Stronglifts 5x5 for Women

Join

Can I join? Have questions :)

Tanya1995
Tanya1995 Posts: 39
in Social Groups
I have been searching and reading so much trying to figure out how to get started. Could any of you be so kind to point me in the right direction to start?

My background.... I am 36 5'2" 172lbs. I have done 30 day squat challenge and am currently half way through 30 day shred. I am trying to lose I wont say pounds :laugh: a lot of my extra body fat :tongue: . I went to my doctors the other day and he is very concerned about my bone because at my young age of 36 I already have osteopenia. he told me I need to be lifting heavy weights to help this. I did want to start this but I wanted to wait till i got a little thinner. :huh:

So like I said I have been doing a lot of reading. :tongue: I know I am going to have to up my calories and I have read some about macros but dont completely understand I did the calculator thing and it shows with my stats and lite activity 1757 in calories, I cant remember the macro info. :frown: I also went on strong lifts and it had a spreadsheet thing but I couldn't open it to be able to compute the stuff :grumble:

Could someone help me understand this better ? Thanks so much for your help!

Replies

  • DaniH826
    DaniH826 Posts: 1,335 Member
    Why don't you go ahead and read the stickies above? Tameko put a lot of information together that should be very helpful to you.

    Also, welcome!

    As a general rule, if you lift heavy weights, focus on making sure you get enough protein into your system. Usually about 100 g per day or so should do you as a minimum.

    Did you read the pdf e-book that came with the Stronglifts e-mail you received when you signed up at their web site?

    Also, if you're going to do Stronglifts 3 times weekly, you'll be solidly in the moderate activity range, so you should probably adjust your calories upward some.
  • jstout365
    jstout365 Posts: 1,686 Member
    Welcome!

    I'm 5'2" as well and was 160 at my highest. Resistance training of any sort can really help with bone strength and density and I think StrongLifts is a great program to start with. As Dani said, I would start by reading the Summary Sticky that Tameko posted. There is a lot of good info in it.

    I wouldn't worry so much about losing the weight before you start lifting. I started this round of weight loss at 153 and achieved my goal by watching my diet and doing both cardio and resistance training. I will be up front and say that I didn't start SL until I was already at goal, but it would have been just as, if not more, effective had I been doing it all along.

    How many calories are you eating on average right now? It is true that you will find that you need more when incorporating a heavy lifting program. I again agree with Dani about the protein levels. For my activity levels and weight I am at about 2000-2200 for maintenance so your 1700-ish doesn't sound too far off for inactive. Have you been doing any other type of exercise up to this point?

    There are a lot of very knowledgable women in this group with a lot of hard earned experience by just doing it. Keep asking the questions you have and hopefully you can get pointed in the direction you need to go!
  • Tanya1995
    Tanya1995 Posts: 39
    Thanks!

    I am currently reading the e book thing from strong lifts :smile: And i have read most stickies on here not sure about that one will go back and check.

    Thanks for your help! :happy:
  • Tanya1995
    Tanya1995 Posts: 39
    Welcome!

    I'm 5'2" as well and was 160 at my highest. Resistance training of any sort can really help with bone strength and density and I think StrongLifts is a great program to start with. As Dani said, I would start by reading the Summary Sticky that Tameko posted. There is a lot of good info in it.

    I wouldn't worry so much about losing the weight before you start lifting. I started this round of weight loss at 153 and achieved my goal by watching my diet and doing both cardio and resistance training. I will be up front and say that I didn't start SL until I was already at goal, but it would have been just as, if not more, effective had I been doing it all along.

    How many calories are you eating on average right now? It is true that you will find that you need more when incorporating a heavy lifting program. I again agree with Dani about the protein levels. For my activity levels and weight I am at about 2000-2200 for maintenance so your 1700-ish doesn't sound too far off for inactive. Have you been doing any other type of exercise up to this point?

    There are a lot of very knowledgable women in this group with a lot of hard earned experience by just doing it. Keep asking the questions you have and hopefully you can get pointed in the direction you need to go!

    I have been eating only 1000 to 1200 calories I know bad :embarassed: But I am learning to fix this and do it right. :drinker: I have been doing reg squats,crunches and 30 day shred.
  • tameko2
    tameko2 Posts: 31,634 Member
    There's a phone app for the Iphone that's an official SL one, a few others for both Android and Iphone that work just fine for it, or you can just write your weights down. Its such a simple program that you shouldn't need to put much effort into tracking it or remembering what to do.

    The harder thing will be learning to do the lifts properly and that just takes time and work. But yes, its great for your bone density.

