NROLFW nutrition plan...who's following it?

CarrieAnne22

I just picked up the NROLFW the other day and am currently reading it, preparing to begin implementing it next week. I have no idea why I thought it was just going to be a book about lifting. Of course, it has a recommended nutrition plan, too. Duh, CarrieAnne! I'm only on page 47 right now so I don't even know for sure what all the nutrition plan entails, but I should have no problem getting to that part & beyond with tonight's reading so I wanted to put this out there now....

From what I've read so far the author definitely seems opposed to low-calorie eating or 'counting calories' and scoffs at the meager 1200 cals normally recommended by MFP. I have my cals currently set at 1536, but even that seems like it will be low in the author's eyes. So here is my question...

Are any of my fellow MFPers who are doing NROLFW following the nutrition plan in the book or are you doing your own thing? Which ever way you have chosen to do it, do you feel that it is working for you? Do you feel that you are getting the full benefits of the work-outs? How long have you been doing it & what kind of results are you seeing?

I have been doing fairly well with the changes I've made for myself this year and have been losing steadily, so I'm not entirely opposed to keeping up with what has been working for me (in fact, that was pretty much what I had just assumed I would do), but I would also like to get the optimum benefits of any plan or work-out, so I'd just like to get a little real-world advice/opinion on this.

Thanks! :flowerforyou:

isa75

I don't follow the meal plans, but I have my macros set to 40/30/30 (carb/fat/protein) and that seems to work, I tend to eat 5x a day anyways.

Also, anything less than 1500 calories is much too low for me (5'4", 168lbs when I started). I am eating what the book describes as maintenance (1900 or workout days, 1600 on rest days). On days that I was eating 1400-1500 (as per MFP) I came close to passing out, was not gaining strength, had constant headaches, and I was a mega b!tch. So I increased the calories to those describedin NRoL. I may not lose my fat as fast as I would like, but my strength has increased and my mood has too. I have only lost a few pounds, I have lost some inches in the tummy, and I feel much stronger. My arms and legs are more defined and my boyfriend has been constantly complementing my butt. I will finish stage 1 in about a week.

pamfm

I am following the recommended calorie goals. I found them to be very close (within +/-100 cals) to the recommendations from the calculators at fat2fitradio.com and at bmi-calculator.net (http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/harris-benedict-equation/). I used the custom settings in MFP to set my daily calorie goal at an average of the NRoLfW goal and the fat2fit goal. On workout days I manually add 250cals burned to increase to the higher workout day goal.

I was following the recommended carb/protein/fat macros, too... or at least trying to. As a pescetarian (I eat fish a few times a week, but am otherwise a veggie), I found it really hard to eat that much protein! Just today I adjusted my macros to 50% carbs, 25% protein, 25% fat. That puts me exactly at 1g per pound of lean body mass for protein, and I'm much more likely to meet my goal!

pamfm

I am eating what the book describes as maintenance (1900 or workout days, 1600 on rest days).

Whoa... Is that a typo for your rest day? You'd need a BMR of only 1000 to get that figure. Or did I make a mistake in my spreadsheet, I wonder? We're the same height, and using the book's calculations, I got for my maintenance cals 2018rest/2271w.o. And even at my goal weight (23% body fat) they'd be 1925/2165. What a crazy difference!

kcoftx

It says you can deduct up to 300 from maintenance if needed. Perhaps that is where the difference is.

kcoftx

My car is in the shop this week but now that I have the workout schedule clarified, I plan to start next week. I can't wait!

I want to use their calorie goal portion and I am still trying to up my protein. I currently eat back my exercise calories with both fitbit info and my HRM. I am already eating a decent amount of chow most days. The reason I plan to use their calorie goals is because strength training is hard to measure. But what additions do I to make if I plan to continue doing cardio too? Do I just count every day as a workout day (except the one actual rest day I usually give myself) or what? I am supplementing with the Brazil Butt Lift workout videos. Sometimes I might drop by a Zumba or Yoga when my schedule permits just because I enjoy them. I definitely plan to do water activities this summer. I also have a friend I walk with after the kids go to bed a few times a week just for a double duty chat.

I worry that if I just stick to what the book says, I will still be under eating. How do I properly account for all of it?

I know it sounds like I live in the gym but I really don't. I do 1-2 workouts per day and use steps from my fitbit pedometer. If I have a physical outing, I count that as a workout. I work between 30 minutes to 1.5 hours max per day 5-6 days a week EXCEPT if I have an all day excursion somewhere (such as hiking to a waterfalls area) AND I don't usually count my walks anymore in those minutes. I give myself 1-2 rest days per week. I count my steps/walks in my exercise calories but not as workout minutes.

isa75

I am eating what the book describes as maintenance (1900 or workout days, 1600 on rest days).

Whoa... Is that a typo for your rest day? You'd need a BMR of only 1000 to get that figure. Or did I make a mistake in my spreadsheet, I wonder? We're the same height, and using the book's calculations, I got for my maintenance cals 2018rest/2271w.o. And even at my goal weight (23% body fat) they'd be 1925/2165. What a crazy difference!

Could be age difference and weight difference? Out of curiosity I just went back and plugged in your age and it had calories closer to what you describe. Only a few year age difference but I guess that is one of the joys of getting older!

pamfm

Could be age difference and weight difference? Out of curiosity I just went back and plugged in your age and it had calories closer to what you describe. Only a few year age difference but I guess that is one of the joys of getting older!

Crazy! Good to know. I was worried that either I made a mistake and was eating too much (I have only lost 2 pounds, and one inch around my middle, since April. I've been doing NRoLfW since the beginning of May, but I did expect progress to be slow, as it warns in the book), or you might not eating enough! I'll need to remember to reevaluate my intake in a few years to avoid slipping out of shape again, then!

isa75

Could be age difference and weight difference? Out of curiosity I just went back and plugged in your age and it had calories closer to what you describe. Only a few year age difference but I guess that is one of the joys of getting older!

Crazy! Good to know. I was worried that either I made a mistake and was eating too much (I have only lost 2 pounds, and one inch around my middle, since April. I've been doing NRoLfW since the beginning of May, but I did expect progress to be slow, as it warns in the book), or you might not eating enough! I'll need to remember to reevaluate my intake in a few years to avoid slipping out of shape again, then!

Yeah, I am a bit surprised at such a big difference with only a few years age difference, but I am eating maintenance because the amounts they had for fat cutting were just too low (~1350/1650). I have seen fat loss/muscle gain at maintenance calorie levels, not as fast as I would like, but I was barely functional at the fat cutting calorie levels.

MrsKosal

YES! I am eating at TDEE for 4 weeks and then cutting back 15% of TDEE. If you are interested more on the Eat More theory we have a group on here too. It's been a life changer for me!