Cardio & Weight Gain

[OSU20]

I have a question about how much cardio to do while trying to gain weight. I have a very lean body and I want to gain more weight, but at the same time I don't want to lose the definition I have. I know I have to give up some definition to get bigger and then work to get it back, but is there a way to do it more efficiently?

I currently run 4-5 miles 3x a week while lifting the other 4 days.

I was wondering if I should be running less while trying to gain or if I just need to increase my caloric intake throughout the week?

I have been lifting for about a year and have seen huge improvements in body composition, but my weight has remained about the same.

I am 6'2" and between 165 & 170lbs and can't seem to gain, I was wondering if this is due to diet or my cardio exercise?

Any help on this would be great

[abarlament]

Run less and eat more. 4-5 miles is a lot, so you will have to make up those calories by eating, if you cut the cardio down, then you won't have to eat as much though.

[Maxima]

Originally posted by OSU20
I have a question about how much cardio to do while trying to gain weight. I have a very lean body and I want to gain more weight, but at the same time I don't want to lose the definition I have. I know I have to give up some definition to get bigger and then work to get it back, but is there a way to do it more efficiently?

I currently run 4-5 miles 3x a week while lifting the other 4 days.

I was wondering if I should be running less while trying to gain or if I just need to increase my caloric intake throughout the week?

I have been lifting for about a year and have seen huge improvements in body composition, but my weight has remained about the same.

I am 6'2" and between 165 & 170lbs and can't seem to gain, I was wondering if this is due to diet or my cardio exercise?

Any help on this would be great

If you have your diet down, you are lean and are eating as many times as you should your metabolism should be very high . Losing the last bit of body fat and increasing muscle can go hand in hand, so really my advice would be to stop doing cardio all together for a couple of reasons.

Cardio kills muscle - cardiovascular exercises causes the hormone cortisol to be released this spares glucose and promotes the utilization of fat as fuel (gluconeogenesis) but is a catalyst in trying to promote lean body mass. This is why endurance athletes look like string beans.

Cardio sucks for losing fat weight - as the exerciser performs cardiovascular more, their body becomes more efficient and they stop burning as many calories. Regardless even a detrained athlete will still burn no more than about a can of coke in 45 minutes of high intensity aerobic exercise. This is why aerboics instrutors that you see in the gym that teach 5 classes a day, and those who walk into the gym and head for the treadmills instead of the weights look as though they are not getting anywhere with changing their body composition.

Muscle burns calories 24 hours a day, in fact researchers at Harvard University found that on average someone who weight trains for 6 months will burn 30% more calories while just sitting on the couch watching TV, so basically you want as much muscle as you can, cardio goes against this process.

So first cut your cardio out, stick with your weights and diet. You should begin to gain lean mass for two reasons. One you are not burning off as many calories so with your current diet your body will have a surplus to promote lean tissue gains, and you will be sparing your muscle tissue from being broken down during cardiovascular exercise.

When you stop gaining weight, re-evaluate your lean mass (bodyfat) and eat 1-2 grams of protein per pound of lean weight. Slowly increase carbs by 5-10% until you start gaining weight.

On the flip side if you start gaining fat (which if you are already lean, and are eating right, I would say will be impossible) start with reducing carbohydrate calories 10%. When you stop seeing (or measuring) fat loss and still want to strip some fat then add cardio as a last resort, start with 3 times for 30 minutes and do not exceed building up to 4-5 times for 45 minutes.

[ApolloFS]

Maxima, I must say I found your post to be very interesting. For one I saw what I´ve been seeing all along since I started posting here...Muscle burns fat! I´ve gotten that down real well and judging from some peoples´credentials around here, I take it for granted.

However, I am a bit distressed by this slight anti-cardio attitude I see most have. Why? Cause I love cardio and it is an important part of my training regiment. (Going to the military). So apart from actual fat loss, I need the endurance, and the overall strengthening of my lower body without 20 different isolation exercises.

I have noticed however that I´ve hit a plateu in terms of weight loss. I lost some fat real fast but after that, almost nothing. During this whole time I haven´t been lifting (apart from some dumbell sets) and have focused mostly on an hour of calisthenics x6 per week.

