Calories intakes

Hi,

There is a lot of people around me who tell me complet different thing about my calories intake. And this time, I want to decrease my Bf% and also grow my muscle.

I'm 5'6'' and 126 pounds with 19% of BF. Usually I take about 1800 calories a day, some people say that i'm suppossed to take about 2300 and others say about 1600...

Cause I want to decrease my BF % since last week I take 1300 calories a day. Some say that is too little for my training level, others say it's too high...

I'm also wondering what is a perfect weight for a women like me. I think 125 should be nice, but I want muscle, so maybe it's not enough.

What do you think??

Thanks !!

Jo

You will not be able to lose bf and gain muscle. You need to be in a calorie surplus to gain muscle.

So eat more and do more activity. How is your cardio / wight program ?

My workout looks like that :

Monday: Shoulder, tricep, chest and abs. 15K run
Tuesday: Plyo (30 minutes), Yoga (1h30)
Wednesday: Shoulders, back and abs. 10K run
Thursday: Plyo (30 minutes), Yoga (1h30)
Friday: Legs, back and abs. Sprints (10X100m)
Saturday: 15-20K run
Sunday: Rest or hiking or squash

I want first loss my BF and after gain muscle. Should I do it the other way??

Thanks!

with that amount of activitity (particularly the running), it is very difficult to gain bodyfat at anything lower than 3000 calories per day. Assuming you've been eating 1800 calories and doing this activity for any significant amount of time, you should actually not be in need of losing additional bodyfat.

It's also very difficult to add muscle with that activity level no matter what the calorie intake. I know this as it wasn't until I stopped doing triathlons / cycling before my muscle gains started to take off - particularly in my legs. I think the better question is what are your long term goals...Is it to simply look better? Look more fit? Compete in a physique contest?

If being competitive in a bodybuilding related sport is NOT the goal, then you're activity and calorie intake seems more than fine to be healthy / fit. If you want to gain muscle though, I am afraid you may have to ease back on the cardio and focus more on the gym and a specific diet that is condusive to muscle growth.

Thank you so much for the information.

First I want to make an half-marathon then after I want to focus on my muscle, so I'll take it easy with my cardio at that time. I'll keep my diet high in protein and in carbs during my training for my half-marathon. I always try to have 40% protein 45% carbs and 15% fat from my diet. I hope this number are not bad...

And my long term goals is to be competitve in the Figure categorie in 2 years. So my half-marathon is in September, right after I'll change my workout routine and train with a personal trainer, to reach my goal faster.

Thanks again Steve, I'll keep in mind your advice!

Jo