Can’t hit calorie intake sweet spot.

FutureGuy

Hi all, I’ve been running since back in 2013. I’m May this year, I badly damaged my great to on the right foot and it has severely curtailed my running from 20 miles/week to maybe 3-4 miles/week at best.

However, I joined a gym in August and am going 3-4/week to build leg strength and upper body strength.

The problem is that I am clearly gaining muscle but also fat around the waist.

I’m very uncertain about the number of calories I need to be eating to add muscle but to lose the belly. I’m caught in a middle ground I feel.

Any general advice? Would 2300 cal/day be ok?

I eat relatively cleanly - protein from chicken, fish and plant/good fats/complex carbs. About 33% from each.

Putting on muscle while losing fat is very difficult. You're best to focus on one or the other. As it stands, it looks like you're in an energy surplus, so you're putting on muscle as well as fat, which is completely normal.

The best place for you to start would be calculating your TDEE and going from there.

https://tdeecalculator.net/

harr

FutureGuy wrote: »

Hi all, I’ve been running since back in 2013. I’m May this year, I badly damaged my great to on the right foot and it has severely curtailed my running from 20 miles/week to maybe 3-4 miles/week at best.

However, I joined a gym in August and am going 3-4/week to build leg strength and upper body strength.

The problem is that I am clearly gaining muscle but also fat around the waist.

I’m very uncertain about the number of calories I need to be eating to add muscle but to lose the belly. I’m caught in a middle ground I feel.

Any general advice? Would 2300 cal/day be ok?

I eat relatively cleanly - protein from chicken, fish and plant/good fats/complex carbs. About 33% from each.

No idea if 2300 would be good or bad for you but it sounds like maintenance calorie intake as in you won’t gain or lose weight. You need to find how many calories you burn a day ... so check what your BMR is (lots of on line Calculators) after that then it’s lowering calorie intake to lose fat.
With me anyway the tummy is always the last place the fat disappears if only doing weights in gym maybe incorporate some cardio as well and I would recommend using a food diary for a few months to see exactly how many calories and macros you are consuming. My fitness pal is easy to use and had a good list of most foods.
You will never be able to spot reduce fat in a certain area unfortunately. Getting lean especially around tummy is a lot of good diet discipline.

Esse85

FutureGuy wrote: »

Hi all, I’ve been running since back in 2013. I’m May this year, I badly damaged my great to on the right foot and it has severely curtailed my running from 20 miles/week to maybe 3-4 miles/week at best.

However, I joined a gym in August and am going 3-4/week to build leg strength and upper body strength.

The problem is that I am clearly gaining muscle but also fat around the waist.

I’m very uncertain about the number of calories I need to be eating to add muscle but to lose the belly. I’m caught in a middle ground I feel.

Any general advice? Would 2300 cal/day be ok?

I eat relatively cleanly - protein from chicken, fish and plant/good fats/complex carbs. About 33% from each.

You haven't submitted specific enough information to get a specific reply.

What's your height, weight, age?

Post a typical days eating including timing and weight of food consumed.

antix80

FutureGuy wrote: »

I’m very uncertain about the number of calories I need to be eating to add muscle but to lose the belly. I’m caught in a middle ground I feel.

At least you're gaining muscle. Most runners are only good at burning fat ok I know they have ropy muscles too but gaining weight is usually not a concern for runners.

Many people who want to gain muscle eat a calorie surplus knowing their body can use it. Then they switch to chicken and broccoli with a calorie deficit when they want to shift some of the excess pounds.

The alternative is to try to strike a better balance - without feeling hungry or lacking in energy - or just generally feeling demotivated by trying to stick to a restrictive diet while going to the gym.
In addition to weights, try to get cardio in at the end of your workout. I know it's difficult to do a lot of cardio with a leg injury but the bike, rowing machine or cross trainer are all likely to be kinder to your leg than a treadmill.