My question is, will the fact that I run 4 miles, 3-4 times a week be a problem for my lifting? (δm starting lifting again this week after a long time)

I was also on Xenadrine for a long time (got hooked after taking it at a time where injury prevented me from running) so as soon as I quit it, I hit the track like a madman, fearing I´d start putting on fat. And I´m dissapointed to see that Xenadrine was a better fat burner for me, than my runs are!

Anyway, it´s obvious I have to do some cardio since my goals are different than most of you big-big guys here, I´m just trying to find the best way to mix them with lifting...


Thanks in advance!

CHeers,

Apollo

[term]

Dude, I'm no expert, but I found out about this stuff called Guerilla Cardio. I guess it's just HIIT (High Intensity Intervel Training?) Anyways, it's 12 minutes of cardio, so you don't have the chance of destroying muscle with long and tedious cardio. You can sprint on your own two feet, or do it on a stationary bike, or even on a row machine. Running is the best though.

4 minutes of jogging at 50% power, then minutes 5, 6, 7, and 8, are hardcore, 100%. 20 seconds of sprinting, 10 seconds of rest. 20 seconds of sprinting, 10 seconds of rest. 2 sets per minute, 8 sets in total. Then, minutes 9, 10, 11, and 12 are done at 50%. I had to rest by the last minute (minute #8) and that was on a stationary bike :( It was so hard, but my heart was racing and I had a great sweat. It was developed by, and for, Japanese speed skaters, I believe.

[Tuna Fish]

Hi Maxima-

Great post; I have a question, though....

The last paragraph seems to contradict your stance on cardio completely. Please help me understand why cardio would be necessary if muscle will burn more fat over time than cardio ever would.

For example, if someone were gaining a bit of fat while building muscle at the same time, wouldn't they want to just continue building muscle while keeping control of/monitoring carb intake and overall fat mass? I would assume that eventually their growing muscle mass should take care of any fat gained during bulk-up.....? Or am I missing something obvious?

Love reading your posts, always very informative.

Tuna

[Maxima]

Originally posted by Tuna Fish
Hi Maxima-

Great post; I have a question, though....

The last paragraph seems to contradict your stance on cardio completely. Please help me understand why cardio would be necessary if muscle will burn more fat over time than cardio ever would.

For example, if someone were gaining a bit of fat while building muscle at the same time, wouldn't they want to just continue building muscle while keeping control of/monitoring carb intake and overall fat mass? I would assume that eventually their growing muscle mass should take care of any fat gained during bulk-up.....? Or am I missing something obvious?

Love reading your posts, always very informative.

Tuna

First Apollo - Look at specificity (your goals) if you are going to be running then you need to build mitochondria that support the aerobic system, I say go for it if your going to the military and are going to be running.

My anti-cardio stance comes for a couple of reasons.
1. Most people who want to look good won't touch weights because they don't want to look like bodybuilders (a common misconception shared mostly by women) when in fact weight training makes you look better. Cardio is way overrated and weight training is way underrated.

2. Cardiologists try shoving cardio down my throat as the cure all for aging, and a way to stay in great shape, and healthy. First off as you age the main things that happen are you lose muscle (this comes from mainly your strength Type 2b fibers) you gain weight but this is fat weight because you are losing muscle as well as bone density, and your nervous system is also effected because you are not able to put fourth as much of a charge to stimulate motor neurons (connected to muscle fibers.)
Weight training has been proven time and time again to increase aerobic capacity and heart size, it helps you build muscle and lose fat, any increase or decrease in muscle is going to have an increase or decrease in bone, and over time you are able to stimulate more muscle fibers because of neural adaptations (larger charge.)
Weight training is the perfect remedy for age, yet people are either to lazy or to scared that someone is going to hurt themselves to put someone on this type of training. Also as a side note cardio adaptations are the same regardless of age, an 80 year old will adapt as fast as a 20 year old. It is the strength fibers you lose as you age and that should be of strong significance for both bone density and independence.
Basically I see weight training as something that is far superior to cardio, yet cardio gets all the attention as the big cure all. However, just like I said at first judge what your goals are, if you need to run for a specific task then cardio is a great way to train for it.

3. Most people look at weight training as something you do because your vein, or you’re a dumb bodybuilder, they see little reason to do it health wise.

I see cardio as only a different form of metabolism, if that is what your goals then go for it, if it is not then don’t.

