New Rules of Lifting for Women group?

sunshine79

Hi ladies,

Glad to see everyone's posts, you are all doing so well.

Now, I need some feedback on my current situation. I'm on week 3 of stage 2 (have done both workouts 3 times each) of NROLFW, loving it. I weighed myself this morn, the results:
- weight 150lbs (no significant change)
- body fat 27.6% (down from 29%)
- inch loss - no change

Does this make sense? Can my body fat have gone done and I see no loss in inches or actual weight?

Am I doing something wrong????? I'm not giving up as I'm making good strength gains but I'm a little miffed. I'm thinking of just sticking with it and maybe things will change soon. My aim is to lose BF AND inches - help!!!:explode: :explode: :explode: :explode: :explode: :explode: :explode:

FYI I'm doing NROLFW 2 x per week
strength and core work with my trainer 1 x per week
boxing/sparring 1 x per week
Spin class 1 x per week

Sunshine,

It sounds like you have the exercise part in check. But I did take a look at your diary and it doesn't look like you are eating enough. You are doing a good amount of exercise and it doesn't appear that you are eating your exercise calories back. Also, what are your macros set at. Your protein looks a little low. These are just a few things that I saw. Also, look at prashley post above, she hits on one of these points.

Thanks girl,

I do struggle to eat enough, it's a mental thing that I HAVE to work through. It's just hard to get my head around the eat more to lose more idea. I know it theoretically but in practice I'm still not there yet. I think I'm over thinking it and keep reading too much about eating more vs eating less. I need to sit down and plan out my meals for the week I think. Hmmm.... I need to sort this out. Thanks for your honesty.

The protein is a real issue as I'm lactose intolerant and cannot eat nuts so this rules out so many protein sources, getting enough protein in is hard. I'm not all that keen on meat either but I am going to have to try and eat meat I guess. OK, back to the drawing board food wise.

Thanks again, I need you to check up on me with this - maybe having you looking over my shoulder will help me to get the food right

mocha76

Sunshine,

Yes, you can do this and I will help in anyway that I can!! And I need your help with the exercise. I have to be a little more consistent with the strength training. Most of the time, I do it 2x per week, but if something comes up during the week, I will cut out a day of strength training before I cut out cardio (which is basically Zumba). I would really like to be consistent with 3x week of strength training and cardio, 2x week. We are going to get there one day. :-)

tolygal

Happy Monday, everyone! (Not really, I'm really craving some caffeine right now)

I am almost officially done with Stage 1. Today I am doing Special Workout A, and Wednesday is Special Workout B. Next Monday I will begin Stage 2!

I know everyone is different, but I will try to answer everyone's gaining muscle/losing fat questions from my experience. Before I started NROLFW, I was 156 lbs and around 26% body fat according to my handheld body fat analyzer. As of this weekend, I am 147.2 and 23% body fat. So I have lost about nine pounds, and if I did my math correctly, this means most of that loss is body fat (edit: I tried to demonstrate the equations below), give or take a few pounds for water fluctuation.

156 x .26 = 40.56 lbs of body fat
147.2 x .23 = 33.856 lbs of body fat

40.6 - 33.9 = 6.7 lbs difference

I am almost 99% sure that I haven't lost any lean muscle, because both my husband and I have noticed increased muscle definition all over my body, increased strength, and DEFINITELY shrinking in my overall figure. The numbers above aren't 100% accurate, but the handheld analyzer is the best thing I could go off of. The Health and Wellness Center on base has a bodpod, and I will schedule an appointment soon!

I eat on average 1750 cals/daily and I'm not too strict with this number. Sometimes I eat around 2000, sometimes I eat around 1500. I eat as clean as I can, but I do enjoy treats occasionally, such as ice cream, Full Throttles, sweet potato fries, etc. My main focus is making sure I don't have more than one gluttonous day per week, and I try to get at least 150g of protein/day.

