Eating at deficit + Weight lifting...needing a balance.

jmac4263

Ok to start yes I have searched this topic already and looked at previous posts but they all seem specific to people who are just starting weight lifting or they do not match my scenario. I am needing advice on my routine to balance my lifting/ eating/ cardio.

In the past I have not been counting calories that close, I have been going to the gym 5-6 days a week and lifting weights in muscle sets. The weight ( my body weight) has slowly been increasing with out a change in my lifting weight. So in simple terms I believe I have been eating too much. I am now paying attention to calories and eating around the 1300 mark, I also started running to prepare for a 5k in August. So with a bigger calorie deficit yes the scale is going to go down but what about my lifting??

I did legs last night and all the weights that I easily did 4 sets of 10 I could hardly complete 1 set. My muscles were sore and fatigued to the point i was wobbly right after doing so... which wasnt a normal thing before I started counting and staying at deficit. So to keep the muscle I have been building for so long do I go to a lower weight with alot of reps??

I want to lose about 15 pounds but i dont want to stop lifting! The only solution to drop weight has been to increase my cardio by alot and eat less but i dont want to lose all the hard work i put into my muscles either!!!

Help!

IsaackGMOON

Maybe get off of a hypertrophy rep range and focus more on a strength rep range, i.e. 5x5?

Also, what are your stats? I feel that eating at 1300 calories is creating too big of a deficit.

Open your diary too, I'd like to see your macros etc.

You don't have to stop lifting because you want to lose weight... however, you do have to properly fuel yourself in your situation.

jmac4263

I stopped tracking on this site and started tracking on My fitbit site.
I am at 155 pounds 5'4
This week calories are 1354, 1191, 1410,1477 I eat plenty of protein and drink alot of water. I'm really not new to the diet changes and eating healthy. I have been lifting for a year and a half very slowly upping the weight I lift. I used to run alot but stopped when I started weights. This is the first time I have tried mixing the two and I am just wondering what the best solution would be.

Also, yes I measure my food either with a scale or with measuring cups

IsaackGMOON

It'd probably be easier if you just logged on here.

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jmac4263 wrote: »

I want to lose about 15 pounds but i dont want to stop lifting! The only solution to drop weight has been to increase my cardio by alot and eat less but i dont want to lose all the hard work i put into my muscles either!!!

Help!

I feel you. I've been lifting hard for two years, making gains, and have started cutting pretty hard since March. There's a fine line to walk (and there are a lot of body recomp threads out there that might help you).

You absolutely shouldn't stop lifting. Lifting is crucial to maintaining muscle during a cut, so the weight you lose is more fat and less muscle.

But you can't really fool the biology/science of the situation either. When you're in a calorie deficit, protein synthesis is more difficult, so it is going to be harder to build new muscle. And you can't lose the fat without a deficit.

This is where body recomp might be more suited for you, especially someone who has those last 15 pounds to go. With body recomp, you tend to fuel your body more at maintenance levels on the days you lift, and then eat at a deficit on the days you aren't lifting. Some people have had a lot of success with it.

I'd just pay attention to your body and your hunger queues. If you're finding working out to be more difficult than it used to be, you just might need a little more fuel on lifting days. Maybe be strategic about it: make sure you get good carb sources an hour before you lift, and good protein after. Be very accurate with your calorie counting and see what kind of a deficit you can realistically maintain for a whole week. You may have to work with a smaller deficit in order to fuel your lifting; perhaps only losing .5 lbs. per week instead of something more aggressive.

jmac4263

That helps! I might need to adjust or I wont be eating at a deficit at all, I was lifting on Monday, Tuesday, Thurs, Frid, Saturday. Rest was on Wednesday and Sunday.

What I really wanted to do was spend 30 mins running or cardio and then the rest of the time lifting my regular schedule and take the amount of different lifts down and just do a few specific with low weight and high reps. That then makes the theory of eating at maintance almost impossibe because I would be right back where I am.

I dont want to get in a Bulk/ Cut Routine because it takes me longer than most to relose the weight i gain in bulk.

Such a struggle for 15 pounds I'll tell ya!!!

