Weight lifting turning me into a T-Rex

tjthegreatone

What it says in the title...

I only got into lifting fairly recently thanks to its popularity on these boards, but in the last two weeks I've begun to really enjoy it and to 'lift heavy' (nowhere near as some of the ladies here, but certainly a big jump compared with Pump).

HOWEVERR, for the last couple of days I've turned into a bottomless pit. Today I had two lunches as one wasn't cutting it and I probably would have started on the table as well if I didn't have some oatcakes to hand as a backup.

Basically turned into Gus the goat:

http://youtu.be/nKwybUJRfOc

As an example, I am a 5'9 female. And in the last two days I've eaten about 2800 calories each. My co-workers are amazed.

How do you heavy lifters curb the appetite not to undo all the hard work?

I am not desperately trying to lose weight, but would like to maintain my current weight and fitness.

susannamarie

Good lord, and when I saw your title I was thinking "what, your arms are getting shorter?!"

I would make really sure you're getting enough protein while lifting, it always kept me feeling better.

And THANK YOU for the Gus the Goat video, I've never seen it before and it's HILARIOUS.

AlexisJ330

Good lord, and when I saw your title I was thinking "what, your arms are getting shorter?!"

I would make really sure you're getting enough protein while lifting, it always kept me feeling better.

And THANK YOU for the Gus the Goat video, I've never seen it before and it's HILARIOUS.

Video and comment on arms getting shorter made me laugh so hard.

As far as a voracious appetite, make sure you are getting enough protein and fat (avocados, nuts, etc). Snacks are another option. I often go to a banana with peanut butter. I also might just be your body trying to get used to the increased activity.

Finally, congrats on keeping with the exercise. Results will come.

jwdieter

Finally, congrats on keeping with the exercise. Results will come.

Kinda depends though. The protein advice is good, because it sounds like she's vacuuming carbs. Not a whole lot of women losing weight with a 2800 intake I'd imagine.

jocybee83

Good lord, and when I saw your title I was thinking "what, your arms are getting shorter?!"

I thought the same thing :laugh:

kganc001

Protein shakes FILL ME UPPP. Especially when mixed with soy milk instead of water!

darwinwoodka

Yeah, protein and all that. Mostly though don't stress over it, things will balance out. If you're that hungry you probably NEED to eat. Make sure you're drinking lots of water, too. That is one good thing about protein shakes -- they do really fill you up fast!

jstout365

What had you been eating at? If you are trying to eat at a big deficit you could turn into T-Rex if your body decides it needs the fuel. I lift heavy and do additional cardio and aim for 2000 a day (I'm only 5'2" and my TDEE is between 2100 and 2300 depending on activity), but some days I just need to refuel and I eat closer to 2400.

So to not undo the work I've done, I eat as close to TDEE as I can on average with a very small deficit and allow for a refuel day here and there. My weight this past month has been pretty steady and so has my appetite. If you are close to where you want to be weight or BF% wise, try eating close to TDEE and see how that goes. Your body is smart and knows how to change appetite based on activity.

I don't try to curb my appetite, I listen to it and adjust my daily intake to balance things out so I don't go crazy with food.

mytime1986

Ok I remember someone posting this one another thread I had posted on about heavy lifting. I am strying to work the courage up to do it. For me heavy lifting is very intimidating. but this is what she put..

I have like 80lbs to lose, and I started lifting heavy right away! I'm losing weight at a slower pace but my body is changing more quickly than it has with previous weight loss attempts.

Feel free to correct me on this, MFP, but this is what I've learned in my research: the idea is that your body already has a surplus of calories from which to build muscle - the fat on your body! Lifting heavy while cutting calories moderately helps you to keep your lean body mass and build it slowly, so the weight you lose is more fat and less lean tissues.

I think the biggest 'transition' is to stop tracking progress by the scale alone, and go by measurements/body fat percentage as well, putting more emphasis on those.

I lift 3x a week and do yoga 2x a week (yoga on my rest days; reserving recreational cardio for weekends) and I eat about 2100 calories every day. On rest days, if I'm not hungry I might stop at 1800 - it just depends on how I'm feeling. At a higher calorie level, and with the adjustment to a new workout I fluctuated like crazy for about two weeks - but I'm back to losing steadily now and I feel great!

I am sure you arent interested in the whole ting but what got my attention is on her heavy lifting days she was eating 2100 calories a day. I have read other posts where some people were eating on the higher side of 2000. But I am by far no expert this is just something I found interesting. Lol

evileen99

W.hen I was in my 20's and lifting heavy the same thing happened to me--I was an eating machine all day long. I just went with it, trying to eat mostly protein because my body was trying to make muscle. While I did gain muscle weight, I got smaller and smaller as I burned up fat. I wore the smallest size clothes in my life at this time, while I also weighed the most.

tjthegreatone

Thanks for all the comments! No my arms aren't shorter and I must say I'm pleased with the results of lifting so far. Weight loss negligible but I get comments and compliments from other people all the time.

