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  1. #1
    Registered User HoopsNJeans's Avatar
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    Post Still training and am eating more, but still feeling too lean - anyone else?

    I just came off my first season of competition this summer, and have now transitioned back into a more "normal" style of clean eating and am continuing to train as well. The only thing is, I feel REALLY lean (was almost too lean for bikini when I was competing as well - trust me, not an issue I EVER thought I'd have lol!) but am not seeing a lot of change despite upping my calories and macros. (If you look through my recent pics, you can kind of see how my veins are still showing - I get comments on my vascularity all the time, and I'm never really sure if it's a good thing...)

    In competition, I was at 1300cal, 170g protein, 115g carbs and 32g fat (comps were in June). For post-contest, I slowly upped it to 1500cal, 140g protein, 130g carbs and 40g fat over the month or two after that. I felt most lean in August when I started a new job where I was doing LOTS of cardio plus walking around much more than I ever had before, and I failed to take that into account. I realized I was under-eating for the amount of stress I was putting on my body, so I upped it to 1800cal, 150g protein, 180g carbs and 50g fat. That's about where I'm at now, but if I exercise I take that into account and add it in for the day so that my net intake is still at my maintenance (the one I just listed). I'm feeling MUCH better now that I've increased it (some days I'm up to 2100cal and 200g protein and/or carbs), but am still very lean. I'm still two pounds UNDER my competition weight!

    So, I'm trying to build lean body mass and stay healthy, but am wondering if anyone else out there has had this feeling of being "too lean?" I upped my macros at the end of August and have stayed there. Maybe I'm being more active than I'm giving myself credit for and that's why I'm having trouble putting on LBM, but I don't know for sure. If anyone has had a similar problem, I'd love to hear some insight!

    PS - I don't do any extra cardio outside of work anymore, so the cardio is get is that which is required for my job (aka I can't change it lol, and it's at least 350-500cal/day). I continue to do weight training 3-4 days a week and stay within the 8-12 rep range to continue to build muscle.

    PPS - I'd still like to stay relatively lean - I mean, I have to admit that I do like still having abs

    Thanks ladies!!!
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  2. #2
    Damn, it's good to be me! thepowerwithin's Avatar
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    Why not increase your calories even more? At your stats and with an active job, 2,100 cals is still likely under maintenance.
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  3. #3
    Registered User Cara0915's Avatar
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    The most obvious solution is to add more calories.
    And just so you know, you haven't been building any muscle eating in a deficit for so long and aren't building any now if the scale isn't going up. Aim for 1lb gain per month.
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