Question for those who lift HEAVY

LolaKarwowski

At what point did you decide to continue to count calories? I've been reading a lot of stories from women who lift heavy ( I say heavy because it is important) and they say that once they started getting serious about it they stopped counting calories and ate the foods they needed to fuel their bodies.

This one for example: http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/

I want their results and am working towards them. The more I research the more I learn. I of course do not want to give up MFP since it keeps me on track but I'm wondering, is there a point in this weight lifting journey where I will just be able to eat foods that will help me lift heavy without having to see how many ounces they weigh?

Please do not comment with "calories in calories out". I know that's hard to ask from members in a calorie counting website but I really just want opinions from those who do heavy strength training.

ShibaEars

For me personally, I've switched from counting calories to counting macros. This is to make sure I'm getting the right amount of protein/fats/carbs. I'm new to it, so it still involves weighing & tracking my food to make sure I'm hitting the right numbers.

ETA: I imagine if you eat a lot of the same foods you would learn what contains what and wouldn't need to weigh/log everything every day.

evileen99

When I was heavy lifting, I was ravenous all. the. time. I would get up, eat breakfast, go to work, and eat my snack as soon as I got to work because I was hungry. I ate my lunch at snack time because I was hungry. I bought lunch, then had to buy a candy bar later because I was hungry. I would leave work and go to the gym, and then get a double whopper on the way home because I was hungry. And I was wearing the smallest sized clothes of my life. I didn't count calories because I would have been horrified to know my intake.

vinerie

I lift heavy and am still counting. It's a good question you ask. I'm curious, also.

amwoidyla

I guess it depends what your goals are. Do you want to lift heavy and lean out? Do you want to lift heavy and build muscle? Or just lift strictly for strength?

Since you cited the NerdFitness blog, I'm going to guess lean out? I'm sure if you have been weighing/measuring for a while, you will know what 6 ounces of chicken or a serving of rice looks like, then sure, I guess you could stop weighing your food and maybe have success with it. I know I haven't been able to in the past, so it's always back to the weighing.

As much youtube as I watch, most of the channels are fitness types who count macros at the very least so they can work towards their goals, whether it be strength or physique goals.

Ironmaiden4life

Reading the article (which I loved) the take home message seem to be getting off the ever decreasing starving yourself to death trying to look better cycle and picking up and putting down heavy things makes you look sexy schmexy... which it does lol. All the power lifting girlies I know still track macros to help them get to their goals.

DeguelloTex

What is your goal? If you don't have any particular body composition in mind you don't necessarily need to worry your intake. Power lifters, in general, are not a svelte group of people. If you're concerned with body composition, you're probably going to want to be more concerned about CICO, no matter how heavily you lift.

quiksylver296

Just so you know, nerdfitness does not advocate counting calories. They advocate eating Paleo and state that if you are eating truly Paleo, you cannot eat too many calories.

richln

If you are looking to focus on powerlifting, you are going to have to bulk at some point. Counting calories is always beneficial because you can only synthesize new muscle at certain rate. If you eat above that amount, you will just gain fat with no additional strength benefits.

From the article you linked: "Staci had to eat between 3000-4000 calories per day (all healthy calories, mind you) to put on the extra weight." This implies she was still counting her calories while she bulked.

Ironmaiden4life

quiksylver296 wrote: »

Just so you know, nerdfitness does not advocate counting calories. They advocate eating Paleo and state that if you are eating truly Paleo, you cannot eat too many calories.

urghhhh really? are they related to Tosca Reno by chance

quiksylver296

Ironmaiden4life wrote: »

quiksylver296 wrote: »

Just so you know, nerdfitness does not advocate counting calories. They advocate eating Paleo and state that if you are eating truly Paleo, you cannot eat too many calories.

urghhhh really? are they related to Tosca Reno by chance

Not familiar. Looked it up. Similar thought process.

nerdfitness.com has some great ideas and I like most of what they espouse. However, I choose to eat ice cream and chocolate, and I'd rather count my calories. They aren't radical about it, but they are Paleo.

LolaKarwowski

quiksylver296 wrote: »

Ironmaiden4life wrote: »

quiksylver296 wrote: »

Just so you know, nerdfitness does not advocate counting calories. They advocate eating Paleo and state that if you are eating truly Paleo, you cannot eat too many calories.

urghhhh really? are they related to Tosca Reno by chance

Not familiar. Looked it up. Similar thought process.

nerdfitness.com has some great ideas and I like most of what they espouse. However, I choose to eat ice cream and chocolate, and I'd rather count my calories. They aren't radical about it, but they are Paleo.

