calories and muscles

[xraychick]

I am confused. I've been doing a bunch of research lately on 'starvation mode', and if its a myth or not. but thats not what i'm asking.

what i need to know is do i really need to eat a lot of calories to gain muscle? I am a vegetarian, and I just cant seem to eat enough calories above my BMR. My BMR is 1800 some, and I can barely eat 1500. I take whey isolate and I get 80-100g of protein a day. During this research I've come across lots of contradicting info on muscle building. I've seen where you cant build muscle and burn fat, then I see where you can. Does anyone have any personal experience with this? Or does anyone have any legit scientific links to where I can find this stuff out?
I am female 5'2" 119 lbs 33yrs old.
Thanks.

 

[TunnelRat]

Try here: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/.

Very helpful.

 

[grunt11]

what i need to know is do i really need to eat a lot of calories to gain muscle? I am a vegetarian, and I just cant seem to eat enough calories above my BMR. My BMR is 1800 some, and I can barely eat 1500. I take whey isolate and I get 80-100g of protein a day.

It’s hard for most people to gain muscle w/o eating above maintenance unless they have a lot of body fat to burn. How much above maintenance depends really on how well you know your body, it’s caloric needs, and how willing you are to keep detailed records of what you eat vs how much weight you’re gaining and your body fat. The general recommendation I’ve always seen is to eat around 300-500kCal above maintenance but if you were outstanding at tracking things and eating properly you could might be able to cut that down to 200kCal above.

If you feel you are already getting enough protein and are just having a hard time getting enough calories then calorie dense foods like nuts, natural (w/o sugar) peanut butter can help a lot. I add walnuts and olive oil to my protein shakes both to get healthy oils but also to boost the calories.