    You said you read everything so - what specific questions do you have?
  • lwoodroff
    lwoodroff Posts: 1,431 Member
    My guess is you have read everything but feel a little scared/daunted by it. That's ok, we all were! Watch the videos of mehdi actually doing the programme, then go and do it! Once you start it is much easier to tweak things like form, but you can't do that until you start :-)

    Welcome, have fun, and just do it!
  • Tanya1995
    Tanya1995 Posts: 39
    Thanks :)

    Yup I am definitely nervous about upping my calories, This is something I have never done to try and lose the bulge so nervous.:tongue: .

    I have done a ton of reading :yawn: I dont really think I have any more questions I have watched the videos and i will watch them again :wink: Gonna get this all pounded in my head :)

    Actually is there anything out there about clean eating? I have 5 kiddos and I would like to change the way everyone eats so I am less tempted for those bad foods and snacks :noway: I have been eating the bad low calorie 1200 and have been eating smart ones, low fat snacks, 100c snacks and some sugar free snacks. I am assuming that I should not be eating these things anymore since I need to up my calories. I had a hard time getting my calories up to the 1200 with those things I was eating so I am worried that I am gonna have a hard time eating more calories :huh:

    Thanks everyone you have been so helpful!!
  • kirabob
    kirabob Posts: 481 Member
    I am a firm believer that even when we are trying to lose fat, we should eat in a way that we could sustain indefinitely. For me that means a fairly small deficit, plus a reasonable guideline for the kinds of food that I eat. Rather than thinking too much about 'clean' eating, I aim for an 80/20 balance of whole foods/processed. I don't have the time to make everything from scratch (thus the 20% processed - mostly in the form of chocolate and ice cream :smile: ), but our main meals are all based on whole foods - vegetables, meats, beans, grains, fruit. Again, this is what works for me and my family - your plan might look very different.

    I think the real key is to eat in a way that makes you feel good, fuels your workouts, and is something you could do for all time. I really like the perspective on food that this blogger has: http://www.gokaleo.com. Might be worth a peek.
  • Tanya1995
    Tanya1995 Posts: 39
    I am a firm believer that even when we are trying to lose fat, we should eat in a way that we could sustain indefinitely. For me that means a fairly small deficit, plus a reasonable guideline for the kinds of food that I eat. Rather than thinking too much about 'clean' eating, I aim for an 80/20 balance of whole foods/processed. I don't have the time to make everything from scratch (thus the 20% processed - mostly in the form of chocolate and ice cream :smile: ), but our main meals are all based on whole foods - vegetables, meats, beans, grains, fruit. Again, this is what works for me and my family - your plan might look very different.

    I think the real key is to eat in a way that makes you feel good, fuels your workouts, and is something you could do for all time. I really like the perspective on food that this blogger has: http://www.gokaleo.com. Might be worth a peak.

    Thank you!
  • DaniH826
    DaniH826 Posts: 1,335 Member
    I think if you focus on eating for nourishment first and pleasure second, and replace things slowly with healthier choices, you'll eventually arrive at a place where you'll be eating mostly nutritionally. Many people end up changing things too drastically and then "fall off the wagon" because they can't sustain those drastic changes in the long term. I find that slow change personally has worked much better for me. My diet still isn't "ideal" but hey, it's a lot better than it used to be years ago, and I'm pretty happy with my choices nowadays. I'm not getting OCD about it anymore; just eat a little less, make better choices, move around more, challenge your body regularly, and the weight will come off like it's supposed to.

    Also, healthy eating starts at the grocery store; if you don't buy it, it's not available to eat. :smile:
  • Will_Thrust_For_Candy
    Will_Thrust_For_Candy Posts: 6,109 Member
    I am a firm believer that even when we are trying to lose fat, we should eat in a way that we could sustain indefinitely. For me that means a fairly small deficit, plus a reasonable guideline for the kinds of food that I eat. Rather than thinking too much about 'clean' eating, I aim for an 80/20 balance of whole foods/processed. I don't have the time to make everything from scratch (thus the 20% processed - mostly in the form of chocolate and ice cream :smile: ), but our main meals are all based on whole foods - vegetables, meats, beans, grains, fruit. Again, this is what works for me and my family - your plan might look very different.

    I think the real key is to eat in a way that makes you feel good, fuels your workouts, and is something you could do for all time. I really like the perspective on food that this blogger has: http://www.gokaleo.com. Might be worth a peek.

    I agree with kira on this totally.

    Also, please be prepared to see the scale go up when you start increasing your calories as well as lifting. DO NOT get frustrated because it's not fat gain! It will be food weight, water weight, and some glycogen. If you have been dieting at that level for some time then I think it's also best to increase your calories gradually. 100-200 calories/week until you arrive to your appropriate cut.
  • Tanya1995
    Tanya1995 Posts: 39
    I am a firm believer that even when we are trying to lose fat, we should eat in a way that we could sustain indefinitely. For me that means a fairly small deficit, plus a reasonable guideline for the kinds of food that I eat. Rather than thinking too much about 'clean' eating, I aim for an 80/20 balance of whole foods/processed. I don't have the time to make everything from scratch (thus the 20% processed - mostly in the form of chocolate and ice cream :smile: ), but our main meals are all based on whole foods - vegetables, meats, beans, grains, fruit. Again, this is what works for me and my family - your plan might look very different.