In addition to NROLFW, I do two days a week of pace tempo running (kind of like HIIT or interval training) and one day a week of an endurance run. When I begin Stage 2, I will omit the HIIT from my workout since I already have two whole days per week devoted to it! I should also mention on my endurance run day, I normally burn about 400 calories, so this is usually my highest calorie day.

Honestly, I think all of you should eat more. Eating slightly below maintenance level has allowed me to lose continuously over the course of two months without making my body feel deprived. Keep in mind I've been losing slowly, but I'm 98% sure it's mostly fat that's been lost. I only have 7 lbs of fat left to lose before I hit 140 and I will officially up my calories to maintenance level, and I can't wait!

When you say your eating just under maintenance, what do you mean by that? I've been trying to do 80% of maintenance, but zig-zagging and it is not going well. I can't handle the low days (1200 something one day and 1100 something the other). The whole thing is just to much for me to work with, so I'm going back to just choosing a daily goal and adding 300 on lifting days. I

Are you setting your calories at just below maintenance and also eating back your excercise calories?

You're working out more than I have been. Tuesday and Thursdays are killer workouts for me. I warm up for 5-10 minutes by jogging at 6 mph (today was 6.3) and maybe add a sprint or two in there. Then I lift according to NROLFW (minus the some of the shoulder stuff for now) and then I either do intervals for 20-30 minutes or treadmill tabata. Then, I go back to the gym a couple hours later for my aerobic class where I bust *kitten* in. So on Wed and Friday, I'm POOPED!!! And I really feel like my muscles need the rest to repair. On my weekend lift day I do my lifting plus 30 minutes of step aerobics. I could probably throw one more day in there on the weekend if I can manage it with the kids and stuff... But the three days are pretty regular. I'm just wondering how your muscles are holding up to working out every day? Maybe I should push through some running or a DVD on those days also??

I have about 15-20 pounds (not including the recent 7 pounds I gained back - 2 are gone so far, but I haven't updated my info yet) of fat I want to lose yet, and right now I'm not being consistent with my eating enough to make that happen. But your post gives me the incentive to try harder :-)

oddyogi

When you say your eating just under maintenance, what do you mean by that? I've been trying to do 80% of maintenance, but zig-zagging and it is not going well. I can't handle the low days (1200 something one day and 1100 something the other). The whole thing is just to much for me to work with, so I'm going back to just choosing a daily goal and adding 300 on lifting days. I

Are you setting your calories at just below maintenance and also eating back your excercise calories?

You're working out more than I have been. Tuesday and Thursdays are killer workouts for me. I warm up for 5-10 minutes by jogging at 6 mph (today was 6.3) and maybe add a sprint or two in there. Then I lift according to NROLFW (minus the some of the shoulder stuff for now) and then I either do intervals for 20-30 minutes or treadmill tabata. Then, I go back to the gym a couple hours later for my aerobic class where I bust *kitten* in. So on Wed and Friday, I'm POOPED!!! And I really feel like my muscles need the rest to repair. On my weekend lift day I do my lifting plus 30 minutes of step aerobics. I could probably throw one more day in there on the weekend if I can manage it with the kids and stuff... But the three days are pretty regular. I'm just wondering how your muscles are holding up to working out every day? Maybe I should push through some running or a DVD on those days also??

I have about 15-20 pounds (not including the recent 7 pounds I gained back - 2 are gone so far, but I haven't updated my info yet) of fat I want to lose yet, and right now I'm not being consistent with my eating enough to make that happen. But your post gives me the incentive to try harder :-)

Well.. I think the maintenance for 140 lbs (which is my goal weight) is around 1800-2100, depending on the source. Most of the time I net around 1600-1800, so this is close to that number. My point was the weight I am losing is not really from a high calorie deficit, but from burning fat.

Tonya, you work out a lot it seems like! Even though I do something six days a week, it's really different. MWF when I strength train, I warm up for about three minutes doing some exercises suggested in the book plus a couple similar ones. I then go through the strength training workout, do a cool down stretch, and I'm normally out of the gym before my watch hits 35-45 minutes (including warm up and cool down).

