Question/Poll for all my NROLW ladies

perfect10isha

I know there have been quite a few threads discussing this issue, but I'm really curious about everyone else's calorie intake.

Are you eating at maintenance, surplus, or deficit (how much) with the program? And, what are your goals, or what do you hope to gain at the end of NROLW? If you finished the program, are you happy with your results?

TIA :flowerforyou:

kimmae17

I just started but i am eating what the book says to for weight loss, which for me is 1650 on days without workouts, and about 1900 when i do workout. I WAS eating 1200-1300 before so its a BIG change for me. its only been two weeks, the scale is pretty much the same, but i feel good and more buff. adding the extra calories was scary for, but the more i read about it the more 1200 sounds ridiculous. I felt "skinny fat" and wonder if i wasnt ABLE to build muscle becuase i wasnt eating enough. Also working out was exhausting when now i feel great!

TheFunBun

I -try- to eat 2500 cals across the board - my BMF says that when I workout, I usually burn 2700-3200 cals. When I don't workout, it's usually 23-2500, so I guess it evens out.... though a lot of days I end up undereating because I suck at life.

I hope to gain some muscle, and then eventually when I switch my BC - hopefully lose some weight. If not, I'm going to reduce carbs and definitely lose some weight.

RunEloiseRun

I did a 10-15% cut of my TDEE for stage 1 and I am on a 15% cut for stage 2.
I will for 7-10 days after stage 2 eat at my TDEE (so it will seep into the beginning of stage 3).
But, personally, I like doing a 10-15% cut. I never feel super hungry, I usually have some cals left over!

girlie100

I went for the 15% cut of TDEE for stage 1 and now I'm on stage 2 I'm trying a few things to see what works so experimenting at the moment

chicbuc

I've been trying to eat 1900 every day for a few months now, whether I work out or not. It ends up being a small cut, but I just started stage 1 again. I was about 4 weeks into stage one the first time, and it was working nicely to build muscle and I was losing a little weight.

girlinahat

I followed the calculations in the book which works out at 1500 on a normal day and 1700 on a day when I am doing a workout. I'm only 5' and bemoaning the fact that I have to eat like that.

What I actually have no idea is - whether the calculations are aimed at me for weightloss (as an indicator, the calculations are BMR x1.2 for my normal calories - in fact mine work out the same as the 140lb woman in the example.

My goal was to lose 26 pounds, although I am more focussed now on size - so to be a UK 10-12 again would be god, to get flabby bits smooth - less arm flab, a flat stomach, no muffin top and less rubbing together of thighs. Also my boobs are getting uncomfortable (I'm a D cup but I have such a narrow back that most of me is in the front)

I just want clothes to look nice on me and hang nicely without getting caught on nobbles of bulge.

I am planning to reassess both the amount of calories I'm eating (which is often higher than my daily goal but if that helps me build muscle I'm okay with that ) and take measurements at the end of Stage 1. I am itching to do it now but MUST BE PATIENT!!!!!!!!

dandelion39

I'm just finishing Stage 5 and I've played around a lot with my calories during the program because I haven't been losing (though I am smaller and tighter). I finally decided not to worry so much about my weight and just focus on finishing NR strong...then I can reassess after I'm done (ie. figure out how to lose these last 10-15 lbs of fat!). So, I stopped weighing about a month ago and set my calories at 1800 every day. In addition to NR 2-3 times a week I run about 2x a week. 1800 is about a 300-400 calorie deficit from my average TDEE.

mercury8826

I also found this a difficult change. According to the book's calculations I should be eating 1800-2000 on normal days and 2200-2400 cal on workout days. Since I'd been aiming for 1200-1300 for the last 7-ish years, I thought I'd build myself up and instead have been aiming for 1600 cal on normal days and 1800 cals on workout days which was admittedly hard, but the protein shakes helped top off the count for the day. However, I've started making these super tasty fruit and veg smoothies that are ridiculously filling, so I've been struggling to eat 1200 cals. >__< I'm just feeling around myself at this point. =/

melissaw1232

Only in Stage 1 but my tdee is 1945 to maintain. a 10% cut puts me at 1741 so I am going for anything in between. My protein shake usually gets me there. Its only been a couple of weeks so Id have to reassess after stage 1
Goal is to only lose fat, not weight-

Lower body is super tight (genes) however I tend to carry fat in my stomach no matter how much cardio I do which is the main reason for trying the program. Nothing else worked to get rid of the gut. Even at my lowest weight the stomach was still there but I had chicken legs, lol. very frustrating.

riouxt

I'm in Stage 1 workout 2B. Was doing NROLFL for a month then switched to NROLFW. Currently eating at TDEE which is 2300 cals to do a metabolism reset as per Eat More To Weigh Less group. 7 more weeks and I'm going to cut to TDEE-15% to start the fat loss. I'm also finishing up half marathon training so I believe that's how I'm also making my burn average over the week. Not sure if I've gained or lost yet because everyone suggests not weighing again until 4 weeks into the reset.

