Need help with calorie intake

 I have been exercising for years, and I never really ate a whole lot. Maybe averaged 13-1500 calories a day. I never saw much improvement in muscle build in the past year, and then when summer came I tried to lose a few pounds by eating around 1200 calories, and it never really worked, and my immune system died. So I decided I needed more food, and bumped my intake up to about 1800 calories a day of clean foods,with a serving of whole grains,protein and healthy fats at every meal. I noticed a huge increase in strength, health and energy, but I also gained fat. My clothes will not fit me right anymore! I'm weight lifting 4-5 days a week, and I'm pretty active during the day. I'm 23 years old and 5'4. Is this too many calories for me, or will my metabolism eventually even itself out and accept a higher food intake?? I'm very discouraged!

1800 should technically be a weight-loss amount for someone who is 23 and very active.  I don't know your body-weight but a more normal number would be 2200-2400 or so.    If you've gained weight it's probably because your body had acclimatised to managing on a relatively low calorie intake.

I'd actually suggest you work out what your total energy needs are using an online calculator like the one on CC and aim to get that amount of food every day for a week or three.  Once you get your weight stabilised on more food then you could reduce your intake by 500 for weight-loss...

This assumes, of course, that you need to lose weight....  If you were only maintaining your old weight through chronic undereating it could be that your current size is more natural for you.  Buy new clothes?

Thanks. I was 120, but I'm very afraid to step on a scale right now. My goal is to build muscle for a few months, and then work on losing whatever fat I put on a few months before next summer. Bulk and cut. The amount of weight I can lift is dramatically increasing every workout, and that has never happened to me before, and all year I have been having bad sinus problems and no energy, plus lack of muscle growth so I think my body likes the additional calories. I was a size 1 or 0 and now my size 1 jeans are tight. I'm just thinking that I'll be able to manage my weight more efficiently after eating normal for a while. CC says about 2400 a day to maintain, but that scares the heck out of me. When I first started to increase, I was never hungry, and now my appitie has returned so maybe a slow increase?? I feel terribly fat.

Hello, I stumbled across this entry and I think you need to cut out grains from your diet and increase your protein and healthy fat intake, especially if you are trying to increase lean muscle mass. Grains cause an insulin rush in your body that retains fat and causes inflammation.

My information comes from the following site:

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/

Also, the more protein and fat you eat, the less hungry you'll feel and the less you will feel the need to eat. (I go over 14 hours without eating almost every day and my body doesn't care anymore. Even when I am hungry, it's more of a "Oh... okay... let's eat sometime soon" rather than the insane "I'm staaarving!"

Essentially, the way to burn fat and increase muscle is to cut down on foods with high glycemic loads and up the intake of foods with high protein value. This way you support muscle growth, but not fat.

Best of luck,

Original Post by cfalk20:

Hello, I stumbled across this entry and I think you need to cut out grains from your diet and increase your protein and healthy fat intake, especially if you are trying to increase lean muscle mass. Grains cause an insulin rush in your body that retains fat and causes inflammation.

My information comes from the following site:

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/

Also, the more protein and fat you eat, the less hungry you'll feel and the less you will feel the need to eat. (I go over 14 hours without eating almost every day and my body doesn't care anymore. Even when I am hungry, it's more of a "Oh... okay... let's eat sometime soon" rather than the insane "I'm staaarving!"

Essentially, the way to burn fat and increase muscle is to cut down on foods with high glycemic loads and up the intake of foods with high protein value. This way you support muscle growth, but not fat.

Best of luck,

 Thank you for your informative link! But I thought that an isulin rush only occured upon eating high glycemic carbs by themselves, or when you mix them with protein. Whole grains mixed with proteins and small amounts of fat ensure a slow increase in insulin, don't they? And I tried that before....I lost muscle, energy, and my immunity, plus I gained weight(fat)....I don't know what to think honestly. Half the population says carbs are the way to go, the other half say carbs are bad, don't eat them. I tried both approaches, and I like carbs more than no carbs, I'm just a little concered about what my calorie intake should be right now. ?????

Use the Harris Benedict BMR equation to figure out you basal metabolic rate, then multiply it by your activity factor. This gives you maintenance calorie level. Work around the calorie level based on your goals. If you want to gain weight, add 500 cals per day for a 1 lb/week gains. If you want to lose, subtract 500- 100 cals per day for a 1- 2 lb/week weight loss.

Here's the link for the calculator:
http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

You can either go high protein/high fat/low carb or high protein/high carb/low fat. Your body needs carbs, especially if you do weight training. If you go the high carb route, get in your simple carbs around the anabolic window (within 30- 60 minutes of a weight workout)

I second what gi jane said - it may be that your body is just getting used to the new level of calories you're consuming. In addition, your jeans may be tighter because you're putting on more muscle (that's a good problem!). It certainly doesn't sound like you're overeating, especially given how active you are. I'd just avoid the scale for a little while. A size 2 is still a tiny jean size, and it sounds like you're feeling better.

You might want to see a dietician if you're really concerned - they'd be better able to tailor something to your specific concerns, and even measure your BMR (I'm not sure how accurate any online calculator can be).Good luck!