Jcjsjones:

I would think that you'd have a hard time gaining muscle on only 1800 cals. I don't even have an idea how people are able to survive on 1200 cals a day, much less exercise 6 times a week, so you must be some kind of a superwoman But seriously, I would think that you should aim for either one, not both at the same time. Lou explains very well in the book that the goal of the program is to speed up the metabolism and build muscle, not to slow it down. Which means that he recommends eating more, not less. It is a lot of stress on the body to be simultaneously eating only 75% of it's needs, as well as doing such a demanding physical program. Besides, it is very, very hard for us ladies to build muscles, and when you are so far behind your caloric needs, it is probably next to impossible to build muscle. I suggest that you re-read the nutrition part of the book, because he explains this mechanism very well IMHO. I wouldn't be surprised that you would find your workouts much more productive when you are properly nourished and have the extra energy.

ETA - just saw what Beeps said. She has a point. Eventually, I think it's about what you want. If you think losing weight is more important, then you should eat below maintainance. However if you think building strength is more important, then there is nothing much going to happen if you're eating 1200 or 1300 cals a day. Your body will not see a reason to build tissue that requires more calories than before when you are only eating 55-60% of what you need to break even - essentially in starvation mode. .I would think that what you get out of the workouts is to (hopefully) keep what you already have, that is, stopping your body from breaking down more muscle tissue to try to conserve energy.

Another newbie to lifting here. I have been wanting to lift for about a year now, but joining a gym wasn't really a practical option for me, so I was doing home DVD's, and while that did make me stronger than I was, coming from a zero exercise background, it wasn't giving me the body I want. So, I finally got off my rear end and found a weight set on Craigslist. Consumed the NROL4W book in about 2 days, and did my first workout yesterday. I'm 49, almost 50, and I know I need to build some strength before I get any older. Plus, I want to look hot in that mid-life crisis sort of way, I'd love to dress like a 25 year old but not unless I have the body of one. LOL!

I've been eating at TDEE - % for about a year now so the nutrition end of the book is not new to me. I don't have a lot of weight to lose so I have been at about 10-12% deficit. My plan was to keep that deficit, but I was really hungry after the workout, and with the double protein shake I drank, that put me at about maintenance level yesterday. So now I'm thinking maybe eat maintenance on workout days, and deficit on non-workout days. But I'll see how that goes and reevaluate if necessary.

Darn it... i had a lovely little message all typed up and ready to send when poof, IE crashed. :grumble:

So I eat 1500-1800 on nonlifting days and 1800-2100 on days I lift. Sometimes I struggle to get the cals in and I think I'm going to add a protein drink before bed since I have read that can help with muscle recovery. My numbers are on par with the NROL4W calculations, and I really try to get 150gms of protein daily though I don't follow the meal plan closely. At the moment, I'm focused on building muscle, however, I don't want to gain weight.

I am good on the challenge, My alarm didn't go off this morning (human error!!) so no lifting today. I've been doing stairs though, since I won't have time to do anything after work.

Tomorrow I will be at the gym bright (????) and early (!!!) and get started on Stage 4. I'm hoping to see some serious improvement over Stage 2, though I'm in about the same situation as I was when I started that stage - just returning from several days of vacation. I didn't heavy lift this vacation but did BW work and also had my bands for upper body work. We'll see what happens!

Glad to see all you new posters!

Hi, Newme! As for stretching, I do the basics. The other ladies can/will give better instructions.

Last time around , I focused on how much I could lift. This time, I'm really focusing on form and the muscles working. My squats are much deeper than previously . :bigsmile: Maybe just maybe I'll see some results along with adding cardio.

I used a 10 bar for the squat today . A couple of trainers at the gym told me I would be able to lift heavy again but to take it slow. I'm just excited I squatted deep!

Ditto on cardio on the off days to help with DOMs. It doesn't have to be anything intense either. Hit up the bike or go for a walk on the treadmill, just something to loosen your muscles up!

As for stretching I do all of the basics that I used to back in the day for sports. If I have time I do a bit of dynamic stretching and then close with the standard stretches. Half of the time I am BAD and I do like 1-2 minutes of dynamic and another minute or two of standard stationary. Oops :embarassed:

Hi Ladies,

I was a little lazy about reading all the posts from the past few days. But I see Sue is back - welcome back! And some new folks started the program: welcome!

I started Stage 6 today!!!! The optional "strength" stage. I was soooo scared of the negative chinup, but I did it just fine! I used the assisted pull-up machine b/c it's the only one with "steps" that allow short folk like me to grab the bars. But I did not use the assist part.The 10 sets of 2 rep lat pulldowns were a little odd. I was definitely hogging the machine and felt guilty.

Manic - Congrats for finishing Stage 6 (did you like it?) and revving up for Stage 7. What's next for you after this program?

I'm thinking about Starting Strength or the Nia Shanks program that Megan mentioned awhile back. Then maybe New Rules Abs after that. I'm ready to mix it up a bit and learn more about making up my own workouts.

Beeps - agreed. I MUST stretch after my workouts (whether lifting or cardio). My muscles get sooo tight that it's painful if I don't stretch. I must always stretch my hamstrings, quads, and calves. Always. Then I stretch my upper body a bit.

emgel - 95 squats - woo hoo!!!

KMS, I did not complete stage 6. A pull up was not one of my goals. When I finished stage 7, I played around with NrOL4abs. I couldn't stick with it. I don't know why. Maybe my life was too busy at the time?? I don't know.

wel I decided to take my weekend off and enjoy it with my family so bad for my workouts but good for the family I still ate pretty good so all was not lost! Today I drove back home... 300 miles and headed straight to the gym for some cardio so I'm proud of myself for that! Plan to go back tomorrow for another round of cardio... stole some of my boyfriends wieghts to start using at home. But... I did carry them in from the car - does that count as weight training??? lol! Plan to do NROL wednesday and friday this week - wish me luck!

Activities like driving 300 miles should burn more calories than they do! Glad you got good family time and were able to eat right. Good luck getting started!!!

Had a great workout last night! I upped the weight so I did 60# step ups (my forearms hurt the most out of anything) and I was able to squat 75#. I'm thinking I could up the weight for the squats another 10# for next time. We shall see. It's exciting to see my strength increasing!