How much calories needed to gain muscle and lose body fat..

[sass]

Hi there,

I need help!!! i am 28 years old with 22% body fat, weight 127lbs, and 5'6 in height..my goal is to lose body fat (but minimize muscle loss at the same time) and gain muscle..can you do both simulatenously? Or do you have to bulk up first and then lose the body fat after? I'm so confused...ahh

My Maintenance level cardio is 2095 a day...but for the past 2 weeks i have been eating 6 meals a day with an average of 1600 calories a day...is that too low...i want to have more lean muscle..and shed some body weight...even after 6 meals..i feel hungry..i think i am not eating enough...but i just dont' know if i should eat to lose body fat (calorie deficit) or if i should eat to gain muscle first (calorie surplus) any help would be awesome!!!

Here's a typical meal plan for me

meal 1
3 eggwhites
1/4 cup of raw oats cooked
1tbsp of flax seeds grined

meal 2
ww english muffin
3 egg whites
1/4 chicken breast

Workout here

meal 3
Protein shake with whey, few berries, and a banana, low fat plain yogurt

meal 4
half a can of tuna
a pear or apple

meal 5
Chicken breast
Veggies....spinach or broccoli

Meal 6
1/2 cup of cottage cheese
10 almonds

[Lilbitt]

Everyone always gets so caught up in caloric value and the number calculations. It is mostly trial and error and gaining mass is a patient process. To try to gain mass while losing fat is not a universally impossible process but the proportions of bf in reference to your already existing mass will be the most important aspect to see physique changes. I would suggest that by glancing at your diet you could definitely take in more quality foods. How do you feel throughout the course of the day? Exhausted or content? Are you seeing changes (of course after a month or two... these things take time) I have gained a lot of mass since I started training but I always ate with my goal of mass in mind (not afraid of food) and if I thought I was gaining too much bf I just cut back a little. You don't get fat overnight so adding some food in and watching your body's reaction for a little while is a no harm approach.

[sass]

Everyone always gets so caught up in caloric value and the number calculations. It is mostly trial and error and gaining mass is a patient process. To try to gain mass while losing fat is not a universally impossible process but the proportions of bf in reference to your already existing mass will be the most important aspect to see physique changes. I would suggest that by glancing at your diet you could definitely take in more quality foods. How do you feel throughout the course of the day? Exhausted or content? Are you seeing changes (of course after a month or two... these things take time) I have gained a lot of mass since I started training but I always ate with my goal of mass in mind (not afraid of food) and if I thought I was gaining too much bf I just cut back a little. You don't get fat overnight so adding some food in and watching your body's reaction for a little while is a no harm approach.

Hi there,

thanks for ur input..any suggestions to tweaking my meal plan? What kind of quality foods should i be eating? I already thought that the diet was pretty clean...hmm...but any tips would be appreicated! With this meal plan, i feel pretty content..but i do find that within 2 hours of eating a meal..i get hungry again...so that's why i eat every 2 hours....

It's been only 3 weeks since i have started this meal program..i am goign to go for a body fat analysis at teh gym maybe next week..will let you know the results..that way i will know if i am eating too little or too less..thanks again!

[emunah]

I don't see a lot of fats in there. You could definitely add more.

How do you know that's your maintenance?

I agree with Lilbitt. Its really trial and error. But focus on good quality foods: lean proteins, healthy carbohydrates, and essential fats, and you should be fine. If you want to look at macros, through it into nutridiary and see what your protein/fat/carbohydrates are.

[sass]

I don't see a lot of fats in there. You could definitely add more.

How do you know that's your maintenance?

I agree with Lilbitt. Its really trial and error. But focus on good quality foods: lean proteins, healthy carbohydrates, and essential fats, and you should be fine. If you want to look at macros, through it into nutridiary and see what your protein/fat/carbohydrates are.

I found my maintenance level by just calculating through some formula ont he website...i log my macros on fitday.com, and it's usually in the 40/40/20 range..with 20 being fats...but do you still think if my maintenance level is about 2100...is consuming about 1600 calories too low...i already eat 6 meals a day...what is a good range that i should consume if i want to shed body fat and gain lean muscle mass?