Also your gains are slowing because your body is burning less fuel and is becoming efficient at doing the same thing, read my first post. Either increase the time, or cut back slightly on calories.

Your cardio will not hurt your lifting (just to clarify for others it will hurt size gains, but that is not your goal so do not worry about it) unless it is using up too much of your energy. If you notice that your muscles are not getting pumped, or you are having trouble sleeping you are overtraining. Cut back on one or the other


Tuna - I really enjoy reading your articles too, you really know your stuff. Basically I agree with you that over time with many meals your body will find no need to store fat because it has a constant supply of nutrients, and the calorie burning effect of muscle will eventually get you as lean as you want.

However I usually write my diets out for 16-20 week periods as this is the amount of time most bodybuilders take to reduce fat. I first cut off calories (keeping weight training the same during the whole course) because that is the best way to cut fat while retaining muscle. When this stops giving the participant results then add cardio (because cutting calories too much would destroy metabolism and your body would go into emergency mode and seek muscle for energy), as I said before your body will quickly adapt to cardio so you want to do most of your fat loss through diet first. Also this is a means to an end, the end result being a very lean body (after this is achieved the cardio stops because you are losing muscle.) Myself, I can reach a level of bodyfat that I like without doing cardio, but for those who really want to see striations in their muscle than cardio will be a last resort. I don’t go to low on diet because metabolism is your bodies 24 hour (muscle equates into this) calorie burner so we want to keep that fire stoked. This is basically if someone wants to get shredded up for summer or a contest quickly, you will lose some muscle but that is expected when losing fat. As soon as you are at the level you want stop cardio, then basically do the opposite. Your body will not be burning as many calories (without the cardio) so you should maintain your weight with the diet you have achieved so far. If you are happy stay here, if you are still losing slowly start to add in calories until you are not (bodyfat measurements are your best friend here.) When you want to gain muscle slowly add calories and evaluate your bodyfat every month or two so you can readjust your diet.

Cardio is basically the last thing you want to do, and is the first thing that you want to cut off when your happy, this again is in attaining what most of us here want, this would not apply to a long distance runner so cardio does have it’s place in some aspects. Muscle (I do not change the weight training at all through out either dieting or bulking phases) and metabolism should always be your first priority, cardio is just a supplement that you use.

[Helene]

Thanks for the great info Maxima, I'm re-thinking all my program now.

[Helene]

Also Maxima, when you say reduce your calories..by how much approx. 500 or more like 200. And reduce slowly I guess?

thanks.

[Maxima]

Originally posted by Helene
Also Maxima, when you say reduce your calories..by how much approx. 500 or more like 200. And reduce slowly I guess?

thanks.

Here is my basline diet, if you need help with creating a baseline nutrition program please let me know

Meal 1 - 38 grams protein, 95 grams of carbs
Meal 2 - 38 grams protein, 70 grams of carbs
Meal 3 - 38 grams protein, 60 grams of carbs
Meal 4 - 38 grams protein, 50 grams of carbs
Train
Meal 5 - 38 grams protein, 85 grams of carbs
Meal 6 - 38 grams protein, 40 grams of carbs

Now to start losing bodyfat I would do this.

In order to follow this next plan and get shredded give yourself 16 weeks to complete this next section.

First reduce calories. Cut 10% calories from each meals carbohydrate intake. So using the above example Meal 1 would go from 95 grams to 85, Meal 2 would go from 70 to 63 etc.

When you notice that you are not losing anymore fat, add in cardio. Start off with 3 times a week for 30 minutes, Do this in the morning if you weight train in the evening, or do it on non-weight training days.

When this stops giving you results slowly and gradually go to 45 minutes no more than 5 to 6 times a week.

When this stops giving you results further reduce your carbohydrate intake by another 10%. However do not just reduce these calories seven day’s a week, instead perform a rotational diet, where you do this reduction for two days, then do the first reduction for one day, and repeat. So Meal 1 would be 85 grams one day, and 76 grams for two, Meal 2 would be 63 grams for one day, and 57 for two, etc. This keeps your body’s metabolism active and avoids it shutting down like those who eat very little, don’t go below this as far as calories.

