For those that lift heavy weights.....

Shyloh1

Just out of curiosity,do you eat more calories on lifting days vs. cardio days? If so how much?

I've been reading the Spike Diet book and he suggests that people should eat MORE on lifting days,.(I kinda just skimmed through the kindle version of this book last night).

Does anyone do this? Do you alternate high and low calorie days?

How do you determine the amount of calories to eat? Do you eat as close to your TDEE as possible on lifting days?



I would appreciate any insight from those that lift...

Shyloh1

Bump!

EuroDriver12

I eat alot everyday when im lifting. Heavy n bulking... Even om rest days ur muscles need the nutrition to rebuild themselves

aregensb

I started lifting heavy weights about a month ago. On my lifting days, I try to eat 2200-2300 calories. On my non lifting days, I probably eat anywhere between 1800 and 2000. I can usually get the extra calories easily because I have my post workout protein shake and a banana or something, so that's already about 200-250 calories.

dad106

It depends on what your goals are really.. If you want to bulk then you need to eat more, if you don't want to bulk then eat at a deficit.

I really don't find myself eating more or less when I lift.. I eat what I want and let the calories fall where they may.

Shyloh1

Thanks for your replies!

Keep the responses coming,I would love to get a general idea of what you all are doing.

Any tips would be appreciated also,


Through the Spike Diet book,I figured my BMR to be 1296 and my TDEE to be 2235.

I already eat more than my BMR...I'm thinking I should raise my calories to give my body what it needs.

Sidesteal

My goals are set to eat the same intake daily, regardless of whether or not it's a lift day vs a rest day. This applies regardless of cutting or bulking, however on a cut I will incorporate 1 day per week where I'm at maintenance or slightly higher and I don't monitor things closely.

I do give myself a pretty wide target to hit, in that I'm not going to panic if I'm within 100. I also will "roughly" keep track over a week and if I see that I'm continuously over/under I'll adjust.

I find it simpler and I'm not convinced that a cyclical intake will be beneficial for me.

Shyloh1

It depends on what your goals are really.. If you want to bulk then you need to eat more, if you don't want to bulk then eat at a deficit.

I really don't find myself eating more or less when I lift.. I eat what I want and let the calories fall where they may.

I'll have to admit,I think I'm what you call Skinny Fat. I weigh 126lbs,but I need to firm up.

I do lift 3x a week,I want to increase my strength and get leaner...

UponThisRock

I eat more on lifting days. I don't get any special benefit from it, it's basically just me saving calories in order to get to eat large meals several days per week. It keeps the former fat boy in me happy.

stubbysticks

I'm following the Spike Diet & yes, you want to make the lifting days your high days. When I was alternating 3 days of cardio with 3 days of lifting each week, the cardio days were the low ones. Just this week I switched to doing lifting + cardio 3 days, so they are my high days. You want to have the most energy on your lifting days to maximize your progress.

My low day target is 1350, high day is 1850, Spike Day is 3600. I set a minimum goal of 144g protein on all days. If you're curious about how others Spike, you should join the Spike 84 group.

HoLLyZ82

im with sidesteal. i basically keep my deficit the same throughout the week and allow a day at maintenance level. now that i think about it, i think hes the one that got me on this kick, lol. hey, thanks buddy!

dad106

It depends on what your goals are really.. If you want to bulk then you need to eat more, if you don't want to bulk then eat at a deficit.

I really don't find myself eating more or less when I lift.. I eat what I want and let the calories fall where they may.

I'll have to admit,I think I'm what you call Skinny Fat. I weigh 126lbs,but I need to firm up.

I do lift 3x a week,I want to increase my strength and get leaner...

In that case, you don't really need to eat more since it sounds like you don't want to gain muscle.

You can make the muscle stronger(by increasing weights) and get leaner without eating more...
I mean I went from a 10 to a 4 just by lifting weights and doing cardio... and I've been losing weight this entire time.

Shyloh1

My goals are set to eat the same intake daily, regardless of whether or not it's a lift day vs a rest day. This applies regardless of cutting or bulking, however on a cut I will incorporate 1 day per week where I'm at maintenance or slightly higher and I don't monitor things closely.

I do give myself a pretty wide target to hit, in that I'm not going to panic if I'm within 100. I also will "roughly" keep track over a week and if I see that I'm continuously over/under I'll adjust.

I find it simpler and I'm not convinced that a cyclical intake will be beneficial for me.

This way sounds more simpler...

I just need to wrap my head around that "I need to eat MORE" and stop being such a chicken *kitten* about gaining weight.
Why is it so friggin difficult for me to worry more about body composition then the number on the scale?

