Activity level

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CFrancine88
CFrancine88 Posts: 23 Member
edited November 2015 in Fitness and Exercise
So I'm debating on what my activity level should be. I'm 5'8 and 204lbs. I currently have it set for sedentary, which gives me 1640 calories a day to lose 1lbs a week. It keeps me satisfied for the most part but I've been wondering if I'm truly eating enough. Sometimes my body feels "drained", which I'm not sure is solely due to lack of rest. In general I would say my daily activity level is between sedentary to light. I sit around all day except a couple days a week. But I started weightlifting and I go 4-5 days a week (3 day split), 6-8 different excersises each time with three sets each, attempting to reach failure between 8-12 reps. I do not log my lifting because I'm not supposed to eat those calories back. But of course, I'm not supposed to be in a large calorie deficit so I can gain muscle. I'm seeing good results in my weight increases and my trainer noticed I put on muscle easily (something I already kinda knew). So I'm doing OK. But my question is, would you bump up the activity level to compensate for the weight lifting? That would give me 1890 calories a day. I just don't want to starve my muscles.

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  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    You apppear to be mixing up the two methods (MFP eat back exercise calories versus TDEE) method.

    Don't use MFP settings to work out your calorie goal if you are doing TDEE - you should use one (or several for comparison) of the many TDEE calculators to work out your goal.

    But your body is the best calculator of all - what rate of weight loss have you been having recently? That trumps any amount of formulas and calculators.
  • CFrancine88
    CFrancine88 Posts: 23 Member
    edited November 2015
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    .
  • sheermomentum
    sheermomentum Posts: 827 Member
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    If you "bump up the activity level" to raise your calorie budget, then you ARE doing TDEE. But there's a couple of confusing things here: 1. Are you trying to lose or gain weight? In your second sentence, you seem to say that you are trying to lose 1 pound a week, but later on on you are seeing good results with your weight increases. Which is your goal?

    Generally, most people do not add calories to their diet for the weight lifting unless they are trying for gains, because weight lifting is not an activity that burns alot of calories in the doing. If you were to add the 250 calories per day that you mention (the difference between 1640 and 1890), then you might be adding more that you burn up with the lifting. But that would only matter if you want to lose weight. If you want to gain weight while adding muscle, then obviously you should eat more. If you are trying to lose weight while maintaining muscle or getting those muscle increases that you get when you from sedentary to not sedentary, then you don't need to add more calories. But be aware than any weight gains that you get under those circumstances are not likely to have anything to do with adding much muscle mass. They are more likely due to your diet not being what you think it is.
  • CFrancine88
    CFrancine88 Posts: 23 Member
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    sheermomentum wrote: »
    But be aware than any weight gains that you get under those circumstances are not likely to have anything to do with adding much muscle mass. They are more likely due to your diet not being what you think it is.

    That didn't make any sense to me. Why wouldn't my diet be what I think it is if I'm tracking? I cook nearly all my food and I weigh/measure faithfully.

    But my primary goal is to preserve muscle and build if possible. Hopefully I lose fat but I know if I'm not eating enough, I'm going to lose muscle. That's where my question comes from. I'm eating at the level of someone that does nothing but sit around all day when I'm actually an being active in some respect. I'm not supposed to "eat back" my lifting calories but I'm not supposed to have a large deficit either to begin with. So I just want to know if I'm under eating. And when I said "increasing weight" I meant the weight I'm lifting.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    CFrancine88 wrote: »
    sheermomentum wrote: »
    But be aware than any weight gains that you get under those circumstances are not likely to have anything to do with adding much muscle mass. They are more likely due to your diet not being what you think it is.

    But my primary goal is to preserve muscle and build if possible. Hopefully I lose fat but I know if I'm not eating enough, I'm going to lose muscle. That's where my question comes from. I'm eating at the level of someone that does nothing but sit around all day when I'm actually an being active in some respect. I'm not supposed to "eat back" my lifting calories but I'm not supposed to have a large deficit either to begin with. So I just want to know if I'm under eating. And when I said "increasing weight" I meant the weight I'm lifting.

    You haven't said how fast you are losing weight, that's how you judge if you have an excessive deficit (under eating) or not.
  • hill8570
    hill8570 Posts: 1,466 Member
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    Tough call. A 500-calorie-per-day deficit doesn't seem too bad, even if you're lifting 5 days a week. Are you getting enough carbs post-workout (a couple-three hundred calories within a hour or so of the workout) to refuel the muscles? Lifting to failure is going to be draining the glycogen pretty hard. Plus you need to be getting enough protein overall. If you're doing all that already, maybe do a custom setting in MFP to dial in a 1/2 pound a week deficit. Is your training tracking your measurements? If you put on muscle easily, the scale is not going to be a good measure of your progress -- waist / hip and/or bodyfat % will be a lot better way of tracking progress.
  • CFrancine88
    CFrancine88 Posts: 23 Member
    edited November 2015
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    hill8570 wrote: »
    Tough call. A 500-calorie-per-day deficit doesn't seem too bad, even if you're lifting 5 days a week. Are you getting enough carbs post-workout (a couple-three hundred calories within a hour or so of the workout) to refuel the muscles? Lifting to failure is going to be draining the glycogen pretty hard. Plus you need to be getting enough protein overall. If you're doing all that already, maybe do a custom setting in MFP to dial in a 1/2 pound a week deficit. Is your training tracking your measurements? If you put on muscle easily, the scale is not going to be a good measure of your progress -- waist / hip and/or bodyfat % will be a lot better way of tracking progress.