    I think the real key is to eat in a way that makes you feel good, fuels your workouts, and is something you could do for all time. I really like the perspective on food that this blogger has: http://www.gokaleo.com. Might be worth a peek.

    I agree with kira on this totally.

    Also, please be prepared to see the scale go up when you start increasing your calories as well as lifting. DO NOT get frustrated because it's not fat gain! It will be food weight, water weight, and some glycogen. If you have been dieting at that level for some time then I think it's also best to increase your calories gradually. 100-200 calories/week until you arrive to your appropriate cut.

    Thanks!

    I have another question I fixed my dietary log on here to match what I should be eating for calories and macros. I have been sitting here playing with it all day to try and figure out what to eat whats good whats bad. I seem to either come up short on protein, high with carbs and high on calories. If I switch it then I am low on carbs high on protein high on calories. I know I should focus overly on this but I want to try and make sure I dont make this process go horribly wrong :noway: Could someone post an example of what they eat daily? Thanks so much everyone!! I really appreciate it!!
  • Will_Thrust_For_Candy
    Will_Thrust_For_Candy Posts: 6,109 Member
    I don't use MFP to track my calories....weird I know :laugh: But basically I base every meal I have around my protein and I *usually* try to aim for a minimum of 30g of protein/meal and I also make sure that my snacks have a decent shot of protein as well. After protein comes veg and then starch. Fat can come in when you're cooking/preparing your food. It's important but at this stage as you're getting used to a new way of eating, I don't think you need to stress about it.

    Meat, eggs, dairy are all fantastic sources of protein.
  • jstout365
    jstout365 Posts: 1,686 Member
    I eat close to 2000 a day. I have about 130g in protein and fill in around that since I have found that I don't have trouble hitting the fat goal for grams. My diary is open, you will just need to go back to two weeks ago since I didn't log this past week.

    I do a lot of my own cooking, but do have the processed foods in there as well. Like Kira, I am for the 80/20 approach. Upping calories can be as easy as having a small handful of almonds (assuming you are not allergic). I don't have any foods that are off limits, but I do have foods that I don't often eat because they provide less quality nutrition.

    Finding a good balance is hard, but you should try to get protein into each meal and snack. That will help you hit that number and then as long as you are not cutting out all fat (fat is actually good for you). I like to preplan my day to make sure I have what I need.
  • tomii13
    tomii13 Posts: 105 Member
    bump - I've been stalking the group and gathering information preparing to do heavy lifting sometime in the near future...but i find the information overwhelming. oh well. it'll all come together some time.
  • Tanya1995
    Tanya1995 Posts: 39
    I eat close to 2000 a day. I have about 130g in protein and fill in around that since I have found that I don't have trouble hitting the fat goal for grams. My diary is open, you will just need to go back to two weeks ago since I didn't log this past week.

    I do a lot of my own cooking, but do have the processed foods in there as well. Like Kira, I am for the 80/20 approach. Upping calories can be as easy as having a small handful of almonds (assuming you are not allergic). I don't have any foods that are off limits, but I do have foods that I don't often eat because they provide less quality nutrition.

    Finding a good balance is hard, but you should try to get protein into each meal and snack. That will help you hit that number and then as long as you are not cutting out all fat (fat is actually good for you). I like to preplan my day to make sure I have what I need.

    Thanks so much! I am going to check it out :)
  • xidia
    xidia Posts: 606 Member
    I eat close to 2000 a day. I have about 130g in protein and fill in around that since I have found that I don't have trouble hitting the fat goal for grams. My diary is open, you will just need to go back to two weeks ago since I didn't log this past week.

    I do a lot of my own cooking, but do have the processed foods in there as well. Like Kira, I am for the 80/20 approach. Upping calories can be as easy as having a small handful of almonds (assuming you are not allergic). I don't have any foods that are off limits, but I do have foods that I don't often eat because they provide less quality nutrition.

    Finding a good balance is hard, but you should try to get protein into each meal and snack. That will help you hit that number and then as long as you are not cutting out all fat (fat is actually good for you). I like to preplan my day to make sure I have what I need.

    Thanks so much! I am going to check it out :)

    I aim for 90-100g protein per day and 1700 cals plus exercise. My diary is open: this week isn't too bad, last week was terrible, but anything from 2 weeks back is a pretty standard week to see what I eat.

Categories