Remember this is a gradual step process, do not do it all at once, remember the long time frame and give your body time to adjust

As I said before when you are happy with your results first cut cardio. Then after a while go back to your routine where you knocked off 10% carbohydrates. This diet program should sustain you very well after you have lost what you want. Depending on where you are going either add carbs or remove them.

[ApolloFS]

Maxima,

First off thank you for the well thought and generous reply. I appreciate the time and knowledge most of the folks here at DF give for everyone to benefit from.

Your stance on cardio is even more "anti" than what I expected! However, you do have a lot of solid arguments, and the necessary titles to back them up. I certainly aren't anti-weights though, and have been lifting for msot of the time that i have had an active lifestyle. I just never got too big, or wanted to for that matter. Right now the only reason I;m not lifting is because I haven't fitted the gym into my schedule. (I wish the track I run at had a bench or something out in the open! ).

So, with that clear we inevitably come back to main question. What do we train for?

1. Do we train to be healthy?
2. Do we train to become stronger?
3. Do we train to build endurance?
4. Do we train because our profession requires us to?
5. Do we train because we like to train?
6. Do we train to look good?
7. Do we train because we want to "better" ourselves?

Personally, I train for all these reasons! So tell me what kind of program I should follow for these goals!!!

You said some people frown on bodybuilding either because they think it's dangerous, looks "bad" , or think it doesn't provide any healh benefits.

Well, the type of person that will say it;s dangerous is usually the one that really is dangerous around wieghts, so better if he stayed away from the weight room.

When it comes to looks, that is very subjective, although you could argue, there are some predominant standards. That harmony, looks good, as does human measure. Upbringings and social environament is also a great factor that influences these things.

I come from a very classical Greek upbringing that always tought me moderation and human measure as two important virtues. So when I see a steroid pumping freak, I can never say that he/she looks good, because it is outside human measure, and IMO outside reason. Why get your body bloated up like that? Of what use is it to you? Do you want to constantly outperform yourself? Do you consider it a sport? Because every sport brings its participant an achievement outside the human body..A fruit of their effort. A faster lap, a farther throw, a longer swim, a better aim, something. The body's development thrugh sport is merely what partly achieves this feat, and at the same time its byproduct.

Everyone should strive for a better body, and its up to their needs to define "better". Because a lot of us though strive for overall fitness, I am suprised that i see viewpoints that exclude natural exercise of the body, like running on the one hand, or pushing a bar of weights...If you want overall fitness you better not get under that bar and squeal like some sissy, and you better not run a mile only to stop gasping for air. Exercising just for looks is for people that get paid for it, models, actors etc. And by that I mean, running all day long so you don't gain a pound, and then smoking like a madman.

Cardio has more benefits than just burning fat. (I must say that I am quite pleasantly intrigued by the general theory that states muscle burns more fat than cardio). Endurance is something that every well rounded athlete, should have, just like strength. These two are qualities that go hand-in-hand IMO, and you just lean on one more, depending on your needs. You dont just forget endurance. Unless of course lifting weights is better for endurance than is running.

I love getting up in the morning, and going for my run, or going for some Guerilla Cardio that i tried today!!! (Boy let me tell you that right before approaching the sprints you get such an adrenaline rush...It was like nearing the top bend of a rollercoaster ride, right before it dropped you to ground level from 300feet!) I also loved lifting when I did. And as long as my goals are relative to both styles, I'll continue to do both...

What I'm looking for in a place like this is how much. Would me running every weekday hinder me rather than help me? Would lifting more than 3 times per week hinder me too? What about calisthenics? how often can that be? I'm fairly convinced I need all of those,I just need to put them in the right frequency!


Thanks for reading

[Helene]

Okay thanks Maxima. I think I'll try not cardio with only weights and diet. I already eat good and clean and I've been weight training since october. And I don't think cardio helped me in any way; except for heart health of course. But I'm very curious to try that. I did it once (no cardio) but I didn't do it long enough to see if it changed anything or not.

As for my diet, I eat the typical bodybuilding foods; chicken, protein shakes, cottage cheese, plain yogourt, tuna, salmon, veg, fruits, egg whites etc.. and eat 7-8 meals (every 2 hours).

I'm just still not sure what my maintenace calories are..their is different numbers everywhere. I'm 24, 120lbs, 5'2 and last time I checked I was 20%bf.

