Ladies who lifts: What is your calories goal?

brookesready

My question is for the ladies who lift and are trying to lose body fat.. what are you calories goals? I am lifting to failure about 4x a week with 1-2 days of cardio. I am 5'3, 123 lbs and consume at least 100 grams of protein a day. I am just curious what everyone else is doing and if they are seeing results.

Awkward30

My situation is a bit different in that I wear a bodybugg to find out my tdee and eat 500 less than that. I've been losing steadily for a while doing lifting 3x per week, hiit once, and endurance activities the other days and rest when I feel like it or have a busy schedule. This works out to an actual intake of 1500-1900 normally. I am flexible though, so if I'm hungry I'll eat more.
5'3.5" 142 lb

ecb1990

I'm not 100% positive on this but I think that you need to increase your cardio to burn fat. I think that lifting is to help continuously burn calories during the day and tone but cardio is where you will really lose the body fat (my source is youtube, so who knows if its really accurate). good luck!

seebeachrun

I am 5'3" and 137. I lift 3-4 days per week and cardio 3-4 days per week (sometimes overlapping cardio during weight lifting.) I usually eat between 1300 and 1500 (went a little over yesterday due to a beer but it was so worht it!) I have only lost two pounds in the last three weeks but I have lost 4.5 inches across my measurements in the last 6 days alone! ***Take your measurements!***

aj_31

bump

jnh17

I'm not 100% positive on this but I think that you need to increase your cardio to burn fat. I think that lifting is to help continuously burn calories during the day and tone but cardio is where you will really lose the body fat (my source is youtube, so who knows if its really accurate). good luck!

At 123, it's definately lifting time if you want to "tone." Lifting HEAVY time.


How much weight are you trying to lose (to the OP)?

I'm WAY taller than you so we're as comparable as a man and woman but I eat 1700/day.

Awkward30

I'm not 100% positive on this but I think that you need to increase your cardio to burn fat. I think that lifting is to help continuously burn calories during the day and tone but cardio is where you will really lose the body fat (my source is youtube, so who knows if its really accurate). good luck!

I ran a half marathon in march and the cardio all made me lose my muscle mass. I would be sub 20% body fat at my current weight if I hadn't lost my muscle! Now I'm calculating 8ish more pounds... I have pretty much lost faith in steady state cardio for fat loss. I still do a little because then I can eat more, and as a somewhat small girl, it is really hard to have a night out without going over without cardio... And I want to do another half marathon this fall and then hopefully a full marathon so I can cross it off my bucket list while I'm in the shape for it lol

docktorfokse

I'm 5'2" and was last weighted at about 182 pounds. I eat 1300 calories a day, and I shoot for a gram of protein per pound of lean body mass, so I try to get about 135 grams of protein a day.

c8linmarie

I'm 5'3", 132 lbs, and my calorie goal is 1899 (although I think I'm supposed to be eating more). I had been lifting 3x a week and doing cardio 3x a week (on alternating days), but as of recently, was told to discontinue cardio :huh: if I wanted to see better results. I'm a little skeptical, but I don't exactly like cardio anyway, so I'll try it for 30 days and see what happens!

ETA: macros are 40C/30F/30P (that's about 140g protein per day)

wareagle8706

I lift really heavy. I hate cardio but I try to do it anyway. But I'm 5'1'' about 124. I don't take it as much protein as you. EXTRA protein doesn't do a person any good. Extra is just extra and is stored or discarded just like everything else in the body. ENOUGH protein is what you want to get.

My calorie goal is 1500 cal/day. Then I try to burn 300 exercising per day for a NET of 1200. This works really well for me. I never feel like I'm starving myself. I'm never hungry doing this because if I'm hungry, I eat something. I just listen to my body.

MyTime1985

bump

Tree72

I'm 5'5" and 165 lbs. I lift heavy 2 to 3 times per week. I also wear a bodybugg and have recently switched to trying to leave only around a 300 calorie per day deficit. That usually means I gross between 1800 and 2100 calories per day (though some very active days I need to eat a bit more than that). My macros are also 40/30/30, so I get between 120 to 150g of protein per day. I haven't lost much weight in quite a while, but now that I'm lifting heavy I'm definitely starting to see changes in body composition.

ATLMel

I'm curious about this as well. I'm a distance runner-turning-lifter and have loved the results so far. I know that I'm building strength and I never feel weak or tired so I'm thinking I can cut back the calories just a smidge to try to get a little extra fat loss.

The pounds have stopped coming off, but the inches sure haven't!

Looking forward to reading some other responses. I'm working to get my macro ratios a little more in line.

wareagle8706

I'm 5'3", 132 lbs, and my calorie goal is 1899 (although I think I'm supposed to be eating more). I had been lifting 3x a week and doing cardio 3x a week (on alternating days), but as of recently, was told to discontinue cardio :huh: if I wanted to see better results. I'm a little skeptical, but I don't exactly like cardio anyway, so I'll try it for 30 days and see what happens!

ETA: macros are 40C/30F/30P (that's about 140g protein per day)

Yeah, I'd be pretty skeptical if someone told me to discontinue cardio as well. I HATE cardio but I know it's good for your cardiovascular system as well as all other systems in your body. I do agree that you have to be careful with cardio because of the potential lean muscle loss but that doesn't mean you should discontinue it all together.

Have fun with your experiment! Hope it goes well!

wareagle8706

I'm curious about this as well. I'm a distance runner-turning-lifter and have loved the results so far. I know that I'm building strength and I never feel weak or tired so I'm thinking I can cut back the calories just a smidge to try to get a little extra fat loss.

The pounds have stopped coming off, but the inches sure haven't!

Looking forward to reading some other responses. I'm working to get my macro ratios a little more in line.