    I probably am not getting enough carbs post workout. I usually aim to eat whole grains an hour or so prior to the workout and then a protien bar snack (lately it's a Detour Smart bar, which is only 18 carbs) because I tend to hit the store after I workout. I get about 100g of protien a day. I got my measurements taken yesterday for the first time and there was some change along with a 5 lbs weight loss. That was after about 2.5 months but I really had only been working out and eating right the last 1 month. I was a bit surprised by the weight loss honestly because it was 3lbs less than last week so some of that may have been water, poop, or whatever. We didn't use the body fat calculator.
  • hill8570
    hill8570 Posts: 1,466 Member
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    CFrancine88 wrote: »
    hill8570 wrote: »
    Tough call. A 500-calorie-per-day deficit doesn't seem too bad, even if you're lifting 5 days a week. Are you getting enough carbs post-workout (a couple-three hundred calories within a hour or so of the workout) to refuel the muscles? Lifting to failure is going to be draining the glycogen pretty hard. Plus you need to be getting enough protein overall. If you're doing all that already, maybe do a custom setting in MFP to dial in a 1/2 pound a week deficit. Is your training tracking your measurements? If you put on muscle easily, the scale is not going to be a good measure of your progress -- waist / hip and/or bodyfat % will be a lot better way of tracking progress.

    I probably am not getting enough carbs post workout. I usually aim to eat whole grains an hour or so prior to the workout and then a protien bar snack (lately it's a Detour Smart bar, which is only 18 carbs) because I tend to hit the store after I workout. I get about 100g of protien a day. I got my measurements taken yesterday for the first time and there was some change along with a 5 lbs weight loss. That was after about 2.5 months but I really had only been working out and eating right the last 1 month. I was a bit surprised by the weight loss honestly because it was 3lbs less than last week so some of that may have been water, poop, or whatever. We didn't use the body fat calculator.

    Yeah, getting some more carbs in your system right after the workout should help somewhat with the "drained" feeling. And since you're on a bodybuilder program, you really should be getting more protein (160-ish grams), although that's going to be tough on a pound-a-week deficit (I don't think that will help the fatigue, but if you're going to put in that sort of workout, you owe it to your body to give it something to rebuild with).

    The more I think about it, the more I think you need to decide what your immediate goal is -- are you on a clean bulk (implying you want to get your calories up to maintenance or a smidge above, and protein into the 0.8 g/pound ballpark), or are you on a cut (implying you concentrate on maintaining strength in the gym, rather than pushing constantly for new PRs and increased muscle mass).
  • CFrancine88
    CFrancine88 Posts: 23 Member
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    Thank you so much!! I think you are correct. This is something I've been trying to figure out myself as well but didn't know what to call it. I am new to all this. I believe what I want to do is clean bulk as I am more interested in increased muscle mass. So I do need to increase my calories. I asked my trainer about am I eating the right amount of calories. I think he's used to women focusing on losing weight that I don't think he understood what I was trying to ask. He just kept making sure I understood don't cut my calories too low. I'll make sure to up my protein as well.

    I'll do more research but I recall rereading that as an overweight person, eating surplus calories isn't really necessary. When I measured in back in August, they had one of those electronic calibers that said my BF% was 34%. I almost died because I had no idea it was that high. I have a endomorph body type so my fat is actually nicely distributed. Even if that wasn't 100% accurate, I know I have the pounds to spare. Do you have any knowledge on that? Should I abandon all hope of losing any fat at this time and just focus on muscle gains?
  • Traveler120
    Traveler120 Posts: 712 Member
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    CFrancine88 wrote: »
    Thank you so much!! I think you are correct. This is something I've been trying to figure out myself as well but didn't know what to call it. I am new to all this. I believe what I want to do is clean bulk as I am more interested in increased muscle mass. So I do need to increase my calories. I asked my trainer about am I eating the right amount of calories. I think he's used to women focusing on losing weight that I don't think he understood what I was trying to ask. He just kept making sure I understood don't cut my calories too low. I'll make sure to up my protein as well.