Katzedernacht

Hmmm while I can understand the deficit, 1,300 calories for serious lifting sounds..well not enough at all, I have no idea how much you ate before but you may try this for example :
Lift as heavy and on those days eat around,I don't know 1,800?
eat 1,300 the days/day you don't lift

I don't know, I go to the gym 5-6 days a week as well,but I don't do cardio daily, I do it every third day,about 25 mind,but the difference is I don't have lbs to lose, I'm aiming to lose the remaining fat,as much as possible and let them muscles shine.

May I ask the range of weight you lift? like, one of my best ones is leg press, 140kgs, 4x10.

jmac4263

My leg press 2 weeks ago was 4 sets of 10 at 340lbs, I am not by any means a body builder but have been trying to increase my weights in the last 6 months. I have a low upper body strength, I cannot do pull ups with out assistance... my lat pull downs and rows are between 60 pounds and 70 pounds depending on the day.

Most things I do are sets of 4 at 8 or 10 reps. I have noticed more muscle I am just at the point I would really like to trim down the extra weight.

For my height I think healthy weight is 135 and my goals is 140 which should be attainable.

Like I said I have been doing much more running because I havent for months and I entered a 5k in august. I wasnt really doing cardio at all in the last year and a half I always just lifted

rileyes

Have you tried a program like Strong Lifts 5x5 (barbell/free weights)? You will definitely lose inches on SL5x5 if you are netting 1300 calories. Just make sure you eat enough to fuel your workout. SL5x5 can also help your running.

Or you may want to try HIIT or circuit training to change things up.

Push aside the bodyweight scale and keep heaping the food scale with protein.

jmac4263

rileyes wrote: »

Have you tried a program like Strong Lifts 5x5 (barbell/free weights)? You will definitely lose inches on SL5x5 if you are netting 1300 calories. Just make sure you eat enough to fuel your workout. SL5x5 can also help your running.

Or you may want to try HIIT or circuit training to change things up.

Push aside the bodyweight scale and keep heaping the food scale with protein.

I havent done any of those I normally do 5 or 6 lifts that focus on my area for the day.

Legs- Lunges, leg press, extensions, calf raises, squats, abductors
Chest- flies, push ups, inclined press,

^^ you get the idea but thats what I have done for alot of the time. I tried full body too but went back to isolated lifts.

The last time I did HITT- T25 I was so sore I couldnt hardly do anything for 3 days needless to say i didnt stick with it!!! Funny how you can lift as much as you want but one day of that made me horribly sore!

I will look into Strong lifts and see if that will help

editorgrrl

jmac4263 wrote: »

Such a struggle for 15 pounds I'll tell ya!!!

The less you have to lose, the more slowly it comes off. That's just the way the human body works. And the smaller you are the smaller the margin of error, so you need to log everything you eat & drink even more accurately & even more honestly. Logging works.

Connect your accounts at http://www.myfitnesspal.com/fitbit

Set your goal to .5 lb. for every 25 lbs. you're overweight: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_guided

Enable negative calorie adjustments: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

Log food & drink in MFP and exercise in Fitbit. Ignore your Fitbit calorie goal and follow MFP's, eating back your adjustments.

You can learn more in the Fitbit Users group: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users

cbrook29

I try to cut by reducing my calories by 20% from my basal metabolic rate. If you are at a deficit you might experience strength loss. However, my muscles respond well to volume and to increased kilograms of weights lifted. Try less weight more volume. Also, my prework out gives me energy and I perform almost as good as in a fed state. Everyone is different - you have to tweak to find what works. I even train in a fasted state often and still have lots of energy. You don't want to be at an extreme deficit. Targeting more than 2 lbs a week is pushing it a bit - unless you are experiencing newbie muscle gains and newbie fat loss. A 250 lb person at 30% fat will lose major weight in the beginning if they are going hard in the gym with diet.

IsaackGMOON

cbrook29 wrote: »

I try to cut by reducing my calories by 20% from my basal metabolic rate. If you are at a deficit you might experience strength loss. However, my muscles respond well to volume and to increased kilograms of weights lifted. Try less weight more volume. Also, my prework out gives me energy and I perform almost as good as in a fed state. Everyone is different - you have to tweak to find what works. I even train in a fasted state often and still have lots of energy. You don't want to be at an extreme deficit. Targeting more than 2 lbs a week is pushing it a bit - unless you are experiencing newbie muscle gains and newbie fat loss. A 250 lb person at 30% fat will lose major weight in the beginning if they are going hard in the gym with diet.

wat

you cut 20% from your BMR

wat r u doing

stahp