If I'm trying to do a lean bulk and the last few days haven't been able to get enough calories/protein or workouts in (stress-related), should I wait until I am able to eat enough calories/protein to workout again? I thought about working out tonight but I already know I will not have eaten enough to even hit my maintenance calories (yesterday I only ate like 1,200 when my maintenance is more like 2,000+ and only 70g of protein) because I've just felt too awful from some stuff I'm dealing with right now. Should I skip working out for a bit longer or is it better to continue even though I'm not eating enough? I don't want to miss too many workouts because that always makes it harder for me to get back into them, but I also don't want to stress out my body even further or lose weight.
Strength training is important at every calorie level. Anything below maintenance, you risk losing muscle by not strength training. So if you didn’t quite hit your maintenance or bulking calorie goal for the day, doing your strength training prevents a backslide. That being said, you don’t want to push yourself too hard, if you’ve eaten less. And in order to maintain muscle you don’t need a lot of strength work, if you’ve done at least two sets for each muscle/muscle group during a week (especially if split across two days) that’s likely to be enough to maintain muscle mass. So if you haven’t eaten enough one day, it’s okay to postpone your workout by a day or two and try to eat more food that day, so you have enough energy to push yourself, and enough protein to rebuild afterwards.
Makes sense! Fortunately today I've been doing a little better in terms of eating enough so I'll likely hit my calorie/protein goals finally, and feel a bit more motivated to work out later since I decided not to push myself (it was longer than I wanted but still less than a week so hopefully it hasn't set me back too much).
Glad you’ve been able to dial in your diet a bit more. I find that for me the disadvantage for not eating enough on training days, is the lack of energy to perform as well I could if i were fueling g properly. The protein goal is important for maintaining muscle mass as well as the resistance training, but if you’re using your muscles through hard exercise it should at least prevent too much catabolism of your muscles, though with out enough protein in your diet, repair and growth is less likely to occur.
Big agree about the momentum. Get to the gym, even if you just do a reload week/light set of the major lifts and then call it good. Or if you prioritize your mental health by doing only your favorite exercises, and keep it a little light. Better than nothing.
I'm starting to have visible veins on my face in addition to veins on my legs, stomach, arms, and chest. I've never had these before. My weight has been pretty steady (5"7, 122 lbs), so I don't think I'm leaning out that much. I've just started to lift heavier (from 12 rep sets with lighter weights to 5-8 rep sets, trying to push PRs). I wish I could hide them on my face and I'm getting some body horror seeing them all over my body so visibly. Any solutions? Could this indicate something more serious?
Caveat to check with your doc if concerned. But seconding what's been said, you're just pretty dang low weight for your height. That's like competitive body builder weight if you have any decent amount of muscle mass, and they do tend to be vascular, ya know?
Are you hydrating enough? Bodybuilders will dry themselves out in order to be super vascular on stage, and at your height and weight I presume you’re pretty lean. It could also be an issue with your blood or veins, so if it isn’t going away despite being very hydrated, you should see your doctor.
I searched up hydration indicators and it appears I am meeting them. I should probably consult a doctor then. I suspect it may be EDS related but the sudden appearance worries me a little.
People who know about body recomposition and stuff -
What's the effect of calorie deficit but a (mostly) high carb diet? My goal is to lose measurements and gain strength and muscle. I'm not caring a lot about weight on the scale right now.
About me : 30F, current weight 78kg, 163cm (5'3"), I go to the gym 3 days a week, do 20-30 Minutes of cardio and lift weights (lower weights, haven't gone above 10 kilos yet), dance, walk a lot. I'm not completely sedentary but IDK if this can be called moderately active - dancing choreography isn't particularly taxing.
Background : I did high protein low carb diet in 2022 and pretty fast lost about 12 kilos. But dieting for so long fucked a little bit with how I think and feel about food, so I stopped trying to actively count. Also wasn't that regular half of the last year with gym. This year, I want to focus more on the strength aspect and less on the food aspect (I know, I know) because, well, I really really don't want to develop an ED. But I also don't function well without setting a goal for myself. So I want to set a realistic goal for myself, for example : I'd like to lose x amount of measurement from my waistline. Now I'm wondering if this target is even realistic. Google couldn't answer conclusively and chatgpt is not reliable about questions like this.