Any tips on how to overcome that? Maybe throwing away the scale would be a good option?

Shyloh1

It depends on what your goals are really.. If you want to bulk then you need to eat more, if you don't want to bulk then eat at a deficit.

I really don't find myself eating more or less when I lift.. I eat what I want and let the calories fall where they may.

I'll have to admit,I think I'm what you call Skinny Fat. I weigh 126lbs,but I need to firm up.

I do lift 3x a week,I want to increase my strength and get leaner...

In that case, you don't really need to eat more since it sounds like you don't want to gain muscle.

You can make the muscle stronger(by increasing weights) and get leaner without eating more...
I mean I went from a 10 to a 4 just by lifting weights and doing cardio... and I've been losing weight this entire time.

Right now,I have my calories set @1500/day which .5lb weight loss per week. I know I would need to eat a 10% surplus on calories if I wanted to gain muscle right? Oh,and I eat back the majority of my exercise calories.

DixiedoesMFP

I hate the scale. I hide it in the closet. Today my pants are falling down and I need a belt. That's after sidesteal told me to eat more lol. He's really quite a troll .

Anyway, fill yourself up with good nutrition. I tend to eat a little more on lifting days but partially I think that's the excuse I give myself to eat a little more .

DixiedoesMFP

I hate the scale. I hide it in the closet. Today my pants are falling down and I need a belt. That's after sidesteal told me to eat more lol. He's really quite a troll .

Anyway, fill yourself up with good nutrition. I tend to eat a little more on lifting days but partially I think that's the excuse I give myself to eat a little more .

Rae6503

You will not gain unless you eat over your TDEE. So you could eat at your TDEE on lifting days and 300 less on rest days. I tend to eat more on lifting days.

jessicamckay13

I tend to eat more all the time. I'm an eater. I listen to my body. If I drop a lb or two, I eat even more. I am STARVING after any workout, whether it's a long run or lifting heavy. I try to eat carbs/protein within half an hour of working out, but sometimes it's more like an hour. Darn kids always wanting snacks first

Sidesteal

Right now,I have my calories set @1500/day which .5lb weight loss per week. I know I would need to eat a 10% surplus on calories if I wanted to gain muscle right? Oh,and I eat back the majority of my exercise calories.

If you want to gain muscle it will be in your best interest to eat slightly above your TDEE. 10 to 20% is a good place to start.

As far as your fear of gaining weight, stop weighing, focus on gym strength for a while. While bulking you should see a significant strength increase and this will help to motivate you in that you'll know you're making progress, just a different kind of progress.


As far as intake goes, if you prefer more food on lifting days then absolutely do it. There's nothing wrong with setting up your intake like this, it's personal preference provided your weekly averages are correct. I just do steady intake for simplicity but I also feel fine doing it this way. If at any point I found that I was hungry as hell on lift days and full on rest days I'd definitely shuffle cals around to compensate.

Shyloh1

You will not gain unless you eat over your TDEE. So you could eat at your TDEE on lifting days and 300 less on rest days. I tend to eat more on lifting days.

I know you're right...

I just need for someone to slap some sense into me.

_Bro

Cyclical diets are effective but a pain in the ar$se.
Furthermore, I think that they are more diffiicult to stick to if you are starting out..

So, if you are skinny fat and just starting a diet make small lifestyle changes and eat at a slight deficit and occasionally more.
Lift weights - resistance training is very important and try to find things that you actually like doing ..

Rae6503

I've been eating at a surplus for 2 months. I've only gained 3 pounds and my deadlifts have give from 65 to 135, squats from 45 to 115.

thecrossfitter

I'm currently still trying to cut a bit a fat, so I'm not doing the bulking/calorie surplus things.

I keep my diary set to maintenance (for a lightly active lifestyle - I walk to work and the gym which are each a mile away). This gives me 1900 cals. I usually eat right around here. I figure I create my deficit with my workouts (5 days a week).

On non-gym days, I eat closer to 1600-1700 cals.

So yeah - I eat more on lifting days. But mostly I just stick to intuitive eating - eat when I'm hungry and stop when I'm full, and use the MFP numbers as a general guideline. I'll eat over if I am very hungry for it, but this rarely happens ... when it does, it's a heavy lifting day.

Shyloh1

I'm currently still trying to cut a bit a fat, so I'm not doing the bulking/calorie surplus things.

I keep my diary set to maintenance (for a lightly active lifestyle - I walk to work and the gym which are each a mile away). This gives me 1900 cals. I usually eat right around here. I figure I create my deficit with my workouts (5 days a week).

On non-gym days, I eat closer to 1600-1700 cals.