On my pace/tempo days, I don't run more than 30 minutes, and on my endurance run day, it's only three miles, so that only takes 30 minutes too. So I really only work out about 180 minutes/week. I am definitely ready for my rest day by Sunday, though!

I kind of gave up on the structured zigzag, and now I am very lax with my calories. I still zigzag, but not intentionally. I just let it happen. I just shoot to get as much protein as I can without eating more than 2000 calories most days, and some days I just don't feel like eating much and I'll hit around 1500. It all really depends. I am way more strict with my workouts than I am with cutting cals.

sunshine79

I'm not giving up on this guys so I've been doing some more thinking....... I posted this earlier but I'd really appreciate all of your thoughts on this

Just a thought. I keep reading that creating a calorie deficit trough exercise is superior to creating the deficit through calorie restriction.

With that in mind if I eat at maintenance (good quality calories) and workout to create the deficit (but not eat them back) will I still lose weight?????

Please, I'm not looking for an argument about whether or not to eat back exercise calories - just advice from others who may have taken this approach or actually know something about this.

Thanks in advance, have a blessed day:happy: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

kdiamond

I hear ya! I have 9lbs that I would like to lose...but I have lost 3% body fat and a bunch of inches....but I am such a slave to the scale. I dont think I am able to ditch the scale. You are braver than me
I, also, want to be strong and lean. I keep saying I dont care about the scale, but I do. Ijust lowered my calories but I upped my protein and lowered my carbs and fat....we'll see.
Keep on keepin' on Girl! Strong is the new Skinny!

Be careful with how much you lower on this program...to get the full benefit you really should eat at maintenance or just 100 or so less daily...you can't build muscle without food!

mocha76

I hear ya! I have 9lbs that I would like to lose...but I have lost 3% body fat and a bunch of inches....but I am such a slave to the scale. I dont think I am able to ditch the scale. You are braver than me
I, also, want to be strong and lean. I keep saying I dont care about the scale, but I do. Ijust lowered my calories but I upped my protein and lowered my carbs and fat....we'll see.
Keep on keepin' on Girl! Strong is the new Skinny!

Be careful with how much you lower on this program...to get the full benefit you really should eat at maintenance or just 100 or so less daily...you can't build muscle without food!

With that being said, my maintenance is 1800. Do you think I can still lose weight/fat by eating at maintenance or just 100 cals below?

kensky

Everybody is so awesome and helpful here (MFP of course but this thread/group in particular!)

I think I am going to bump up my calories to my *gulp* maintenance level. This is only 200 calories more than what I am getting now (NROLFWs formula had me around 1750 and I am comfortable with going for 1700 a day as a base bearing in mind that I *do* eat my exercise calories.)

What sparked this decision (aside from the excellent conversation we've been having here) is that I struggle so damn much with my front squat to press! I can front squat, sure but the press part (a measly 45 pounds!) is shaky and weak. It sucks.

Which brings me to another whiny subject...:laugh: ...I get up at 5 and I'm at the gym by 5:30 every morning. From lurking on various muscle/bodybuilding forums I see that the hardcore lifters manage their gym time in a way that is not possible for me. Ideally, I'd be doing my cardio first thing in the morning and then lift after work. I have all sorts of mama-work to do after work-work so that's just not feasible for this point in my life. I am trying to figure out how to best and most quickly fuel my crack-of-melonfarming-dawn workouts so that I can lift the damn weight! I have been trying to eat a half of banana as soon as my feet touch the floor after my horrid alarm sounds just since it's a quiet, quick food source and I've been assuming that the carbs will absorb quickly and fuel workouts well enough. But I don't know for sure, obviously.:huh:

tolygal

I'm not giving up on this guys so I've been doing some more thinking....... I posted this earlier but I'd really appreciate all of your thoughts on this

Just a thought. I keep reading that creating a calorie deficit trough exercise is superior to creating the deficit through calorie restriction.

