So hungry on lift day
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renitawalker9
Posts: 108
I'm 5'2", 124 lbs, about 23% bodyfat. My goal is to get under 20% bodyfat but stay around the same weight or gain consequently. I do not want to really lose that much more weight.
I'm doing stronglifts 3x per week with 20 minutes cardio following. I was alternatiing cardio days with stronglifts and found that I was exhausted all the time so I scaled the cardio back to have a full rest day in between my stronglifts days.
My TDEE is approximately 1894 calories. I've been averaging about 1800 calories (TDEE-5%,) but on my lift days I find myself SO HUNGRY on 1800 calories.
so....is it appropriate to eat more than my TDEE on those days? If so should the calories be primarily from protein? Am I going to gain a bunch of fat doing this? Is it a rough form of calorie cycling?
I'm doing stronglifts 3x per week with 20 minutes cardio following. I was alternatiing cardio days with stronglifts and found that I was exhausted all the time so I scaled the cardio back to have a full rest day in between my stronglifts days.
My TDEE is approximately 1894 calories. I've been averaging about 1800 calories (TDEE-5%,) but on my lift days I find myself SO HUNGRY on 1800 calories.
so....is it appropriate to eat more than my TDEE on those days? If so should the calories be primarily from protein? Am I going to gain a bunch of fat doing this? Is it a rough form of calorie cycling?
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Replies
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It would be fine to do 1800 on rest days and 2k on lifting days. That would be more of a recomp in theory.
How sure are you of that TDEE though? For me, feeling tired while doing exercise, and having a lot of days where I'm really super hungry is almost always a sign that I'm undereating.
But on the flip side if you want to lose weight, you DO have to undereat. A little.
How long since your last maintenance break, also?0 -
It would be fine to do 1800 on rest days and 2k on lifting days. That would be more of a recomp in theory.
How sure are you of that TDEE though? For me, feeling tired while doing exercise, and having a lot of days where I'm really super hungry is almost always a sign that I'm undereating.
But on the flip side if you want to lose weight, you DO have to undereat. A little.
How long since your last maintenance break, also?
I've used heybales spreadsheet, scoobys workshop, fattofit...all of them have my TDEE under 2000 calories.
I've only been eating at a deficit for about a month, well thats not true. I was eating at a very big deficit all of January and most of february (1200-1500 calories...I didn't know). I started increasing my intake to get closer to TDEE once I read the roadmap. Funny, I wasn't hungry when I was eating 1200 calories, in fact I could barely fill 1200 calories. I increased 100-150 calories each week for a month to get to TDEE-5%.
This is only my second week of stronglifts and 1800 calories and now I'm starving lol. and I also feel like there's no way I can keep increasing strength on 1800 calories, I'm just barely doing 5x5 on OHP.
Oh and No maintenance break...ever. Don't even know exactly what that is.0 -
Eat more on lift days. Your body needs the fuel.0
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It would be fine to do 1800 on rest days and 2k on lifting days. That would be more of a recomp in theory.
How sure are you of that TDEE though? For me, feeling tired while doing exercise, and having a lot of days where I'm really super hungry is almost always a sign that I'm undereating.
But on the flip side if you want to lose weight, you DO have to undereat. A little.
How long since your last maintenance break, also?
I've used heybales spreadsheet, scoobys workshop, fattofit...all of them have my TDEE under 2000 calories.
I've only been eating at a deficit for about a month, well thats not true. I was eating at a very big deficit all of January and most of february (1200-1500 calories...I didn't know). I started increasing my intake to get closer to TDEE once I read the roadmap. Funny, I wasn't hungry when I was eating 1200 calories, in fact I could barely fill 1200 calories. I increased 100-150 calories each week for a month to get to TDEE-5%.
This is only my second week of stronglifts and 1800 calories and now I'm starving lol. and I also feel like there's no way I can keep increasing strength on 1800 calories, I'm just barely doing 5x5 on OHP.
Oh and No maintenance break...ever. Don't even know exactly what that is.