    I'll do more research but I recall rereading that as an overweight person, eating surplus calories isn't really necessary. When I measured in back in August, they had one of those electronic calibers that said my BF% was 34%. I almost died because I had no idea it was that high. I have a endomorph body type so my fat is actually nicely distributed. Even if that wasn't 100% accurate, I know I have the pounds to spare. Do you have any knowledge on that? Should I abandon all hope of losing any fat at this time and just focus on muscle gains?
    Nobody can tell you what your goal should be. Only you can decide that. And at 5'8", 204 lbs, your BMI is 31 which is in the obese category. Why would you want to gain more weight and bulk. Keep in mind you're unlikely to gain pure muscle. Some of the weight gained will include fat. Unless you're training to be a powerlifter, I'm not getting why you'd want to get fatter. Isn't that going to make you more unhealthy?
  • CFrancine88
    CFrancine88 Posts: 23 Member
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    That's why I asked if people that are overweight truly need to eat at a surplus to gain muscle... Mind addressing that part of the statement??
  • hill8570
    hill8570 Posts: 1,466 Member
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    CFrancine88 wrote: »
    I'll do more research but I recall rereading that as an overweight person, eating surplus calories isn't really necessary. When I measured in back in August, they had one of those electronic calibers that said my BF% was 34%. I almost died because I had no idea it was that high. I have a endomorph body type so my fat is actually nicely distributed. Even if that wasn't 100% accurate, I know I have the pounds to spare. Do you have any knowledge on that? Should I abandon all hope of losing any fat at this time and just focus on muscle gains?

    That research is true to a point -- other than getting sufficient protein to repair / add muscle (your body can't synthesize amino acids from carbs or fat), you don't really need to eat over maintenance when your rockin' enough extra fat -- your body should be able to draw energy from fat stores to power the rebuild. But that's basically replacing the couple hundred calories per day surplus you'd be eating in a clean bulk with fat stores, so, at best, you're looking at maybe a half pound a week of fat being lost. But you'd likely be looking at around that much muscle per week added, so the scale won't be moving (muscle being denser than fat, and usually distributed differently, should result in your measurements changing in a pleasing manner, 'tho).

    Anywho, to address the fatigue issue -- enough enough carbs in the hour post-workout (I'm guessing around 200-ish, so around 50 grams). Since you're only doing 18g now, maybe ramp slowly -- like eat two of the bars (or the equivalent) instead of one, and see if that helps with the fatigue. And start adding additional protein to your diet (which will either require (1) ramping up your calories, or (2) ramping down your fat macro %...if you're already tired, you don't want to be ramping down your carb macro).

    Hope this helps rather than confuses :smile:
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    CFrancine88 wrote: »
    That's why I asked if people that are overweight truly need to eat at a surplus to gain muscle... Mind addressing that part of the statement??

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10016400/cant-build-muscle-while-in-a-calorie-deficit-im-confused/p1
  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
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    I think I'd hope for the newbie and overfat gains and eat at a reasonable (not too low) deficit while there is a chance for gains doing that. If you assume you won't have any and do another plan, you won't be able to take advantage of them if you do have them :) I'd give it a shot!

    Check out Scooby's calculator to double check and play around with what level you should be eating: http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/
  • CFrancine88
    CFrancine88 Posts: 23 Member
    edited November 2015
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    hill8570 wrote: »
    Anywho, to address the fatigue issue -- enough enough carbs in the hour post-workout (I'm guessing around 200-ish, so around 50 grams). Since you're only doing 18g now, maybe ramp slowly -- like eat two of the bars (or the equivalent) instead of one, and see if that helps with the fatigue. And start adding additional protein to your diet (which will either require (1) ramping up your calories, or (2) ramping down your fat macro %...if you're already tired, you don't want to be ramping down your carb macro).

    Thanks! What I decided to do is change my goal is lose 0.5 pounds a week instead of one. So that added 250 calories to my diet. I then increased my protien up to 142g (tried to eat 35% at 165 today, just can't get there). The rest went to carbs. With the increased protien and carbs, I'll feel more confident my muscles are being fed. I also decided to add on some light cardio (like 30 minutes moderate walk on treadmill, which mfp said was 150 calories) on my arms and back days. I won't eat those calories back, it's just to knock off a few extra calories here and there as well as getting used to cardio. I got 50g of carbs in my post workout today as I'm going to start planning specific "post workout meal" in my tracker.

    Overall, I am a bit bummed at the thought of only losing 0.5 pounds a week (if I'm lucky!) but that's just coming from a Weight Watcher's background (which only left me "skinny fat" in the past). I was just weighed and measured Monday so I'll do this for a month and see how things look. It's all about trial and error sometimes... I came into this knowing it's going to be a long haul before I see great results. I'm not looking for a quick fix.
  • hill8570
    hill8570 Posts: 1,466 Member
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    Sounds like a good plan. Even if you don't lose weight quickly, it sounds like you're on a track will give you a body you can be proud of. Be sure to take measurements and pictures -- it's often hard to see progress unless you go back and compare yourself to one of your "before" pictures. Best of luck!

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