I am concerned about the increase in calories!!!!!
rheaguckiean
Posts: 4 Member
I opened My fitness Pal back up after years of not using it and have lost 80lbs. So my husband is currently coaching me my goal is to be in a woman's physique competition next year so I am lifting heavy I work out 2 hours a day there is a lot to it but when i calculate my workout into my diary it adds another 700 calories to my diet. What do you guys think??? Now I am at 162 and I need to lose more weight while putting on muscle . I eat Tons of protein and follow a strict clean diet but I am a little concerned because my husband has also said I am not eating enough at 1300. Calories a day. I started this process at 242 pounds and had under gone 5 back operations I have come so far so I do not want to do anything to jeopardize my goal. Thanks for any insight. ..
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Replies
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700 cals/day for 2 hours of exercise seems reasonable, that would be 5.8/minute, of which you are probably burning 1.5 at rest.
If you are afraid of increasing so fast, add 100-200 cals/week until you get in the 700 extra. Not eating enough while in a deficit can lead to a large portion of your loss coming from lean muscle instead of fat.
FYI, the chance of gaining any noticeable amount of muscle while losing weight is not going to happen. The reason for lifting while in a deficit is to maintain the muscle you already have, and to get stronger. to gain muscle you will need to eat at a surplus.2 -
Just to be clear, your goal at this point is not to lose more weight but to recomp. Correct?
In order to put on muscle mass you'll need to increase your intake a little and lift heavy.1 -
Is your goal to build enough muscle for a physique competition or to lose fat? You can build some muscle in a deficit but those two specific goals are at odds. I'm basing this on the understanding that you've never competed before and haven't gotten lean and then focused on bulking/building, and are now cutting but rather are still dieting down from your top weight. This is an example of what women's physique competitors look like.1
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1300 calories isn't going to build muscle...those are diet calories.
My wife runs and lifts...she's 41 and 5'2" and eats around 2200 to maintain...so 700 on top of your 1300 doesn't seem crazy or anything to me.1 -
No I still am trying to lose weight ..and gain muscle. I'm sorry if I got confusing on any of this I am confused as you can see. I am lifting heavy I put in the work no problem it's the food I don't want to gain weight . But I still have weight to lose. Probably another 25 lbs . I'd say. I have never competed before this will be my first time and It won't be until next year. As far as losing weight and gaining muscle these calories are still considered correct?1
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rheaguckiean wrote: »No I still am trying to lose weight ..and gain muscle. I'm sorry if I got confusing on any of this I am confused as you can see. I am lifting heavy I put in the work no problem it's the food I don't want to gain weight . But I still have weight to lose. Probably another 25 lbs . I'd say. I have never competed before this will be my first time and It won't be until next year. As far as losing weight and gaining muscle these calories are still considered correct?
You can build some muscle in a deficit. It's not going to be as much as if you were at maintenance or eating in a surplus. I can't tell you whether 1300 or 2000 is correct or whether you should eat somewhere in between that. Your height, activity level, and training are going to factor in and you haven't provided that info.0 -
rheaguckiean wrote: »No I still am trying to lose weight ..and gain muscle. I'm sorry if I got confusing on any of this I am confused as you can see. I am lifting heavy I put in the work no problem it's the food I don't want to gain weight . But I still have weight to lose. Probably another 25 lbs . I'd say. I have never competed before this will be my first time and It won't be until next year. As far as losing weight and gaining muscle these calories are still considered correct?
You can't build muscle in a deficit. You need a surplus of calories to fuel the process. Lose the fat first and then increase calories to build muscle. Otherwise you will make no appreciable progress0 -
trigden1991 wrote: »rheaguckiean wrote: »No I still am trying to lose weight ..and gain muscle. I'm sorry if I got confusing on any of this I am confused as you can see. I am lifting heavy I put in the work no problem it's the food I don't want to gain weight . But I still have weight to lose. Probably another 25 lbs . I'd say. I have never competed before this will be my first time and It won't be until next year. As far as losing weight and gaining muscle these calories are still considered correct?
