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building muscle but afraid to overeat?


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Let me start off my saying I am a 24 year old female, 5'5" and 119 pounds. I have always been naturally thin, and find it hard to build muscle and get defined definition. A few years ago I was 119 pounds, and I felt "soft". I was still considered thin, but I felt like I had no muscle. After being active for a few years and eating a wholesome vegan diet, my weight went down to about 113lbs.

 

Over the past few months my main focus has been building muscle. I really want to push myself and see what my body can become.. instead of what it naturally tends to be. So I have been working out hard and am dedicated to sticking with what I am doing for the next few months to see if I have results.

 

I now weigh 119 pounds, and I have to remind myself that i am WAY harder and a bit bigger than I ever have been muscle wise and this isn't the same as when I was 119lbs a few years ago and "soft". Being a girl, I feel like I am conditioned to seek improvement by seeing a scale go DOWN in weight.. but I know that when I am trying to build I actually should find it encouraging to gain weight. I can't afford to lose much fat since I don't have much (I think i'm at about 17%) so I definitely want a bigger number. My boyfriend also keeps telling me to eat more, especially when I come home from 2 intense hours of Capoeira and i just go to bed because it is late. So now I have been trying to force down food so that I can build, but then I get concerned I am eating too much?

 

This is my typical workout (except I my monday/wed/fri gym workouts are actually A's and B's... and so I just rotate A/B/A/B/A etc. meaning that what I did this wednesday will be what I do next monday):

 

Monday: run 2 miles/ gym for 1.5 hours doing chest and back/ 1.5 hour yoga class

Tuesday: 2 hours of Capoeira (Intense lower body workout!)

Wednesday: gym for 1.5 hours doing arms and shoulders

Thursday: 2 hours of Capoeira

Friday: run 2 miles/ gym for 1.5 hours doing chest and back/ 1.5 hour yoga class

Saturday: Usually walk 3-5 miles and maybe throw in a run

Sunday: 1.5 hour yoga class, and run if I didn't on saturday

 

Can anyone give advice?

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In order to put on muscle you need a surplus in calories. Don't be too worried about putting on some weight, your weight will change if you put muscle on anyway. focus on what you see in the mirror.

 

What do you eat on a typical day? How many calories? protein? carbs? fats? etc.

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I honestly feel like it's hard to overeat on a clean whole foods vegan diet. I'm having a hard time putting on muscle too but I suspect it's because I am not eating enough even though I'm eating about six meals a day and I never deprive myself. I eat until I'm content and I honestly like eating that way!

 

I was drinking a protein shake after my workouts which are 6 days a week but I've just started adding a protein shake right before bed based on a recommendation here and I'm hoping that will help me ingest more calories and build more muscle.

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