Question for Women Who Lift??

allison0820

So I used to be the cardio queen.... lots and lots of cardio sometimes twice a day, running, zumba, martial arts, etc.... But I kept bouncing between the same 5 lbs up and down... I still would like to lose about 30 - 40 more pounds, but I am pretty happy with how I look just want to see some definition in my arms, back and upper legs oh and the bootaaayyy. Well a month or so ago read a thread here about lifting to burn fat and eating more to weight less.. so decided I'd give it a try.. So I am doing the 12 week program from the Sexy Lean Women's Bible that I found on bodybuilding.com.... 1st thing I had to do was UP my caloric intake by a lot... (MFP had me at 1530, eating back burned calories and bodybuilding.com says 2388 a day).... I vowed not to weigh or measure until the 12 weeks is up... The 2388 is the low end given to me by bodybuilding.com. Anyway I wanted to ask all the other lady lifters out there... did your appetite increase a lot? I just finished my 2nd week and I feel like I want a lot of food and more often.... and find myself going over the 2388 a lot, btw I do track my exercise but don't add calories (only add 1 calorie burned) back. So long story short I have a few questions....

1. How soon after beginning a heavy lifting program did your appetite increase if at all?
2. How soon after beginning a heavy lifting program did you notice changes? (without the scale and with the scale)
3. How much did you increase your increments, for instance if I am benching 65lbs the 1st 4 weeks, should I go up 10lbs or what when I start the 2nd phase of the program at week 5?


Also any other advise or if you want to share your stories it's all welcome!!

And can I just say I am both really excited and very scared at the same time... We (my husband and I) are sticking to the programs lift schedule so 1. I am excited to see the 12 week results and 2. scared I will be disappointed if I don't see significant change.

Feel free to add me!!

victoriasnow

My appetite increased A LOT when i started strength training back in October of last year. As of today, my appetite is still extremely high. I take in between 2000-2300 calories a day, but i also stick to a certain set of macros so i don't gain any excess weight. Changes in my body.. I started seeing results within the first week. I felt stronger & kind of became addicted to it. haha As far as going up in weight, once you hit a point where you feel like your number of sets/reps isn't enough, go up 5 lbs and see how it feels. if you can't do that.. do another set or add more reps.

allison0820

Awesome!!! Thanks for the tips!! BTW you look great!! And yes it is kinda addicting isn't it.. Makes me feel like a bad@$$!!

selenametts

I do kettlebells, its sort of heavy lifting (definitely strength training) at times depending on the routine. My appetite increased almost immediately and now I notice a significant increase in my appetite following a decent kettlebell workout (the same day and the day after). Definitely more so than after a regular cardio workout (running, elliptical, and the like). I probably started to see some results (definition) first in my arms after the first month of doing kettlebells plus cardio and eating healthy. Legs after 3 months, abs after the first year (i've had two kids and was squishy around the middle so ab results may be faster depending on your build. diet is important for sure!

allison0820

I am glad to see I am falling right in line then... before when I was just doing tons of cardio... I would typically eat 3 meals a day... Now I usually get 3 meals with 3 snacks a day!!!

bumblebums

Yes, this increase in appetite is completely normal. You need food for recovery, and make sure you get plenty of protein, too.

thatonegirlwiththestuff

I lift 4 times a week. I keep my caloric intake around 1600 on rest days and probably around 1900 on the days I lift. I really am focusing more on macros at the moment and have increased my protein intake to 140 grams. I am constantly hungry. I eat a lot to begin with, but lifting heavy makes me ravenous. It's normal. I changed from lifting light weights to heavy weights 3 months ago and the changes have been amazing. I have a propensity to put on muscle quite easily, so my results may not be typical/average. I also gained 6 lbs in the process; try not to watch the scale, as this can be discouraging, a better option is to take measurements and/or progress pictures.

cmeiron

I started lifting in February. When I started lifting I reduced my cardio by about 2/3 (from like 300min/week to about 120/week). I was, when I started, eating 1800 (total)/day, but increased it to 2000/day after two weeks because I was ravenous. Later I upped it to about 2150 and continued to steadily lose bf. I'm now at 2400/day, trying to figure out what my maintenance intake is.

I noticed physical changes within weeks. Here's where I started:



Here's after the first 5 weeks:



My current profile pic is where I am as of this week.

As for increments, I'm following the All Pro Beginner's routine, which is designed to be a happy medium between hypertrophy and strength gains. It calls for weekly increases in the number of reps over a five week period (from 8-12), and load increases of 10% after every 5 weeks (provided you're able to hit all 12 reps at the previous load). I've made pretty good progress so far

shaywallis

I started feeling super hungry after about 3wks of weight training. Im famished when I wake up in the mornings and I eat double what my husband does. Prob around 2,500 cal or more. I also breastfeed my daughter and that can burn up to 500 cal a day. So I have to eat more to keep my supply up.

After 6-8wks or so I started seeing major definition. I love how my arms and shoulders are starting to look!

mjrkearney

Back when I had a regular listing regimen, I was still netting 1200 calories a day. Wound up bloody exhausted, but I was also doing a low-carb protein shake with a high vitamin content. Wonderful stuff, and probably the reason I wasn't constantly starving.

Your appetite will increase because your body needs more. Carbs for fuel, protein for repairs, fats for solubility. If you're cutting, you won't build. If you're building, you won't cut. You will probably burn plenty of fat as you go along, but you won't necessarily see your weight drop due to water retention and muscle build. Watch your measurements, and enjoy.

Coquette6

I'm doing Stronglifts 5x5 and I could also eat a horse most days. I'd say about 3 weeks into it as the weights really started going up, I noticed that I was starving on the 1550 I had set for myself. I average around 1700 these days, and some days I definitely could easily eat more, but I'm just trying to keep a slight deficit for fat loss. It was around 4 or 5 weeks that I started to notice my body changing. A bit more definition in my arms, thighs getting smaller, hips slimming down a bit.

As for increases, I do it when I can. So when I'm consistently getting to the fifth rep and thinking, "Hey, I could do another one", then I'll try to add more weight. Sometimes I can, sometimes it doesn't work - for example, adding 5lbs to your squat is a much easier increment than adding 5lbs for an overhead press.