the day.
    I might have to bump it up later on but for now I am happy!
  • bostonwolf
    bostonwolf Posts: 3,038 Member
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    Good luck, and I love the headstand photo. I want to be able to do that one day!

    Ever since I learnt them the other day I can't stop! Haha new party trick for me ;)

    Seriously. If I ever get that I'm coming home and telling my wife "WATCH THIS!!!"
  • bostonwolf
    bostonwolf Posts: 3,038 Member
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    Just anFYI- eat to perform is not low carb AT ALL. It's what I follow. And they suggest 50g pre and 50g carbs post workout, at a minimum.

    Yeah I understand that. I am happy on low carb at the moment and have been eating around 50grams to 80grams of carbs a day for a few weeks now and I feel fine! Lots of energy during WODS and during the day.
    I might have to bump it up later on but for now I am happy!

    This is the key IMO. Figure out what works for you, then keep an eye on it. If your workouts start to flag or you get tired, add some more carbs.

    Still mastering this myself but I will get there.
  • ashleearoha
    ashleearoha Posts: 165 Member
    Options
    Just anFYI- eat to perform is not low carb AT ALL. It's what I follow. And they suggest 50g pre and 50g carbs post workout, at a minimum.

    Yeah I understand that. I am happy on low carb at the moment and have been eating around 50grams to 80grams of carbs a day for a few weeks now and I feel fine! Lots of energy during WODS and during the day.
    I might have to bump it up later on but for now I am happy!

    This is the key IMO. Figure out what works for you, then keep an eye on it. If your workouts start to flag or you get tired, add some more carbs.

    Still mastering this myself but I will get there.

    Yeah I am finally listening to my body and that seems to be working really well for me!
  • bostonwolf
    bostonwolf Posts: 3,038 Member
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    ^headstands. You're killing it, girl! :)
  • Chels_C17
    Chels_C17 Posts: 4 Member
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    As stated before eating in a deficit will not allow you to gain muscle mass, you will have to eat in a surplus. Also if you are not seeing gains in 6 weeks or so consider adding carbs, especially around your workouts. I use to be very strict Paleo but after much research as to why I wasn't seeing the gains I desired I decided to add white rice, potatoes and other delish carbs back into my diet then bam gainz! I am currently trying to lose a little bit of body fat so I am eating in a slight deficit and my carbs are still 200 g. Good luck :smile:
  • bostonwolf
    bostonwolf Posts: 3,038 Member
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    ^You only have one post. where did you state it before? :)
  • kls1628
    kls1628 Posts: 23 Member
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    Me too, +1
  • ashleearoha
    ashleearoha Posts: 165 Member
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    I am upping my carbs! I am going to start eating carbs post workout instead of before I think. At the moment I train at 4:30 pm and when I finish I have a half hour drive home so straight after i eat a homemade "bliss ball" made with nuts and medjool dates and protein powder to tide me over until I get home and make dinner.

    When I get home I usually have some protein (fish, chicken, red meat) with green vegetables and maybe some cauliflower mash.
    I am going to add a sweet potato to dinner tonight. Thats around 100 grams of carbs for the day anyway. I want to to keep under 150. Maybe start to incorporate some carb cycling. I did higher carb yesterday because I knew I had Fran but I am sticking to all paleo carb sources for now. I don't feel like I need more then that at the moment.

    I am so glad there are groups like this to help each other out and give feedback! I really appreciate it and I try to give my feedback on posts when I can!