increased intake with weights?
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3foldchord
Posts: 2,918 Member
when I met with a personal trainer for the first time next week, told him my goals (lower BF%, go down an inch or so on my hips)
he asked about how many calories i eat (I said ~1450) and he said if I am working out at the gym a few days a week I should increase my calories a bit.
My questions are:
Do I need to increase my calories if I am working out a few days a eek, as the PT suggested?
and:IF SO, I wouldn't need to increase daily would I? just on my workout days?
and: If I only have to increase on my workout days, how do I set my Calorie goal in MFP if different days have different goals? or does that not matter? I can eat differently on different days I guess and not be bothered with MFP saying I am over or under on certain days.
More Specifics:
I will not be doing much cardio- just a treadmill 5-10 minute warm up
I am not lifting "heavy" yet... just "heaviER". and today he just had me using 10-30 pounds for arm/shoulders
here is my specific intake info:
Things you should try to provide for specific intake questions:
Provide your stats (height/weight/age/bodyfat% if you know it/etc)
5'6"/134#/41/26.5%? (3online site average says 25.8, hand held device at gym says 27.2%)
What's your current gross intake of calories, on average?
1427 (average for the 8 most recent complete logs)
What's your current average intake of protein, carbs, and fats, in grams? (GRAMS, not percent!) Protein:113/Carbs:127/ Fat:47g
Do you use a food scale and measure everything? Usually (not everything/always)
Do you track all of your intake, daily? (Everything?) Mostly (I did everything until I went into maintenance, back at a deficit to lose BF% but still only logging most, not all)
Do you take cheat days or days off? Again, I did until i hit my first goal and was maintaining, then I stopped logging most weekends (stayed at my goalweight -1 pound)
I am back eating at a deficit, but need to get back to logging weekends, I guess.
How much weight have you lost so far and over what time period? I reached my goal of losing 10 pounds in about 5 months. goal was reached Dec/Jan. maintained just fine for about 6 weeks, decided i wanted to drop a few BF percentages. have not weighed since I started back at losing last week.
Describe your activity (exercise and non exercise) and did you change that activity withing the last couple of months? My exercise routine varies, I have a few chronic health disorders so I can go go 1-3 weeks with barely being able to move sometimes. when I can exercise I do bodyweight stuff 3 times a week and maybe once a week a brisk walk or bike ride or easy sport activity.
Daily Stuff- I do laundry, vacuum, go up and down the 1 flight of stairs about 20-30 times because I am forgetful and never can remember why I came there. general housewife, mom stuff.
How long have you been stalled and if it is not a complete stall please be very specific as to how much you have lost over the stalled period.
he asked about how many calories i eat (I said ~1450) and he said if I am working out at the gym a few days a week I should increase my calories a bit.
My questions are:
Do I need to increase my calories if I am working out a few days a eek, as the PT suggested?
and:IF SO, I wouldn't need to increase daily would I? just on my workout days?
and: If I only have to increase on my workout days, how do I set my Calorie goal in MFP if different days have different goals? or does that not matter? I can eat differently on different days I guess and not be bothered with MFP saying I am over or under on certain days.
More Specifics:
I will not be doing much cardio- just a treadmill 5-10 minute warm up
I am not lifting "heavy" yet... just "heaviER". and today he just had me using 10-30 pounds for arm/shoulders
here is my specific intake info:
Things you should try to provide for specific intake questions:
Provide your stats (height/weight/age/bodyfat% if you know it/etc)
5'6"/134#/41/26.5%? (3online site average says 25.8, hand held device at gym says 27.2%)
What's your current gross intake of calories, on average?
1427 (average for the 8 most recent complete logs)
What's your current average intake of protein, carbs, and fats, in grams? (GRAMS, not percent!) Protein:113/Carbs:127/ Fat:47g
Do you use a food scale and measure everything? Usually (not everything/always)
Do you track all of your intake, daily? (Everything?) Mostly (I did everything until I went into maintenance, back at a deficit to lose BF% but still only logging most, not all)
Do you take cheat days or days off? Again, I did until i hit my first goal and was maintaining, then I stopped logging most weekends (stayed at my goalweight -1 pound)
I am back eating at a deficit, but need to get back to logging weekends, I guess.
How much weight have you lost so far and over what time period? I reached my goal of losing 10 pounds in about 5 months. goal was reached Dec/Jan. maintained just fine for about 6 weeks, decided i wanted to drop a few BF percentages. have not weighed since I started back at losing last week.