You can't build muscle in a deficit. You need a surplus of calories to fuel the process. Lose the fat first and then increase calories to build muscle. Otherwise you will make no appreciable progress
False. You do not need a surplus of calories to build muscle.2 -
trigden1991 wrote: »rheaguckiean wrote: »No I still am trying to lose weight ..and gain muscle. I'm sorry if I got confusing on any of this I am confused as you can see. I am lifting heavy I put in the work no problem it's the food I don't want to gain weight . But I still have weight to lose. Probably another 25 lbs . I'd say. I have never competed before this will be my first time and It won't be until next year. As far as losing weight and gaining muscle these calories are still considered correct?
You can't build muscle in a deficit. You need a surplus of calories to fuel the process. Lose the fat first and then increase calories to build muscle. Otherwise you will make no appreciable progress
You can build some. It is minimal. At maintenance you can build some and again it is minimal. There is a breaking point at some point where the muscle does need a surplus to make new fibers if you want to increase muscle mass.
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Just to be clear, your goal at this point is not to lose more weight but to recomp. Correct?
In order to put on muscle mass you'll need to increase your intake a little and lift heavy.
This. You aren't going to add any muscle eating 1300 calories a day. You can't make something from nothing.0 -
It's going to be very hard losing and building muscle at the same time because without a surplus the muscle is going to come on extremely slowly, and the less you eat the harder it becomes, to the point where it's virtually impossible. Your husband is right. Being on a 1300 calorie diet will not help you achieve your goal of competing.
Try changing your goal to lose 0.5 pound a week (that's 50 weeks for your 25 lb loss and just in time for next year) and eat back a minimum of half of your exercise. This would give you the best chance to build muscle, but prepare for it to still be slow even then.0 -
Just to be clear, your goal at this point is not to lose more weight but to recomp. Correct?
In order to put on muscle mass you'll need to increase your intake a little and lift heavy.
This. You aren't going to add any muscle eating 1300 calories a day. You can't make something from nothing.
OP, everyone is trying to tell you that you can't build one lick of muscle in a deficit. This is simply untrue.
Understand, you are now cutting, you are capable of loosing fat and gaining very minimal muscle while in a deficit and these gainz will taper off at some point during your cutting phase.
You will need to find your maintenance calories at some point and up to maintenance for a while unless you want to go straight from cutting to a bulking a phase to get you to goal.
At some point when you have lost the fat you want, you can create you a bulking program and nutritional plan. This does not have to be 500 calories surplus. It can be 100 - 200 for a clean bulk. You will build muscle and gain very little fat, this too is not fast muscle gain. Or you can dirty bulk. I am assuming you have a trainer that will assist you in the appropriate method to get you to competition goal.1 -
Think about adding 200/week to start. Since you're working toward a competition, you want to continue to lose fat so you can show off your muscles. Extra fat will hide any muscle gains.1
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trigden1991 wrote: »rheaguckiean wrote: »No I still am trying to lose weight ..and gain muscle. I'm sorry if I got confusing on any of this I am confused as you can see. I am lifting heavy I put in the work no problem it's the food I don't want to gain weight . But I still have weight to lose. Probably another 25 lbs . I'd say. I have never competed before this will be my first time and It won't be until next year. As far as losing weight and gaining muscle these calories are still considered correct?
You can't build muscle in a deficit. You need a surplus of calories to fuel the process.
False & false. Wish people would do some research before making absolute statements like that.
OP - depending on your workout ("workout" could mean many things!) then that's hardly a large exercise calorie estimate for two hours.
Plus you have a very low base calorie setting - I share your husband's concern.
But in the end it's your actual weight change over time that is the best judge. And you want that to be a small rate of weight loss to have any chance of gaining muscle in a deficit.
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trigden1991 wrote: »rheaguckiean wrote: »No I still am trying to lose weight ..and gain muscle. I'm sorry if I got confusing on any of this I am confused as you can see. I am lifting heavy I put in the work no problem it's the food I don't want to gain weight . But I still have weight to lose. Probably another 25 lbs . I'd say. I have never competed before this will be my first time and It won't be until next year. As far as losing weight and gaining muscle these calories are still considered correct?