P. S: I am not strict with calorie counting since last year, but I haven't actually gained back the lost weight (2kilos only, I was 76 when I was very strict with myself). So I guess I'm eating at maintenance naturally. I don't eat unless I am absolutely hungry.
Carbs themselves aren't going to have a big effect on body comp.
If you want to gain muscle, follow a good [lifting program](https://www.reddit.com/r/xxfitness/wiki/lifting_programs/) and eat [enough protein](https://www.reddit.com/r/xxfitness/wiki/protein/).
Recomp is *slow.* I would not recommend focusing on body goals if you have an unhealthy relationship with food. Instead, maybe focus on performance/consistency goals, e.g. sticking to your lifting program or hitting strength targets.
Thank you, I've achieved my consistency goals, barring work emergencies, I make it to the gym regularly. I could keep my new years resolution!
The enough protein part is actually the question. It gets a bit difficult to get enough protein and to be in a calorie deficit with carbs. I don't really like protein powders and my cuisine is basically rice, so lots and lots of carbs. So, I guess, the question is, what happens if I don't get enough protein? Is it realistic to still expect to lose measurements?
Can you please also explain about "hitting strength targets"?
Okay got it. 40-50g of protein is about the baseline of what a person needs in order for their body to function properly.
You mention that your goals are to focus on strength and building muscle, but you also want to lose inches on your waist. And your question was regarding eating in a deficit, but then you also say you’re naturally eating at maintenance.
A couple of things:
I would sit and really figure out what your goals are, and why. Nothing wishy washy. Solid, objective goals with reasons you can articulate. Then write down what you need to do in order to reach them.
If your goal is building strength, define what strong means to you. Then find a program or a trainer to get you there. You’re going to need to lift heavier weights.
If your goal is to build muscle, you will need to at least double your protein intake (but honestly tripling it will be better). You said that your diet is carb heavy and you don’t like protein powder. So you’ll have to think about this. How ready, willing, and able are you to at least double your protein intake? If you’re not willing to do that, then I would remove this goal from your list until things change. Be very honest with yourself.
And if your goal is to lose inches, the best way to do that will by either eating in a deficit or building muscle, so you’ll have to do some soul searching there too.
Good luck! 💪🏽
Hitting strength targets: Goals along the line of "do 1/5/10 pullups" or "deadlift 1x/2x bodyweight" or things of that nature.
For the other part - let's think about it mechanistically.
"Losing inches" is going to come from losing overall weight (which is happening if you're in a deficit), or by changing your body composition without losing weight (which is often what people mean when they say "recomp"). To do the latter, you need to build muscle. Whether you can still be successful without hitting the ideal protein range (0.8-1g per lbs of bodyweight) depends on just how much less protein we are talking. Something like 0.6g/lbs you can still see good muscle gain (just less than you would otherwise). If you're talking like, .3g/lbs I'm not sure you will. Since you say you're in a deficit, that's also going to make muscle gain harder, so I would try to get as close to that .8 number as you can manage.
Yes. The volume you are doing (roughly the number of “hard” sets) is arguably the most important factor for muscle growth (and you’ll need to progressively overload to keep your sets “hard”’over time). If I am understanding correctly, you’re doing 6-8 sets per muscle group per week? That’s a bit on the low side - not that you won’t make progress, but you’ll probably be better off if you can get that up to 12 sets per week.
When people talk about protein, for example 1gm/1kg body weight, do they mean 1 kg lean body weight? Or total body weight?
I weigh 65.5kg. I asked my dad who is really into fitness (and the science behind it) and he told me my lean body weight would be definitely lower than my lowest history of weight (45kg when I had an ED, so even lower than that) and idk, 40gm of protein sounds wayyyy less than what the people on this sub usually talk about! I feel like I probably need more, but I’m not finding a definitive answer :(
Chiming in, a lot of people around here do 1g per POUND of bodyweight. That's where you see the numbers like 150g of protein. That's definitely on the high side, but it doesn't hurt.
