Opinions on calories - going from weight loss to building muscle

[lmg633]

Hello everyone! I’m feeling at a loss regarding how much I should be eating. I am 4’9” and recently lost 30 pounds (123 to 93). I was eating an average of 1300 kcal per day. My activity level is about 8,000 steps per day, and I do Olympic-style weightlifting twice per week (snatches, clean/jerks, squats, etc.). I am considering myself done with weight loss, and now my goals are to be strong/healthier looking by building muscle. How many calories do you think I should be eating daily? I seem to be maintaining around 1500, while trying to get around 70 g protein per day.

I’d appreciate any advice for how my calories and protein intake should look like for someone of my height/weight looking to build muscle. Increasing my lifting days is also in the works, so I plan to up my activity level accordingly as well. Hoping to get some initial insights on the diet aspect to start with. Thanks in advance fellow petites!

 

[mj_1969]

@lmg633 This playlist on YouTube might be of use to you.

I find his info to be pretty spot on for me.

 

[tmthy21]

@mj_1969 I've recently started following RP for the diet/cut advice and find his information great! I even watch videos that aren't relevant to my own goals because he presents it in an interesting way.

Thanks for sharing that playlist!

 

[zastari]

@lmg633 https://tdeecalculator.net/ this will calculate your maintenance calories

 

[christianseeker1]

@lmg633 I would slow y increase your calories by 50 to 100 every 1 to 2 weeks and track your weight to see how high you can get your calorie intake to be while still maintaining your weight! (Note that a small amount of weight gain is normal simply because you have more food volume/weight in your stomach)

 

[camfree]

@lmg633 I would do a lean bulk. That will mean a long-term goal of weight gain (muscle gain while minimizing fat gain). I’d start with a small surplus — 100 to 200 calories more than you are currently eating, and also a bit more protein, closer to 90g.

After a few weeks, reassess. Do you feel adequately fueled for your workouts? Is the scale going up gradually? You’ll probably have to gain a couple pounds of water weight when you start bulking, but after a few weeks, you should see the weight difference from the calorie surplus. If not, increase your intake a bit more, another 100-200 cal.

With such a small change, it will take a while to see if it’s working, so it will be important to be patient and track your weight for a few weeks before making changes. At the same time, you won’t gain a lot of fat suddenly, so it’s super easy to make adjustments down the road. Also, if you do start lifting more often, and eventually with more muscle on your body, expect your TDEE to go up— your bulking calories will go up too, so adjust accordingly. You got this!

 

[lmg633]

@camfree Thank you so much! This is exactly the kind of info I need to start adjusting. I appreciate it!