Hard to maintain calorie deficit while weight lifting

augustremulous · September 2014

Haven't done much lifting in years. Just start again last week, and have been going four times a week.

I've set my limits to losing 1.5 pounds a week. It was reasonably easy for me to hit it while I was only walking 40 minutes a day, and my weight has steadily been coming off.

Last week, I started the Jamie Eason LiveFit program (with some small modifications). But I chose not to do her six meal a day, high protein thing, because it's too overwhelming for me and it's never worked for me in the last anyway. I also don't really follow the "one gram of protein for every pound" mantra, because I just don't believe in it.

That said, it's been increasingly hard to stay below my caloric limit. Last night I stayed under and was just going crazy in the late evening for starch and carbs. Finally, I went to the kitchen, fixed myself a two egg omelette and a quarter cup of mashed stweet potato, and it totally hit the spot. So I went just a little over, and it was grueling for me.

Jamie Eason does say that our caloric intake should go up the first month. But I struggled for years to lose weight while I ate super healthy food in satisfying amounts, and I'm convinced that weight loss can't occur unless I'm willing to go a little hungry once in a while.

So I guess my question is 1. whether the strength training is worth it for me in terms of metabolic boost so I'd be better off lifting and also going a little over my preferred intake (even though I'm still at a slight deficit), or 2. I should ease up on the lifting so I can stay under my calorie limit everyday.

Thoughts?

Francl27 · September 2014

Or 3... decrease your calorie goal to losing 1 pound a week, and eat more protein, which is more filling than carbs anyway.

augustremulous · September 2014

Why one pound?

I'm already eating plenty of protein. I'm 204 pounds - so 204 grams of protein if I stick to the weight lifters' suggestions. That's a ton of protein for me. I've been hitting about 90 grams of protein per day. That's 30 grams per day, and I think if I eat more I'll have to resort to supplements and powders. But it's a conflict with my food philosophy to eat processed, artificial type food.

Don't get me wrong - I know protein shakes work and will give me results. But I'm willing to sacrifice some gains to keep my diet organic and natural.

My only goal here is healthy weight loss.

Julieboolieaz · September 2014

Quick question-why did you add the weight lifting to your routine? Is it to build muscle? Or just maintain muscle as you're losing weight? If it's to gain strength then you'll need enough protein to protect or even repair your muscles as you're lifting weights.

When you're just doing cardio the higher carb/lower protein diet is fine as you're not requiring as much protein. But I'm a big fan of protein so I don't go that route.

If your main goal is just to lose scake weight then you probably should reduce the amount of weight training you are doing. 4x/week is pretty committed and usually that amount of lifting is accompanied by a lot of protein to support it.

That said, if you're losing body fat through diet and exercise, losing inches and feeling good, but the scale isn't dropping as fast as you'd like, would you still be satisfied? Slightly higher calories with more protein (how about half way btw the 90 and 200 mark, try 120-130?) would keep you satisfied and fueled so that you get the most out of your workouts. Just an idea

.

Good luck with whatever route you choose!

augustremulous · September 2014

Thanks! I recognize that a muscular fit 150 is better than a skinny fat 140, but I'm 205 right now so I really am prioritizing a scale reduction over anything. From what I know, it would be easier to maintain fitness if I build some muscle, especially since I've been felling pretty weak lately. And of course, I want to keep the muscle I already have as I lose.

I think maybe you're right that maybe just cutting down on the strength training would be best, especially if I'm not willing to increase my protein intake. I was just a bundle of knots today.

AliceDark · September 2014

You only need 0.8-1g of protein per pound of lean body mass, so you don't need to worry about getting 204g of protein.

Weight lifting is going to help you tremendously in the long term. Give it about a month, and see if your appetite adjusts. You can try playing around a little bit with meal timing, and maybe increase your protein just a little bit (the 100g range would be just fine, so you're not that far off already). I wouldn't give up lifting just yet.

LeanButNotMean44 · September 2014

I'm already eating plenty of protein. I'm 204 pounds - so 204 grams of protein if I stick to the weight lifters' suggestions. That's a ton of protein for me. I've been hitting about 90 grams of protein per day. That's 30 grams per day, and I think if I eat more I'll have to resort to supplements and powders. But it's a conflict with my food philosophy to eat processed, artificial type food.

The recommended amount is 1g pf protein per pound of LEAN body mass, not 1 gram per pound of total body weight.

LeanButNotMean44 · September 2014

AliceDark - great minds think alike!

tigerblue · September 2014

I agree that I get hungrier when lifting. Even though technically running burns way more calories, on a lifting day I will definitely be hungrier.

I would change your goal to lose more slowly so you can eat more.

I'm not sure about how much difference lean mass makes as far as metabolic rate (for my weight an increase in muscle mass of 5%--which would be a lot of change--would only increase my calorie burn by 80 per day).

But there are SOOO many other reasons to strength train. More strength so you won't be a frail little old lady who falls and breaks her hip all the time, better bone density, better balance, look better at higher weight, feel better. . . .

So even though I personally don't like weight training I know I have to do it. So let's keep it up!

runner475 · September 2014

Why one pound?