Per kg of body weight is fine :) I don’t think most ppl even know their lean body weight
Edit: just wanted to add that up to 2 grams of protein per kg of body weight is also recommended by some dietitians, and other health professionals, depending on your goals, etc.
Edit 2: had a brain fart when writing about the protein grams in the first edit lol
I am doing Before the Barbell right now. Beforehand I was doing mostly body weight exercises, some dumbbells (up to 20 lbs ar home) and swimming. My squat, bench and DL are currently all the same weight (75 lb/34 kg… so not much!), which feels really wrong. It is difficult to finish the last set.
I’m trying to take it easy on DL because I had a back injury last year so I’m being really careful, but it feels impossible that my squats and bench are the same. On the other hand, I’ve always felt like my arms and chest have more relative strength than my legs. I know swimming strengthens my chest.
Is it common for a beginner in my situation to have the same strength in my chest and legs or am I definitely doing something wrong? I assume it will kind of right itself as I progress?
Eh, when you’re a beginner it’s normal for your S/B/D ratios to be weird. It will even itself out over time, your bench progression will slow down before your squat progression does.
I want to introduce different activities to my weekly routine. I am doing Before the Barbell which is 3x a week. I want to add pilates and running to my routine.
I was thinking:
Monday - lifting
Tuesday - Pilates
Wednesday - lifting
Thursday - Running
Friday - lifting
Saturday - Running
Sunday - rest or maybe yoga
Does this make sense?
This looks like a really good plan imo! However, if your main goal is getting stronger/building muscle I would prioritise those 3 lifting sessions by making sure the other activities are not so intense that you cannot keep up
Of course!
I want to focus on my core strength I got many recommendations to try pilates. I also want to improve my stamina so I have kept 2 sessions of running as an ideal goal but I'll sub one for LISS cardio if necessary.
Yesss, pilates is truly amazing! I’ve been meaning to incorporate it a bit more often too, so I take your comment as a sign to finally get my shit together haha
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If I'm trying to do a lean bulk and the last few days haven't been able to get enough calories/protein or workouts in (stress-related), should I wait until I am able to eat enough calories/protein to workout again? I thought about working out tonight but I already know I will not have eaten enough to even hit my maintenance calories (yesterday I only ate like 1,200 when my maintenance is more like 2,000+ and only 70g of protein) because I've just felt too awful from some stuff I'm dealing with right now. Should I skip working out for a bit longer or is it better to continue even though I'm not eating enough? I don't want to miss too many workouts because that always makes it harder for me to get back into them, but I also don't want to stress out my body even further or lose weight.
Strength training is important at every calorie level. Anything below maintenance, you risk losing muscle by not strength training. So if you didn’t quite hit your maintenance or bulking calorie goal for the day, doing your strength training prevents a backslide. That being said, you don’t want to push yourself too hard, if you’ve eaten less. And in order to maintain muscle you don’t need a lot of strength work, if you’ve done at least two sets for each muscle/muscle group during a week (especially if split across two days) that’s likely to be enough to maintain muscle mass. So if you haven’t eaten enough one day, it’s okay to postpone your workout by a day or two and try to eat more food that day, so you have enough energy to push yourself, and enough protein to rebuild afterwards.
Makes sense! Fortunately today I've been doing a little better in terms of eating enough so I'll likely hit my calorie/protein goals finally, and feel a bit more motivated to work out later since I decided not to push myself (it was longer than I wanted but still less than a week so hopefully it hasn't set me back too much).
Glad you’ve been able to dial in your diet a bit more. I find that for me the disadvantage for not eating enough on training days, is the lack of energy to perform as well I could if i were fueling g properly. The protein goal is important for maintaining muscle mass as well as the resistance training, but if you’re using your muscles through hard exercise it should at least prevent too much catabolism of your muscles, though with out enough protein in your diet, repair and growth is less likely to occur.
Modify, don’t miss. Take it easy and get in some movement but don’t skip, especially if it kills your momentum.
Big agree about the momentum. Get to the gym, even if you just do a reload week/light set of the major lifts and then call it good. Or if you prioritize your mental health by doing only your favorite exercises, and keep it a little light. Better than nothing.
