Alright will try to change my macros then...

Thanks for being one of the few who actually are answering my question !

BECAUSE I'm a road cyclist in the summer and compete occasionally: by occasionally I mean only 2-3 times a year haha just for the fun. I have really good endurance and don't want to lose that. You really think the cardio will limit muscle/weight gain?

I would strongly recommend upping your fat massively too. Nuts would be good to incorporate regularly. Aim for 2500 calories a day to start. Doesn’t matter how you get there. You need to ensure your average weekly intake is at least 3500 over maintenance levels.

You are significantly undermuscled (and while you look healthy in the pics I would recommend a doctor visit for a full workup because you are significantly underfat too) . Are your hormones balanced? Regular periods?

get on a decent lifting programme. Perhaps Brett Contreras would appeal to you? If not there’s a number of decent programmes. Drop the cardio until you start to see some progress. Your do ostensibly sound orthorexic

Incorporate a rest day. And put some joy in your life. Food is enjoyable, friends are fun.

I didn’t say you have an eating disorder, but your body weight is very low. Anorexia refers to being medically underweight for what ever reason. Anorexia nervosa refers to an eating disorder. Also there are eating disorders related to being overly fit/and healthy called orthorexia, which people do want to gain more muscle.

Either way you need way more calories and protein. Also, everything I suggested was disregarded so I am out.


I would talk to your doctor about your concerns.

More like up them. (to increase the calory intake!)

-85 of protein a day.
-at least 45g of fat!

Fats are "easy calories": Nuts, tahini, avocado...

I will start by eating 2000 this week and slowly increase every week. My hormones are actually balanced and I do get regular periods.

I will check Bret Contreras, he seems to have some books but I don't want to pay for anything... im kinda broke oops, I'm sure I can find some of his stuff free online tho.

I don't think I'm orthorexic, I don't obsess over anything and really just go with how I'm feeling. For example today is meant to be cardio and abs (cuz I didn't have time to cover abs yesterday) but I'm staying home all day cuz weather sucks. I don't know but I'm saying this because what I know about orthorexia is it's when you obsess over exercise and stress on missing workout days and organize life around workout etc. Idk I might be wrong but whatev.

Fridays are my rest days. I do sometimes have 2 rest days (Fridays and Wednesdays) but never more: depends on how I'm feeling.

Anyways, thanks for your help!

Alright, I like round numbers it helps more haha. Cuz I don't I feel like where all of them say "eat more", "increase fat/protein", I wouldn't do it just because I don't know how much to increase so giving numbers definitely helps to give an idea. I think I'll try 85-90 g of protein a day and the fat I won't count but will try to include more here in there.

After calculating a day on Myfitnesspal I appear to only be eating 25g of fat a day (around this I guess it's not very accurate anyways) which is from oats (2g only haha), olive oil (I cook rice in it) and I assume about 10g from that, tahini, pure cocoa powder (in my protein shake) and from other snacks (whole wheat crackers).

YES you're right, it refers to being medically underweight HOWEVER With a fear of weight gain WHICH I don't have: I don't fear any change in my body composition, it's for the best afterall.
I'm definitely not overly fit haha and NOT overly healthy either... I don't have ORTHOREXIA or ANOREXIA and definitely not ANOREXIA NERVOSA.

Yes I need more calories and protein which I will start working towards to this week.

Thanks for the help anyways!

DAMN I really did not think this would be a controversial thread...

If you are looking for rules of thumb:

-Protein intake (in grams): x1.6~x2.1 your body weight (in kg).

*x2.5~x3.4, if you are in a calorie deficit. (not that you should be cutting any time soon).

*This goes about 20% higher if your source of protein is not high quality. (you are vegan).

*You can eat more than that, but do not expect any special benefits.

-Fat intake (in grams): x1 your body weight (in kg).

*You are definitely welcome to eat more than that!

