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Started stronglifts but worried about eating more calories

fat2fitdancody
fat2fitdancody Posts: 259 Member
edited January 21 in Food and Nutrition
Lost most of my weight running, got up to 9 miles every week day at one point as I was training for the Loughborough Half Marathon on 24th March, unfortunately it snowed and it's been postponed until the 9th of June.

I still need to do it as I have been sponsored but I've finally come around to the idea of doing weights, did the first 2 days of stronglifts on Wed/Fri last week, but decided to start again on Monday as I want to do Mon/Wed/Fri and try to do some running Tue/Thurs/Sunday.

I looked at the recommendations and they seem high as I think I still need to lose weight:

"Your body-weight in pounds x 18kcal = your daily caloric needs" 214 x 18 = 3852

"So if you're 200lb, just started StrongLifts 5x5 and the weights are still light, you need 3000kcal/day. But if you've been doing SL5x5 3x/week for a few months, weights are heavier and you're starting to stall, then you need 4000kcal/day (food is critical for optimal recovery and strength gains)."

I plan my food Monday to Thursday and have been trying to eat better at weekends. (Diary is open) Will add some fruit in today but not sure what yet.

I was thinking of changing by setting to maintenance instead of Lose 1 lb a week and trying to eat that much.

Been a bit tired this week but I did a 10k hill run on Sunday so it may be due to that.

Any advice appreciated

Replies

  • bkeith79
    bkeith79 Posts: 12 Member
    Hi,

    There's no real answer from what Ive found as everyone works different. Ive been on the stronglifts for almost three months now minus a few weeks for holiday and illness. I was scraping by on around 2000 calories per day, but was always tired, hungry and as the weights got heavier I was starting to struggle. As of this week I'm aiming for between 2500-2700 calories a day and I'm already feeling less hungry (obviously) and less tired/sore/stiff muscles. I'd suggest researching your TDEE and maybe going for a -5% or -10% (max) deficit and see how your body reacts over a few weeks and adjust accordingly.

    You can find our your TDEE estimate here:

    http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

    Good luck!
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