So excited!!! Bodybuilding.com

How do you know your TDEE? I lost weight at 1200 cal, switched to maintenance at 1600 now want to add muscle...
Thinking of doing Jaime Eason's LIVE FIT but terrified of no cardio?
If you really want to do it up, cycle carbs up really high and cut fat on lift days and fats high with low carbs on rest days.
Keep protein at 1g per LBM and youll do great!

I use Fat to Fit Tools.

1) Military body fat calc.
2) BMR tool with info from Body Fat Calc.
3) Enter current weight as goal weight and hit go.
4) note your BMR Katch McArdle setting.
5) Use Light Activity calories from list below.
6) Change MFP settings to reflect TDEE.
Change Macronutrients to a Protein 30%, Fat 30%, Carb 40% setting.
7) On lifting days, 3 days a week, eat 20% above TDEE putting MFP calories in the red.
On Rest days eat a little below TDEE, 15-20% below, to maintain lower fat levels.

This will help you stay lean while possibly building lean mass.
This is all assuming you have a good training program in place like Stronglifts 5x5 or Starting Strength.

Will this work for me if I still have fat to lose? I am 5'2" and 134 lbs. I would like to get to 125, maybe 120, but muscular and not skinny looking.

I am on day 52, week 8 of the Live Fit program and would definitely recommend it if you are a woman wanting to start lifting. I have worked out regularly for years and done a lot of cardio (Insanity, running, swimming, etc.), but I wanted to tone and strengthen and boost my metabolism. The first phase was easy, with fewer workout days and shorter workouts than I was already doing, but it also had me doing new things. During the first phase, she focuses on beginning with weights and teaching you how to eat clean if you are not already doing so. The cardio comes in during phase 2 and the workouts get much longer and harder. I was sore every single leg day for the first few weeks! She gives food recommendations on each day and adds in calorie counting and carb cycling in the different phases. I have missed a few days here and there but really have loved the program and know I am stronger, not to mention more confident in the weight room! I can't see results as obviously as I would like right now but I have not followed the eating plan quite as strictly as she recommends.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jamie-easons-livefit-phase-1.html

I just finished that program and and highly recommend it. I think I dropped about 18lbs and 7% body fat. My profile pic shows my results. There wasn't a day that I didn't experience sore. I just started lifting again and I am definitely stronger.

I went on a muscle gaining cycle over the winter, aka: a "bulk". I gained 10lbs total, probably 4-5lbs muscle, 2-3lbs fat, and 2-4lbs "other" stuff (water, bone mass, glycogen, etc). I ate about 3000 calories. My average TDEE is about 2600. I started with New Rules of Weight Lifting for Women Phase 1, then switched to a hypertrophy program split program that included compound lifts and isolation. Hypertrophy = muscle size gain and is accomplished by a lot of "volume" in lifting, usually meaning 2-3 moves for each muscle group. I did continue to do limited low to moderate intensity cardio, but I made sure to eat the calories from it.

How do you know your TDEE? I lost weight at 1200 cal, switched to maintenance at 1600 now want to add muscle...
Thinking of doing Jaime Eason's LIVE FIT but terrified of no cardio?
If you really want to do it up, cycle carbs up really high and cut fat on lift days and fats high with low carbs on rest days.
Keep protein at 1g per LBM and youll do great!

I use Fat to Fit Tools.

1) Military body fat calc.
2) BMR tool with info from Body Fat Calc.
3) Enter current weight as goal weight and hit go.
4) note your BMR Katch McArdle setting.
5) Use Light Activity calories from list below.
6) Change MFP settings to reflect TDEE.
Change Macronutrients to a Protein 30%, Fat 30%, Carb 40% setting.
7) On lifting days, 3 days a week, eat 20% above TDEE putting MFP calories in the red.
On Rest days eat a little below TDEE, 15-20% below, to maintain lower fat levels.

This will help you stay lean while possibly building lean mass.
This is all assuming you have a good training program in place like Stronglifts 5x5 or Starting Strength.

Will this work for me if I still have fat to lose? I am 5'2" and 134 lbs. I would like to get to 125, maybe 120, but muscular and not skinny looking.

Yes, but personally I like to keep things simple. Less chance of screwing things up that way. If your primary goal is to lose fat then you need to eat slightly below your maintenance. Always follow the protein rule I mentioned earlier in this thread. Lift heavy. Always lift heavy. Heavy is a relative term but to keep it simple, lift a weight that you can ONLY do 8-10 reps of for 3 sets. If you can in any way possibly do more reps then the weight is not heavy enough. Don't expect to gain a whole lot of muscle while losing fat, it doesn't work well. However, if you are new to lifting, especially heavy, then you will be able to gain some muscle while losing fat at the same time.

So...
Eat 250cal/day below maintenance.
Lift heavy
Get adequate rest
Win.

These are the PRIMARY things to keep in mind. Anything else is details. If your primary goal was to build muscle then eat 250cal/day above maintenance. *kitten* yourself after 3 weeks and adjust cals if needed.

Well said Niko!

Am I the only one that sees "bodybuilding.com " right in the title of the post and thinks that it's a fake post with the intention of drawing people to that site? There really wasn't even a question here, just an invitation to join the site and look for "nikki. ". I'm noticing several posts a day in each topic that are similar. I actually like that site but these posts seem more like shills than real posts. Heck, the good discussion in this one was actually started by someone replying.

Apologies to the OP if I'm off base.....but I don't think I am.

Maybe BB.com is infiltrating MFP?
They did just lose 7 mill!

Bump

Thanks for the site, took a peak and it looks great. I have dumb bells and am now looking forward to using them. I just didn't know where to start. This site is def. going to be one of my favorites. Thanks again.

I started working out regularly again in February, I've lost roughly 26 lbs. since then. My brother is basically a trainer, and he's got my butt in the weight room 5-6 days a week now that I've lost the weight. He suggested to look around bodybuilding.com to find a program for myself instead of him assigning me something crazy that I might not like. I found Lindsay Kaye's muscle building program- it gives a breakdown of every meal she eats for the day, as well as a 5-day workout program for the week. I've been doing that for the last 3 weeks. It's pretty awesome. It has a day for chest/shoulders, back, legs, bi's/tri's & abs. The ab day is a little scant, it only says to crunches and run, but we're coming up with an ab program for that day. I want a little more than just crunches.
But other than that it's an awesome program. If you're super new to lifting, it might help if you print out a program plan from the website and just talk to a trainer for a session so that they can introduce you to each exercise and help you to get your form down. That's one of the most important things.
But bodybuilding.com is a great site- make sure you utilize more than just the forums, there's lots of valuable info on there from everything from workout plans to supplements.

I was thinking. Everybody says to eat at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. What if you are only training your upper body but you are eating enough protein for your entire body. Are you over eating on protein? Should u reduce your protein intake to cover only the upper half of your body?