Describe your activity (exercise and non exercise) and did you change that activity withing the last couple of months? My exercise routine varies, I have a few chronic health disorders so I can go go 1-3 weeks with barely being able to move sometimes. when I can exercise I do bodyweight stuff 3 times a week and maybe once a week a brisk walk or bike ride or easy sport activity.
Daily Stuff- I do laundry, vacuum, go up and down the 1 flight of stairs about 20-30 times because I am forgetful and never can remember why I came there. general housewife, mom stuff.
How long have you been stalled and if it is not a complete stall please be very specific as to how much you have lost over the stalled period.
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Replies
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Are these workouts in addition to what you were previously doing?
What was your average gross intake for the last 8 weeks and what has your weight done over that period (total gain/loss)0 -
Are these workouts in addition to what you were previously doing?
they will replace the 3xs a week bodyweight stuff I have been doing. the gym workout will be more intense (I guess is the work) as I often split my bodyweight up into 2-3 sessions- A- it fits easier into my manic business to split it and B- it makes it easier on my mild tachycardia to split it up.
I will still be doing the mom/wife/ stuff and the 1-2 times a week cardio (brisk walk/sporting event, etc)
My plan was keep doing the same with not logging any bodyweight/gym as a calorie burn, but I now am doing band(drum) once a week and playing broomball once a week(like field hockey on the ice)- and will log those as calorie burns. Last week I logged the 1 hour conga drumming/band as 30 minutes yoga- as I figures it was an increased burn (over my normal day) but not a hardcore burn.
(and the brisk walks are out till the sun decides to shine and make it warmer here!- so my weekly 'cardio' is Broomball and Conga Drum. I do yoga 2-3 times a week, only for about 15-20 minutes and don't log it- just count it as my part of my 'lightly active setting')0 -
Sorry - added this to my question so you may have missed it:
What was your average gross intake for the last 8 weeks and what has your weight done over that period (total gain/loss)0 -
Sorry - added this to my question so you may have missed it:
What was your average gross intake for the last 8 weeks and what has your weight done over that period (total gain/loss)
gross intake was pretty close 1450 (is that specific enough)
weight loss over 8 weeks was about 1.5 pounds.
(Had a few bad health weeks in there that had me pretty sedentary.)
I was just starting maintenance about 8 weeks ago, so was slowly going to get from 1350 to 1700/1800, but then decide I wanted to lower my bodyfat %0 -
Did you gain any weight when you started with the PT? Just trying to see if the 1.5lb is at all 'distorted' by water weight from starting a new exercise routine, or whether it is more representative of your prior activities.0
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Did you gain any weight when you started with the PT? Just trying to see if the 1.5lb is at all 'distorted' by water weight from starting a new exercise routine, or whether it is more representative of your prior activities.
No. I lost the 1.5 # Jan-Feb. I have weighed exactly 133.5 since mid Feb. no fluccuations. (even checked my scale with weights- the scale is fine. not that I thought I should be losing or gaining, but thought it was odd it was always exactly the same)
I have only met with the PT 2xs. the first was mostly evaluations.
the loss of 1,5# was because I was still eating at a defecit, just slowly increasing to get to maintenance- I assume.0 -
Rebumping to top so I get to this.0
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. It wasn't even 48 hours yet....Rebumping to top so I get to this.
8-)0 -
As you do not have much weight to lose and I would imagine that your activity levels will increase due to the PT sessions, I would set your goal at 1,600 calories (static - no eating back of exercise calories). On looking at your diary, it is a little patchy with a few incomplete/missing days and some large quick adds here and there. So, with accurate logging (make sure you weigh everything not liquid and measure or weigh liquids), the 1,600 may not be that much of a jump as you may well be eating more than the 1,450 you are estimating due to the inaccurate logging. The increase in activity should create a deficit.
Your macros should be:
Protein:100g
Fats: 47g
as minimums. The balance wherever you wish based on preference, satiation and energy levels.
Stay at that level for about 4 weeks, with accurate logging. If you can get back to us then so we can see if anything needs tweaking. Feel free to get back to us with any questions/concerns prior to that however.0 -
As you do not have much weight to lose and I would imagine that your activity levels will increase due to the PT sessions, I would set your goal at 1,600 calories (static - no eating back of exercise calories). On looking at your diary, it is a little patchy with a few incomplete/missing days and some large quick adds here and there. So, with accurate logging (make sure you weigh everything not liquid and measure or weigh liquids), the 1,600 may not be that much of a jump as you may well be eating more than the 1,450 you are estimating due to the inaccurate logging. The increase in activity should create a deficit.