I am now on my second week of not lifting. I'm taking a break because of a little front shoulder pain. So I've been doing cardio each day. But I'm starting again next week. I plan on eating around 1600-1800 calories (120 x 15 = 1800). Post workout shakes are 40g protein and 60g of malthodextrin. I work each muscle once a week.

So I should cut down slowly on carb calories.
What I've been doing for a while is cycling my carbs. Like 2 days, I eat more protein than carbs, then more carbs for 2 days etc..

Anyway thanks for the tips, I'll give that a try starting next week. Good diet, weight lifting and NO cardio. I hate cardio anyway.

[Maxima]

Originally posted by ApolloFS
Maxima,

First off thank you for the well thought and generous reply. I appreciate the time and knowledge most of the folks here at DF give for everyone to benefit from.

Your stance on cardio is even more "anti" than what I expected! However, you do have a lot of solid arguments, and the necessary titles to back them up. I certainly aren't anti-weights though, and have been lifting for msot of the time that i have had an active lifestyle. I just never got too big, or wanted to for that matter. Right now the only reason I;m not lifting is because I haven't fitted the gym into my schedule. (I wish the track I run at had a bench or something out in the open! ).

So, with that clear we inevitably come back to main question. What do we train for?

1. Do we train to be healthy?
2. Do we train to become stronger?
3. Do we train to build endurance?
4. Do we train because our profession requires us to?
5. Do we train because we like to train?
6. Do we train to look good?
7. Do we train because we want to "better" ourselves?

Personally, I train for all these reasons! So tell me what kind of program I should follow for these goals!!!

You said some people frown on bodybuilding either because they think it's dangerous, looks "bad" , or think it doesn't provide any healh benefits.

Well, the type of person that will say it;s dangerous is usually the one that really is dangerous around wieghts, so better if he stayed away from the weight room.

When it comes to looks, that is very subjective, although you could argue, there are some predominant standards. That harmony, looks good, as does human measure. Upbringings and social environament is also a great factor that influences these things.

I come from a very classical Greek upbringing that always tought me moderation and human measure as two important virtues. So when I see a steroid pumping freak, I can never say that he/she looks good, because it is outside human measure, and IMO outside reason. Why get your body bloated up like that? Of what use is it to you? Do you want to constantly outperform yourself? Do you consider it a sport? Because every sport brings its participant an achievement outside the human body..A fruit of their effort. A faster lap, a farther throw, a longer swim, a better aim, something. The body's development thrugh sport is merely what partly achieves this feat, and at the same time its byproduct.

Everyone should strive for a better body, and its up to their needs to define "better". Because a lot of us though strive for overall fitness, I am suprised that i see viewpoints that exclude natural exercise of the body, like running on the one hand, or pushing a bar of weights...If you want overall fitness you better not get under that bar and squeal like some sissy, and you better not run a mile only to stop gasping for air. Exercising just for looks is for people that get paid for it, models, actors etc. And by that I mean, running all day long so you don't gain a pound, and then smoking like a madman.

Cardio has more benefits than just burning fat. (I must say that I am quite pleasantly intrigued by the general theory that states muscle burns more fat than cardio). Endurance is something that every well rounded athlete, should have, just like strength. These two are qualities that go hand-in-hand IMO, and you just lean on one more, depending on your needs. You dont just forget endurance. Unless of course lifting weights is better for endurance than is running.

I love getting up in the morning, and going for my run, or going for some Guerilla Cardio that i tried today!!! (Boy let me tell you that right before approaching the sprints you get such an adrenaline rush...It was like nearing the top bend of a rollercoaster ride, right before it dropped you to ground level from 300feet!) I also loved lifting when I did. And as long as my goals are relative to both styles, I'll continue to do both...

What I'm looking for in a place like this is how much. Would me running every weekday hinder me rather than help me? Would lifting more than 3 times per week hinder me too? What about calisthenics? how often can that be? I'm fairly convinced I need all of those,I just need to put them in the right frequency!


