How many calories to eat?!

[TheJake]

I am having trouble deciding on how many calories i should take to meet my goals. First of all i want to gain muscle and become very lean, not bulky. From what i have found on the internet, with my activity level it recommends about 2900-3000cal to maintain my weight. I have been on a 2200 cal diet but im not sure if that is enough to gain lean muscle mass. Here is some info about me to help when advising:

5'11
160lbs
body fat:~12-13%
activity level: lift 3 times a week 1 hour, cardio 20-40 min 5 days a week.
diet: 30% protein 45% carbs 25% fats

I need to know if that is good enough to lose body fat and gain lean muscle mass or if i need more calories.

[cursor]

As I recall, you've pretty much been starving yourself at about 1000 calories per day. Start increasing those calories gradually at a rate of about 200 per week, so that after eight weeks you're at 2600 calories. All the while, you should be pushing to increase the weights that you're able to handle from workout to workout. Keep in mind that the increase in caloric intake will only be beneficial if you're being physically demanding of your body. Shoot for more weight, in fewer repetitions.

To calculate your caloric requirements at any point in the process, you might find this tool to be helpful: cursor's calorie calculator

In eight weeks, when you finally reach 2600 calories per day, your meal plan might look like this:

meal 1 – 6-meal plan
meal 1 – w o r k o u t . d a y . n u t r i t i o n

meal 1 – 36p - 78c - 9f = 541 calories
meal 1 – nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
meal 1 – |||||||||[__w o r k o u t__]|||||||||
meal 2 – 36p - 78c - 9f = 541 calories
meal 2 – nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
meal 3 – 36p - 45c - 12f = 433 calories
meal 3 – nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
meal 4 – 36p - 45c - 12f = 433 calories
meal 4 – nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
meal 5 – 36p - 11c - 15f = 325 calories
meal 5 – nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
meal 6 – 36p - 11c - 15f = 325 calories
meal 6 – nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
_____________________________________
Total :: 216p - 270c - 72f = 2600 calories
33% protein + 42% carbohydrate + 25% fat

This assumes a six meal plan, and that you perform your workout between your first and second meal. If your workout session falls somewhere else, then you should make logical adjustments to the meal sizes: Workout Timing and Diet Tactics .

Also, when considering eating patterns for non-lifting days, you might want consider the information in this reference: Workout day vs nonWorkout day.

[TheJake]

When I increase my calories every week should most of those calories come
from carbs, fat, or protein, or an even ratio of all of them. I am really going to start hitting the gym hard, lifting 3 days a week, unless splits are better (got some reasearch to do). I never really have anyone to go to the gym with and rarely have people to spot me so I do not do much of bench press and have to stick with dumbells, which I hope I can get gains from just as fast. One last quick question Cursor, are there any limitations when it comes to how many fruits and veggies that can be eaten, because I eat tons of fruits, its my favorite quick snack.:

--Thanks for all the help!
----TheJake

[cursor]

Originally Posted by theJake

When I increase my calories every week should most of those calories come from carbs, fat, or protein, or an even ratio of all of them.

Maintain the ratio. Getting a true picture of what you're currently eating can be an educational experience: Gaffer's Food Experiment

Just like anything else, "a ton" may not be the best. A moderate amount is best. What that really means can be quantified by looking at the nutritional values of any food: Nutrient Database Search :: What's in my food?


Vegetables
Fruits
Fiber Ratio
calories <> calories
Glycemic index & fruit
Fructose in bananas

Originally Posted by TheJake

I never really have anyone to go to the gym with and rarely have people to spot me so I do not do much of bench press and have to stick with dumbells

I never have a spotter, yet I barbell bench press every chest day. That shouldn't be a problem, should it?

[TheJake]

I guess its not a problem as long as i don't push it to my max, or to the point were i can't get the bar up anymore. I had that happen with incline press once, luckily my incline brench is incredibley weak compared to my flat bench so it wasn't enough to hurt me . One reason i was using dumbells is because my arms and chest do not have near the same muscle mass, i am uneven, so i was told dumbells would help with that. That reminds me, i really need to work on incline press...hmm.. but thanks for the diet advice..:

[Rats!]

incline press is usually harder than other positions. if that is your weak point, then do it before flat. likewise, if flat or decline are your weak points then do them before incline.

