Heavy lifting - with a low cal diet and cardio 3x/wk?

deadbeatsummer
deadbeatsummer Posts: 537 Member
edited December 27 in Fitness and Exercise
Hello,

I'd like to try heavy lifting to help me get a better physique and help me grow stronger.

I bought The New Rules of Lifting for Women yesterday and am just starting to have a read.

However, I'm not comfortable with the idea of eating lots of calories.

I have currently set my net at 1400 but typically consume around 1700 -1800 and exercise a lot off.

I walk 5 miles a day and go running 1-2 times a week. I also do Zumba every thursday and a Turbo Fire workout once a week.

Can I simply add weight lifting into my routine? I don't particularly want to eat loads as I still have a BMI of 29 and want to lose a lot of fat before just working on muscles but I sense that in this style of heavy lifting it is encouraged to ditch the low cal diet but I don't see how I'd lose weight...

Replies

  • deadbeatsummer
    deadbeatsummer Posts: 537 Member
    bump
  • shivles
    shivles Posts: 468 Member
    I'm doing the program and eating 1900 base calories (eat back workout calories, especially on cardio days) and running 3x per week. It's working for me, I'm already gaining muscle but loosing inches. Make sure you get a protein shake and set your mfp macros to 40protein, 40carbs and 20fat.
  • Smuterella
    Smuterella Posts: 1,623 Member
    you could try just eating more on lifting days.
  • Febgirl
    Febgirl Posts: 68 Member
    I've lost weight while following NROLFW - I eat less on non-lifting days, and more on lifting days - I don't follow the nutrition plan in the book. I'd keep with what you are doing, but pay special attention to eating more protein on lifting days and going a bit higher in calories those days.

    The trade off is that you may not build additional muscle, but you will retain what you've got while the scale goes down.
  • deadbeatsummer
    deadbeatsummer Posts: 537 Member
    Thanks for the advice.. so if I am in a calorie deficit, is it still possible for me to gain muscle then or not? Sorry, I'm really confused about all this stuff.
  • AthenaErr
    AthenaErr Posts: 278 Member
    Im eating more - up from 1500 to 1700-1900. I dont eat more than 1900 (ie: I dont eat back any exercise cals on that while at 1500 I usually ate back cals). I get at least 100g protein a day. After 4 weeks stalling I am losing weight pretty steadily - losing weight while eating 1900 feels like hitting jackpot! [smug emoticon]
  • AthenaErr
    AthenaErr Posts: 278 Member
    According to new rules you cant build muscle on a cal deficit. I think there is an exception called newbie gains where you can do this for a little bit. I think you just have to try it and see how you feel/progress. Hes got a whole section with indicators to let you try to work out if you are eating enough. It is hard to up cals - at least I found it hard to risk putting weight back on after I worked so hard to gte it off. But one and a half months later I really feel the way I feel now is worth it big time. I feel amazing
  • Febgirl
    Febgirl Posts: 68 Member
    Thanks for the advice.. so if I am in a calorie deficit, is it still possible for me to gain muscle then or not? Sorry, I'm really confused about all this stuff.

    General consensus is no. However, if you maintain the muscle you currently have, and lose fat, you'll be able to see better muscle definition and your measurements will go down. That has been my experience over the last 4 months.
  • colincraggs
    colincraggs Posts: 3 Member
    Great progress - keep it up.

    If you haven't done weights before then don't worry about the need to eat more at this stage. 2 reasons.
    1) You are a beginner so you will experience lots of improvements just because you are engaging those muscles
    2) You still want to lose weight so your body can gain muscle while you are losing fat - one of the benefits for beginners.

    My suggestion is, 1) add it into your routine, 2) once you hit a plateau then decide what needs to change to keep the strength increasing.

    Good luck.
  • kellipanda
    kellipanda Posts: 9 Member
    I was going to ask this soon, so thank you!
    Are there any guides that anyone would recommend?

    I'm just starting out but I know I want to start strength training shortly, just don't know where to start.
  • colincraggs
    colincraggs Posts: 3 Member
    Best source of free, quality information is http://scoobysworkshop.com/
  • Fozzi43
    Fozzi43 Posts: 2,984 Member
    According to new rules you cant build muscle on a cal deficit. I think there is an exception called newbie gains where you can do this for a little bit. I think you just have to try it and see how you feel/progress. Hes got a whole section with indicators to let you try to work out if you are eating enough. It is hard to up cals - at least I found it hard to risk putting weight back on after I worked so hard to gte it off. But one and a half months later I really feel the way I feel now is worth it big time. I feel amazing


    You look great..I'm working on getting my tummy like yours:smile:




    I've started lifting weights and am feeling good!
  • deadbeatsummer
    deadbeatsummer Posts: 537 Member
    Great progress - keep it up.