Thanks for reading

First off let me say that your training should match your goals and what you are doing seems to be perfect for you. As for the bodybuilding guy's I do admit that they are "ugly big" but man I wouldn't mind looking like that even though girls would preffer the way I look now.
I am having an interesting debate with a cardiologist right now. She thinks that if I do not do endurance type cardio that I my heart is going to be unhealthy. I told her that the only difference between endurance exercise and real heavy weight training (also could be called interval training or anaerobic exercise) is that you build mitochondria in the cells to support that particular metabolism. Your heart and lungs are taxed to the brink when doing heavy lifting like deadlifts or squats. Weight training does build aerobic capacity and I am living proof of that. I stopped doing any type of exercise my sophmore year of high school. Then my freshman year at college I started expriementing with the weights and got really serious my sophmore year. Then in my senior year of college having not done cardio since probably my freshman year of high school (about 7 or so years) my friend who played baseball for the school and ran everyday asked me to run around a lake with him that is about 10 miles or more, can't really say but it took us 1 hour and 45 minutes going at a good clip to run it. I figured I was going to get slaughtered and gas out after the first five minutes. But as we went along I noticed that it was really easy, each time I started getting tired I thought of doing squats and how if I was doing a squat and was at this intensity I would keep going because I'm not done (my heart rate on that run got high, but nothing compared to what heavy squats and deadlifts do to my heart and lungs.) I ran that whole lake without skipping a beat (my calfs did start to get real tight after we finally finished) I was really shocked.
After that running was so fun, I would go out and run at night for 30 minutes or so and wake up in the morning and run a little. However, I got a little smaller and my body fat went up so I stopped. If I had it my way I would run because it is so much fun, but I really want to keep the muscle I have worked so hard to build.

For your routine I would do cardio 3 times a week in the morning (start with 30 minutes, if all is going well up it to 45), then lift on those evenings (5-6 exercises, group muscle groups together chest shoulders tri's one day, legs another, and back and bi's another)and do calesthinics inbetween days (2-3 days 20 - 30 min or so) giving yourself at least one to two days of rest. Try that, if you notice that your muscles arn't getting pumped when you weight train you are probably overtraining, you'll need to cut back somemore. I am guessing though that since you are on this board you already have a good diet plan which will go a long way. Keep me informed on what's happening with your body.

I am not anti cardio, I just think it is way overhyped kind of like carbohydrates are over protein that is all. If it fits into your goals than I am all for it, but me personaly I do not need cardio.

For the average Joe who is not going to kill himself like I do with weights, and just wants to stay in decent shape with no plans to be on the cover of a magazine, I would totally agree that a mix of cardio and weights should be arranged into his program.

Keep me up to date and let me know how the training goes.

[Maxima]

Originally posted by Helene
Okay thanks Maxima. I think I'll try not cardio with only weights and diet. I already eat good and clean and I've been weight training since october. And I don't think cardio helped me in any way; except for heart health of course. But I'm very curious to try that. I did it once (no cardio) but I didn't do it long enough to see if it changed anything or not.

As for my diet, I eat the typical bodybuilding foods; chicken, protein shakes, cottage cheese, plain yogourt, tuna, salmon, veg, fruits, egg whites etc.. and eat 7-8 meals (every 2 hours).

I'm just still not sure what my maintenace calories are..their is different numbers everywhere. I'm 24, 120lbs, 5'2 and last time I checked I was 20%bf.

I am now on my second week of not lifting. I'm taking a break because of a little front shoulder pain. So I've been doing cardio each day. But I'm starting again next week. I plan on eating around 1600-1800 calories (120 x 15 = 1800). Post workout shakes are 40g protein and 60g of malthodextrin. I work each muscle once a week.

So I should cut down slowly on carb calories.
What I've been doing for a while is cycling my carbs. Like 2 days, I eat more protein than carbs, then more carbs for 2 days etc..

Anyway thanks for the tips, I'll give that a try starting next week. Good diet, weight lifting and NO cardio. I hate cardio anyway.

There are two ways to find how many calories your body needs, I will show you both.

Keep track of how many calories you eat for three days, take an average of this. Let's say it's 3000 calories. Now clean up your diet. Eat at least a gram to 1.5 grams of protein per lean pound of body weight. Take your bodyfat and find your lean body weight. Lets say you weigh 175 and have 12% body fat. That means that 21 pounds of you are fat, so your lean body weight is 154. That gives you 154 to 230 grams of protein that you need to consume each day. Split this up over six meals and that means you should eat 25 to 38 grams of protein. Keep your protein intake the same for each (6) meal, carbohydrate is next which you will vary.

