Hello, My name is Pablo and I am 5'11", 177lbs and 29yrs. old. I workout 4 times a week doing a push, pull, leff, full body program. I have been lifting weight for the past six months or so but only two weeks ago begun to use heavier weight. Before that I was limited to max 50lb dumbbells. I am trying to get rid of the last little bit of fat I have on my lowe ab/stomach area. I am currently about 16-18% body fat. According to the calculator on this site my BMR at rest is 1873 and my BMR in motion is 2903. This led me to believe that at 2500-2600 calories I would lose weight but I actually was not losing weight at all. I wasn't gaining any either. When I checked the mirror I could see decent muscle gain and a difference in my body for sure. I'm extremely confused because I do not know if I am not eating enough or if my fat is being replaced by muscle and that is why I am staying at about the same weight or if I should drop to about 2200 calories to lose that last little bit of fat. Most of the calculators I've checked have my maintenance at about 2600-2700 calories. Do any of you have any input or help? Would noobie gains really affect my muscle gain to fat loss this much? Should I go down to 2200 cals or bump up? Thanks ahead of time for your help guys.

Age: 29

Weight: 177

Height: 5'11"

Workouts Per Week: 4 + 2-3 Cardio sessions

Gender: Male

BMR At Rest: 1873

BMR In Motion: 2903

Macros According to Website:(I selected Fat Loss and set my body fat to 18%)

Protien(Set to 1g): 145g

Fat: 65g

Carbs: 372g

Calories: 2653

The fact that I was not losing weight at 2500 but lost weight at 2200 leads me to believe that at 2650 I would either stay the same or gain weight. Also, should my macros/calories differ on my workout days and off days? Opinions?

Thanks,

Pablo S.

Hey Pablo. It would be useful to know what your body fat % was when you started training.. and that would tell you whether or not you are losing fat while gaining muscle. If you are feeling and looking leaner in the mirror, then you probably are doing both though, which is great!!

Rembmer that the @mealplan calculator is only a starting point. It sounds to me like you probably are in a slight surplus, because you say you've noticed good muscle gain and a difference in your body, so I would keep doing what you are doing and track your body fat over the next 2-4 weeks to see if it is still going down with 2500-2600 calories daily while your weight stays pretty much the same. Would you be happy to maintain your current weight as long as you are still losing fat and gaining muscle?

I would keep your macros the same on workout days and off days, just manipulate the carbs. Cut the carbs back and increase the protein and fat. Go for more like 150g-200g carbs on your off days to help with fat loss, and boost the protein to more like 1.2g - 1.5g per pound of lean body weight, and then make up the rest of your numbers with fat (it's OK if you get about 100-200 calories less on off days, but don't cut them back too much).

Hope that helps!

Thanks for the reply Scott! I started my "weight loss" journey about two years ago doing ONLY cardio. I would hop on the eliptical for 40-60min about 3-4 times a day and eat only 1900 calories for the first one and a half years. I became skinny fat. I had no clue what I was doing and I found your channel and a few other channels that are very informative and started weight lifting. I would say when I started two years ago I was at 215lbs and probably between 25-30% body fat. Keep in mind that I started lifting weights about 6 months ago but I was limited to only 50lb dumbbells and those became quite easy for me to deal with after only a short time. I was also doing more fat burning type stuff wher I would go from one excercise to the other and in between sets I would have minimal rest. Although this is good I actually didn't know what I really wanted to do was build strength and get a nice lean stomach. I've always had visible abs. When I was 215lbs I could flex and still see my abs. At this moment in time as I breath in and out I can see my abs but there is a bit of fat to still get rid of. I don't care at all what I weigh, I just want to be lean and gain strenght. This is why I hate certain calculators that ask what your goal weight is. I could care less if I get to 185 but I'm lean and strong. I do feel I have potentially damaged my metabilism though. Specially during the 1.5 years of only cardio and eating at 1900cals. I used to be able to eat everythign and not gain weight. I will stay at the 2600cal range and keep an eye on the mirror and my bf. Any other suggestions using the information in this paragraph would be helpful. Thanks so much Scott & others.