So my goal is to lift heavy and lean out. Right now I weight 131 lbs and am 5ft 7in tall. Do not know my body fat % but I'd say it's about 25-28%.

Although I am counting calories, I am more concerned with counting my macros. Especially protein. If I am in a calorie deficit and didn't hit my protein goal then I will eat more to do so. Counting calories/macros has also helped me see that I need to eat just a tad bit more carbs. So it looks like MFP is still a great tool for those who lift heavy and are more concerned about leaning out rather than just losing weight.

The blog post was just one example. There were others that weren't totally against counting calories.. just not being super strict about it. It made it seem like if I just ate the "right foods" and lifted heavy I would be just fine.

Looked up Paleo. No way I could do that all of my life. Although, I could incorporate some of that thinking into my eating habits. For example, instead of 100 cal Snickers bar I could eat 100 cals worth of nuts. Stuff like that.

Unknown

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richln

LolaKarwowski wrote: »

So my goal is to lift heavy and lean out. Right now I weight 131 lbs and am 5ft 7in tall. Do not know my body fat % but I'd say it's about 25-28%.

The best way to gain strength is to bulk to increase muscle mass. You won't lose body fat while you are bulking though. Are you familiar with recomps? In a recomp, you can lose body fat, gain some strength and muscle, but strength and muscle gains will be very slow:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat/p1

LolaKarwowski wrote: »

The blog post was just one example. There were others that weren't totally against counting calories.. just not being super strict about it. It made it seem like if I just ate the "right foods" and lifted heavy I would be just fine.

Some people can pull that off, others can't stick to it. If you fill up on a lot of low calorie vegetables and lean protein, it may be hard to overeat calories because you are just too full. I personally find counting calories to be more effective, plus I like beer, ice cream and chips too much.

LolaKarwowski

richln wrote: »

LolaKarwowski wrote: »

So my goal is to lift heavy and lean out. Right now I weight 131 lbs and am 5ft 7in tall. Do not know my body fat % but I'd say it's about 25-28%.

The best way to gain strength is to bulk to increase muscle mass. You won't lose body fat while you are bulking though. Are you familiar with recomps? In a recomp, you can lose body fat, gain some strength and muscle, but strength and muscle gains will be very slow:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat/p1

LolaKarwowski wrote: »

The blog post was just one example. There were others that weren't totally against counting calories.. just not being super strict about it. It made it seem like if I just ate the "right foods" and lifted heavy I would be just fine.

Some people can pull that off, others can't stick to it. If you fill up on a lot of low calorie vegetables and lean protein, it may be hard to overeat calories because you are just too full. I personally find counting calories to be more effective, plus I like beer, ice cream and chips too much.

Still on the second page of the forum you linked and loving it! I think what I am doing is pretty much recomp. Eating at a maintenance and lifting heavy. Will stick to that for a while to see where it takes me.

SR_86

I lift heavy and I count calories. I'm eating at maintenance because I'm trying to recomp. I also track my macros. I guess it depends what your goals are.

richln

LolaKarwowski wrote: »

richln wrote: »

LolaKarwowski wrote: »

So my goal is to lift heavy and lean out. Right now I weight 131 lbs and am 5ft 7in tall. Do not know my body fat % but I'd say it's about 25-28%.

The best way to gain strength is to bulk to increase muscle mass. You won't lose body fat while you are bulking though. Are you familiar with recomps? In a recomp, you can lose body fat, gain some strength and muscle, but strength and muscle gains will be very slow:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat/p1

LolaKarwowski wrote: »

The blog post was just one example. There were others that weren't totally against counting calories.. just not being super strict about it. It made it seem like if I just ate the "right foods" and lifted heavy I would be just fine.

Some people can pull that off, others can't stick to it. If you fill up on a lot of low calorie vegetables and lean protein, it may be hard to overeat calories because you are just too full. I personally find counting calories to be more effective, plus I like beer, ice cream and chips too much.

Still on the second page of the forum you linked and loving it! I think what I am doing is pretty much recomp. Eating at a maintenance and lifting heavy. Will stick to that for a while to see where it takes me.

Good luck. Don't get frustrated, it is a very long process and you won't be noticing much change on a week-to-week basis.

ElizabethKalmbach

I am not the scenario you are looking for, but I do lift heavy, and I intend always to track calories so that I can observe trending in my own metabolism (special snowflake). I won't track to restrict after a certain point. I track to stay on target.