Weightlifting and calorie intake

Yanks1996
Yanks1996 Posts: 28 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've been following the New Rules of Lifting for Women program for about two months. I'm loving weightlifting and will definitely finish the entire program. (I'm nearing the end of stage 1 for those familiar with the program) I lift 2 to 3 times a week and do some fun cardio like dance or spin class 1-2 times a week for about an hour.

I'm confused about how much I should be eating though. I'm 5'5 and weigh about 125lbs (and a 33 year old woman) so I'm at a healthy weight for my height. I have some extra fat on my thighs and stomach and I have very skinny arms. My goals are to gain strength and muscle definition.

So, do I eat at a slight deficit to lose the extra fat even though I'm at a healthy weight?
At maintenance?
Or even slightly more to gain muscle?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Replies

  • acogg
    acogg Posts: 1,870 Member
    I am the same height and about the same weight, also doing New Rules for Women. My maintenance calories when not exercising are about 1500-1600. When I started doing this program, I had to up my calories by 200 on workout days. I belong to a New Rules group and 1800 seems like a common calorie goal among members.
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
    many people do tdee minus 20% while lifting (those who want to continue on a deficit).

    you figure that out, and set your daily calories to that number, and you eat that daily, without entering your calorie burns. even on cardio days.

    you can and will get stronger while weight lifting on a deficit. you will drop body fat. you will also build a bit of muscle, but not an overly considerable amount. you can maintain this for months if not a year or so.

    you will eventually reach a point where you will not be getting stronger, and at that point you need to *kitten* your goals and most likely change your eating habits. but that is at the point where you will be asking yourself, "do i want to run a half marathon, or be a body builder?"
  • lrmall01
    lrmall01 Posts: 377 Member
    I don't have the book, so I'm not 100% sure of all this. However there are a couple resources I've seen that you might be interested in.

    First off, here is how to set your macros and calorie targets:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/538943-how-to-calculate-calorie-goals-according-to-nrolfw

    Second, there is a NROLFW group on MFP you might want to join to get specific info from people doing your program:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/102-new-rules-of-lifting-for-women-nrol4w

    Third, no one can really answer this since you are have to pick your goals for yourself. IMHO since you are only 125lbs I would eat above maintenance to gain muscle for an entire phase then eat a 10% defecit during the next entire phase to lose some fat. Continue alternating like this for the remainder of the program.

    Good luck!
  • cajuntank
    cajuntank Posts: 924 Member
    Since it sounds like your goal still involves some fat loss, then eat at a slight deficit. Maybe 100 calories less than maintenance and adjust accordingly from there up or down depending on your preferred measurement tools (I.e.. Scale, calipers, measurements, etc...). You can still get stronger while on a deficit through neural adaptation, but to add any appreciable muscle, you must be in a caloric surplus (which of course will increase rate of strength gains). If your choice is to add muscle, then do the reverse...increase caloric intake in small increments over time to allow your body to adjust and allow you to judge what you are comfortable with in regards to weight gain as there will be some fat gain as well.
  • TheSaoirseTree
    TheSaoirseTree Posts: 26 Member
    You should probably eat above maintenance.

    I've been bulking for about 11 weeks now. I lift 4x a week. For maintenance, I would be right around 1600. I started out at 1800 calories. I weighed myself every other week and found that I wasn't really gaining anything until I got up to where I'm at - 1950. I've only put on 4-5 pounds, but I'm down to a size 4 (I was a 7-8).

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