With that in mind if I eat at maintenance (good quality calories) and workout to create the deficit (but not eat them back) will I still lose weight?????

Please, I'm not looking for an argument about whether or not to eat back exercise calories - just advice from others who may have taken this approach or actually know something about this.

Thanks in advance, have a blessed day:happy: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

This makes sense to me - in fact, I may do the same. I think (if I remember right, it's been a while since I read the book), that they recommend eating at maintenance. So I suggest giving it a shot for a few weeks and see how it goes!!

tolygal

I hear ya! I have 9lbs that I would like to lose...but I have lost 3% body fat and a bunch of inches....but I am such a slave to the scale. I dont think I am able to ditch the scale. You are braver than me
I, also, want to be strong and lean. I keep saying I dont care about the scale, but I do. Ijust lowered my calories but I upped my protein and lowered my carbs and fat....we'll see.
Keep on keepin' on Girl! Strong is the new Skinny!

Be careful with how much you lower on this program...to get the full benefit you really should eat at maintenance or just 100 or so less daily...you can't build muscle without food!

With that being said, my maintenance is 1800. Do you think I can still lose weight/fat by eating at maintenance or just 100 cals below?

I would say yes. That's actually what the book recommends, I believe.

I recently lowered my calories and upped my protein too, but I think I'm going to trust the book and go much closer to maintenance - and switch back to the 40-30-30 ratio.

tolygal

Thanks for all the info Prashley! That makes me feel much better about what I'm doing. I think I'm going to take some pics tomorrow in bra and panties (no, I'm not sharing them LOL!!) and really try to knock this out and be consistent. Maybe that will help me with motivation too!! Maybe I can find some clothes that I can do this with and actually post my results :-)

tolygal

It's funny that we are all doing the plan this book provides, but so many of us struggle so much with eating at maintenance!! I'm glad I'm not alone in that, and I'm glad we are all seeing the light LOL!!

sunshine79

I have finally got the revelation!!!!!!!

I read it ages ago but now I get it. Burn the fat rather than try to starve the fat.

Lots of research shows that creating a calorie deficit through exercise does not prompt the 'starvation response' which calorie restriction does.

I'm going for eating 1700 calories a day which is about 150 calories less than maintenance. I feel confident that this is the way forward and that doing it this way will allow me to finally see the inch loss results I am working towards.

I have the workout part down to a T but the diet is where I struggled and looking back now it's almost as though I was fighting against my body by cutting calories rather than working with it.

I accept that this is not a free licence to eat junk but having the freedom to be slightly more relaxed with my food intake really takes the pressure off. For now I am going to stick with 1700 calories per day with my main focus being on making sure that I get a minimum of 100g of protein EVERY day. Once I have this down I'll look at increasing my protein.

You guys are awesome, thanks so much for sharing all that you have, it's really helped. I shall keep you posted.

I'm feeling pretty happy about this now. :happy: :happy: :happy: :happy:

oddyogi

Be careful with how much you lower on this program...to get the full benefit you really should eat at maintenance or just 100 or so less daily...you can't build muscle without food!

With that being said, my maintenance is 1800. Do you think I can still lose weight/fat by eating at maintenance or just 100 cals below?
[/quote]

Heck yes! I actually just upped my calorie limit to 1900/day.

oddyogi

Everybody is so awesome and helpful here (MFP of course but this thread/group in particular!)

I think I am going to bump up my calories to my *gulp* maintenance level. This is only 200 calories more than what I am getting now (NROLFWs formula had me around 1750 and I am comfortable with going for 1700 a day as a base bearing in mind that I *do* eat my exercise calories.)

What sparked this decision (aside from the excellent conversation we've been having here) is that I struggle so damn much with my front squat to press! I can front squat, sure but the press part (a measly 45 pounds!) is shaky and weak. It sucks.

