Losing well without eating back exercise calories - can I up my caloric goal?

Trixiegirl66
Trixiegirl66 Posts: 75 Member
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I have been logging pretty consistently in recent weeks, and despite never leaving a caloric deficit, I have been thrilled to see the number on the scale drop week after week. I am walking a couple miles a day and lifting heavy weights five times a week, and set my caloric intake via the TDEE calculator online. However, i am more interested in gaining muscle than I am in getting to goal and seeing a skinny fat end result.

I am seriously thinking of bumping my caloric intake to around 2200 cals a day, and watch to see if the weight loss comes to a halt. I just think that if I am losing without running a deficit, then perhaps I am losing muscle and fat - or worse yet, simply not gaining muscle at all.

My food diary is open, and I would appreciate any input or opinions.

Thanks!

Replies

  • CaptainJoy
    CaptainJoy Posts: 257 Member
    edited September 2016
    Your walking and lifting are creating muscle which enables you to eat more calories without gaining weight. Since you are not in a caloric deficit, the muscle gain is real.

    Yes, you should bump your calorie intake up. If you start gaining more than you're comfortable with, lower it gradually.

    I cannot see your diary on my mobile device but if your protein levels are good you're doing great!
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    First off, if you're following TDEE you aren't supposed to eat back your exercise calories anyway.

    Second, how much are you losing a week? Going from 1580 to 2200 is a pretty steep jump. Instead I would recalculate your TDEE and eat that amount. Muscle gains will be small at maintenance and even less to nonexistent in a deficit
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
    If you are losing weight you are in a deficit. Each pound of muscle only burns 6 calories a day and since a woman at most can only gain 1 lb of muscle a moth if they do everything perfectly than it won't make much difference at all.


    And btw walking doesn't build muscle.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    edited September 2016
    Honestly you aren't going to gain muscle while at caloric deficit. Weight training while being in deficit will help you conserve and retain as well as train the muscle you have...but you won't gain muscle mass and lose weight at the same time.

    If you want to build muscle efficiently you need to be in caloric surplus. If you want to build muscle at all you have to at least be at maintenance.
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  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
    Though technically stronger doesn't equal muscle growth. Ok I'll change that to you can gain a very small amount from walking hills. Amyways for a woman, 1 lb a month is max.

    Are you following a progressive lifting program?
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
    Ok I rereasead that and you do four exercises 5 times a week? You should find a progressive overload lifting program (where you increase the weight, reps, range of motion or shorten the rest time) almost every workout to stimulate muscle growth. You are missing major muscle groups with those lifts. I see no upper back work or shoulders (if arm press you mean bench press) but you so curls?
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  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
    I can't cut and paste on my phone but there is a thread with a bunch of suggestions @diannethegeek ?
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    singingflutelady wrote: »
    I can't cut and paste on my phone but there is a thread with a bunch of suggestions @diannethegeek ?

    Is this what you're looking for? http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1
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  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
    Trixiegirl66 wrote: »
    Malibu927, I am losing anywhere from a pound to a pound and a half a week. After not losing for years, you would think i would just roll with it, but turning 50 in June has left me determined to focus on building muscle.

    That's an awesome goal. So you are at around 500 calorie deficit a day
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
    diannethegeek wrote: »
    singingflutelady wrote: »
    I can't cut and paste on my phone but there is a thread with a bunch of suggestions @diannethegeek ?

    Is this what you're looking for? http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

    Yes thanks!
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  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,438 Member
    I don't understand nor believe that you have to eat over your maintenance to build muscle. I've been working out cardio and lifting as I eat at a deficit.. I am getting stronger as I can lift more weight each week..and see the toned definition in my legs.
    Now to body build? That would be a different story.. I'd see where you'd have to eat more. but it is ridiculous to tell everyone they have to overeat to ever build a muscle or get strong.
  • capaul42
    capaul42 Posts: 1,390 Member
    Building muscle and gaining strength are two different things. Building muscle in a deficit is extremely hard, except for small newbie gains. You need fuel to build new muscle.

    You're seeing definition because you are losing fat and the layer over your muscle is getting thinner, making them more defined, not necessarily because you built any new muscle.

    Gaining strength just means you're muscles are adapting to the exercise and getting more efficient.
  • StealthHealth
    StealthHealth Posts: 2,417 Member
    I'm (hopefully) going to offer a different perspective but bear in mind that this is without knowing your current BF% - if you are very lean this advice is probably best ignored.

    Despite not routinely hitting your recently upped protein target (something that I would want to rectify if it were me) I think that your strength work is going to protect you from much of the muscle wastage associated with weight loss. I don't think your going to get to a lower weight and find that you are skinny fat.

    Because what you are doing at the moment is reducing body fat I would apply the "if it ain't broke" rule and continue with what works until you're happy with the %BF. Only then I would look into a slow reverse diet up to a very, very moderate surplus*.

    You may ask - what's the difference with doing it this way versus upping the cals now?

    ALERT!!! BROSCIENCE!!! There is a school of thought that the greater the %BF when starting a bulk the greater the proportion of fat gained during a bulk. I have investigated and can find no studies to support this but there is seems to be a mass of anecdotes to that effect and I have seen it play out in my own bulk/cut cycles.

    I guess what I'm saying here is that I don't see bulking now then having to cut back the BF later as any advantage over continuing to cut and then bulking but it MAY carry a greater risk of gaining proportionally more fat.

    * older trainees, female trainees tend to have to take a more conservative approach to muscle gaining than that of younger and especially young male trainees. Do not be fooled into thinking that the 19 year old male - eat big to get big will work for you (it doesn't for me - I'm 48).
  • StealthHealth
    StealthHealth Posts: 2,417 Member
    elisa123gal wrote: »
    I don't understand nor believe that you have to eat over your maintenance to build muscle. I've been working out cardio and lifting as I eat at a deficit.. I am getting stronger as I can lift more weight each week..and see the toned definition in my legs.
    Now to body build? That would be a different story.. I'd see where you'd have to eat more. but it is ridiculous to tell everyone they have to overeat to ever build a muscle or get strong.

    I think your right - There seem to be many instances where someone could gain muscle whilst eating at deficit. But, I think that those instances are in the minority. For most - and most likely the OP (40 something, female, who is not obese , nor new to lifting) adding in the cals is the most efficient (possibly even the only) way she will achieve any significant muscle gain.
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