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Calories required in other weight-lifting programs???

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Nibbles
Nibbles Posts: 8 Member
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I'm new to the EMTWL forum and just wondered why does fitness programs such as Chalene Extreme state in her eating plan that if you weight, 140, which is what I weight, that I should eat 1300 calories? Apparently other fitness guides say this too, so I'm a bit confused about where that number comes from based on the EMTWL theory and why fitness EXPERTS would allow these low calories when you're working their weight programs? If anyone can give me a good explanation, that would be great!

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  • mymodernbabylon
    mymodernbabylon Posts: 1,038 Member
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    Because people want to lose weight quickly and it will happen that way. If they say that you'll lose 1/2 lb a week over a long period of time, people won't do it. But lose 2-4 lb a week? Hell yeah. My guess is that these 'fitness gurus' know that it's not sustainable, but they want to make money and so they go with the flow. They don't actually care about whether or not you are getting enough nutrients or protein...just making money.
  • thyme4
    thyme4 Posts: 35 Member
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    I have done several BB programs (Combat remains my all time favorite cardio routine). However, I toss their nutrition guides. I don't want to suggest that they are purposely misleading, because their advice is pretty consistent with lots of other programs out there. I just think it is misguided. I am pretty sure that if I had followed their guidelines I would still be trying to figure out how to lose those last 10 pounds...just like everyone else who was in my original "challenge group".
  • Nibbles
    Nibbles Posts: 8 Member
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    Thanks for the feedback ladies.

    I get what you're saying and completely believe its about the money and fast weight loss, which is sad when so many of us just want to get it right!

    Like you thyme4, I have been trying to lose that last 10-15 lbs for about 3 years and no professional has ever suggested I eat more to lose the fat! However, in all fairness, I was very inconsistent with eating and exercising, which I hear is key.

    Now I've reached a point where I've had enough and I'm ready to get the fit body I've been seeking for years. I'm willing to eat more but want to be sure I'm following the plan correctly, so if either of you can offer any assistance that would be great.

    According to Scooby, my TDEE is 2087 so I set my FP at 2000 calories. I'm 5'3, 139lbs, 44, I workout 5 days a week for 30 min. I do 3 weight-lifting days and 2 days of cardio. I was told by another member that I should do a complete reset but I'm not sure? I have been eating 1350 calories for the past 3 weeks. I have lost a few pounds but gained back 1.5 back which generally doesn't matter. I used my handheld caliburs to figure out my bodyfat. Its says 28%!!! I would love to be 18-20%.

    I have no idea how much I was eating prior to the 1350 calories but sometimes I would eat back the exercise calories and sometimes not. On 1350 was hungry even after eating lunch so I'd have a light snack like popcorn but was still hungry as I waited for dinnertime. Once dinner was over, I was just ok.

    Yesterday I ate a chinese dinner and overall 1800 calories for the day. I was happy and full. The spring roll I ate may not have been the best choice but I wasn't starving. I got enough sleep which is rare. I often feel tired. When I woke up this morning to workout I had more energy. Plus, I took a break from exercising on Tuesday so maybe that was needed as I had worked out 7 days last week adding in a Pilates/a brisk walk and swimming over the weekend. Maybe I wore myself out.

    So overall my questions are… should I eat my TDEE and do a reset? Or eat my 15% cut? And how much should I workout and doing what? I have all kinds of DVDs such as Cathy F. Slow and Heavy, KCMeyers weight training DVDs, Chalene Extreme, P90X even. Keep in mind I generally have about 30 mins a day to workout so P90X isn't very conducive to my needs though I ear P90X has a shorter version?

    Thanks for listening and the feedback!
  • thyme4
    thyme4 Posts: 35 Member
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    Others on this site are more qualified to give you specific advice, but I will start with how important I find good record keeping to be. It might just be because I have a background in science and love my data, but I also find that my FitBit and MFP keep me honest about my activity and my eating. I have and use a food scale, just because it has helped me calibrate what portions look like.

    If you have been eating at a suppressed level for a long time, you will benefit from a reset. It seems like the difference between pulling the bandage off slowly vs. all at once...just get if done and let your body adjust..

    I don't want to spend all my free time working out. So even though I LOVE Combat, I don't see the point in doing it every day. It seems way more effective to work on building muscle. So, I make sure to get in my strength training 3x per week (Cathe STS; I started with Chalean but didn't really respond to her as an instructor). Cardio sessions 2-3 times per week, 30 to 40 minutes, when it feels like fun and not like a chore (or when I don't get to walk my usual 5 miles).