So yeah - I eat more on lifting days. But mostly I just stick to intuitive eating - eat when I'm hungry and stop when I'm full, and use the MFP numbers as a general guideline. I'll eat over if I am very hungry for it, but this rarely happens ... when it does, it's a heavy lifting day.

Maybe I will do what you're doing until I can cut a bit more fat and then worry about eating at a surplus once I'm happy with my body fat %. I am very close to my goal weight,I just need to cut some fat while I'm lifting. I eventually want to bulk.

thecrossfitter

I'm currently still trying to cut a bit a fat, so I'm not doing the bulking/calorie surplus things.

I keep my diary set to maintenance (for a lightly active lifestyle - I walk to work and the gym which are each a mile away). This gives me 1900 cals. I usually eat right around here. I figure I create my deficit with my workouts (5 days a week).

On non-gym days, I eat closer to 1600-1700 cals.

So yeah - I eat more on lifting days. But mostly I just stick to intuitive eating - eat when I'm hungry and stop when I'm full, and use the MFP numbers as a general guideline. I'll eat over if I am very hungry for it, but this rarely happens ... when it does, it's a heavy lifting day.

Maybe I will do what you're doing until I can cut a bit more fat and then worry about eating at a surplus once I'm happy with my body fat %. I am very close to my goal weight,I just need to cut some fat while I'm lifting. I eventually want to bulk.

I've heard a lot of people say to bulk first - so keep asking around for more opinions. I totally get why they say that, but for a myriad of reasons it's just the way I'm going about it. I'm by no means saying that this is the "correct" way

Rae6503

I started my bulk while I had 10 or so pounds of fat to lose. Mainly I was tired of dieting and winter seemed like a good time to do it (sweaters are very forgiving).

RonSwanson66

I tend to follow a very simple EOD approach.

Protein and Fat are roughly the same every day.

In non-training days, I eat low-carb (usually under 100g), for a net deficit.

On training days, I eat high-carb (300-400g), putting me at maintenance or a surplus, depending on my goals.


I've found that this best suits my lifestyle and training performance. I tend to be ravenous on days that I lift, and less hungry on days that I don't. Psychologically, it gives me more wiggle-room for higher calorie foods, even when I'm cutting fat.

But it all boils down to personal preference, YMMV.

Shyloh1

I'm currently still trying to cut a bit a fat, so I'm not doing the bulking/calorie surplus things.

I keep my diary set to maintenance (for a lightly active lifestyle - I walk to work and the gym which are each a mile away). This gives me 1900 cals. I usually eat right around here. I figure I create my deficit with my workouts (5 days a week).

On non-gym days, I eat closer to 1600-1700 cals.

So yeah - I eat more on lifting days. But mostly I just stick to intuitive eating - eat when I'm hungry and stop when I'm full, and use the MFP numbers as a general guideline. I'll eat over if I am very hungry for it, but this rarely happens ... when it does, it's a heavy lifting day.

Maybe I will do what you're doing until I can cut a bit more fat and then worry about eating at a surplus once I'm happy with my body fat %. I am very close to my goal weight,I just need to cut some fat while I'm lifting. I eventually want to bulk.

I've heard a lot of people say to bulk first - so keep asking around for more opinions. I totally get why they say that, but for a myriad of reasons it's just the way I'm going about it. I'm by no means saying that this is the "correct" way

I get what you're saying....You're doing what is right for you for the time being...

Shyloh1

I started my bulk while I had 10 or so pounds of fat to lose. Mainly I was tired of dieting and winter seemed like a good time to do it (sweaters are very forgiving).

I didn't realize that you did that,I just assumed you did that when you were within a few pounds of your goal weight.

sportsforfun

I tend to eat more on lifting days but I try to keep protein and fats constant everyday. I keep my carb intake high enough on lifting days to have a total surplus of about 500 calories as I am trying to gain weight. On non-lifting days, my carb intake is decreased to a level where my total caloric intake is at maintence. While I will still gain some fat on this type of diet I will not gain as much fat as I would by eating a 500 surplus everyday whether lifting or not.

If you are in the cutting phase, a good strategy would be to eat enough carbs on lifting days to hit your maintence requirements and lower your carb intake on non-lifting days to a deficit.

That being said, everyone's body reacts differently to carbs and you must experiment to find what works for you. This has just been my experience.

caveats

I don't purposefully eat in a spike pattern. I let my body dictate what I need. Some days when I'm resting, I'm still starving near bedtime, so I check my macros for the day to see what I'm short on (especially protein), and I eat something then. Some days I'm not hungry, so I don't eat as much, but I still try to get 1800+ calories/day so my body has the fuel it needs to keep repairing.