Weight lifting and I'm freaking starving

sweetpea813
sweetpea813 Posts: 112 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have been doing mainly cardio and a cardio/weight class since January. I've lost some weight and toned up a bit. I eat the same things and stay around 1350 calories. I go over here and there but I finally realized the whole "it's a marathon, not a sprint" thing so I don't beat myself up about it.
My problem is, I have started heavy lifting and I'm freaking starving all the time now. I eat back some of my calories but I am still hungry! I'm eating my same diet as before and I usually hit or go over my protein goals. What should I do?

5'9" female
43 years
190 SW
174 CW
1350 calories a day

Replies

  • erinc5
    erinc5 Posts: 329 Member
    You can probably eat more, at least on lifting days. I am 5'7" and I started my journey at 175 in January. My initial goal was 1400 cals/day and I didn't even work out. I am now around 156 and just started StrongCurves. My goal is still 1400 but I am eating back fitbit calories, so usually around 1500-1800 depending on the day.
  • KiyaK
    KiyaK Posts: 519 Member
    How long ago did you start lifting? I had this problem for the first 2 weeks when I first started lifting. I upped my calories & protien for a while. My body got used to the new activity & I dropped my calories down again. Kept my protien high (100g/day) for a while longer & it did the trick.
  • indiacaitlin
    indiacaitlin Posts: 691 Member
    You're probably not eating enough.

    I'm on 1600 a day and I do cardio 6 days and lift 3 days a week. Use something like IIFYM.com calculator to get a better idea of how much to eat!
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    Yep its normal to feel hungrier on lifting days, or for me its the next day the hunger hits.
    Your calories are a bit low for your height, so you could eat more and still lose. Eat back some exercise calories, that'll help the hunger issue.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    I'll echo the "eat more" suggestion. I'm 3" shorter than you and at your weight was eating 1750-1850 every day. That's total eaten, so I'm not sure how it compares to how much you're actually eating.
  • Jams009
    Jams009 Posts: 345 Member
    As above.

    A little bit of hunger is to be expected and you just have to learn to deal with it. But you can also try to get in more volumous foods like salad, soup and veg. You can bulk out a lot of recipes without adding too many calories by adding onions, mushrooms, broccoli and tinned tomatoes and stuff like that.

  • MonkeyMel21
    MonkeyMel21 Posts: 2,396 Member
    Like Kiyak said, I too got extremely hungry for the first two weeks then the hunger died back down a bit. I added in protein powder on my lifting days also.
  • jmac4263
    jmac4263 Posts: 245 Member
    I'm at 1550 a day for calories some days more to be lifting heavy 1400 seems a little low, if you were doing lower weight and higher rep for more burn it might be ok but to go heavy and increase I would say it's low. I am hungry on 1550 and I'm lifting and cardio every other day and non lift days are cardio. I am most hungry on my rest days!! Trial and error see what works for you
  • xRezin
    xRezin Posts: 17 Member
    It is very difficult to build muscle while in a calorie deficit.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    edited June 2016
    Holy smokes! I'm 41 years old, 5'9", 178 pounds, and I lose on 1930 calories per day. I lift heavy three days a week, and cardio one or two days a week. We are nearly identical. Eat more food!!!
  • bellaa_x0
    bellaa_x0 Posts: 1,062 Member
    edited June 2016
    sweetpea813 wrote: »
    I have been doing mainly cardio and a cardio/weight class since January. I've lost some weight and toned up a bit. I eat the same things and stay around 1350 calories. I go over here and there but I finally realized the whole "it's a marathon, not a sprint" thing so I don't beat myself up about it.
    My problem is, I have started heavy lifting and I'm freaking starving all the time now. I eat back some of my calories but I am still hungry! I'm eating my same diet as before and I usually hit or go over my protein goals. What should I do?

    5'9" female
    43 years
    190 SW
    174 CW
    1350 calories a day

    I have very similar stats as you... 5'10" female 27 years old my SW was 225, but for working with my coach (who programs my nutrition in terms of marcos) SW was 200 and CW is 176. I eat 1505 calories on days that I lift and/or do cardio. You can probably eat a bit more OR have a refeed day. I am now on two refeed days a week due to the low calories and to keep the scale moving down.

    ETA: I have hypothyroidism and PCOS if it makes any difference.
  • markswife1992
    markswife1992 Posts: 262 Member
    on my lift days, i eat a high protein bar (20+ grams protein) and a protein shake (30+ grams protein)
    IMMEDIATELY following my weight lifting (SUCH AS: i keep the shake and bar in my car and eat them within 5 minutes of finishing my work-out)
    that usually helps fill me up.
  • sweetpea813
    sweetpea813 Posts: 112 Member
    Thanks everyone for your replies. I will try a few different things to see if it helps. First, I will up my calories a tad with more proteins not those days that I lift.

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