I should be more precise, my fault -- when you pick your activity calculation, in those variety of calculators, what do you pick, and how sure are you that THAT is correct?
Like for me - if I just add up my time in the gym, its probably only about 3 hours total, but if I add up the time I spend walking to lunch and coffee every day, and pacing on the train platform while I wait for the train, and so on, I'm actually a lot more active than that looks. Whereas my husband, who spends the same gym time as me, but otherwise sits at his desk all day and drives everywhere, he uses a lower activity level --- even though our "exercise" is the same.
A maintenance break (also known as a refeed) is when you take 1-2 weeks off from dieting and just eat maintenance. Its used to bring your hormonal levels back to normal (because dieting messes up your body). But one month isn't too long yet so I wouldn't worry about it. I'd consider one at around 6-8 weeks for someone at a healthy weight, longer if you're very overweight (which you are not)0 -
It would be fine to do 1800 on rest days and 2k on lifting days. That would be more of a recomp in theory.
How sure are you of that TDEE though? For me, feeling tired while doing exercise, and having a lot of days where I'm really super hungry is almost always a sign that I'm undereating.
But on the flip side if you want to lose weight, you DO have to undereat. A little.
How long since your last maintenance break, also?
I've used heybales spreadsheet, scoobys workshop, fattofit...all of them have my TDEE under 2000 calories.
I've only been eating at a deficit for about a month, well thats not true. I was eating at a very big deficit all of January and most of february (1200-1500 calories...I didn't know). I started increasing my intake to get closer to TDEE once I read the roadmap. Funny, I wasn't hungry when I was eating 1200 calories, in fact I could barely fill 1200 calories. I increased 100-150 calories each week for a month to get to TDEE-5%.
This is only my second week of stronglifts and 1800 calories and now I'm starving lol. and I also feel like there's no way I can keep increasing strength on 1800 calories, I'm just barely doing 5x5 on OHP.
Oh and No maintenance break...ever. Don't even know exactly what that is.
I should be more precise, my fault -- when you pick your activity calculation, in those variety of calculators, what do you pick, and how sure are you that THAT is correct?
Like for me - if I just add up my time in the gym, its probably only about 3 hours total, but if I add up the time I spend walking to lunch and coffee every day, and pacing on the train platform while I wait for the train, and so on, I'm actually a lot more active than that looks. Whereas my husband, who spends the same gym time as me, but otherwise sits at his desk all day and drives everywhere, he uses a lower activity level --- even though our "exercise" is the same.
A maintenance break (also known as a refeed) is when you take 1-2 weeks off from dieting and just eat maintenance. Its used to bring your hormonal levels back to normal (because dieting messes up your body). But one month isn't too long yet so I wouldn't worry about it. I'd consider one at around 6-8 weeks for someone at a healthy weight, longer if you're very overweight (which you are not)
I actually think I have been underestimating my activity level and undereating...the fact that I keep cycling through the same 1 or 2 pounds and not really seeing net loss is probably evidence. although its strange to think that 1800 calories is undereating.0 -
Considering what your goals are, I would think that you would be fine to eat at 2000 if needed, even a tiny bit higher. At 20% BF you could feasibly start a bulk/cut cycle. You might "gain" a bit, but then you cut to shed the fat and start all over again. Also, check your activity level in your TDEE calculation....you very well may already be on the low side and 2000 is maintenance anyway
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Thanks all. definitely going to increase calories and see how I feel from there. I'll give it a few weeks before I make a decision about whether its working for me or not.0
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Thanks all. definitely going to increase calories and see how I feel from there. I'll give it a few weeks before I make a decision about whether its working for me or not.
Give it 4 - or ideally one menstrual cycle to see since most women's water weight fluctuates a lot with that0 -
Thanks all. definitely going to increase calories and see how I feel from there. I'll give it a few weeks before I make a decision about whether its working for me or not.
Give it 4 - or ideally one menstrual cycle to see since most women's water weight fluctuates a lot with that
True. I retain about 4lbs during my cycle.0
