Thread: how many calories do i need per day

hey i weigh 122 pounds im 5' 9" and im 16 years old about to be 17 i run xc and track... i weight lift about 6 times a week,. i need ur opinon on:

how many calories i need a day
how may grams of protein i need daily
same as carbs and fat.

i want to maintain a slender physique but need to add muscle. so besides the fact i need xxxxx calories a day how many calories do i need to build more muscle and not fat... thanks

Originally Posted by serd

hey i weigh 122 pounds im 5' 9" and im 16 years old.... i run xc and track... i weight lift about 6 times a week

You are 122 and 5'9??!! I'm 122 and 5'6 and I'm too skinny!! (and I'm a FEMALE!).



[quote]how many calories i need a day[/auote]
A LOT more than you are eating now!! If you are that active, and you are growing, and you are young then I suggest you DO NOT count calories - you just eat and make sure you are getting a lot of healthy food.

It is plain to see that you are not at risk of becoming 'overweight' at the moment - so you just need to eat before you become sick.

If you MUST count calories then I would recommend AT LEAST 2500-3000 cals/day.

how may grams of protein i need daily

As you are small - not that much. 180 odd grams would be more than sufficient. I would not recommend over 200g.

same as carbs and fat.

As you are doing a lot of aerobic work (xc) I would recommend something at least to the the level of around 350g of carbs/ day.

Fats - something around 60g would be a minimum too (these are also important for aerobic work).

Total cals if you did something like this:
350g carbs
180g protein
60g fat
Would be - 2660 cals.

Which would be fine to start with. Increasing from there I would add more fats and carbs. eg:
400g carbs
180g protein
70g fats
Which is ~ 2950 cals

i want to maintain a slender physique but need to add muscle. so besides the fact i need xxxxx calories a day how many calories do i need to build more muscle and not fat... thanks

Firstly, you can never just build muscle without fat gains. Doesn't happen. Partitioning is not 100% - which means that, try as you might, some of the excess energy you are eating to gain muscle, will be taken up by fat and stored.

Secondly, as I said before, don't worry about calories. You are too young and too thin to become obsessed about these sorts of things. Take advantage of your youth and your ability to build muscle tissue (at the moment you have some very big hormone advantages working for you) and then worry about everything else later.

Just eat, then eat some more. Watch yourself in the mirror. If you do not gain, increase a little more. If you gain to fast, cut back a little.