Your macros should be:
Protein:100g
Fats: 47g
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Should I eat more (1600) on workout days and less (1500ish) on non workout days? I feel fine eating more when I workout, but not on days I don't. But I will try it if you suggest it 1600 all days.
Thanks for the help. I usually focus on percents for macros (which can be bad sometimes when my percents look good 300 calories early). So this will be new and good.0 -
As you do not have much weight to lose and I would imagine that your activity levels will increase due to the PT sessions, I would set your goal at 1,600 calories (static - no eating back of exercise calories). On looking at your diary, it is a little patchy with a few incomplete/missing days and some large quick adds here and there. So, with accurate logging (make sure you weigh everything not liquid and measure or weigh liquids), the 1,600 may not be that much of a jump as you may well be eating more than the 1,450 you are estimating due to the inaccurate logging. The increase in activity should create a deficit.
Your macros should be:
Protein:100g
Fats: 47g
.
Should I eat more (1600) on workout days and less (1500ish) on non workout days? I feel fine eating more when I workout, but not on days I don't. But I will try it if you suggest it 1600 all days.
Thanks for the help. I usually focus on percents for macros (which can be bad sometimes when my percents look good 300 calories early). So this will be new and good.
I would base that on gym performance, energy levels in general and personal preference. The 1,600 was for all days - no variation in intake - however, as long as you average to that for the week, it ends up the same.0 -
I would base that on gym performance, energy levels in general and personal preference. The 1,600 was for all days - no variation in intake - however, as long as you average to that for the week, it ends up the same.
OK. Got it. Thanks.0 -
Locking as part of our new procedure to try to help track open threads: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/914180-thread-locking-and-intake-follow-ups
Feel free to PM either myself or SideSteel to unlock when you are ready to give us an update or earlier if you want to add anything or have questions.0 -
Unlocked at OPs request.0
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Unlocked at OPs request.
UPDATE:
Either a 2 week or three depending on how you look at it,
It's been three weeks since I started at the gym, it I didn't get a lot in the first week (broomball injury messed up my hip), but I did start slowly imcreasing calories that week, the next week I went o Sara's recommendations. Or, am trying.
She recommended 1600 calories/day and min of 47 grams fat. I was already exceeding her protein minimum.
Since March 5, I have lost an inch in my hips, but have not taken other measurements, as hip loss was my only goal for now. I,ll measure more, later.
Also, since March 5 I have gone from 27.2% to 26.2% bodyfat, according to the hand held device.
I have been really tired, but my protein actually dropped, so I am working on getting it back up. The higher levels offline 120-140 grams) seem to help with my Chronic Farigue Syndrome. Or maybe my low blood sugar, the symptoms overlap so,it's not sure which is going on sometimes. At any rate. 130 grams of protein seems good.
My averages since Sara gave me new recommendations: my actual average/Sara's recommendation
Daily Caloric Average: 1496/1600
Daily Fat Minimun: 61/47
Sara said to not eat back any exercise calories. I was eating back only workouts if I did more than 3 days a week (per my activity setting).
So now I record my minimal cardio as 1 calorie, just so I can keep track of what I do. Strength training is logged as such, or written in my exercise notes.
Increased my weights from using about 15-25# to 30-60# for lower body.
Using the arm machines at the gym and adding a few free weights arm exercises. My upper boys strength is wimpy and I am just at about 10# per arm. With free weights, but can do a few reps of 40# on the varied arm machines at the gym.
WIGHT LOSS since March 5. . . The scale just showed. 0.3 loss. I am only weighing once a week and not really caring what the scale says, just checking once a week.0 -
Hi! Just checking in to see how everything went this week regarding routine, energy levels and weight loss.0
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Hi! Just checking in to see how everything went this week regarding routine, energy levels and weight loss.
Bad week for migraines and my chronic fatigue is kicking in, so I eat les which continues the cycle. It's just my stinking chronic illness life. I should be able to shake it over the weekend.
I am really seeing a difference btween eating enough (1500) and not eating enough (1250-1300 calories). Need to eat more (migraine=nausea)
The weight loss is no different at fewer calories and I feel like a train wreck.0 -
The only thing I can really recommend during your sh!tty weeks is to try to eat more - get some more calorie dense foods in - as this should help your body respond to the crap that is being thrown at it by your condition. I know it is hard - maybe experiment with things that do not make you as nauseous. Try calorie dense smoothies maybe.
