Need some diet advice

kefryar
kefryar Posts: 77 Member
in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
I do circuit training about 5-6x a week. It's kind of my take on tabata training, but with a lot more strength and bodyweight exercises thrown in, with a little cardio.
I'm working out about 50-70 minutes daily.
I switch up my workouts daily, so my body isn't getting used to a certain routine.
I'm 5'5 and about 130 lbs. My body fat was measured during a recent physical at 20%. I have a decent amount of muscle, but i'd like to see more, an a lower body fat number.
My profile should be public, there are body photos there ( carry most of my weight in my hips and butt, small waist, pretty muscular arms).
Here's my question;
I'm (trying to) eat 1400 calories a day and am NOT eating my exercise calories back.
I try to eat 90-130 grams of protein a day, i usually average 50g of carbs, and fat varies widely.
I'm not trying to gain weight, actually i feel best at 120 lbs, BUT, am i eating enough for the amount that i'm exercising? Is it enough to still gain muscle?
I also have an active job i'm a SAHM to a toddler and I nanny a 5 month old so i'm pretty much always up and doing something.
I know NOTHING about bulking up, as this is something i've become interested in over the past year- before that I was only interested in weight loss and being "skinny". I know the exercises, but am clueless about the diet so any help is appreciated.

Replies

  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
    Your profile isn't public, but from your main pic I'd say you don't really need to lose any more body fat. 20% is pretty low for women. Using calculators I trust for my own use and inputting your age at 25 (just a guess since your profile isn't public), 5'5" tall, current weight at 130, goal weight at 120, 5 days a week exercise, at an average of 70 minutes per day at moderate intensity, the calc comes out at about 1681 cals per day. There are other free calculators on that site, and I'd suggest you play around with them. I see nothing wrong with your protein intake, just remember, only way to lose body fat is to eat at a caloric deficit. 1400 is definitely a deficit, but it's likely not going to allow for much (if any) muscle gain.

    iiyfm.com go check it out. Been using it myself for about 3 years now in place of MFP's calculators. I just input it's suggested calories and macros into MFP's settings instead of using MFP's calculations. Then I deduct any exercise that gets logged from my apps.
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    Your profile is private so I can't see pics. 20% bodyfat is fairly lean, if you aren't happy with your body composition you can either recomp (eat at maintenance and build some muscle and lose some fat ) or eat at a small deficit and maybe lose a few lbs. If you lose weight to get to 120 you will likely not build very much, if any, muscle, but you can retain what you have. The issue is if you don't have the muscle base to support being leaner, then you may not be happy losing more.

    I don't know if you are eating enough, what is going on with your weight? How are your energy levels? How is your workout performance?

    Also are these exercises you are doing, do you follow a program? Are they progressive? Ideally for body composition purposes and muscle retention and gain, I would follow a progressive lifting program for best results. It really depends on your goals though.
  • kefryar
    kefryar Posts: 77 Member
    thanks, i'm 30 and made my profile public-there are a few pictures on there for body reference. i do know how to lose weight, but looking for that sweet spot where you can lose and also gain definition
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    edited March 2018
    You look great at 130 pounds. You look quite lean and honestly I would not try to lose 10 pounds at all, I would do recomp and move your calories to maintenance.

    The best results for your strength training are going to come from following a structure lifting program especially when doing recomp and bulking/cut cycles.

    ETA: Information on recomping, you are in a great position to lose fat and build muscle using this method.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat/p1

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

  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    RoxieDawn wrote: »
    You look great at 130 pounds. You look quite lean and honestly I would not try to lose 10 pounds at all, I would do recomp and move your calories to maintenance.

    The best results for your strength training are going to come from following a structure lifting program especially when doing recomp and bulking/cut cycles.

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

    Agree with all of this.
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    kefryar wrote: »
    thanks, i'm 30 and made my profile public-there are a few pictures on there for body reference. i do know how to lose weight, but looking for that sweet spot where you can lose and also gain definition

    Just to clarify...if you want to lose weight and gain definition you want to lose the fat covering your muscles - this will be eating at a calorie deficit
    If you want to maintain your weight and lose fat and build muscle at the same time, you can eat at maintenance and recomp but keep in mind, this can take a lot of time and patience.

    Following a lifting program for either option will give you the best results

  • kefryar
    kefryar Posts: 77 Member
    Thanks everyone, right now i'm lifting lightweight, using resistance bands, and doing bodyweight exercises for strength training. I know i need to step it up, just don't know how to go about it. Thanks for linking!
  • fb47
    fb47 Posts: 1,058 Member
    edited March 2018
    kefryar wrote: »
    I do circuit training about 5-6x a week. It's kind of my take on tabata training, but with a lot more strength and bodyweight exercises thrown in, with a little cardio.
    I'm working out about 50-70 minutes daily.
    I switch up my workouts daily, so my body isn't getting used to a certain routine.
    I'm 5'5 and about 130 lbs. My body fat was measured during a recent physical at 20%. I have a decent amount of muscle, but i'd like to see more, an a lower body fat number.
    My profile should be public, there are body photos there ( carry most of my weight in my hips and butt, small waist, pretty muscular arms).
    Here's my question;
    I'm (trying to) eat 1400 calories a day and am NOT eating my exercise calories back.
    I try to eat 90-130 grams of protein a day, i usually average 50g of carbs, and fat varies widely.
    I'm not trying to gain weight, actually i feel best at 120 lbs, BUT, am i eating enough for the amount that i'm exercising? Is it enough to still gain muscle?
    I also have an active job i'm a SAHM to a toddler and I nanny a 5 month old so i'm pretty much always up and doing something.
    I know NOTHING about bulking up, as this is something i've become interested in over the past year- before that I was only interested in weight loss and being "skinny". I know the exercises, but am clueless about the diet so any help is appreciated.

    You should be bulking if you're really 20% bodyfat. There's no need to go lower unless you're job requires to or your in some bodybuilding competition. If you want to optimize building muscles, your perfectly primed right now to bulk or as Sardelsa said, you can recomp. There's nothing wrong going lower than 20% bf, but it can become very dangerous (especially if you don't know what you're doing) if you go too low especially with the hormones.

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