I'm already eating plenty of protein. I'm 204 pounds - so 204 grams of protein if I stick to the weight lifters' suggestions. That's a ton of protein for me. I've been hitting about 90 grams of protein per day. That's 30 grams per day, and I think if I eat more I'll have to resort to supplements and powders. But it's a conflict with my food philosophy to eat processed, artificial type food.

Don't get me wrong - I know protein shakes work and will give me results. But I'm willing to sacrifice some gains to keep my diet organic and natural.

My only goal here is healthy weight loss.

Fair Enough.
At this point let's jus' focus on how you have set MFP. We can talk about strength training later.

B'coz technically you shouldn't be craving for food anytime of the day.

My question -
1) What is the per week weight lost goal you have set on MFP? Is it 1.5 pounds per week as you suggested?
2) are you eating back your exercise calories if not all at least some? And if yes, how much?
3) How are you tracking your food? Do you weigh with a kitchen scale.?

TiberiusClaudis · September 2014

A couple thoughts.

Training is REALLY important...and hitting the weights is a maor part of that...but but

Diet is where most of us win or lose the battle of the bulge. The amount of training one has to do to equate to a binge is HUGE.

So first priority is getting the calories expended more than taken in. The best method is to push away from the table. You are hitting an aggressive but not wildly aggressive goal of 1.5 a week. I always ask people how long it took them to get this heavy..many say years or decades...and then I ask them if it's reasonable for them to try to lose it in 3 months? Slow and steady wins the day.

Your binge last night...was a healthy one. Eggs and SP..awesome. I think you will do well.

Mouse_Potato · September 2014

I don't have any advice, but I wanted to say I know exactly what you mean! I was just asking my friends list last week if anyone else got an appetite from lifting that was disproportionate to the calories burned. I get around 100-120 grams of protein a day (I have about 98 pounds of LBM) and my deficit is only 250 calories, but when I lift I am RAVENOUS! I have been known to go over my calories by 500-700 the day after a weight lifting workout.

augustremulous · September 2014

"You only need 0.8-1g of protein per pound of lean body mass, so you don't need to worry about getting 204g of protein."

This is definitely a relief! So I'm getting the right amount, I think.

Honestly, at this point, I'm just focusing on diet over anything else. The exercise is to keep me motivated and active each day, but I know from experience that going on a new exercise regime that I can't maintain for life is going to be an uphill battle, especially when I can't maintain it anymore. In fact, I've already suffered a slew of disappointments from injuries because I've gone too hard and too fast, so I'm going to focus on taking it gentle now and keep focusing on cutting calories over anything else. If I start lapsing in my exercise, I'm not going t beat myself up - I'm just going to keep cutting calories.

I do want to keep an exercise regime going, but I decided today to put some more variety in - at least until my body gets used regular exercise. I used to be a competitive swimmer; though swimming has never enabled me to lose more the five or ten pounds, I think I'll switch to a week of swimming and yoga as a break before getting back to the strength training. Because my body is just in knots right now! Especially my lower back. I have to keep reminding myself that I just can't approach exercise regimes the same way I did when I was fit and healthy.

augustremulous · September 2014

Also, thanks for all the great advice and encouragement, everyone!

tigerblue · September 2014

Can you alternate cardio days and weight lifting days? Then maybe you could also "save" a few extra cardio calories for your lifting days.

augustremulous · September 2014

Can you alternate cardio days and weight lifting days? Then maybe you could also "save" a few extra cardio calories for your lifting days.

Yeah, I actually think that's a good idea to alternate more. Though since I made this thread I realized that it was quite a bit easier to maintain my deficit. I lifted heavy on Thursday, and ended up eating just a little less than my maintenance intake. But I barely ate anything yesterday, because I just wasnt' hungry. So maybe it all does even out after a few days.

pkw58 · September 2014

Op, I hear you. I only have weight lifting with a PT for two thirty minute sessions a week, (I am in maintenance/recomp mode) and I am STARVING all day long on those two days. I eat a hard boiled egg or some scrambled eggs from the deli for a 10 am break even though I have had a breakfast earlier in the day before the 30 minute session.

The first two weeks I started with the additional SMALL amount of weight lifting, my weight shot up three pounds. 5 weeks into it, down 5 from that. All within my target range. My goals are strength and endurance, but maintain the same weight.

I do eat protein bars as a quick small meal replacement, but find my appetite stays lower the more "whole" my foods are.

WithWhatsLeft · September 2014

So glad to see this topic and I hope more people chime in.

I've stopped lifting temporarily and do cardio every day, but will be ready to add the weights back in very soon. The health and metabolism benefits are too great to ignore (and it's fun) but it does make me hungry!

ThePhoenixIsRising · September 2014

Why one pound?

I'm already eating plenty of protein. I'm 204 pounds - so 204 grams of protein if I stick to the weight lifters' suggestions. That's a ton of protein for me. I've been hitting about 90 grams of protein per day. That's 30 grams per day, and I think if I eat more I'll have to resort to supplements and powders. But it's a conflict with my food philosophy to eat processed, artificial type food.