Prior to this week, it seemed like things were going well - you had some nice strength gains with your lifting, a decrease in inches and a smidge of a loss on the scales. Hopefully you will be back to your 'fighting weight' so to speak and can resume the progress.0 -
The only thing I can really recommend during your sh!tty weeks is to try to eat more - get some more calorie dense foods in - as this should help your body respond to the crap that is being thrown at it by your condition. I know it is hard - maybe experiment with things that do not make you as nauseous. Try calorie dense smoothies maybe.
Prior to this week, it seemed like things were going well - you had some nice strength gains with your lifting, a decrease in inches and a smidge of a loss on the scales. Hopefully you will be back to your 'fighting weight' so to speak and can resume the progress.
thanks, Sara! And things have been a smidge better since keeping protein bars/drinks in the kitchen, for fast easy food on bad days.
I am feeling better and Hope to be back where I was soon. This is the hardest part of getting fit. I have 2-5 good weeks followed by 1-2 bad weeks. When the good weeks and bad weeks are both 2 weeks back and forth it get very demotivational and I can't make any progress over all. My good stretches have been a bit longer,I have noticed, so I have been progressing slowly- finally. Maybe it's better eating and fitness!0 -
Locking temporarily so we can keep track of active threads better. Please PM myself or SideSteel if you wish to follow up and include a link to this thread.
I hope you have been doing better this week. Hang in there!0 -
Unlocked for update at OPs request.0
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I wrote this out yesterday morning, but have since then measured my body fat percentage, so am less concerned, I guess, but still would like a little input.... (This is a 2 part post)
(here is my original link with your advice:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/922708-increased-intake-with-weights )
It took me a couple weeks to get up to the calories and stuff you recommended. I also wasn't working quite as much as anticipaited (Migraines)
I have gotten my calories/macros really close now, for about a week or two. I have been working out more and did my first week of Strong Lifts. I also gained 1.5 pounds since I weighed myself 2 weeks ago.
I have not taken measurements yet. I will do that tomorrow mornning, when I take body fat % measurements.
I am thinking of givingit another week, re-measuring (inches, too) and if things are not moving in the right direction, maybe taking my calories down to 1500.
thoughts?
THANKS FOR all your HELP!
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ADDED INFO:
I used bodyfat calipers yesterday. took 9 different measurements because not all online calculators use the same 7. I tried 2 different 7 measurements formulas , and 2 different 4 measurements formulas.
3 of the online calculators gave me measurements between 15.5 -19.2%
one of the 4 spot formulas said 25.2%
after looking at those body fat % pictures of real ladies in swimsuits, I am definitely NOT the lower 3. the 25.2% looks right.
I did hand held BF% thing at the gym over a month there according to the hand held thing, I went from 27%-26%. I know none of them are totally accurate- but the gym % along with th e online pictures- I will say 25.2% and record that and use the same formula/website next time.
THIS is the site that gavee what I think was the most accuratee of the 4 I tried:
http://www.muscleandstrength.com/tools/how-to-measure-bodyfat-using-calipers.html
And now a Body Fat question. I knew that guys were to be a lower % to be in the healthy range, but I guess their measurements are different?
I did the same 4 measurements with my husband. The site I used said to add the 4 measurement, check the sum against a chart. A chart for. Men and a chart for women.
My 4 numbers equaled 35 and gave me 25.2% on my chart (I'm 41 yrs old)
My husband had a slighter higher sum (36) but a slightly lower BF% (20.8) (he's 49 yrs old)
So, my BF% seems good even though I have a slight weight flux. Other SL ladies said I should give if 2-3 months!! That seems a long trial period to see if I need to change methods.
-Kmberly0 -
When did you start StrongLifts?0
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Monday last week. I did SL on Monday, Wed, Frid. I had a week off before SL and the few weeks before that I was doing weights and machines at the gym 2-3 times a week (for about a month)
I am doing SL on T/Th/S this week.0 -
Hi!
The weight gain from glycogen/water can take a couple of weeks to stabilize. I would suggest that you give it at least 4 weeks after starting SL before deciding to drop your calories. If you could keep us apprised and we can try to make a suggestion, however, for now, I would not decrease intake.0 -
THANKS!0
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Locking. You know the drill
Please keep us updated. Thanks!0
This discussion has been closed.