Who should I listen to?

Ktjc2016
Ktjc2016 Posts: 37 Member
edited December 2 in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
I weigh 108 pounds (5'6) and am looking to gain some lean mass and minimal fat to bring me up to 112 pounds. Various websites tell me that eating 1750 calories will allow me to gain this weight yet my fitness pal tells me 2020. What sounds more accurate? I have a sendetary job and train weights 4 times a week

Replies

  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    At your height 2020 sounds very feasible.

    Eat at that for a few weeks and see how things goes, I'm not sure that would be enough to gain on but it could be your maintenance amount. You'll know if you need to up your cals then.

    (I'm going by my maintenance cals which are 2300 and I'm only 5ft 2, although I'm very active)
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
    I would go with what MFP tells you. I have found it to be very accurate (I have been using it for almost 3 years now). Try the 2020 and keep an eye on your weight. You can always adjust if needed.
  • FitPhillygirl
    FitPhillygirl Posts: 7,124 Member
    edited June 2016
    Definitely try eating the amount that MFP gives you first. If you see that your weight isn't coming up as you'd like it to, increase your calories by 100 week. At 5'7" I am close to your height. If I eat less than 2000 a day I start dropping weight again. On the days that you lift weights, you can eat some of those burned calories back.
  • Ktjc2016
    Ktjc2016 Posts: 37 Member
    FitPhillygirl wrote: »
    Definitely try eating the amount that MFP gives you first. If you see that your weight isn't coming up as you'd like it to, increase your calories by 100 week. At 5'7" I am close to your height. If I eat less than 2000 a day I start dropping weight again. On the days that you lift weights, you can eat some of those burned calories back.
    What are your activity levels like as I have a sendatory job and the only exercise I engage in through the week is my one hour at the gym, thanks for the advice
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,430 MFP Moderator
    All calculations are complete estimates and will vary based on many factors. Even with a sedentary job, you can still burn a lot of calories based on exercise or based on how much you move outside of your job. Honestly the best thing to do is pick a number and monitor it for 4-6 weeks and see what the trends are. The first few weeks, you will probably see large increases in weight due to increases in glycogen storage and food waste. If you also increase exercise, you will probably see an increase in fluid retention. So it's not uncommon to gain 3-5 immediately, but know its not all fat.

    As a women, the majority of your gains will be fat (about 75% based on how new to lifting you will be, genetics, how low your body fat is, etc..). This is why after you add mass, you cut back. To minimize fat gains and maximize muscle gains, i would suggest a solid lifting program like StrongCurves or NROL4W.


    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

    Also, 4 lbs isn't really going to make a difference. You gain more than that after eating lunch. And at 112, you are still underweight. At a 4 lb gain, you would be around 1 lb of muscle distributed over the entire body. If you want to see big impacts on how your body looks, you will probably need to bulk for a few months (3-6) and then cut afterwards with a small deficit.
  • FitPhillygirl
    FitPhillygirl Posts: 7,124 Member
    Ktjc2016 wrote: »
    FitPhillygirl wrote: »
    Definitely try eating the amount that MFP gives you first. If you see that your weight isn't coming up as you'd like it to, increase your calories by 100 week. At 5'7" I am close to your height. If I eat less than 2000 a day I start dropping weight again. On the days that you lift weights, you can eat some of those burned calories back.
    What are your activity levels like as I have a sendatory job and the only exercise I engage in through the week is my one hour at the gym, thanks for the advice

    I am very active in my job and the workouts that I do after work which is why I need more than 2000 calories a day. As was posted above, you still burn calories even if you have a sedentary job with other activities that you do outside of work so make sure you are eating enough, otherwise you will not see any gains.
  • Ktjc2016
    Ktjc2016 Posts: 37 Member
    psulemon wrote: »
    All calculations are complete estimates and will vary based on many factors. Even with a sedentary job, you can still burn a lot of calories based on exercise or based on how much you move outside of your job. Honestly the best thing to do is pick a number and monitor it for 4-6 weeks and see what the trends are. The first few weeks, you will probably see large increases in weight due to increases in glycogen storage and food waste. If you also increase exercise, you will probably see an increase in fluid retention. So it's not uncommon to gain 3-5 immediately, but know its not all fat.

    As a women, the majority of your gains will be fat (about 75% based on how new to lifting you will be, genetics, how low your body fat is, etc..). This is why after you add mass, you cut back. To minimize fat gains and maximize muscle gains, i would suggest a solid lifting program like StrongCurves or NROL4W.


    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

    Also, 4 lbs isn't really going to make a difference. You gain more than that after eating lunch. And at 112, you are still underweight. At a 4 lb gain, you would be around 1 lb of muscle distributed over the entire body. If you want to see big impacts on how your body looks, you will probably need to bulk for a few months (3-6) and then cut afterwards with a small deficit.

    Thanks for the advice, for me 4lbs is a lot and would be a big step forward for me! I think I need to move away from the scales and focus on what I look like and being healthy but it's proving difficult. At the moment I'm sitting around 17-18% body fat measured on a dexa scan and I look pretty lean I have little fat on my body.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,430 MFP Moderator
    Ktjc2016 wrote: »
    psulemon wrote: »
    All calculations are complete estimates and will vary based on many factors. Even with a sedentary job, you can still burn a lot of calories based on exercise or based on how much you move outside of your job. Honestly the best thing to do is pick a number and monitor it for 4-6 weeks and see what the trends are. The first few weeks, you will probably see large increases in weight due to increases in glycogen storage and food waste. If you also increase exercise, you will probably see an increase in fluid retention. So it's not uncommon to gain 3-5 immediately, but know its not all fat.

    As a women, the majority of your gains will be fat (about 75% based on how new to lifting you will be, genetics, how low your body fat is, etc..). This is why after you add mass, you cut back. To minimize fat gains and maximize muscle gains, i would suggest a solid lifting program like StrongCurves or NROL4W.


    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

    Also, 4 lbs isn't really going to make a difference. You gain more than that after eating lunch. And at 112, you are still underweight. At a 4 lb gain, you would be around 1 lb of muscle distributed over the entire body. If you want to see big impacts on how your body looks, you will probably need to bulk for a few months (3-6) and then cut afterwards with a small deficit.

    Thanks for the advice, for me 4lbs is a lot and would be a big step forward for me! I think I need to move away from the scales and focus on what I look like and being healthy but it's proving difficult. At the moment I'm sitting around 17-18% body fat measured on a dexa scan and I look pretty lean I have little fat on my body.

    That is probably want you need to do. Below might be beneficial for you too.


    https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/
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