Unsure of how I should be manipulating my calories - advice?

[FitCat]

Originally Posted by BeanBabe

Everyone has a different metabolism. 5'7 and 129lbs is very lean as it is. I suggest hitting your macros everyday (keeping them the same) and see what your body looks like/ what the scale says. For me right now my macros are the same every day and I am slowly adding in more carbs/fat every week (depending on weight). That will help boost my metabolism while adding some size. Don't be afraid to gain a little fat eighther...curves are in!

Well, here is what I don't understand- if my goal is to lean out (lose fat) and build some muscle (secondary) for right now, shouldn't my macros be different based on what days I am lifting? In other words, if I am using carb cycling to lean out, then wouldn't my macros need to be different based on what I was doing physicially for the day?

All in all, I would like to add some more muscle, but the idea of eating more and gaining a bit of fat at this particular time of year is not attractive to me. Even though I am somewhat lean, my lower body is definitely "skinny fat" still and my triceps are still holding a bit of fat so it makes sense to me to see what my body looks likes at the leanest I can reasonably be before I start trying to pack on some muscle. Does that make sense? If not, and I am totally "off" in my thinking, please feel free to share your opinion. I welcome the input! Really!

[BeanBabe]

I think you maybe a little to hard on yourself. Eating should not be complicated. You need to train hard, fuel your body, and get rest. Rome was not built in a day right? I think the main thing is to decide what your goals are and stick to it. If you want to loose some fat decrease the carbs/fat slowly. If you are happy with how you look slowly increase your carbs/fat.

[FitCat]

Originally Posted by BeanBabe

I think you maybe a little to hard on yourself. Eating should not be complicated. You need to train hard, fuel your body, and get rest. Rome was not built in a day right? I think the main thing is to decide what your goals are and stick to it. If you want to loose some fat decrease the carbs/fat slowly. If you are happy with how you look slowly increase your carbs/fat.

makes sense and yes, no one is harder on me than ME! That I know. I think there is such a huge amount of conflicting info out there that you start to think "there must be an exact science and until I figure it out, I won't get the results that I want".

I think, for now, as much as I would like to slap on some more muscle, I know I would like to see what my body would look like with less fat (esp., in the areas I complain about the most, like tris and hams). I lift heavy but more often than not, people tell me that you won't see the muscle you have built or the definition you want until you lean out. So, for summer, that will be my priority. I just need to wrap my brain around the fact that although there is some science behind all this, for every individual, it will still be trial and error. In the end, the mirror will not lie.