Goal Set-Up Question

lollypoppet
lollypoppet Posts: 103 Member
edited November 26 in Getting Started
Hi All,

I've recently changed my goals and i now want to tone up more and gain more muscle - i've just started doing a new weight lifting program and lifting heavier weights (which i have not done before).

On MFP i'm guessing gaining 1lb or 0.5lb a week means to gain muscle right? I've used MFP to help track in losing weight, but now my body goals have changed and i'm not too sure how to use the app for this:/ but feel MFP will help me track my diet and gaining muscle.

Thanks for the help! :):)

Replies

  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    To me "toning up" implies looking more defined, which means getting leaner.
    Gaining muscle in a surplus also comes with fat gain, which doesn't lead to a toned look.

    If you're at a healthy weight but want to work on your body composition, perhaps consider recomp - eating at maintenance, following a progressive lifting program and slowly losing fat as you slowly gain muscle. Your weight shouldn't change, but you'll start to look leaner.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    edited April 2018
    "On MFP i'm guessing gaining 1lb or 0.5lb a week means to gain muscle right?"

    Nope - it means to gain weight, only a small amount of that weight gain would be muscle. The faster the rate of weight gain the higher proportion of that weight gain would be fat.

    Think you need to explain your goals in more detail....
    Are you looking to make small changes to fine tune your current physique by adding a little muscle?
    Are you looking to add a lot of muscle (as a long term goal over the course of years...)?
    Are you prepared to get fatter in the short term to get to your goal physique long term?
    Are you happy at your current weight or do you want to be heavier or lighter?


  • lollypoppet
    lollypoppet Posts: 103 Member
    edited April 2018
    sijomial wrote: »
    "On MFP i'm guessing gaining 1lb or 0.5lb a week means to gain muscle right?"

    Nope - it means to gain weight, only a small amount of that weight gain would be muscle. The faster the rate of weight gain the higher proportion of that weight gain would be fat.

    Think you need to explain your goals in more detail....
    Are you looking to make small changes to fine tune your current physique by adding a little muscle?
    Are you looking to add a lot of muscle (as a long term goal over the course of years...)?
    Are you prepared to get fatter in the short term to get to your goal physique long term?
    Are you happy at your current weight or do you want to be heavier or lighter?



    Thanks for explaining! :)

    I'm happy to make small changes to fine tune and add a little muscle, and its okay if it takes a while to happen - slow and steady as they say, and i'm happy at my current weight, but would like more muscle to look more lean.

    Before i was trying to lose weight, so i'm very used to having to eat 'less' but now im thinking to gain muscle i need to eat more - especially as after the day after weight lifting i feel SO hungry and i guess thats the change that i may need to eat more than i normally do. I hope to use MFP to make sure i am eating enough to achieve this.

    Thanks for the help!
  • lollypoppet
    lollypoppet Posts: 103 Member
    livingleanlivingclean wrote: »
    To me "toning up" implies looking more defined, which means getting leaner.
    Gaining muscle in a surplus also comes with fat gain, which doesn't lead to a toned look.

    If you're at a healthy weight but want to work on your body composition, perhaps consider recomp - eating at maintenance, following a progressive lifting program and slowly losing fat as you slowly gain muscle. Your weight shouldn't change, but you'll start to look leaner.


    Thanks for explaining that! Really helpful :) , i guess i want to be leaner then, so i guess i need to work out what my maintenance is track on MFP.

    Because i was trying to lose weight before i'm very used to having to eat 'less' but now im thinking to gain muscle i need to eat more - especially as after the day after weight lifting i feel SO hungry and i guess thats the change that i may need to eat more than i normally do
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Does sound like what @livingleanlivingclean suggested (recomp) is perfect for you.
    An effective weight lifting routine while eating at maintenance, you add some muscle and lose some fat to improve your body composition.

    Although strength training is a low calorie burn it can trigger hunger out of proportion to your actual calorie needs. That feeling might reduce as you become more accustomed to your routine.

    It can take a while to pin down your maintenance calories and making small manual adjustments to your calorie goal can be better than making the much broader guided setup goals.
  • lollypoppet
    lollypoppet Posts: 103 Member
    So, if my maintenance cals are 1600 cals for instance, but i have weightlifted, does that mean my daily intake should be around 2000 because i lifted?

  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    lollypoppet wrote: »
    So, if my maintenance cals are 1600 cals for instance, but i have weightlifted, does that mean my daily intake should be around 2000 because i lifted?

    This article is a great read and will probably be a help to you in setting up your goals: https://bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/muscle-gain-math.html/
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