Do I need a calorie surplus to gain muscle?

C

che0013

Member
Hi Cathe! (and anyone else who wishes to contribute!)

Basically, my goal is to be tighter and more toned!
I weigh 55kg (121 lbs) and am 5'5 - so I'm at a healthy weight and don't actually need to lose 'weight'. I'm about 20% body fat - but I just feel so flabby and have quite a bit of cellulite! :( So I'm wanting to build lean muscle and reduce my body fat levels.

But I've read that to build muscle, you need to be eating a surplus of calories...

So my main question to you is: If I eat a calorie deficit and lift weights, will I be wasting my time? Do I really need to bulk/cut? Because to be honest I'm not too keen on the idea :confused:
 
I'm not Cathe but I wanted to add a quick post. Bulking is usually when people are trying add mass and cutting is when you are trying loose mass. Based on your post, it sounds like you are trying to tone up. I don't believe you need a calorie surplus to achieve. What you probably should look at is modifying your diet to help you get the results you are looking for. I would suggest adding more protein and less carbs to your diet. Try that for a month and see what results you get. Here's a great article on suggestions to add to your diet!

20 Super Foods You Need to Build Muscle & Lose Fat | StrongLifts StrongLifts
 
che0013 said:
Hi Cathe! (and anyone else who wishes to contribute!)

Basically, my goal is to be tighter and more toned!
I weigh 55kg (121 lbs) and am 5'5 - so I'm at a healthy weight and don't actually need to lose 'weight'. I'm about 20% body fat - but I just feel so flabby and have quite a bit of cellulite! :( So I'm wanting to build lean muscle and reduce my body fat levels.

But I've read that to build muscle, you need to be eating a surplus of calories...

So my main question to you is: If I eat a calorie deficit and lift weights, will I be wasting my time? Do I really need to bulk/cut? Because to be honest I'm not too keen on the idea :confused:
Click to expand...

When I am on a building rotation I can't help but to eat more. I make sure it is all high quality "clean" food with appropriate macronutrients for my body and eat small meals 6x a day. I've never noticed any flab added during building. My cardio is short HiiT sessions only when building.
The Xtrain guide book goes over nutrition. You might want to read that.
Just my .02
 
I am not an expert on this by any means, but this is something I've been personally working on. I eat at a deficit of my TDEE, but not of my BMR, basically, my TDEE is 2400 and my BMR is 1400. I eat about 1600-1800 per day, and my goal was to tone up, but not necessarily bulk up. I have successfully managed to tone up just about every part of my body by exercising consistently with Cathe for 6 days a week and adding more weight training to my regimen. Initially I did 2 days of full body weight training, but doing STS for a 12 week rotation made the most difference. I have always done a lot of cardio, but it was not until I added weight training to the mix that I was able to really tone up.

Hope that helps. I am sure others here will have other advice and information that they can share, or maybe Cathe will pipe in and give us her expertise here.

Eva
 
I found bodybuilding.com to be extremely helpful and informative. Even if you have no plans to be a bodybuilder, I would still recommend you check it out. I follow and read articles from Jamie Eason (one particular trainer on the website). Her recipes are THE BOMB! High protein and very tasty :p. You can sign up for her program too -- it's FREE!

As from my own personal experience, I have learned that if I fuel my muscles (and hunger!) with the appropriate food (i.e-protein, veggies, complex carbs) while adhering to a moderate-heavy strength training regime, I start seeing great results! My muscles are more defined and I can just tell by the way my clothes fit and how "less jiggly" :eek: I am overall, that my body fat % has decreased.

Of course if Cathe chimes in here, I would take her advice in a heartbeat too :). She has been very active on the forums lately so fingers crossed!

Good luck!

Natasha
 
mini-natty said:
I found bodybuilding.com to be extremely helpful and informative. Even if you have no plans to be a bodybuilder, I would still recommend you check it out. I follow and read articles from Jamie Eason (one particular trainer on the website). Her recipes are THE BOMB! High protein and very tasty :p. You can sign up for her program too -- it's FREE!
Click to expand...

I have to agree about bodybuilding.com -great website! I make Jamie Eason's Protein Pumpkin Bars all the time...delish!!! :p
 
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