Weight lifting for women - eat more or less?

traveller80

Hi all,
I understand the benefits of weight lifting, but I'm a little confused about how women should go about it. I'll try to explain this as best as I can :pac:

Men always talk about bulking up, so they eat more to build muscle. Are women supposed to eat more when weight lifting? Since women cannot naturally build as much muscle as men, would they just put on weight if they eat more? But, if they do not build any muscle, then they won't get any of the benefits right?

For myself, I want to lose that last bit of fat, and tighten up everywhere. I guess I am what would be called 'skinny fat' in that according to the scales, I don't need to lose that much, but I still look flabby in places. I don't know if I should cut calories or increase them

I have tried googling this, but I'm not sure if women should go about it the same way as men.

Stench Blossoms

If you want to lose weight then you need to eat less calories.

A good guide to go with is body weight in pounds x 12 and have 40% protein, 40% carbs and 20% fat.

What kinda training are you doing?

traveller80

Since the turn of the year, I have been working out 5 times a week.
Try to do a couple of upper body workouts and a couple of lower body workouts a week. I do upper and lower on separate days.
Throw in a couple of Hiit routines a week (sometimes 3, depending on how sore or not I'm feeling).
Then I do one day where I just do stretching and nothing else.

Although for most of the workouts, I kind of just decide that day what to do, depending on how I feel e.g. - yesterday I did a lower body routine and I'm so sore today, I skipped cardio and just stretched. Perhaps I should make out a set plan and stick to it.

I can't afford the gym, so I workout at home. I have dumbbells and a selection of weights. I get my workouts from the fitnessblender site, trying to mix it up as best as I can, so I am not always doing the same workouts.

Stench Blossoms

That's fair enough and what does a days food intake look like?

Are you losing weight? Do your clothes feel better etc?

traveller80

I haven't really lost weight at all since the start of the year. I've been exercising for a while, but upped it this year in the hope I'd get the body I want. I lost the bulk of my weight a couple of years ago, then last year I got it down a bit more. I am now 57kg. My height is 5ft 2.

But I still look flabby, which is kind of annoying. I seem stuck at this weight.

Typical day would be:
Breakfast - porridge on workdays
fried eggs and veggies (in coconut oil) on weekends.

Lunch - quinoa mixed with tuna and veggies or eggs and veggies.
small block of cheese

Dinner - sweet potato with peas and a couple of fried eggs/grilled fish
or veggie stir-fry with eggs/tofu
or veggie thai curry with boiled rice

Snacks - greek yogurt with nuts and honey
apple with peanut butter
Hemp protein shake if I feel I need more protein.
I eat cookies/banana bread from the cafe in work when I get hungry:o I know this is bad.

Drinks: Tea, water.

At weekends, I eat chocolate and might make pizza or mac and cheese for dinner (both homemade). Or might eat out. My diet is def not as good at the weekend, but I rarely drink.
My downfall is sweet things. If they are in the house or people bring them into work, I find it hard to resist.

I don't eat any meat or poultry.