BarbellCowgirl

I've been playing around with my calories. I started out doing the suggested 300 deficit during Stage 1 (1800cals non-wo and 2050 on wo days). That seemed to be great for inches, but I'm losing weight VERY slowing if at all. I got impatient a few weeks ago and decreased my calories to 1600 on non-workout days and 1800 on workout days- eating back any other exercise that I do. I have actually noticed an upward trend on the scale since I did this so last night I went back and recalculated my BMR using Fat2fitradio and the NROL4W formula. I reset my calories to the NROL4W fat loss formula. I feel like this is SO many cals, but it worked well for me in Stage 1, so we'll see.

I know they recommend 1g of protein per lb of body weight, but that screws the macros up for me since I'm so heavy. I've been getting 1 lb per lean body mass and that works for the 40/30/30 ratio.

karensoxfan

I used the book's calculations to figure out my daily, non-workout day base for maintenance to be 1700, so I took the 300 cal. deficit (I'm obese, so not interested in maintaining at all yet), and use a base approx. 1400/day for non-workout days. Then I add back HRM exercise calories (usually 500-800), and eat most of those for an average weekday total of 1900-2200 calories.

I'm losing doing this, but very slowly. I started NROLFW on April 16, weighing 190 lb., and at the end of stage 4, today I weigh 183, so I've lost 7 lb. in 4 months, but I'll take it, because I love how I feel, and with that meager 7 lb. loss, I've lost 2" off my waist (from 40" to 38" at my belly button) and dropped 2 jeans' sizes (from an 18 to a 14).

My goal with this plan is to get stronger, build or preserve as much muscle as possible, and have the weight I lose be mainly fat. I want my waist to be at or below 35" and I'd ultimately like to reach a healthy weight & body fat % and increase my bone density in the process (I have no reason to worry about it, but I've always worried about it's effect on aging women - I'm 39, and don't ever want to have to worry about bone density!).

suelegal

I recently upped my cals to 1500 as my base. But I ALWAYS eat back my exercise cals and I always eat more protein than any other component. But I am not eating at TDEE based on calculations from several different sites. I'd be over 2100 daily if I did and I am not ready to bump up that much.

holleysings

I'm eating at my maintenance level (~2400), which is higher than the book's calculation for me. Because I lost 28lbs in 14weeks, I did not want to lose any more weight this summer, just focus on keeping off what I'd lost and letting my body readjust. I may try a cut next week, or I may not. But I won't be using the book's numbers. They are not accurate for me.

PLUMSGRL

I'm still in stage 1, but I'm eating TDEE-300, taking a break every 4 weeks for one week.

woodsygirl

I'm on my 2nd round of the book, currently doing stage 1 again.

I just upped my daily calories to 1900, still trying to find the sweet spot. I found at 1800 I was losing too fast and binging.

perfect10isha

Thanks for your feedback ladies. It looks like more of you are doing a slight deficit than eating at maintenance.

I'm currently eating at the calories the book suggests (maintenance), about 1900 on non-lifting days and up to 2200 on lifting days. I did my first weigh-in over the weekend (I'm about 4 weeks into stage 1) and my weight was exactly the same 139. I feel like I'm eating a whole lot of food on my lifting days but the scale hasn't budged, but I do know my body is changing. I think I"m going to wait until after I finish stage 1 before I do my measurements again. Depending on where my measurements are at, I'll decide if I want to do a slight deficit so I can hopefully lose some body fat.

Sk8rG

I'm just finishing Stage 5 and I've played around a lot with my calories during the program because I haven't been losing (though I am smaller and tighter). I finally decided not to worry so much about my weight and just focus on finishing NR strong...then I can reassess after I'm done (ie. figure out how to lose these last 10-15 lbs of fat!). So, I stopped weighing about a month ago and set my calories at 1800 every day. In addition to NR 2-3 times a week I run about 2x a week. 1800 is about a 300-400 calorie deficit from my average TDEE.

Absolutely THIS. I could have written this. I'm curious what your weight/height stats are. I'm 5'5" and 163 lbs. I am on S6 A3.

I was "trying" to eat at 1450/day on non workout days and about 1750 on workout days. What I ACTUALLY did when I looked at my data since started was average 1700 a day regardless of exercise. I have not lost a single pound, but my body shape has changed significantly. Right now I am just eating at 1750 and trying not to worry about the scale. I"ll worry about that when I'm done.