viciousvixenx wrote:
I'm going high intensity cardio 3 times a week and then 30 min after my weight sessions. I like to run races so cardio is a staple of my week. Should I be taking in more calories?
Yes. You're going to experience what a lot of people call "newbie gains" in that, since you're just starting out, you're in that lucky spot of having the optimum ability to lose fat while also gaining muscle - but you have to be eating enough so that your body can actually build the muscle.
To help you out, here's the standard formula for finding your maintenance
if you did absolutely nothing BW x 14. So, for you, your maintenance without doing anything, is 2,156 calories. Multiply that by 1.4 and you get a whopping
3,234 calories. Personally, I think you'd do well at that number and, to put the in perspective, I'll quote Lyle McDonald.
Quote:
Trainees should not be starting out their muscle gaining phase too fat. Males should be ~10-12% body fat before even considering going on any kind of ‘bulk’ (fatter trainees can usually gain some muscle while losing fat with a basic recomposition plan; this is beyond the scope of this article). For a female, this would be roughly equivalent to 19-24% body fat.
Bodybuilders with contest aspirations might even start out a little bit leaner, perhaps 8% for males and 17-20% for females; this is simply to facilitate getting into contest shape in less time. Any leaner than that and hormones and energy tend to suffer. And, yes, this means that many will have to diet first before they even consider putting on muscle. That’s life.
So, realistically, you're lean enough that you could bulk if you wanted but since you want to lose fat while gaining muscle, I'd eat at maintenance getting 1-1.5gs of protein a day and then filling out your macros however you see fit. I know that's a huge increase from what you're eating now but given your stats, you could probably see some great results.
_________________
"When in doubt, squat and run hills." - Jim Wendler
IRON MNTN //
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