Okay to Start Eating More / Strength Training?
Hi, I have a question about working out and doing strength training. While I have never been really overweight, as a 6'0" male, I was about 190lb and have now come (and much faster than I had hoped for) to 154lb in an attempt to be healthier. My BMI is now 20.8, down from about 25. I started out consuming 1700 Calories daily to get to a healthier weight, and now am up to 2300 Calories, though I still seem to be losing. I try to get a lot of exercise in everyday, usually intense cardio for 30-50 minutes and strength training for 20 minutes in each day. This burns about 400-800 calories a day, I'd estimate. I exercise with free weights, machines, and do abs exercises; but as I am in a calorie deficit, I'm not really gaining too much muscle mass and I feel like I'm getting too scrawny. After all my effort at losing my extra weight though, I'm not sure I should go into a calorie excess.
I was thinking I could down my cardio routine to 30 minutes daily, and up my strength training to 30-40 minutes daily. At the same, I could up my calorie intake to 3500 Calories a day, with at least 100 g of protein daily. I'd estimate my body fat percentage to be between 9%-11% based on online calculators. Are these ideas good? Is it too soon to worry about bulking up?
Edit:
According to online calculators, with my exercise, I burn about 2,800 Calories a day. So I'm guessing 3,000 calories a day would be a good amount to build muscle without gaining a ton of fat.
Your logic sounds good except for one thing. 3500 is a bit much. I'm 6'2, 230# male and I work out every day. I can eat around 3000-3200 and not gain weight. If you are in maintenance then a little less cardio and a little more lifting is a good thing. Up your calories just a little (like 2500). If you're still losing weight and not gaining any strength after a few weeks, go up a little more.
Hm, well I looked it up, and 2,500 would still put me in a calorie deficit, so I don't think I'd build any muscle... I think I need a minimum of 2,800 if I want to even maintain the muscle I have now.
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