    Per my calipers, I am currently a little over 20% BF which I never would have believed was possible even a year ago. So it is worth doing, and worth doing well! Good luck!
  • Jennbecca33
    Jennbecca33 Posts: 321 Member
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    Hi Nibbles! Welcome to EM2WL! I saw your other post from yesterday I believe it was, so I tried to go back and read some of your history. Correct me if I have any of it wrong.

    So just to clarify, is your goal to lose weight or gain muscle or both? And to determine if you need to do a full reset, it might be best to just see how your body responds once you start increasing your calories. We will recommend someone to do a full reset if they have been restricting calories for a very long time or have been dieting for a very long time without a break. Since you really don't know what caloric level you were eating at before three weeks ago, why don't you just judge it by how your body responds to increasing calories.

    Either way, you want to slowly start increasing your calories upwards to at least your cut amount, which I believe you said was 1700-1800ish, right - and that was with a moderate activity level? I would suggest adding 100 cals per day and then upping that by another 100 cals per day every week or so. Increasing slowly will help combat any initial water weight gain (but if you do experience some gains on the scale during increasing, don't worry as it's normal and your weight will stabilize). When you increase up to your cut level, stay there for about 6 weeks and see if you begin losing weight in a downward trend. If so, just stay there and keep to your 15% cut. If you are not losing after 6 weeks, you may either need to increase your calories a bit more or possibly do a full reset but I think we can probably assess it at that time.

    Now if your goal is to only build muscle, then you do not want to be eating at a deficit. It's difficult to build muscle when eating at a deficit. If that is the case, just slowly increase your calories up to your TDEE level and eat there for several weeks to let your body stabilize. You can lift heavy eating at full TDEE and do more of a body recomp where you won't lose scale weight per se, but you will see inches and body fat go down because of the heavy lifting. If you wanted to eat above your TDEE while heavy lifting, then you would be doing more of a bulk and would actually gain muscle weight.

    As far as the workouts go, EM2WL emphasizes the importance of lifting those heavier weights, so weight training 3x a week and maybe cardio 2x a week to fill in around the weights is a great place to start. You just don't want to overdo your exercising and create too large of a burn, but your 30 minute increments sound great. It's always great to have 2 full rest days per week.

    I hope this helps answer some of your questions and clear things up! Please post back if you have more questions or need more clarification! Again, welcome! :)
  • Nibbles
    Nibbles Posts: 8 Member
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    Hi Jennbecca,

    Thanks for responding. I really appreciate the feedback.

    My goal is to burn fat and gain muscle. My calculator says I'm at 28% bodyfat. I'd like to be under 20% bodyfat. I want to look fit and have muscle tone. I want to get rid of that layer of fat that is hiding some on the muscle I do have. I can see that some definition exist but no one else can. I don't look fat, but when I put on a swimsuit no ones looking at me saying "wow, how do you stay in such great shape" and that's the type of response I'd like to get. :)

    One Wed. I upped my calories to 2000 which is my TDEE but its only been one day so I can easily readjust that number to my cut which is 1700. Is it ok just to make that my caloric intake daily on FP rather than going back to the 1350 calories daily and increasing the calories by 100 per day? Is there repercussions to this?

    As for exercising, I will continue doing what I'm doing... 3 days lifting and 2 days cardio. Should my 3 days of lifting be full body workouts which is what I do now or should I do 3 day splits? What's best? For example I have Slow and Heavy and Pyramid Upper and Lower by Cathe Frederich.

    Thanks again to you and everyone else who responded.
  • Jennbecca33
    Jennbecca33 Posts: 321 Member
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    Hi Nibbles ~ Yes, you can drop back to that 1700 number for your cut. The only repercussions of going straight there from your 1350 amount would be some water gains that you might see on the scale. We normally suggest that you add your calories more slowly, but that is because it can cause the temporary increase on the scale - so adding them more slowly helps alleviate some of those gains. So if you see an increase on the scale, don't worry about it and let your body get used to the increased calories. You may just want to stay of the scale for a bit if you think that will bother you mentally. There is a great thread on these forums about upping your calories and what to expect. If you get curious, you may want to check it out.

    As far as your exercise goes, I think full body or spits is up to you and what you enjoy doing more - or you can just alternate. If you are doing 3 days of lifting, just use your cardio days in between to you give your muscles a rest and so that you're not working the same muscle groups two days in a row.

    Hope this helps and post back if you have more questions. I look forward to seeing your progress! :)

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