You can't build muscle in a deficit. You need a surplus of calories to fuel the process.
False & false. Wish people would do some research before making absolute statements like that.
OP - depending on your workout ("workout" could mean many things!) then that's hardly a large exercise calorie estimate for two hours.
Plus you have a very low base calorie setting - I share your husband's concern.
But in the end it's your actual weight change over time that is the best judge. And you want that to be a small rate of weight loss to have any chance of gaining muscle in a deficit.
Okay, corrected to: it is hard to gain any appreciable amount of muscle, without performance enhancers, especially for a woman, while in a deficit.1 -
Just to be clear, your goal at this point is not to lose more weight but to recomp. Correct?
In order to put on muscle mass you'll need to increase your intake a little and lift heavy.
This. You aren't going to add any muscle eating 1300 calories a day. You can't make something from nothing.
OP, everyone is trying to tell you that you can't build one lick of muscle in a deficit. This is simply untrue.
Understand, you are now cutting, you are capable of loosing fat and gaining very minimal muscle while in a deficit and these gainz will taper off at some point during your cutting phase.
You will need to find your maintenance calories at some point and up to maintenance for a while unless you want to go straight from cutting to a bulking a phase to get you to goal.
At some point when you have lost the fat you want, you can create you a bulking program and nutritional plan. This does not have to be 500 calories surplus. It can be 100 - 200 for a clean bulk. You will build muscle and gain very little fat, this too is not fast muscle gain. Or you can dirty bulk. I am assuming you have a trainer that will assist you in the appropriate method to get you to competition goal.
I messaged you let me know if you got it? Thank you everyone for your insight. I did forget to say I am 5'5 162lbs I work out 2 hours, 6 days a week 1 hour cardio 1 hour weight training . I take an sst fat burner and I take whey after my work out from gnc.0 -
trigden1991 wrote: »rheaguckiean wrote: »No I still am trying to lose weight ..and gain muscle. I'm sorry if I got confusing on any of this I am confused as you can see. I am lifting heavy I put in the work no problem it's the food I don't want to gain weight . But I still have weight to lose. Probably another 25 lbs . I'd say. I have never competed before this will be my first time and It won't be until next year. As far as losing weight and gaining muscle these calories are still considered correct?
You can't build muscle in a deficit. You need a surplus of calories to fuel the process.
False & false. Wish people would do some research before making absolute statements like that.
OP - depending on your workout ("workout" could mean many things!) then that's hardly a large exercise calorie estimate for two hours.
Plus you have a very low base calorie setting - I share your husband's concern.
But in the end it's your actual weight change over time that is the best judge. And you want that to be a small rate of weight loss to have any chance of gaining muscle in a deficit.
Okay, corrected to: it is hard to gain any appreciable amount of muscle, without performance enhancers, especially for a woman, while in a deficit.
Nice summary!
It's the blanket assertions that people make using absolute terms like can't, need or impossible that really bugs me.
Each personal circumstance is unique (training status, genetics, leanness, history, training, diet and of course gender) and that defines how hard it is.
In my 50's I found it really hard to add muscle while losing weight and had to come down to a minuscule deficit (even 1lb a week deficit was too much), in my teens & 20's it was remarkably easy and fast to get in shape by losing fat and gaining muscle.
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rheaguckiean wrote: »Just to be clear, your goal at this point is not to lose more weight but to recomp. Correct?
In order to put on muscle mass you'll need to increase your intake a little and lift heavy.
This. You aren't going to add any muscle eating 1300 calories a day. You can't make something from nothing.
OP, everyone is trying to tell you that you can't build one lick of muscle in a deficit. This is simply untrue.
Understand, you are now cutting, you are capable of loosing fat and gaining very minimal muscle while in a deficit and these gainz will taper off at some point during your cutting phase.
You will need to find your maintenance calories at some point and up to maintenance for a while unless you want to go straight from cutting to a bulking a phase to get you to goal.
