Advice needed- heavy lifting

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ProgressNotPerfection32
ProgressNotPerfection32 Posts: 1,155 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
hey all! I have been on this journey for 4 years now and just recently gained back 30 of the 80 lbs I've lost. I've been much on exercise and started running a few years ago. I've stopped running due to some arthritis issues and have been going to a CrossFit type gym. I currently go for an hour a day, 3 days a week and would like to get to 5 days a week. My question is this- HOW do you deal with ravenous hunger hours after a serious workout and then again the next day?! I feel like I am eating all the time. I've been bad about tracking lately so that won't give you much info. I love the workouts but feel like I'm making no progress due to eating everything in sight! Any advice would be much appreciated!

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  • vorgas
    vorgas Posts: 741 Member
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    Lots of protein and insoluble fiber.
  • ProgressNotPerfection32
    ProgressNotPerfection32 Posts: 1,155 Member
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    What should my protein intake be at per day?

    Also- what are some good sources of insoluble fiber while trying to keep my carbs lower?
  • mperrott2205
    mperrott2205 Posts: 737 Member
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    http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/
  • vorgas
    vorgas Posts: 741 Member
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    ProgressNotPerfection32 wrote: »
    What should my protein intake be at per day?

    Also- what are some good sources of insoluble fiber while trying to keep my carbs lower?
    Protein should be between 1 gram of protein per pound of lean muscle mass all the way up to 1 gram of protein per pound of muscle mass.

    Insoluble fiber can't be utilized by the body. It doesn't add to caloric intake. Which is why it's a good way to help you eat a lot without packing on an extraordinary amount of weight.

  • xcalygrl
    xcalygrl Posts: 1,897 Member
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    I eat lots of protein (1 gram per pound of lean body mass), a moderate amount of fat (0.4 grams per pound of body weight), and lots of veggies. I also follow TDEE, so I'm eating roughly the same calories everyday. On days I'm not really hungry, I leave a few in the bank which I usually end up consuming after a heavy deadlift day. (I do a weekly average and make sure my days average out to my calorie goal.)
  • colors_fade
    colors_fade Posts: 464 Member
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    vorgas wrote: »
    Protein should be between 1 gram of protein per pound of lean muscle mass all the way up to 1 gram of protein per pound of muscle mass.

    Just gonna leave this here: The Myth of 1 g/lb: Optimal Protein Intake

    Protein is very satiating. Carbs - not so much, so we tend to eat more of them to get to the same satiation level, which, of course, means more calories than if we were eating protein. I think you'll find most folks lifting, if you look at their diaries, have a fairly high protein intake.

    If you're trying to lose body fat, then you have to cut calories; there is no other way to do it, and you already know this having lost 80 lbs... So cutting calories and lifting heavy (something I have been doing, so know what it feels like for you) means you don't have calories to waste on foods that don't satiate you. You want to use those calories wisely. And that typically means protein-dense foods (and fibers, as mentioned).

    Bottom line: You have to count the calories man. Diligently. And you'll quickly find, when you're on a calorie budget, you don't want to waste those precious calories on foods that don't fill you up and provide nutrients to your body.
  • lisalsd1
    lisalsd1 Posts: 1,521 Member
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    I had the same problem when I started lifting. I increased my protein intake to about 150 grams per day, which is 25+ grams above body weight. Sometimes what you think is "hunger" is really thirst. I've found that I need about 4 liters of water a day (I sweat a lot).
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,070 Member
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    Eating 'clean', although not something I recommend or follow particularly well myself would give you more volume of food. Make sure you are actually eating enough (calories) so you benefit from your classes.
  • Klhernandez81
    Klhernandez81 Posts: 62 Member
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    I do CrossFit 4/5 a week and am on a calorie restricted diet to lose weight. I keep my energy up with low-calorie high-protein shakes and nutritional supplements...and as everyone has mentioned "clean eating," which for me, means vegetables. I personally like Puritan's Pride Soy Isolate 110cals, 24g protein, no sugar), there are also some good Spirulina based ones that are good, and muscle milk has an okay offering.
  • vinerie
    vinerie Posts: 234 Member
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    I've been really hungry, too. Like all the time! (I'm also into heavy lifting and big workouts.)
  • awnurmarc
    awnurmarc Posts: 125 Member
    edited June 2015
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    If you are hungry you should eat. Especially after hard workouts. You need to track your intake and figure out how to do it at the level you want. But if you're out of calories for the day and you are hungry after a workout, I think you should decide to exceed your calories and figure out how to do it differently for the next time.
  • bostonwolf
    bostonwolf Posts: 3,038 Member
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    ProgressNotPerfection32 wrote: »
    hey all! I have been on this journey for 4 years now and just recently gained back 30 of the 80 lbs I've lost. I've been much on exercise and started running a few years ago. I've stopped running due to some arthritis issues and have been going to a CrossFit type gym. I currently go for an hour a day, 3 days a week and would like to get to 5 days a week. My question is this- HOW do you deal with ravenous hunger hours after a serious workout and then again the next day?! I feel like I am eating all the time. I've been bad about tracking lately so that won't give you much info. I love the workouts but feel like I'm making no progress due to eating everything in sight! Any advice would be much appreciated!

    Eat more, especially protein and fat (in controlled portions, of course.) If you are that hungry after your workouts it's because your body is demanding the building blocks needed to repair itself after your workouts.

    Also note that Crossfit (which I've done for 2 years)in and of itself isn't going to help you lose weight, because you are going to be adding muscle mass as well.

    Start tracking as well, even weigh stuff with a food scale if you have one, and buy one if you don't. Do that for a a few days and your macros will probably tell you the story.

    Lastly, google "TDEE" if you haven't already and calculate what your total daily energy expenditure is. This is the amount of calories you need to eat to maintain your current bodyweight at your current activity level.

    I'll be you $10 that your TDEE is significantly higher than the number of calories you've been eating.

    Good luck!
  • bostonwolf
    bostonwolf Posts: 3,038 Member
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    vinerie wrote: »
    I've been really hungry, too. Like all the time! (I'm also into heavy lifting and big workouts.)

    You have to eat more. The only other way it ends is you binging. No one has the will power to resist hunger constantly.
  • brentopia
    brentopia Posts: 113 Member
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    colors_fade wrote: »
    Just gonna leave this here: The Myth of 1 g/lb: Optimal Protein Intake

    Interesting article - thanks for posting that.
  • colors_fade
    colors_fade Posts: 464 Member
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    brentopia wrote: »
    colors_fade wrote: »
    Just gonna leave this here: The Myth of 1 g/lb: Optimal Protein Intake

    Interesting article - thanks for posting that.

    You're welcome.

    I found that via James Fell.

    I remember being told that 1g/lb. thing when I started lifting. I weighed about 250 lbs at the time. I started looking at my diary and realizing, wow, do people have any idea how much freakin' chicken you have to eat to get to 250g of protein in a single day? And when you're trying to *cut* calories to create a deficit to lose body fat, that's literally, mathematically impossible. If I were to eat the food necessary to reach 250g of protein, I'd be consuming way more than maintenance calories...

    So I started digging, trying to see if the 1g/lb. thing was accurate, and it doesn't seem to be, even for heavy lifters.

    I now see people modifying this advice to be: 1g per lb. of lean muscle mass, which makes way more sense.

    The CDC's advice of .6 to .8g per lb. of body weight also gets into that same range. And that seems like sound advice, given the current research.

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