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

[FitCat]

I could use some help on this one. I am just now wrapping my brain around the fact that I need to eat a little above maintenance since my goal now is to put on some muscle while gaining minimal fat.

Also, I am consuming more carbs on days when I am lifting, esp, when I am working priority muscles like legs & delts. However on the days that I am just doing HIIT or Plyos, or not working out and therefore consuming carbs only at breakfast, should i be trying to keep my caloric intake the same?

In other words, if i am doing this informal type of carb cycling, will my calories per day also cycle?

[BeanBabe]

To be honest I am do not think you need more carbs when you are training certain bodyparts. You body is constantly in recovery state when you are training hard and you still need those carbs/.food to help you recover even though you are not training that day. Only having carbs for breakfast is not a lot of food.

[mattsmom]

I agree with BB. I have carbs until 3 p.m. I carb cycle and even on high carb days have carbs (grapefruit and strawberries) at dinner. You need those carbs to build muscle.

[FitCat]

Originally Posted by mattsmom

I agree with BB. I have carbs until 3 p.m. I carb cycle and even on high carb days have carbs (grapefruit and strawberries) at dinner. You need those carbs to build muscle.

Maybe I should have been more specific. I meant starchy carbs (rice, oats, sweet potato, etc). I usually do not count the carbs in my veggies.

Do you know how many grams of carbs you consume daily? Does it fluctuate for you based on your training schedule?

[mattsmom]

Originally Posted by FitCat

Maybe I should have been more specific. I meant starchy carbs (rice, oats, sweet potato, etc). I usually do not count the carbs in my veggies.

Do you know how many grams of carbs you consume daily? Does it fluctuate for you based on your training schedule?

I eat complex carbs at brakfast (oatmeal), snack (fruit), lunch (rice or potatoes) and again an hour before workout (fruit) every day. Just the amount will vary as I carb cycle.....ranging from 180-240 grams. I will not have a high carb day on a rest or cardio day.

[BeanBabe]

In off season I eat approx. 30g of carbs for five of my meals...I do not count veggies. My last meal is usually veggies and protein.

[FitCat]

Originally Posted by mattsmom

I eat complex carbs at brakfast (oatmeal), snack (fruit), lunch (rice or potatoes) and again an hour before workout (fruit) every day. Just the amount will vary as I carb cycle.....ranging from 180-240 grams. I will not have a high carb day on a rest or cardio day.

What about PWO? If so, sounds like you consume carbs at every meal other than dinner? Is that right?

P.S. Just sent you an email

[FitCat]

Originally Posted by BeanBabe

In off season I eat approx. 30g of carbs for five of my meals...I do not count veggies. My last meal is usually veggies and protein.

Is your carb consumption the same when you are leaning out versus building muscle?

[BeanBabe]

when I am dieting for a show they drop to about 20g a meal for the first three meals, then I have a big carb up day once a week. That is only for contest dieting though...now way its sustainable.

[FitCat]

Originally Posted by mattsmom

I eat complex carbs at brakfast (oatmeal), snack (fruit), lunch (rice or potatoes) and again an hour before workout (fruit) every day. Just the amount will vary as I carb cycle.....ranging from 180-240 grams. I will not have a high carb day on a rest or cardio day.

So what time do you work out? I usually work out at about 3pm. On days when I am working legs or delts/tris, I eat starchy carbs at breakfast & lunch, then PWO, but I am wondering if I should also be having a small amount of carbs at dinner, which I eat about 2 hours after my workout?

FYI, I am only talking about starchy carbs. I never count carbs from fruits/veggies. Should I be?

[Nic902]

Originally Posted by FitCat

So what time do you work out? I usually work out at about 3pm. On days when I am working legs or delts/tris, I eat starchy carbs at breakfast & lunch, then PWO, but I am wondering if I should also be having a small amount of carbs at dinner, which I eat about 2 hours after my workout?

FYI, I am only talking about starchy carbs. I never count carbs from fruits/veggies. Should I be?

I dont count green veggies but I would definitely count fruits!

[BeanBabe]

For sure count the carbs from fruits. My new coach has me count them from veggies as well but I keep that number pretty loose. I think you should post your current height/weight/age and diet as I am pretty sure you are undereating. If your goal is to stay lean while gaining some muscle it is possible but you need to fuel your body. At no time should you only be having one carb meal...that screams metabolism break down...you need that fuel.

[FitCat]

Originally Posted by BeanBabe

For sure count the carbs from fruits. My new coach has me count them from veggies as well but I keep that number pretty loose. I think you should post your current height/weight/age and diet as I am pretty sure you are undereating. If your goal is to stay lean while gaining some muscle it is possible but you need to fuel your body. At no time should you only be having one carb meal...that screams metabolism break down...you need that fuel.

Ok, I would be happy to post what I have eaten the last 3 days (which might give you a good picture since one day was a FB workout, one day was upper body, one day was just HIIT). Would it be best to start a new thread or post it here for you all to look at?