At some point when you have lost the fat you want, you can create you a bulking program and nutritional plan. This does not have to be 500 calories surplus. It can be 100 - 200 for a clean bulk. You will build muscle and gain very little fat, this too is not fast muscle gain. Or you can dirty bulk. I am assuming you have a trainer that will assist you in the appropriate method to get you to competition goal.
I messaged you let me know if you got it? Thank you everyone for your insight. I did forget to say I am 5'5 162lbs I work out 2 hours, 6 days a week 1 hour cardio 1 hour weight training . I take an sst fat burner and I take whey after my work out from gnc.
Based on that info, I completely agree with your husband. I'm a half inch taller than you. When I was your weight, I was eating (not netting, eating) 1750-1850 per day. I lifted 3x/wk (full body) and ran 3x/wk (~3 miles each run.) My weight loss was not fast (~.5 lbs/week) but my body composition changes were excellent. I'm basing that on what I saw/see in the mirror and on comments from others. If your goal is to build a physique to compete and not just to get skinny, you need to eat. If you are doing an hour of cardio a day 6x/wk plus strength training 6x/wk, 2000 calories may very well be what you need to be eating. Are you working out that much because you enjoy it or because you think you'll lose weight more quickly?0 -
rheaguckiean wrote: »Just to be clear, your goal at this point is not to lose more weight but to recomp. Correct?
In order to put on muscle mass you'll need to increase your intake a little and lift heavy.
This. You aren't going to add any muscle eating 1300 calories a day. You can't make something from nothing.
OP, everyone is trying to tell you that you can't build one lick of muscle in a deficit. This is simply untrue.
Understand, you are now cutting, you are capable of loosing fat and gaining very minimal muscle while in a deficit and these gainz will taper off at some point during your cutting phase.
You will need to find your maintenance calories at some point and up to maintenance for a while unless you want to go straight from cutting to a bulking a phase to get you to goal.
At some point when you have lost the fat you want, you can create you a bulking program and nutritional plan. This does not have to be 500 calories surplus. It can be 100 - 200 for a clean bulk. You will build muscle and gain very little fat, this too is not fast muscle gain. Or you can dirty bulk. I am assuming you have a trainer that will assist you in the appropriate method to get you to competition goal.
I messaged you let me know if you got it? Thank you everyone for your insight. I did forget to say I am 5'5 162lbs I work out 2 hours, 6 days a week 1 hour cardio 1 hour weight training . I take an sst fat burner and I take whey after my work out from gnc.
Based on that info, I completely agree with your husband. I'm a half inch taller than you. When I was your weight, I was eating (not netting, eating) 1750-1850 per day. I lifted 3x/wk (full body) and ran 3x/wk (~3 miles each run.) My weight loss was not fast (~.5 lbs/week) but my body composition changes were excellent. I'm basing that on what I saw/see in the mirror and on comments from others. If your goal is to build a physique to compete and not just to get skinny, you need to eat. If you are doing an hour of cardio a day 6x/wk plus strength training 6x/wk, 2000 calories may very well be what you need to be eating. Are you working out that much because you enjoy it or because you think you'll lose weight more quickly?
I love to work out that much. I feel finished when I'm done. I have had 5 back operations and couldn't do anything since I was 18 years old and now that I can....I do. My body changes are good at 1300 calories but I can certainly see the slowing and when my fitness Pal changed my calories because of my workout the light bulb kinda went off. But then I saw this post where this woman was working really hard and not gaining alot of muscle until she added calories and the change was beautiful. Of course she only had 10 pounds of extra weight not 25.0 -
Keep in mind that over training can slow down inhibit the process as well. When you do strength training your CNS gets fatigued. It is possible to overtrain.
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/how-to-combat-cns-overtraining.html
You can also consider cutting back the cardio but changing your weight lifting to incorporate supersets and dropsets. Maybe doing lifting 3 days a week and just walking on non lifting days.
I used to do 5-6x a week doing lots of iso, but hit a wall after a while. Switched to 3x a week doing mostly compound lifts and going heavy. Works much better for me.1
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