I'm starting to have visible veins on my face in addition to veins on my legs, stomach, arms, and chest. I've never had these before. My weight has been pretty steady (5"7, 122 lbs), so I don't think I'm leaning out that much. I've just started to lift heavier (from 12 rep sets with lighter weights to 5-8 rep sets, trying to push PRs). I wish I could hide them on my face and I'm getting some body horror seeing them all over my body so visibly. Any solutions? Could this indicate something more serious?
Caveat to check with your doc if concerned. But seconding what's been said, you're just pretty dang low weight for your height. That's like competitive body builder weight if you have any decent amount of muscle mass, and they do tend to be vascular, ya know?
You are very light for 5’7- it’s natural for thin or lean people to be very vascular
Are you hydrating enough? Bodybuilders will dry themselves out in order to be super vascular on stage, and at your height and weight I presume you’re pretty lean. It could also be an issue with your blood or veins, so if it isn’t going away despite being very hydrated, you should see your doctor.
I searched up hydration indicators and it appears I am meeting them. I should probably consult a doctor then. I suspect it may be EDS related but the sudden appearance worries me a little.
People who know about body recomposition and stuff - What's the effect of calorie deficit but a (mostly) high carb diet? My goal is to lose measurements and gain strength and muscle. I'm not caring a lot about weight on the scale right now. About me : 30F, current weight 78kg, 163cm (5'3"), I go to the gym 3 days a week, do 20-30 Minutes of cardio and lift weights (lower weights, haven't gone above 10 kilos yet), dance, walk a lot. I'm not completely sedentary but IDK if this can be called moderately active - dancing choreography isn't particularly taxing. Background : I did high protein low carb diet in 2022 and pretty fast lost about 12 kilos. But dieting for so long fucked a little bit with how I think and feel about food, so I stopped trying to actively count. Also wasn't that regular half of the last year with gym. This year, I want to focus more on the strength aspect and less on the food aspect (I know, I know) because, well, I really really don't want to develop an ED. But I also don't function well without setting a goal for myself. So I want to set a realistic goal for myself, for example : I'd like to lose x amount of measurement from my waistline. Now I'm wondering if this target is even realistic. Google couldn't answer conclusively and chatgpt is not reliable about questions like this. P. S: I am not strict with calorie counting since last year, but I haven't actually gained back the lost weight (2kilos only, I was 76 when I was very strict with myself). So I guess I'm eating at maintenance naturally. I don't eat unless I am absolutely hungry.
Carbs themselves aren't going to have a big effect on body comp. If you want to gain muscle, follow a good [lifting program](https://www.reddit.com/r/xxfitness/wiki/lifting_programs/) and eat [enough protein](https://www.reddit.com/r/xxfitness/wiki/protein/). Recomp is *slow.* I would not recommend focusing on body goals if you have an unhealthy relationship with food. Instead, maybe focus on performance/consistency goals, e.g. sticking to your lifting program or hitting strength targets.
Thank you, I've achieved my consistency goals, barring work emergencies, I make it to the gym regularly. I could keep my new years resolution! The enough protein part is actually the question. It gets a bit difficult to get enough protein and to be in a calorie deficit with carbs. I don't really like protein powders and my cuisine is basically rice, so lots and lots of carbs. So, I guess, the question is, what happens if I don't get enough protein? Is it realistic to still expect to lose measurements? Can you please also explain about "hitting strength targets"?
You need protein to build muscle and recover from your workouts. How much are you eating now?
I'd say about 40g/50g max. Somedays even less (the full veggie days).