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So for a bulking person who's training and his weight is 45kg and is vegan, it's 45*1.6*1.2g of protein, and 45g of fat.

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Here are some ideas:

-A handful of nuts.
-Chia Seeds and Peanut Butter in your shakes.

-Learn how to make homemade Hummus, and mix it with tahini. Pour olive oil in it for even more easy calories.

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-It's awesome that you track your calorie intake using MyFitnessPal.

-Weigh yourself every morning, and note it down; calculate your weekly average weight and compare it to the one of the week before.

-Aim to gain 1% of your body weight in a month!

-If your weekly averages tell you aren't doing it - then change your calorie intake accordingly! This should be easy, because you know how much you eat, because you are tracking it! <3 See? You are in control of a where your weight is going, and even if sometimes it doesn't - then no worries at all - you know what to do!

Follow those easy guidelines, and, in time, you will see how neat it is to actually be the one in control of where your weight is going. Hopefully - this will make your "relationship" with food, and with your weight so much easier, and you won't be afraid of eating things that you want to eat, or fear the scale. At all! You are in charge now!

Good luck!

I'm going to speak in "generalities" here, just to give you somethings to consider.

Keep in mind, the pic of the body you wish to attain.

Does she look like a competitive cyclist? (and not knocking that, good on you for competing on occasion, you just need to get your priorities straight)

You can maintain endurance by remaining active. Weights build/maintain endurance.

Again, generally speaking, when you're doing 2x as much cardio as lifting, you're limited because you're getting less of a (muscle) return on your investment (cals/energy expended). You're seeking the body of a bodybuilder, training like Lance Armstrong. Nothing wrong with cardio in the proper dosage.

I didn't explore the link you'd posted, so I don't know if her "program" was listed. Either way, I seriously doubt it resembles yours. As mentioned, age plays a factor. I was a 6' tall skinny kid as well, and my nickname was "stringbean", so I can relate. That said, at that point in my life, building muscle were the furthest thing from my mind.

Try this, you've not been pleased with your progress up to now, so try something different. Cut your cardio to say 3-30 minute secession a week. Up your cals, being sure your macros are correct. Start on a proven full body 3x a week workout. Give it 6 months, and see where you're at then. 6 months is a short period of time in ones lifetime, and you'll never miss it.

ETA: I hadn't noticed in your link, it stated it was her routing/diet, so I took a quick look. You need to remember something, as do many other beginners. Its easy to see pros, thinking you can "do what they do" and expect the same results. That may very well be true, but not until after years of paying your dues (hard work). In the meanwhile, beginners need to train for what they are, beginners. Our bodies aren't prepared for "pro" routines.

You need to eat more (I would suggest fat and protein). I've had a hard time recently increasing the amount of fat I eat, but I've now got it close to the recommended 0.4 grams per pound of body weight. Nuts and natural peanut butter are high in fat and very calorific if you're struggling to make up your calories. If I have a couple of hundred more calories I need to consume by the end of the day I'll always crack out the peanut butter or bag of nuts.

You mention you'd been eating 1,500 calories when you thought it was 2,000. I recommend digital kitchen scales and the myfitnesspal app on your phone. Do it correctly and you'll know almost down to the last calorie how much you're consuming. At your weight it will take 100 years for you to build muscle on maintenance so I really would consider eating a few hundred calories over maintenance. I would forget about your abs for the time being, there's no point having abs and looking like a skeleton which is what will happen if you don't build significant muscle first.

At your current weight and body composition? I think you're the one who is not clear about this.

Hey....YOU do come in these parts from time to time...lol

It's very clear to me in her posts/comments/past threads that there are some underlying issues. I do this for a living which is why I answered the way I did. Anyone can tell me they eat like a horse, never gain weight, eat in a deficit, never lose weight, blah, blah, blah...

Unless you're accounting for every morsel going into your mouth and tracking everything accordingly on a food scale, one will never truly know how much they eat or don't eat.

Exactly the point I was trying to make in my last post.