Don't get me wrong - I know protein shakes work and will give me results. But I'm willing to sacrifice some gains to keep my diet organic and natural.

My only goal here is healthy weight loss.

I'm confused, are you getting 30g or 90g of protein? Also are you getting enough fats In Your diet?

augustremulous · September 2014

Yeah, that was a typo, sorry. 90 grams per day, about 30 grams per meal (three square meals a day). Definitely getting enough fats. I'm an avocado and olive oil fiend. Not eating "low carb," but staying well under the recommended amount.

SideSteel · September 2014

You can probably get away with a lower protein intake. EDIT: Lower than 1g/lb bodyweight. I would go higher than 90g if that's what you're on. Somewhere in the 150g range is probably a reasonable place to start in my opinion.

Resistance training has a ton of benefits so I'd continue on with it.

Regarding rate of weight loss, I don't think 1.5lbs/week is unreasonable given your stats. It's a fine goal -- somewhere between 1 and 2lbs/week should be fine.

All that being said, there are plenty of factors that play into hunger/satiety and you should still seek to address the hunger issues. Macronutrient ratios, size of calorie deficit, food selection, meal frequency, meal size, nutrient timing and probably other stuff I'm not thinking of at the moment can effect hunger.

One thing you can consider would be to examine your meal distribution and consider eating larger and less frequent meals to see if that helps. You could evaluate your food choices to see where the low satiety calories are coming from and replace some of those with higher satiety items.

All kinds of other things to consider, these are just a few ideas.

I would only lower protein intake if it makes the diet easier to adhere to, and it certainly could depending.

augustremulous · September 2014

You can probably get away with a lower protein intake. EDIT: Lower than 1g/lb bodyweight. I would go higher than 90g if that's what you're on. Somewhere in the 150g range is probably a reasonable place to start in my opinion.

Resistance training has a ton of benefits so I'd continue on with it.

Regarding rate of weight loss, I don't think 1.5lbs/week is unreasonable given your stats. It's a fine goal -- somewhere between 1 and 2lbs/week should be fine.

All that being said, there are plenty of factors that play into hunger/satiety and you should still seek to address the hunger issues. Macronutrient ratios, size of calorie deficit, food selection, meal frequency, meal size, nutrient timing and probably other stuff I'm not thinking of at the moment can effect hunger.

One thing you can consider would be to examine your meal distribution and consider eating larger and less frequent meals to see if that helps. You could evaluate your food choices to see where the low satiety calories are coming from and replace some of those with higher satiety items.

All kinds of other things to consider, these are just a few ideas.

I would only lower protein intake if it makes the diet easier to adhere to, and it certainly could depending.

I've gone up to 150 on some days, but frankly (and I apologize for the TMI) I get weird bowel issues when I eat that much protein. I've always measured a healthy diet by how good your bowel habits are, and 90-100 grams is the sweet spot for me to always be regular, and to eliminate by relaxing instead of pushing.

I could go up to 110 I think, but 150 is still way too much for me.

What you say about meal frequency and timing may be something to think about. I should add that I've always been a late night eat - not a binge eat - but definitely someone who eats right before bed time. I remember telling my doctor a few months ago that there are days when I've tried hard not to eat late, but eventually had to get up to eat something because I just could not fall asleep. He told me that I must have trained my body to need food to fall asleep, and that I'd have to really work at overcoming that and getting my body to adjust to being able to go to bed a little hungry. He assured me that there is no connection between being hungry and having lower quality sleep.

So these days I'm trying not to eat between 7pm and 7am. It's easy for me to push breakfast later, but it's ever harder and harder for me to finish dinner by 7 and not get hungry again around 10. One of the reasons I try to finish before 7 is because I actually do feel better and more energetic the next morning when I finish dinner early. But the tradeoff is that it's hard for me to eat that early and not be hungry again later.

So that's something I'm playing with

What a great community forum, by the way! It's so great to be able to talk about all my food issues and quirks and finickiness and not be judged for it.

It seems like in real life, when an overweight person expresses that she has reservations about making a change, people get annoyed and assert that she's not really dedicated.

SideSteel · September 2014

You should check to see if the higher protein intake indirectly causes you to reduce fiber intake and the reduced fiber intake impacts the bowel issue.

Regarding the night time eating, it's fine to set limits if it makes you feel better. If it reduces your diet adherence though, that's something you'll want to balance out. You may already be well aware of it but if you're not I'll mention it here -- eating at night will not prevent weight loss provided your total calories are in check.

tigerblue · September 2014

When I was in the main part of my losing (to explain, I lost 43 lbs, five years ago, but have recently gained some back and now I am again losing, but with a slower weight loss goal), I ate dinner between 7:30 and 9 most nights. I had NO PROBLEM still losing. And like you, I found that it kept me from late night snacking! Sometimes I would get pretty hungry before dinner, though, and end up snacking.

Now my family's schedule haS changed a bit and we eat around 7. I could never eat dinner regularly before 5:30! Just not my body's rhythm. And not my family's rhythm either. It is important to me for us all to be home for dinner as much as possible.

But my point is,eating late will not hinder weight loss if you stay within your goals.

Hard to maintain calorie deficit while weight lifting

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