bluebonbonnet

1) Alright, I'll definitely check that out, thank you so much for that info! 2) I really do love lifting heavy, but I don't want to get that female bodybuilder look, and from what I've read that's what is going to happen if I keep upping my weight. 3) At the gym, normally I do freeweights, but sometimes I'll hit the machines to kinda spot-train myself. I generally do 40 minutes legs or arms, depending on the day, and I'll do 15 minutes abs every day. I work out at the gym 4 days/week, run 2 days/week, and rest one day. I'm not neccessarily looking to get SMALLER, cause I know I'm already pretty thin. I just want to get more toned. I don't mind gaining weight at all, and since I've started lifting I've probably gained 10 pounds. I just want to decrease my bf% so I can tone up. I used the caliper method to do my bf%.

I'm a 19 year old girl, 5'11'', 136 lbs with 24%body fat. My goal is to get down to 18% body fat, but I'm not entirely sure how. I've read many of the guides, including the Strength and Fitness Guide, but I'm still a little bit lost. How many calories a day should I be eating? (I know I should be eating a caloric deficit) I've been lifting heavy weights for about 3 months now, but when should I stop lifting heavy and start lifting light with a lot of reps? I go to the gym 3x/week for an hour, and run 2x/week for 45 minutes. I eat very healthy but definitely not paleo. I like spaghetti way too much. Thanks!