Thanks,

Pablo S.

OK so if you're 16-18% bf now, then that suggests you really have been gaining muscle while losing fat - exactly what you want!!

It is possible you messed with your metabolism a little bit.. but I think you can get it back on track. If you start doing things like HIIT cardio or circuits then that can help to boost your metabolism. I even have a video about foods that might help with that too!

Apart from that, staying at the 2600 calories is probably a good idea for now, while watching your body and making changes as needed. If you want to gain strength while still focusing on a little bit of fat burning, have you thought about trying the PPL program?

I will do as follows:

1) Stay at 2600 calories and track my bf .

2) Add red peppers, ginger and cinamon to my diet. I already do lots of coffee and greek yogurt.

3) Add circuit training and/or HIIT in to my schedule.

I have thought about the PPL program but since I am currently making progress on the program I am on I figured I should continue this and once I've become intermediate or advanced in lifting(or stopped making progress) I can then move on to the PPL program.

Thanks for all your help!

Pablo S.

Sounds great Pablo! That's OK, you can stick with your current program. Once you get to the intermediate or advanced stage you might even be able to take on Cheat & Recover if you're up for it!! https://muscularstrength.com/cheat-and-recover

Hi guys,

I need some advice on my calorie intake for lean muscle gain.

Im 6’7, 197 lbs. I’m not sure what my body fat percentage is so I’ve included a picture.

I used the calculator here and these are my numbers:

BMR at rest: 2038

BMR in motion: 3159

Calorie Goal: 3409

Prorein: 251

Fat: 75

Carbs: 433

I’m still somewhat new to working out and have been doing the 1st month of PPL for about 6 weeks. For time purposes I do my abs workout and HIIT together on the days I don’t lift. I don’t feel like I’m ready to move on to month 2 yet.

I was was eating at 3400 every day but didn’t see that much in gains and my weight has stayed the same after a month so I upped it to 3600. I am seeing some better results after the increase.

I just watched Scott’s “This is why you’re fat, bulking and cutting mistakes explained” video, and he says I should eat more in training days, less on rest days. I’ve been eating the 3600 every day.

I’m VERY meticulous with my meal plan and counting calories using My Fitness Pal so no problems there, I just want to make sure I’m doing this right.

Thanks guys!

Hey Blake.

Glad you made some adjustments yourself when you weren't noticing muscle gain at 3400 calories, that's great and exactly what you need to do when you aren't seeing progress!

So in order to keep the gains nice and lean, you want to stay in a small surplus everyday, but of course on the days you don't workout, you won't burn as many calories, and that's why I suggest you don't necessarily need to take in as many calories to stay in a surplus on those days.

HOWEVER, if you think you're a bit of a 'hardgainer', then eating the same amount every day might be better for you, for now at least, to sort of get the muscle gain process going. The only thing I would say is that even if you DO keep the same calories on your off days, that you cut back on the carbs to keep your gains lean still. Remember also that if you are still doing something like cardio on your off days, that you'll still be burning extra calories, at which point it would make sense to still be eating 3600 on those days to stay in a surplus.

I hope that all makes sense! How are you feeling with your macros? Pretty good?

Thanks for the reply, Scott!

I felt like the carbs were a little high so I adjusted them down and increased the fat. I typically do 35% carbs, 25% protein and 40% fat.

I see a lot more muscle growth in my legs than I do my upper body. I’m guessing because I’m so tall.

I have a caliper i use I use to measure body fat percentage so I’m not exactly sure how accurate it is, or if I’m doing it right, but I think I’m at about 15%. Does that look about right judging by the picture?

Thanks so much!

Yeah 15% seems pretty accurate, because you doesn't seem to be holding much fat in your arms or anything, it's mostly in that lower ab area that a lot of people struggle with.

Great choice adjusting the carbs down too. Over 400 is quite a bit (not necessarily bad though). If you can get yourself into a surplus while keeping your gains lean, then you know what you're doing is right.

If you feel like your gains are not that lean, or could be leaner, try reducing carbs a bit further and/or adding another day or cardio to help minimize fat gain.