[TheJake]

Cursor I have seen how you help people with their diets and giving them an idea on how many calories they should consume, along with proportions of macronutrients. I went to your link that delt with Graffer's food expirement and it was a lot of help. I was confused on this post when you said that I have "pretty much been starving yourself at about 1000 calories per day". I have never dipped my caloric intake that low if that is what you mean. Or maybe you mean that i am using about 1000 more calories a day than what I eat. I was hoping that you could give me an idea on how much protein I should intake per day and how many calories. For the sake of ease I will restate some info about me:

5'11
160lbs
12-13% BF
Lift three times Per week for 1-1.5 hours
cardio 20-30 min 5 days a week

(Currently consuming 2200 cal per day, 30%P 45%c 25%f, I hope this isn't a hassle)

[cursor]

Any caloric deficit (consuming fewer calories than you burn) that you subject your body to should be moderate. Attempting to lose fat too fast will drop your metabolism to a destructive level (your body won't process the minimal food that you're eating as well as it otherwise might). Additionally, dropping your caloric intake too low tells the body that it needs to breakdown some lean tissue to satisfy (in part) that deficit.

Originally Posted by TheJake

I was hoping that you could give me an idea on how much protein I should intake per day and how many calories.

Did you miss my post above where I laid out a six meal plan for 2600 calories? Are you looking for something besides that?

[TheJake]

Im sorry I just got confused, I will try the 2600 cal diet, what you suggested.

--thanks

[cursor]

Make sure that the larger meals bookend your workouts (when you metabolism will be at it's highest). For an example, see the following:

Workout Timing and Diet Tactics
Workout day vs nonWorkout day

Also note that if your current caloric intake is substantially lower than 2600 calories per day, you should increase gradually over several weeks (as noted in a previous post).

[TheJake]

Those links help, i think im just going to bump my caloric intake up 200 cals this week from 2200 to 2400 so that the change is not so extreme. I wanted to get your opinion on something though. Do you think it is better to do a whole body workout 3 days a week or individual parts 4-5 times a week, that is, when it comes to building muscle and losing body far.

--thanks for all your advice and informative posts :
--TheJake

[cursor]

Both whole-body and split routines can be effective for fat-loss and muscle-gain. IronMan (Administrator on this site) personally does whole body 3x per week. You might PM him and ask his opinion (point him to this thread so he can add his input for the benefit of all). While I have done weeks of whole body, I currently split muscle groups into logical sets and spead the work across multiple days.

Here are some examples of how I've done split routines in the past. It will offer some ideas on how you can smartly vary intensity and duration, resulting in a workout that doesn't have to be changed. Variation is built-in.

3-Day Split
4-Day Split
5-Day Split
Warm-Up Lifts
Intensity & Progression

No worries cursor. I follow most threads even though I don't post much.

There is a ton of info out there Jake for full body workouts. I'd be happy to answer any specific questions you might have.

The toughest thing to do is exactly what your stated goal is: To add muscle and lose fat. It is almost impossbile to do both well.

There was recently a thread here (I think it was about zigzaging caloires) that had a link to studies showing how it was easier to do one or the other. It pretty much said you would be better off cutting to get your bodyfat down to about 10% while maintaining muscle, then bulk to add more muscle while allowing yourself a bit of fat gain (up to 14% or so). Then cut again. Not an easy choice to make when you want to lean and mean, lol.

[TheJake]

Yeah I have heard that quite abit, that it is almost impossible to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. Im not really sure of my body fat percentage though, I think its around 12. I just don't want to burn up my muscle by doing to much cardio to try to get under 10%. With proper nutrition that shouldn't happen though. I just feel like I should be gettinging close to 10% soon being 160 lbs and 5'11. I need to find some calipers and find out for sure. (btw on my other post most people seem to like HIIT for thier cardio to lose body fat) <http://www.discussfitness.com/forums...tml#post328967>

--thanks IronMan and Cursor
---TheJake

[cursor]

Originally Posted by TheJake

I just don't want to burn up my muscle by doing to much cardio to try to get under 10%. With proper nutrition that shouldn't happen though.

It's from a combination of

1. Adequate nutrition, AND
2. Adequate muscle stimulation (heavy [enough] resistance training)

... that you'll be able to maintain your lean mass while cutting body fat.