That's awesome that the inches are still coming off! That means you're definitely doing something right! Gaining muscle and losing fat therefore no scale change. That's awesome for you! I am just getting back into lifting really heavy. I travel a lot for work so when I'm home (only about 1 week a month) I lift hard then when I'm in hotels I usually run the stairs in the stairwell because their fitness centers suck. I can't seem to improve on my cardio very much, I've always been a weight lifter. I'd love any tips??

deannarey13

I lift really heavy. I hate cardio but I try to do it anyway. But I'm 5'1'' about 124. I don't take it as much protein as you. EXTRA protein doesn't do a person any good. Extra is just extra and is stored or discarded just like everything else in the body. ENOUGH protein is what you want to get.

My calorie goal is 1500 cal/day. Then I try to burn 300 exercising per day for a NET of 1200. This works really well for me. I never feel like I'm starving myself. I'm never hungry doing this because if I'm hungry, I eat something. I just listen to my body.

While this is true (to a point), 100 grams of protein if you are lifting is NOT extra protein. In fact, I would suggest even more. Now, if you were eating 200 grams, I would say you are likely storing some of it but that's not the case. If you're goal is to increase muscle mass, it's pretty tough to do while cutting calories. If you are lifting to maintain muscle mass while cutting calories (because often this will lead to muscle loss along with fat loss) than you are probably fine with your calorie level, as long as you are eating back your workout calories burned.

suelegal

I'm not 100% positive on this but I think that you need to increase your cardio to burn fat. I think that lifting is to help continuously burn calories during the day and tone but cardio is where you will really lose the body fat (my source is youtube, so who knows if its really accurate). good luck!

Actually not so, lifitng will convert fat to muscle.

ATLMel

I'm not 100% positive on this but I think that you need to increase your cardio to burn fat. I think that lifting is to help continuously burn calories during the day and tone but cardio is where you will really lose the body fat (my source is youtube, so who knows if its really accurate). good luck!

Actually not so, lifitng will convert fat to muscle.

You can't convert fat to muscle.....2 different things. Unless there are advances in alchemy I'm not aware of.

That's awesome that the inches are still coming off! That means you're definitely doing something right! Gaining muscle and losing fat therefore no scale change. That's awesome for you! I am just getting back into lifting really heavy. I travel a lot for work so when I'm home (only about 1 week a month) I lift hard then when I'm in hotels I usually run the stairs in the stairwell because their fitness centers suck. I can't seem to improve on my cardio very much, I've always been a weight lifter. I'd love any tips??

Start slow! Too many people decide they want to be runners and immediately start training for a marathon. That's ridiculous and unnecessary. Start with something like Couch 2 5K.

Oh, and don't be afraid to get off the treadmill! Running outside or on trails or at the beach or whatever, is my fave part of running. It might make you enjoy cardio more and, in turn, improve your cardio.

wareagle8706

I lift really heavy. I hate cardio but I try to do it anyway. But I'm 5'1'' about 124. I don't take it as much protein as you. EXTRA protein doesn't do a person any good. Extra is just extra and is stored or discarded just like everything else in the body. ENOUGH protein is what you want to get.

My calorie goal is 1500 cal/day. Then I try to burn 300 exercising per day for a NET of 1200. This works really well for me. I never feel like I'm starving myself. I'm never hungry doing this because if I'm hungry, I eat something. I just listen to my body.

While this is true (to a point), 100 grams of protein if you are lifting is NOT extra protein. In fact, I would suggest even more. Now, if you were eating 200 grams, I would say you are likely storing some of it but that's not the case. If you're goal is to increase muscle mass, it's pretty tough to do while cutting calories. If you are lifting to maintain muscle mass while cutting calories (because often this will lead to muscle loss along with fat loss) than you are probably fine with your calorie level, as long as you are eating back your workout calories burned.

Just to clarify, I didn't say that 100g specifically was extra. I said that Extra is not something someone needs. She should use a couple websites that can help her find out about how much protein she should be taking in based on her amount of weight lifting. None of us can say whether 100 or 500 is enough protein to take in when we aren't that person. Everyone's body is different and needs different things.

I agree with you, it's always tough to increase muscle mass especially when cutting calories. Weight lifting is definitely a big commitment if you really want to see the results of muscle gains. I've been a weight lifter for over 7 years now and I've seen amazing results from it, even when cutting calories. And I've yet to see any muscle loss from cutting calories while weight lifting, based on taking BF% measurements. But like I said, every body is different.

wareagle8706

That's awesome that the inches are still coming off! That means you're definitely doing something right! Gaining muscle and losing fat therefore no scale change. That's awesome for you! I am just getting back into lifting really heavy. I travel a lot for work so when I'm home (only about 1 week a month) I lift hard then when I'm in hotels I usually run the stairs in the stairwell because their fitness centers suck. I can't seem to improve on my cardio very much, I've always been a weight lifter. I'd love any tips??

Start slow! Too many people decide they want to be runners and immediately start training for a marathon. That's ridiculous and unnecessary. Start with something like Couch 2 5K.

Oh, and don't be afraid to get off the treadmill! Running outside or on trails or at the beach or whatever, is my fave part of running. It might make you enjoy cardio more and, in turn, improve your cardio.
[/quote]

Thanks! Yeah, I don't do treadmills, actually hurts my shins more than if I'm running outside. Start slow.. Got it!

LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo

Hi I'm 1.57m & weigh 53 kilos, I lift weights 3x a week. Normally my daily calorie goal is 1900 without exercise but since I exercise 5x a day so my usual daily calorie goal is at 2,000-2,100 cals. a day, my daily protein goal is 150g although I can only managed to eat around 100-130g.