[BeanBabe]

just post it here...this is your thread

[FitCat]

Ok, here goes. My goal, for the summer, is to lean out a bit more and see what kind of muscle I have underneath this small layer of fat. The more I thought about it (thank you Matt's Mom for raising this point!), the more it did not make sense to start bulking in the summer when it is bathing suit season and I will not want to put on any fat (even the very small amount that would come along with adding some real muscle). If there is any way to add some slight muscle while leaning out (seems everyone has a bit of a different opinion of this!) then that would be my ultimate goal for the next 3-4 months. With that in mind, I have been doing a lax version of carb cycling - eating more starch carbs on lifting days, moderate to low carbs when doing cardio or on rest days. Also, when I am talking carbs, I am only talking about starchy carbs (have not been counting fruits and veggies, though my macro totals, which I keep track of on My Fitness Pal, are adding those totals in).

So, even though this week was a little "off", this is the basic structure (so far, through Thursday) of what my week has looked like:

Monday
Today's workout was a total body workout

8:00am
Protein pancakes (oats, cott ch, egg whites) w/ sugar- free syrup
Grapefruit (1/2) w/ Truvia
Coffee
Iced herbal tea

11:30 am
Apple
Roasted unsalted pepitas (1oz)

2:30 pm
Ground chicken burger (no bread)
Peppers & onions
Brown rice (1/2 cup)

4:00 pm - Workout (Total Body lifting - 1 hour)

5:00 pm - PWO
Protein shake w/ fat-free milk
Brown rice cakes (2)

7:30 pm
Grilled chicken breast
Green Beans
Carolina enriched rice (1/2 cup)

(would normally have a late night snack at about 10:00pm, esp. since I lifted, but I was really not feeling well that day and could not stomach anything to eat

Total Macros for Day
Calories: 1673 (too low, in my opinion, for a total body day
Carbs: 229
Fat: 28
Protein: 152

[FitCat]

Tuesday
Workout for the day was 18 min of treadmill sprinting and some rehab rotator cuff work and abs

8:30 am
Egg white omelet (3 whites, 1 whole egg w/ spinach and lite shredded cheddar)
Ketchup (2T)
Chicken Sausage (1)
Grapefruit (1/2) w/ Truvia
Coffee

11:30 am
Celementines (2)
Sunflower seeds (1 oz)

1:30 pm
Rotisserie chicken breast (all breast meat, no skin)
Steamed spinach (1 whole bag)
Cherry tomatos (5)
Fresh Mozzerella cheese (2 oz)
EVOO (1T) & Balsamic Vinigrette
Iced herbal tea

4:15pm - Workout (see above)

5:00 pm - PWO
Protein shake w/ fat- free milk
Banana (1, medium)

7:15 pm
Grilled sirloin steak (6 oz)
Broccoli, steamed (~2 cups) w/ EVOO (1T)

Total Macros for Day
Cals: 1822
Carbs: 131
Fat: 80
Protein: 177

[FitCat]

Wednesday
Workout was Upper Body

8:30 am
Egg white omelet (3 whites, 1 whole egg) w/ spinach
Oats (1/3 cup)
Fresh strawberries (3/4 cup)
Coffee
Iced herbal tea

12:30 pm
All natural turkey breast (4 oz) on gluten-free brown rice wrap
with Lite Mayo (1t) Sliced tomato, spinach, & avocado (1/4
of med avocado)

2:00 pm Workout - Upper Body

3:00 pm - PWO
Protein shake w/ fat-free milk
Non-Gluten Brown Sandwich bread

5:30 pm
Rice cake (1)
Soy nut butter (1T)
Banana (1/3)
Fat-free milk (~6 oz)

7:30 pm
Sauteed chicken w/ zucchini, carrots, pineapple, onions (cooked in EVOO - 1 T)
Carolina enriched rice (1/2 cup)

Total Macros for Day
Cals: 1,821
Carbs: 211
Fat: 56
Protein: 139

Would love to hear your feedback on where I should be, given my goals stated above, on total calories and macros.

Thanks!

[BeanBabe]

So are you not losing weight with these cals or is it just not coming off fast enough. You are eating a really balanced diet that is filling your caloric needs and is actually good to eat. Of course it is not a contest prep diet, is that something you are more looking for?

How much cardio are you doing?

[FitCat]

Originally Posted by BeanBabe

So are you not losing weight with these cals or is it just not coming off fast enough. You are eating a really balanced diet that is filling your caloric needs and is actually good to eat. Of course it is not a contest prep diet, is that something you are more looking for?

How much cardio are you doing?

Well, I can't really say it is not coming off fast enough because remember before this I was eating to gain muslce, so eating this way is still new. I have probably lost one pound on the scale but I am lifting 3 times a week, too, and am wondering still if it is possible to lean out and gain some muscle?

I just started doing cardio 3 times a week (1 plyo routine and 2 HIIT). This is very new! I was doing almost no cardio before (maybe one HIIT session per week).

Just FYI, I am 5'7.5, weigh 129. I guess what I am trying to get a hold of is how many calories are needed for "maintenance" for me. Seems like until I understand and can figure out that number, I can't eat below it (to lean out) or above it (to gain muscle).

Make sense? It almost seems (when I listen to other girls on this site and how many calories they consume) that 2000 is high for leaning out and it seems there are days that I hit that, but do not feel like I am overeating, ya know?

[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!