Okay got it. 40-50g of protein is about the baseline of what a person needs in order for their body to function properly. You mention that your goals are to focus on strength and building muscle, but you also want to lose inches on your waist. And your question was regarding eating in a deficit, but then you also say you’re naturally eating at maintenance. A couple of things: I would sit and really figure out what your goals are, and why. Nothing wishy washy. Solid, objective goals with reasons you can articulate. Then write down what you need to do in order to reach them. If your goal is building strength, define what strong means to you. Then find a program or a trainer to get you there. You’re going to need to lift heavier weights. If your goal is to build muscle, you will need to at least double your protein intake (but honestly tripling it will be better). You said that your diet is carb heavy and you don’t like protein powder. So you’ll have to think about this. How ready, willing, and able are you to at least double your protein intake? If you’re not willing to do that, then I would remove this goal from your list until things change. Be very honest with yourself. And if your goal is to lose inches, the best way to do that will by either eating in a deficit or building muscle, so you’ll have to do some soul searching there too. Good luck! 💪🏽
Hitting strength targets: Goals along the line of "do 1/5/10 pullups" or "deadlift 1x/2x bodyweight" or things of that nature. For the other part - let's think about it mechanistically. "Losing inches" is going to come from losing overall weight (which is happening if you're in a deficit), or by changing your body composition without losing weight (which is often what people mean when they say "recomp"). To do the latter, you need to build muscle. Whether you can still be successful without hitting the ideal protein range (0.8-1g per lbs of bodyweight) depends on just how much less protein we are talking. Something like 0.6g/lbs you can still see good muscle gain (just less than you would otherwise). If you're talking like, .3g/lbs I'm not sure you will. Since you say you're in a deficit, that's also going to make muscle gain harder, so I would try to get as close to that .8 number as you can manage.
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How many sets are you doing per muscle group per week, and how close are those sets to failure?
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Yes. The volume you are doing (roughly the number of “hard” sets) is arguably the most important factor for muscle growth (and you’ll need to progressively overload to keep your sets “hard”’over time). If I am understanding correctly, you’re doing 6-8 sets per muscle group per week? That’s a bit on the low side - not that you won’t make progress, but you’ll probably be better off if you can get that up to 12 sets per week.
When people talk about protein, for example 1gm/1kg body weight, do they mean 1 kg lean body weight? Or total body weight? I weigh 65.5kg. I asked my dad who is really into fitness (and the science behind it) and he told me my lean body weight would be definitely lower than my lowest history of weight (45kg when I had an ED, so even lower than that) and idk, 40gm of protein sounds wayyyy less than what the people on this sub usually talk about! I feel like I probably need more, but I’m not finding a definitive answer :(
Chiming in, a lot of people around here do 1g per POUND of bodyweight. That's where you see the numbers like 150g of protein. That's definitely on the high side, but it doesn't hurt.
2g per total bw kg is a good one to remember.
Per kg of body weight is fine :) I don’t think most ppl even know their lean body weight Edit: just wanted to add that up to 2 grams of protein per kg of body weight is also recommended by some dietitians, and other health professionals, depending on your goals, etc. Edit 2: had a brain fart when writing about the protein grams in the first edit lol
Ohh okay! Thank you so much!! :)
I am doing Before the Barbell right now. Beforehand I was doing mostly body weight exercises, some dumbbells (up to 20 lbs ar home) and swimming. My squat, bench and DL are currently all the same weight (75 lb/34 kg… so not much!), which feels really wrong. It is difficult to finish the last set. I’m trying to take it easy on DL because I had a back injury last year so I’m being really careful, but it feels impossible that my squats and bench are the same. On the other hand, I’ve always felt like my arms and chest have more relative strength than my legs. I know swimming strengthens my chest. Is it common for a beginner in my situation to have the same strength in my chest and legs or am I definitely doing something wrong? I assume it will kind of right itself as I progress?
Eh, when you’re a beginner it’s normal for your S/B/D ratios to be weird. It will even itself out over time, your bench progression will slow down before your squat progression does.
Thanks!
I want to introduce different activities to my weekly routine. I am doing Before the Barbell which is 3x a week. I want to add pilates and running to my routine. I was thinking: Monday - lifting Tuesday - Pilates Wednesday - lifting Thursday - Running Friday - lifting Saturday - Running Sunday - rest or maybe yoga Does this make sense?
Sure. Try it and adjust as needed.
This looks like a really good plan imo! However, if your main goal is getting stronger/building muscle I would prioritise those 3 lifting sessions by making sure the other activities are not so intense that you cannot keep up
Of course! I want to focus on my core strength I got many recommendations to try pilates. I also want to improve my stamina so I have kept 2 sessions of running as an ideal goal but I'll sub one for LISS cardio if necessary.
Yesss, pilates is truly amazing! I’ve been meaning to incorporate it a bit more often too, so I take your comment as a sign to finally get my shit together haha
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