so heres my odd que.
im 20yrs 5"7 and weigh 133lb. female, im pretty happy with my weight, but im trying to tone up alot, some muscle definiton. and i know i need to eat a good amount of protein for that. now im checking myself and im getting maybe 20-25% daily, which im assuming isnt enough. now my que. is if i eat my recommended amount of calories a day but still not enough protein should i : A. "sacrifice" my calories and go over my recommended calorie amount for some protien ie tuna/PB etc.
or : B. not go over b/c how much calories and food i eat is more important?

You should try to increase your protein intake to maybe 30% of your daily intake without increasing your daily calories. Just eat less carbs and fat. For example you can follow a 30% protein 45% carbs and 25% fat diet. Play with the carb and fat numbers if you're not achieving results after 4 weeks. And of course you need to be doing a full body workout with weights at least twice a week.

No need to sacrifice calories.

If you get a 40/30/30 split, you'll be good, provided you're eating under maint.

If you're only getting 20-25% protein, you're probably getting too much in another area. Shift the focus.

yeah getting it in carbs love them thanx guys i guess ill just have to change my eating habits a bit (ok maybe more than a bit damn... )

I was gonna say, "and since you're an American, I'm sure its your carb intake that's biting into calories"

Here's what I'd do Kelly. you know you need 1g of protein per pound of lean body mass, up to 1.25g/lb...so that right there determines how many cals you get from protein.
I'm a believer in .4-.5g of fat per lb. of lean body mass too. So that sets fat intake.
So the rest come from carbs, hopefully complex carbs like whole oats, barley, brown rice, along with potatoes, as well as fiberous veggies, and fruits at the right times. A lot less calories in veggies compared to bread or pasta for the same volume of food. not to mention the vitamins you get from them.

it is a lifestyle change, since the avg. american eats crap (and thus is fat), but trust me, change your ways, and in a week you'll feel the difference in energy levels, in your digestion, you'll sleep better...and all of that is going to make it that much easier for you to achieve your goals.

If you're trying to gain some lean muscle to drive down body fat, then I would not eat under maintenance. I'd eat 150-200 calories over your daily caloric maintenace level. You want to build muscle... so you need some additional calories for that.

I agree with what the others posted... focus on eating protein, then carbs and fats.

this question is kind of not related, but its still about me
since i want to tone up, im doing walking lunges and squats and plie squats 4 legs w/ 5lb dumbell in each hand. fter a few weeks since i want to tone not so much build should i increase reps/sets or should i increase weight tht im holding, from what i hear increasig weight would build muscle (make bigger) then if i ncreased sets/reps...
so what should i do to move up??

keep in mind, you're not a guy...you lack the higher level of testosterone needed to really pack on a lot of muscle.

so, don't be afraid of building muscle by lifting heavy weight. right now, my wife does the same routine I do, a 'guys routine'. So far she's dropped 15-16lbs in just under 2 months, and has added almost 2lbs of lean muscle...so really, almost 18 lbs of pure fat lost.

And her co-workers are asking if she hasn't been losing weight too. my wife is not a skinny woman...not yet at least.

just don't be afraid of adding muscle. its helpful in many ways.

yeah but there is still a different b/w the muscles on runners or bikers i would call them pure lean muscle no fat and thin (too thin in my opinion) then the women that are budy builders, granted theyre not nearly as big as the men are but stll too big 4 my taste, so i would want b/w for all i know runners mostly do that all the time so thats why i wanna use weights as well so im not that skinny... so my que. again heavier weights (would that still not make me too big like some women are, that weight train), or more reps?
ill give few examples of ideal bodies i want, help me get there
1. carmen electra: tight,not too big not too ripped
2. lead ****ycatdoll singer (if youve seen her) yeah skinnier but toned as hell but not big at all.

Bodybuilders are on an entirely different level than a "normal" in terms of genetics, almost always have achieved their results through chemical assistance, and don't look that way (ripped and huge) most of the year in any case. If putting on muscle was so easy, do you think that there would be a need for literally hundreds of thousands of magazines, websites, books, etc all promising the "secret to build muscle?" It doesn't make sense. Lift heavy! You will never see the results that you're after if you don't.

PB = healthy fat, not much protein.

Agree with malkore and bipennate. Women need to lift heavier weights for best results. You will NOT get big and bulky like a guy. You won't even get muscular like a woman's bodybuilder.

Those women DEDICATE their lives to looking that way. They eat so ridiculously clean that most people wouldn't even have the willpower/motivation to follow through for a week.

They workout HARD! And I mean HARD! They have coaches, trainers and nutritionists. They dehydrate themselves a day or so before competition (makes muscles look more cut). They tan. They whiten teeth. I hate to say, but most have some illegal help as well.

Lifting a 15 pound, 30 pound dumbbell isn't going to make you look like that

even if you DID train and eat like a body builder, it would still take years for you to put on enough muscle mass before you'd look like the women you don't wish to look like.

If you lift heavy with lower reps, like 4-8 per set, that will focus on building strength, and only some muscle mass. 8-12 reps per set is the generic prescription for packing on muscle size, and sacrificing some strength gains.
but you still gotta eat more food than you need to pack on the muscle.

We know you don't wanna be huge, so we'll strive to guide you on a route that won't lead to a 'gross amount of muscles'.

ok im trusting u guys (dont ask me why lol) and ill so 4-8 reps of the highest weight i can handle for like 2-4 sets i guess, and do reg. lunges and squats 3 days a week. for upper i do push ups (as much as i can maybe 10 ) some bicep curls and diff. crunces. im mainly care about my lower body. and ill keep increasing the weight that i can handle. we'll see if it works.
and what about cardio then? i was thinking 3 times a week prob. not w/ weights but on the rest day b/w weights. and i have a spinning bike with dvd's that i use, i vary b/w a hill dvd and interval dvd, each lasts 40 min. 3 times a week.
sounds good? can i have that perfect hot body from that???

However, not to contradict with everyone is saying, there needs to be a general fitness preparedness before going heavy. This includes improving tendon, ligament, cartilage and muscular endurance. Going immediately heavy can put too much stress on joints not ready for the load.