Question about lifting....

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Tamisha15
Tamisha15 Posts: 83 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I've been seeing alot of positve results on women lifting and I've been thinking about lifting myself. My ultimate goal is too have some definition but I needed some advice. I currently weigh about 281.7 lbs from 297 (yay!!) and I've read that when you start lifing you have to increase your calories. Now, I'm currently eat between 1200 - 1500 calories a day and burn most of that during the week with my 2 hour and 30 min workouts. At first I was only working out for an hour and a half with the same calorie intake but no results. However, now that I've added more cardio I've lost 7lbs.

With me being I'm afraid that adding more calories will put on more negative weight for me. So is it possible, at my size, to stay between 1200 - 1500 calories a day and be able to get the def I want with weight lifting? Will weight lifing help a person at my weight/size achieve my goals of losing weight (fat) and still bulk up (as they say)? Ultimate weight loss goal is about 120lbs.

I thank you in advance for anyone who can help with this. Also, if there is anyone out there (female) who lost weight and bulked up starting at my weight/size could share pics, I could use some examples :-)

Replies

  • baptiste565
    baptiste565 Posts: 590 Member
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    hi, definitely do not add calories. working out is going to increase protein synthesis and in doing so increase metabolism. let ur body use its fat stores for energy and your current protein intake for muscle repair. muscle definition comes mostly from a lower body fat percentage. good luck!
  • lasmit4477
    lasmit4477 Posts: 308 Member
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    First, women+lifting=amazing! I love it! It does not look like you need to increase your calorie intake unless you are trying to build mass and most women are looking to tone, you just need to make sure that your micros are in check and that you are getting enough protein. With that said, don't increase calories! I am not sure as to how much cardio you are doing (intensity wise), but if you start lifting three to four days a week for about an hour, you could probably take the cardio length back some. The more muscle you have, the faster your metabolism will work and as you are losing body fat, you will be revealing those muscles :)
  • iWaffle
    iWaffle Posts: 2,208 Member
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    Even on my heavy lifting weeks I don't add extra calories in for it. There's no way you'll be able to get an accurate estimate for calories burned without some scientific lab equipment hooked up to you. Just do you workouts and keep your protein intake high.

    Do add calories back in for cardio. That's pretty straightforward and easy to measure.
  • Chief_Rocka
    Chief_Rocka Posts: 4,710 Member
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    Not sure where you heard that you had to eat more, lifting burns fewer calories then cardio for the same amount of time.
  • Tamisha15
    Tamisha15 Posts: 83 Member
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    Thanks you guys, this was great advice. I plan to by the weight lifing book for women next week so I can start lifting. I don't know really where to start with this whole thing but I know I can figure it out. I'M SO EXCITED :bigsmile:
  • natini
    natini Posts: 347 Member
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    Are you currently eating back your excercise calories? I hope you are becasue 1200-1400 calories sounds very low. I lift 3 days a week and cardio 2 days a week and I eat 2100 calories. I loose about 1lb a week. I would not be able to lift as I do if I did not fuel my body.
  • Tamisha15
    Tamisha15 Posts: 83 Member
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    Are you currently eating back your excercise calories? I hope you are becasue 1200-1400 calories sounds very low. I lift 3 days a week and cardio 2 days a week and I eat 2100 calories. I loose about 1lb a week. I would not be able to lift as I do if I did not fuel my body.

    I usually put all my calories for the day in at one time so I can stay on track. I also work out before dinner so I notice after my first hour of working out I feel a little shaky and weak, some days I can barely make it. Since I take workout classes and I have a 30 min break in between I bring a snack like turkey or protein bars to get me through the next workout so I've learned my lesson.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    With the amount of weight you have to lose, it's okay to maintain a pretty big deficit. Start lifting! It's fun, and preserves muscles as you lose. IF you start to feel really weak and can't finish your lifting you might consider adding more calories, or maybe just some extra carbs the evening before.
  • McAlyna
    McAlyna Posts: 123 Member
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    I have just upped my calorie to about 2000 a day from 1200-1400, cut down cardio and lift 4 days a week for almost 4 weeks now. I gained almost 2 pounds at the end of week 2. By the end of week 3, I was back to my weight before the high cal. I guess eating more makes me feel better and more energy to exercise.
  • karensoxfan
    karensoxfan Posts: 902 Member
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    I've been seeing alot of positve results on women lifting and I've been thinking about lifting myself. My ultimate goal is too have some definition but I needed some advice. I currently weigh about 281.7 lbs from 297 (yay!!) and I've read that when you start lifing you have to increase your calories. Now, I'm currently eat between 1200 - 1500 calories a day and burn most of that during the week with my 2 hour and 30 min workouts. At first I was only working out for an hour and a half with the same calorie intake but no results. However, now that I've added more cardio I've lost 7lbs.

    With me being I'm afraid that adding more calories will put on more negative weight for me. So is it possible, at my size, to stay between 1200 - 1500 calories a day and be able to get the def I want with weight lifting? Will weight lifing help a person at my weight/size achieve my goals of losing weight (fat) and still bulk up (as they say)? Ultimate weight loss goal is about 120lbs.

    I thank you in advance for anyone who can help with this. Also, if there is anyone out there (female) who lost weight and bulked up starting at my weight/size could share pics, I could use some examples :-)

    If I'm reading your original post correctly, you weigh 281, but you're only eating 1200-1500 cals/day, and currently exercise 2.5 hours/day, but you are NOT eating exercise calories?

    If I've understood all this right, I think 1200-1500 calories is not enough. My advice would be to consult your doctor or a nutritionist for some advice best suited to you.
  • Tamisha15
    Tamisha15 Posts: 83 Member
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    If I'm reading your original post correctly, you weigh 281, but you're only eating 1200-1500 cals/day, and currently exercise 2.5 hours/day, but you are NOT eating exercise calories?

    If I've understood all this right, I think 1200-1500 calories is not enough. My advice would be to consult your doctor or a nutritionist for some advice best suited to you.
    [/quote]

    I do eat back some of my calories but not all. I've really received advice from trainers to do 1200 calories only but most days I intend to go over. My problem was I would exercise before I've had a chance to eat dinner because I log my calories in all at one time. It took me a minute to understand the science of calories and I've tried different things to loose weight and so far this is working. If I reach another plateau, like I did when I was eating 1500-1700 cals and exercising less, I will try to up my cals to match my fitness level. I also checked my BMI which suggested 1900 cals a day but that scares, not ready for that yet.
  • drakechic08
    drakechic08 Posts: 156 Member
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    If you are eating 1200-1500 calories a day and working out for 2 and 1/2 hrs a day, you are barely netting any calories. You should be netting about 1200 calories a day. If you arent netting any calories, then your body has no fuel to run on and you will not end up losing weight. I think you should calculate your BMR and TDEE and subract 15-20% from your TDEE and eat that consistently. If you do this, you do not need to worry about eating excersize calories back. It sounds to me like you already arent eating enough calories. With adding strength training, try to drink a protein skae within 30 min of working out, to help repair your muscles.

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