    If you haven't done weights before then don't worry about the need to eat more at this stage. 2 reasons.
    1) You are a beginner so you will experience lots of improvements just because you are engaging those muscles
    2) You still want to lose weight so your body can gain muscle while you are losing fat - one of the benefits for beginners.

    My suggestion is, 1) add it into your routine, 2) once you hit a plateau then decide what needs to change to keep the strength increasing.

    Good luck.

    Thanks, I like this answer :)
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    Great progress - keep it up.

    If you haven't done weights before then don't worry about the need to eat more at this stage. 2 reasons.
    1) You are a beginner so you will experience lots of improvements just because you are engaging those muscles
    2) You still want to lose weight so your body can gain muscle while you are losing fat - one of the benefits for beginners.

    My suggestion is, 1) add it into your routine, 2) once you hit a plateau then decide what needs to change to keep the strength increasing.

    Good luck.

    Thanks, I like this answer :)

    You like it because it's a fantastic answer. Start lifting, sort the calories out later. Totally agree.
  • OneFitDude16
    OneFitDude16 Posts: 169
    I'm a body builder and low cal diet for weight lifting is a bad idea. I eat at least 2500 cals a day
  • HeidiMightyRawr
    HeidiMightyRawr Posts: 3,343 Member
    Generally people can't add muscle while in a calorie deficit, but as a beginner you may gain a little :) Also, with lifting now while in a deficit, you maintain the muscle you have, better than if you are not lifting and just losing weight through diet or cardio.

    Personally if you still have fat you want to lose I would keep the deficit small (but still there), lift heavy, get stronger and the fat will come off while having some muscle to show for your hard work! That's what I did anyway, I only started going in a surplus after I reached my goal weight.
  • Mischievous_Rascal
    Mischievous_Rascal Posts: 1,791 Member
    Great progress - keep it up.

    If you haven't done weights before then don't worry about the need to eat more at this stage. 2 reasons.
    1) You are a beginner so you will experience lots of improvements just because you are engaging those muscles
    2) You still want to lose weight so your body can gain muscle while you are losing fat - one of the benefits for beginners.

    My suggestion is, 1) add it into your routine, 2) once you hit a plateau then decide what needs to change to keep the strength increasing.

    Good luck.

    Good answer!
  • zombilishious
    zombilishious Posts: 1,250 Member
    When I started NROLW I followed the diet - lost tons of inches (6 off my waist alone!) but only a couple of pounds. My BF% dropped a bunch too! Now, I don't follow the dietary recommendations in the book, only because I've started slowly moving toward a more primal diet so the vast majority of my carbs come from vegetables and fruit. I eat 1500-1700 calories most days, but I refuse to stress if I go over because I know my diet is healthy.

    That being said, you definitely will need the additional protein and fat in your diet to keep feeding your muscles. If you choose to go for a lower caloric intake, custom-set your macros to ensure you are getting the recommended protein requirements for the program, and lower your carb intake to accomodate it - not your fat intake!
  • Driagnor
    Driagnor Posts: 323 Member
    When you're starting out, it's very possible to gain muscle while still on a calorie deficit (especially if you have quite a bit of weight to lose). I make use of the Stronglifts program (you can get it free from www.stronglifts.com) and have made lots of progress and built quite a lot of muscle while still in a calorie deficit. Stronglifts is a progressive program where you add 2 lb of weight per workout, so it's quite motivating to beat your personal best on a regular basis.

    You do get to a point where if you want to build major muscle mass you need to switch to a calorie surplus, but that won't be for some time. Ideally, you should pick one goal (drop your body fat % or build muscle) and tailor your calorie intake around that goal.

    It's quite normal to see small body fat losses and large muscle gains at the same time or large body fat losses and small muscle gains at the same time (where at the same time refers to the same week / month), but it's seldom that you'll see large muscle increases and large body fat loss in a short period of time. There are concepts such as within-day calorie surpluses and deficits to try to do both at the same time, but you should ideally focus on one or the other.

    Long story short - yes, you can gain muscle on a calorie deficit, especially when starting out, but don't expect to see huge gains over a long period of time without switching to a calorie surplus
  • donkraft
    donkraft Posts: 28 Member
    I know I am agreeing with alot of responses already. I think you are ok with keeping your calories at a deficit for now. When you make strength gains and wish to get more strength I would slowly add more calories to your diet. That way you dont change too much in your body and you can judge from there how your body adjusts to it.
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