Calories ??? Weight loss/ muscle gain

etray2002
etray2002 Posts: 15 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Does anyone have an idea how much calories should I be eating to gain muscle and loose fat. I am 5'9" and weight 195lb. I recently loss 60 lbs . I want to loose the belly and gain muscle . Not sure if I should eat less. Right now I am eating about 1550 and trying to eat alot of protien. Any suggestions

Replies

  • samanthachen
    samanthachen Posts: 360 Member
    I am on the "still have a lot to lose" end, so I'm not an expert in muscle gain. However, from what I've seen from the MFP pros, you can't gain muscle while still trying to lose weight. If you still have belly fat, there is weight to lose. I recommend entering your information properly into MFP, and setting your goal to 0.5lbs/week (if you are near your goal) or 1lb/week (if you still have a bit to lose). Set your macros, so you are getting good amounts of proteins and fats, and you should be good to go. You can't spot treat fat, so you'll have to count your calories and go from there. No exercise will target the fat in your belly.

    As for muscle, many people recommend the 5X5 lifting program. I don't know enough about that to point you in any direction other than those words. I will stress that I've seen MANY MFP vets clearly state that muscle gain can't happen while eating at a deficit.

    However, you can still work on them in the process.

    Good luck
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,088 Member
    Are you looking into a recomp ?
  • etray2002
    etray2002 Posts: 15 Member
    I am not sure what a recomp is ?
  • oustudygirl
    oustudygirl Posts: 1 Member
    I managed to do both with the help of my trainer. Lifting progressively heavier weights and adding Dumbbells and barbells to body weight exercises helps with muscle gain. She would cycle me through rotating sessions of weight training and cardio. You do have to eat more on weight training days to gain muscle and less on cardio days. In 6 months I lost 52 lbs but also gained 18 lbs of lean muscle mass. Doing this slows weight loss a bit since you'll have some no loss weeks or even gain some weeks. But remember; the more muscle you put on, the faster you burn fat and loss weight. It all catches up!
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
    You are female and gained 18 lbs of muscle in 6 months?!?!
  • BeYouTiful94
    BeYouTiful94 Posts: 289 Member
    This is the thread for a question I asked recently and some of the answers towards the end might help you out in some way :) Not on how many calories exactly, but some other relevant stuff

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10346779/toning#latest

    Also, the aforementioned 5x5 thing is in one of the answering posts. It's the one with all the links (may have been the first answering post). The most helpful 5x5 link is the one from strengthandmuscle.com, IMO.
  • codsterlaing95
    codsterlaing95 Posts: 221 Member
    oustudygirl wrote: »
    I managed to do both with the help of my trainer. Lifting progressively heavier weights and adding Dumbbells and barbells to body weight exercises helps with muscle gain. She would cycle me through rotating sessions of weight training and cardio. You do have to eat more on weight training days to gain muscle and less on cardio days. In 6 months I lost 52 lbs but also gained 18 lbs of lean muscle mass. Doing this slows weight loss a bit since you'll have some no loss weeks or even gain some weeks. But remember; the more muscle you put on, the faster you burn fat and loss weight. It all catches up!

    Lol no you did not. You probably gained a negligible amount if anything.
  • jessef593
    jessef593 Posts: 2,272 Member
    If you're looking to cut or gain muscle you'll need to be eatin more either way. At 170lbs 5'11" im still eating upwards of 2700 calories a day when cutting fat and upwards of 3300 a day when trying to gain muscle. You won't see any muscle gain eating 1500 calories a day. That is extremely low for a male especially of your weight. You can either gain muscle through a surplus or cut fat through a deficit. Body recomps give minimal results and don't work for the majority of people with average genetics.
  • jessef593
    jessef593 Posts: 2,272 Member
    18lbs lean mass in a deficit? No way. I bulked hard for a year and barely hit 20lbs if that.
  • M30834134
    M30834134 Posts: 411 Member
    Gaining muscles while on a deficit is difficult. Once your deficit is more than 7% of your maintenance calories - you practically will gain no muscles. If you lost the 60 lb with the help of MFP, then you should be able to use your actual data to figure out your actual TDEE - start there. Reduce your calorie intake from TDEE by about 5%-10% but make sure you eat above your BMR. Pick a lifting program with various rep ranges (Shortcut to size is an excellent workout routine on bodybuilding.com) and stick with it. On your rest days do cardio, HIIT if you are fit to do it. Stick with the program and with time you will get to your goal. It took me 1 year to get from 30-35% body fat (estimated) to 13% (DEXA scan).

    Here is a good article comparing bulk-cut conventional method to slightly upping calories:
    https://www.t-nation.com/training/truth-about-bulking
    oustudygirl wrote: »
    I managed to do both with the help of my trainer. Lifting progressively heavier weights and adding Dumbbells and barbells to body weight exercises helps with muscle gain. She would cycle me through rotating sessions of weight training and cardio. You do have to eat more on weight training days to gain muscle and less on cardio days. In 6 months I lost 52 lbs but also gained 18 lbs of lean muscle mass. Doing this slows weight loss a bit since you'll have some no loss weeks or even gain some weeks. But remember; the more muscle you put on, the faster you burn fat and loss weight. It all catches up!

    Sorry, not possible. Not for a male, nor for a female on; not on a deficit not even during heavy bulking.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    bahaha. 18lbs of muscle in 6 months in a deficit. And here I am bulking and working my butt off hoping for 3-4 lbs in 5 months.
  • borrego6193
    borrego6193 Posts: 26 Member
    jessef593 wrote: »
    You can either gain muscle through a surplus or cut fat through a deficit. Body recomps give minimal results and don't work for the majority of people with average genetics.

    This

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