Nutrition Help with Nutrition

[Gunsmoke]

Hey guys need help I posted this before but in the wrong thread so my bad if you see it twice.

I had recently dropped down from 241-169 in a little over four months. This left me with a skinny fat build I also lost a lot of muscle and strength. I was eating 1200-1500 cal a day. I am a 24 year old male.

so I decided I needed to get stronger. I have cut back on cardio I just do 30 mins worth 3 days a week and I do floor exercises.

I have uped my calories to 2500 just to maintain the weight however my weight has shot up from 169 to about 173-175. At 2400 cals I didn’t gain any weight. Should I drop down or should I just accept the weight gain. I know I feel better eating more but I did want to stay in the lower 170s

 

[ShawnM]

Hey guys need help I posted this before but in the wrong thread so my bad if you see it twice.

I had recently dropped down from 241-169 in a little over four months. This left me with a skinny fat build I also lost a lot of muscle and strength. I was eating 1200-1500 cal a day. I am a 24 year old male.

so I decided I needed to get stronger. I have cut back on cardio I just do 30 mins worth 3 days a week and I do floor exercises.

I have uped my calories to 2500 just to maintain the weight however my weight has shot up from 169 to about 173-175. At 2400 cals I didn’t gain any weight. Should I drop down or should I just accept the weight gain. I know I feel better eating more but I did want to stay in the lower 170s

What's your training look like? What types of food are you eating? If you are doing bodyweight only there are programs you can use that will build muscle, however, this depends on your programming and food intake.

 

[silveraw]

How long have you been at your current weight?

 

[Mawen]

By raising the calories to maintenance or even a surplus, you allow the body to refill glycogen stores. Which means u gain quite a lot of water weight quickly. Nothing to be concerned about.

 

[Alex Zalneraitis]

It sounds like you're primarily concerned with your physique at this point.
If it's physique - keep maintenance calories and ramp up your resistance training. If you lack a lot of muscle, the maintenance calories should work well to put on muscle and keep body fat levels low. Something to note is that your weight will likely go up again, just due to muscle mass and the density of it compared to body fat. I wouldn't be too concerned with cardio unless it's something you enjoy.
If you're really concerned with weight while getting stronger, there's usually protocols you can follow (lower rep ranges/higher intensity,/longer rest) that'll allow you to get progressively strong while minimizing mass gains.
In general just make sure you don't obsess over your weight and the number on a scale as you ramp up in strength training. Aside from mental health, the knee-jerk reactions to weight fluctuation can cause volatility in your diet and training. Lack of consistency is one of the biggest enemies to a lot of people's health and fitness it seems.