The video is a relic from my childhood :happy:

The problem is I can't keep eating like this or I will also acquire some more body fat too. Im 5'9 and 155lb so my BMR is probably 1500. I think my maintenance calories with normal daily activities prob about 2000-2100. With exercise (cardio) I'm usually full at 2300-2400 max. These last few days however...

I listen to the guys in the gym blabbing about 'bulking' but it seems to involve lots of overeating whilst lifting in the (vain?) hope that some of it will be muscle too. Not my aim.Bad enough being the only girl in the weight training area...

Thanks for highlighting the protein problem - I'm not a great meateater, so my primary protein sources are nuts, beans and oily fish. BUT they are also high in fat and calories (except beans which are high in carbs)

My prejudice against protein shakes is legendary and probably not rational but can't bring myself to drink them, yuck. I did try something last night - a glass of hot milk pre-bed, which seemed to curb the appetite, so maybe that's the way to go.

Still woke up hungry and it's only 6am here! :sad:

sewingdiscontent

Thanks for all the comments! No my arms aren't shorter and I must say I'm pleased with the results of lifting so far. Weight loss negligible but I get comments and compliments from other people all the time.

The video is a relic from my childhood :happy:

The problem is I can't keep eating like this or I will also acquire some more body fat too. Im 5'9 and 155lb so my BMR is probably 1500. I think my maintenance calories with normal daily activities prob about 2000-2100. With exercise (cardio) I'm usually full at 2300-2400 max. These last few days however...

I listen to the guys in the gym blabbing about 'bulking' but it seems to involve lots of overeating whilst lifting in the (vain?) hope that some of it will be muscle too. Not my aim.Bad enough being the only girl in the weight training area...

Thanks for highlighting the protein problem - I'm not a great meateater, so my primary protein sources are nuts, beans and oily fish. BUT they are also high in fat and calories (except beans which are high in carbs)

My prejudice against protein shakes is legendary and probably not rational but can't bring myself to drink them, yuck. I did try something last night - a glass of hot milk pre-bed, which seemed to curb the appetite, so maybe that's the way to go.

Still woke up hungry and it's only 6am here! :sad:

Same issue. And in the past, I have over-rewarded myself with extra calories bc "it's cool. I worked out today", and ended up not losing a damn thing. I am also not a big meat eater and I think we should get our nutrients from real food- not shakes, optimally. I'm going to try egg whites.

tjthegreatone

Thanks for all the comments! No my arms aren't shorter and I must say I'm pleased with the results of lifting so far. Weight loss negligible but I get comments and compliments from other people all the time.

The video is a relic from my childhood :happy:

The problem is I can't keep eating like this or I will also acquire some more body fat too. Im 5'9 and 155lb so my BMR is probably 1500. I think my maintenance calories with normal daily activities prob about 2000-2100. With exercise (cardio) I'm usually full at 2300-2400 max. These last few days however...

I listen to the guys in the gym blabbing about 'bulking' but it seems to involve lots of overeating whilst lifting in the (vain?) hope that some of it will be muscle too. Not my aim.Bad enough being the only girl in the weight training area...

Thanks for highlighting the protein problem - I'm not a great meateater, so my primary protein sources are nuts, beans and oily fish. BUT they are also high in fat and calories (except beans which are high in carbs)

My prejudice against protein shakes is legendary and probably not rational but can't bring myself to drink them, yuck. I did try something last night - a glass of hot milk pre-bed, which seemed to curb the appetite, so maybe that's the way to go.

Still woke up hungry and it's only 6am here! :sad:

Same issue. And in the past, I have over-rewarded myself with extra calories bc "it's cool. I worked out today", and ended up not losing a damn thing. I am also not a big meat eater and I think we should get our nutrients from real food- not shakes, optimally. I'm going to try egg whites.

Glad I'm not the only one, can I 'friend' you? I have flirted with the idea of shakes but like you I feel strongly that they aren't 'real' and all the marketing doesn't help either. About egg whites - When you eat them what do you do with the yolks? Would hate to waste food.

sewingdiscontent

Idk, bc I haven't tried it yet, except for using one whole egg and 3 egg whites. It was palatable, but I'd like to make it enjoyable. Tried feeding the extra yolks to my cat. She was decidedly unimpressed.

But let's figure it out together. Friend request sent.

tjthegreatone

Hmm, did a quick google of egg white recipes. Apart from the desserts (defeat the whole point really!) not very impressed so far. May stick with peanut butter and nuts for now.
One snack I found recently that is amazing for protein is edamame. I buy the humdinger edamame soya beans and this is the nutrition info:
Energy kJ 1859 -
Energy kcal 445 -
Protein 40.5g -
Carbohydrate 16.5g -
of which sugars 5.1g -
Fat 20.9g -
of which saturates 3.0g -
Fibre 14.6g -
Sodium 0.43g -
Equivalent as Salt 1.1g -
Salty though!