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Thread: Newbie with doubts

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2023
    Location
    Spain
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    Question Newbie with doubts

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    Hi!

    First of all, I’m a 25 years old trans man (FtM or female to male) from Spain, and I’ve been on hormone replacement therapy with testosterone for five years now, so my physical transition is very advanced. I’m not sure if trans people on HRT have different calorie requirements from their non-trans peers, but I guess my calorie needs should be somewhere between the female and the male ones (maybe a little higher than the average woman and a little lower than the average man).

    That said, I was wondering how many calories a day should I eat to support performance during my LP. All I know is that I have to eat a high-protein diet (1-1.5gr per pound of body weight if I’m right), but I’m confused about whether to go on a calorie surplus or not since I’ve been many years under the influence of bodybuilding culture and coaches who state that it’s better to lose bodyfat before attempting muscle gain.

    I have a past of disordered and restrictive eating (I've tried every weight loss plan on earth and also IF) and compulsive exercise (non-stop long-steady cardio), so I think my idea of what constitutes a normal daily food intake could be pretty messed up. I don’t care about abs anymore so I'm not planning to go down to that extreme bf%, but I'd like to be thinner (I don’t mean weighting less but having less body fat and better body composition, maybe around 15-20% bf). Considering all this, what should I do first, lose fat or gain muscle?

    I don’t want to get caught up in obsessive food control anymore since I felt like shit when I was in there, so please keep that in mind. I have a very restrictive mindset, so I don’t know if it’s not necessary in my case to go on a calorie surplus (considering my current bodyfat%) or if it's just that I’m terrified about eating more and gaining fat (which I already know is inevitable for gaining lean muscle mass).

    My numbers are these:
    • height: 5 ft. 4,96 in (165cm)
    • weight: 130 pounds (59kg)
    • waist circumference: 34.45 in (88cm)
    • BMI: 21,7
    • bodyfat%: I don’t know exactly but based on those typical image charts I'd say I'm between 23%-25% bf.
    • daily calorie intake: I used to eat around 1500-1800kcal per day, but I'd say I'm eating 2000-2500kcal now (I've recently started to eat more to allow progress, but I'm not sure if this quantity is OK or if I'd be better eating more or less than that).

    current weights 1 week on The Program:
    • squat: 126.76 lbs (57.5kg)
    • bench press: 77.16 lbs (35kg)
    • deadlift: 154.32 lbs (70kg)


    I’ve been some years doing basic calisthenics movements and bodyweight training, but I’m completely new to barbells, so I assume I'm under-muscled.

    Sorry for this long text, and thank you so much for your attention!

    PD: I’m still reading the blue book so maybe some of my doubts will be solved by the time I’ve ended it, but since I’ve already started to train I'd like to hear your advice!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    Phoenix, AZ
    Posts
    4,610

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    If your goal is to support performance your protein estimate is a bit on the high side. 1.0 g/lb is probably sufficient at maintenance calories. The hormone therapy may boost your calorie needs and those would mostly come from carbohydrates. In terms of ballpark figures see my articles on this below.

    Nutrition Position Papers

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