One gram of protein is equal to 4 calories using (6 meals at 38 grams) 228 grams of protein = 912 calories.

3000 - 912 = 2088 calories still left.

If you are eating a low fat diet chances are you should still get about 15% of total calories just passively from fat, even those on a no fat diet still get about 7%. So take that out, you should be getting about 20% of total calories from fat.

3000 * 20% fat = 450

2088 - 450 = 1638 calories.

These are the carbohydrate calories which at 4 calories per gram = 409. 400 is easier to split up so round a little if you have to.

Breakfast should be your biggest carbohydrate meal, workout should be your second biggest carbohydrate meal based on the way our bodies use carbs.

Your split would look like this.
Meal 1 - 38 grams protein, 95 grams of carbs
Meal 2 - 38 grams protein, 70 grams of carbs
Meal 3 - 38 grams protein, 60 grams of carbs
Meal 4 - 38 grams protein, 50 grams of carbs
Train
Meal 5 - 38 grams protein, 85 grams of carbs
Meal 6 - 38 grams protein, 40 grams of carbs

My favorite sources of protein are - Eggs, Beef Eye of Round, Fish, Chicken, Turkey and Protein Supplements

Carbohydrates - Look for whole grains and oats that emphasize fiber.

Reevaluate your lean body mass every month or two, this will allow you to change your protein requirements.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you want to get started now here is an equation.

Harris Benedict Equation

Females - 665 + (4.36 * body weight in pounds) + (4.32 * height in inches) - (4.7 *age) = daily calories

You don't sound overweight so this should work. However for the person who is over weight (20% bodyfat is about average) obviously judging caloric intake based on body weight in pounds would be incorrect so I'll go ahead and show you how to do this. For a person who is overweight they would put this variable into the "bodyweight in pounds" section above.

Women, first five feet is 106 pounds, add 6lbs per inch after that. This is the claimed ideal body weight. Now take actual body weight - ideal body weight, take this number and multiply it by .25 and add ideal body weight. This is the number that you would input for "bodyweight in pounds" for someone who is obviously overweight. You might go ahead and do this since you want to lose weight but like I said 20% bodyfat is about average so I really gave this to you incase someone comes to your for advice (remember though these equations are only for females.

Now that you have found your daily calories that your body burns you must estimate how much it burns with exercise.

Multiply your daily calories by this activity factor.

1.3 is just sitting and standing through out the day
1.5 is light activity or walking 3 miles an hour
1.7 is moderate like tennis or walking 4 mph
2.0 is heavy physical activity like full court basketball, heavy digging etc.
2.4 is competetive tri-athlete or Navy seal.

You are probably a 1.7 or 2.0 on the activity factor. Multiply this number by how many total calories you need. Now you have how many calories you should take in each day.

Now split it up just like I showed you above. Or you can do a 50% carbohydrate, 30% protein and 20% fat split. Take your calories and multiply them by each of these variables. Carbs are 4 calories per gram (divide the number you found by 4) protien is four also (divide the number you found for protein by 4) and fat is 9 (divide fat calories by 9.) Now like I said in the first post divide total grams of protein by the number of meals you eat, that's how many grams of protein you should eat at each meal. Now arrange your carbs so that they start high in the morning and after training but gradually get lower as the day goes on. Fat you will passively get from your protein sources so don't worry about that.

Are you still with me? Give your body a little time to adjust to this, and then follow the steps I put for losing bodyfat. Getting your bodyfat measured every two weeks or so will really help you track your progress and tell you what you need to be doing as far as taking away calories or adding them.

Let me know if you need anything else.

[Helene]

Thanks alot Maxima, I already new all of the macronutrient stuff and % I just was never sure how much calories I should take in . I did your first formula and it gave me my BMR and then I added my activity factor. --> 2200calories. I did the second one but their wasn't a significant change 118.5 intead of 120 that I should put, I don't think their much of a difference. But it's good to know.

I have one last question that has been eating at me since I've started training. What do you think about glutamine?

I buy what I find necesary like protein powder, malthodextrin and creatine but glutamine? I've never taken it but I know alot of people do and I'm always wondering if I'm missing something. I'd really like your opinion on this. thanks for everything.