Which brings me to another whiny subject...:laugh: ...I get up at 5 and I'm at the gym by 5:30 every morning. From lurking on various muscle/bodybuilding forums I see that the hardcore lifters manage their gym time in a way that is not possible for me. Ideally, I'd be doing my cardio first thing in the morning and then lift after work. I have all sorts of mama-work to do after work-work so that's just not feasible for this point in my life. I am trying to figure out how to best and most quickly fuel my crack-of-melonfarming-dawn workouts so that I can lift the damn weight! I have been trying to eat a half of banana as soon as my feet touch the floor after my horrid alarm sounds just since it's a quiet, quick food source and I've been assuming that the carbs will absorb quickly and fuel workouts well enough. But I don't know for sure, obviously.:huh:

Awesome! I bet you will see better results once you up your cals. As for the energy thing.. on Tuesdays and Thursdays I had to change my running to in the morning due to heat, and I definitely feel you with the dragging feet thing.

I take a thermogenic, mainly for energy. I use OxyElite Pro, and seriously within 10 minutes of taking it in the morning I am wide awake and ready to tear some stuff up, haha!

I know a lot of people are against supplements, but I figured I'd suggest it anyway.

oddyogi

I have finally got the revelation!!!!!!!

I read it ages ago but now I get it. Burn the fat rather than try to starve the fat.

Lots of research shows that creating a calorie deficit through exercise does not prompt the 'starvation response' which calorie restriction does.

I'm going for eating 1700 calories a day which is about 150 calories less than maintenance. I feel confident that this is the way forward and that doing it this way will allow me to finally see the inch loss results I am working towards.

I have the workout part down to a T but the diet is where I struggled and looking back now it's almost as though I was fighting against my body by cutting calories rather than working with it.

I accept that this is not a free licence to eat junk but having the freedom to be slightly more relaxed with my food intake really takes the pressure off. For now I am going to stick with 1700 calories per day with my main focus being on making sure that I get a minimum of 100g of protein EVERY day. Once I have this down I'll look at increasing my protein.

You guys are awesome, thanks so much for sharing all that you have, it's really helped. I shall keep you posted.

I'm feeling pretty happy about this now. :happy: :happy: :happy: :happy:

This is great! I bet you will see great results!

It also helps you not stress out about going over on calories so much, which is easy to do when you're only allowing yourself a small amount of calories per day. The less stress, the less cortisol.. and the less cortisol, the less fat is stored!

Win, win! Eat more, weigh less.

oddyogi

Wooo! I've officially completed the last workout (including special workouts) of Stage 1! Moving onto Stage 2 on Monday. Friday I will probably just do some random strength training stuff in the gym.

I plan on posting a blog sometime this week comparing pictures, inches, and strength gains! I'll let you guys know when I do if you're interested.

Happy fat burning, everyone! And yay we're on the downhill side of the week.

sunshine79

[/quote]

This is great! I bet you will see great results!

It also helps you not stress out about going over on calories so much, which is easy to do when you're only allowing yourself a small amount of calories per day. The less stress, the less cortisol.. and the less cortisol, the less fat is stored!

Win, win! Eat more, weigh less.
[/quote]

A great way to look at things. I'm being positive about the increase in calories and I've got rid of the scales for a while too! I'll just weigh, check body fat and measure myself at the end of each stage.

Almost at the end of stage 2 - Can already see differences in my upper body (arms,back and shoulders). Just waiting for it to filter down to my fat tummy now LOL

kensky

I rocked it at the gym today. I credit a few things. It's Saturday which means I get to go mid-morning an hour or so after a hearty breakfast plus I added a thermogenic to my life. (I think of it somewhat as Dumbo's feather, yk?) I also was doing the box deadlifts and not the dreaded (I love it! I want to rock it!) front squat to press, so that will be the true test.

I am thinking that I will put a shake in a bottle in the fridge for the wee hours when I usually work out. Shakes process more quickly (I'm sure my terminology is off but you know what I mean) than something like a banana, right? I'm guessing.

So that's my check-in, I am almost done with the 4th phase...can that be right? I think it is!

(I am going to officially up my calories on July 1st. I am excited to see what happens next!)

funfitfoodie

bumping so I can read later...