I'm 6 weeks into stronglifts and while on a calorie deficit

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omakase619
omakase619 Posts: 226 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm finally hitting the heavier weights and I realize I need to eat more to have an efficient workout. I still want to lose 10 lbs but I also want to progress on my strength gains. Does anyone know a rough estimate on how many calories a session of stronglifts burns? I've been going over my calories by 300 or so this week on days I lift and trying to stay under on my non lifting days (it's getting harder because I'm hungry all the time) I can tell my rate of weight loss has slowed from losing over 1 Lb a week vs .3-.7 lbs.

On days I go over my calories I try to do extra cardio to stay within limits but It's getting exhausting.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Replies

  • LostSun8
    LostSun8 Posts: 15 Member
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    You may also need to look at what you're eating, your timing, what else you are doing, your sleep quality, and so on.

    You say going over your calories by 300/day... is that 300 over a deficit calorie goal, 300 over a goal that already includes added back activity calories, 300 over a maintenance calorie goal...?

    Again, some of it may be food related, but it could also have to do with over training, poor training timing, poor sleep, stress, other things going on in your life, etc.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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    Not much. I think when I used to log it, MFP would give me about 175 calories for an hour of strength training.
  • omakase619
    omakase619 Posts: 226 Member
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    LostSun8 wrote: »
    You may also need to look at what you're eating, your timing, what else you are doing, your sleep quality, and so on.

    You say going over your calories by 300/day... is that 300 over a deficit calorie goal, 300 over a goal that already includes added back activity calories, 300 over a maintenance calorie goal...?

    Again, some of it may be food related, but it could also have to do with over training, poor training timing, poor sleep, stress, other things going on in your life, etc.

    300 on a deficit calories.. and the only exercise I log is my steps and have been going over 300 + whatever calories I get back from my steps. So essentially I'm going way over 300 calories
  • omakase619
    omakase619 Posts: 226 Member
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    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    Not much. I think when I used to log it, MFP would give me about 175 calories for an hour of strength training.
    Thank you for this info.
  • beanz744
    beanz744 Posts: 221 Member
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    bear in mind that i dont know how much u r lifting, how intense u workout is, n what ur caloric daily allowance is.

    1. log 200 calorie down for ur weight training session
    2. make sure that u r eating .8g to 1g of protein per pound of BW
    3. making sure that u r doing progressive overloading (increasing ur load progressively)

    other than that is just listening to ur body n make workout/calorie intake adjustment according to how ur body feels/reacts. slower weight loss is expected as u get closer to ur GW. also, if u r a beginner in lifting, u might be experiencing some beginners muscle grow even though u r in a caloric deficit. be patient coz u r on the right path. good luck!
  • jan2701
    jan2701 Posts: 3 Member
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    Hiya.
    Im no expert by all means but i do crossfit and burn between 400-600 calories per hour. This is calculated by my heart rate on my garmin vivoactive hr. Could you be burning more calories than you think?
  • MarvinsAMartian
    MarvinsAMartian Posts: 236 Member
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    I'm in the same boat. I don't sweat it personally but we obviously have different goals because I'm not watching the scale at all. But I know the feels man. Its tough. I dont have anything to add, just reading the responses for advice too.
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
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    I don't log the calories from SL5x5, but I do track it under exercise/strength training for tracking purposes. I only log and eat back calories from purposeful cardio. That being said, eat enough to fuel your workouts. I'm certainly hungrier on lifting days.
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
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    Not much to be concerned about really.

    A factor to consider is how much are you lifting? Are you squatting 135 lbs or 405 lbs? The heavier you lift, more calories.

    I would just manually change my calorie intake according to my desired weight change.
  • ocrXfitter
    ocrXfitter Posts: 123 Member
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    If you only have 10 lbs left to lose, you should probably decrease your deficit from losing 1 lb per week to losing .5 lbs per week.
  • ell_v131
    ell_v131 Posts: 349 Member
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    I dont know how much cardio you are doing, but loads of steady state cardio would have negative impact on your lifts as it trains the muscles for a different purpose. I'm talking about hours of running, not short bursts. Hiit would fit better with stronglifts I think.

    Also if you are hungry, doing exercise to 'burn off' the calories over your intake could be counter productive, since you're creating further energy deficit that your body may feel the need to replenish, getting even hungrier .

    The last 10 lbs are the hardest, try to play with nutrient timing if you like. I recently fought with constant cravings and feelings of hunger even right after eating. What helped was to shift bigger Chung of my daily intake sooner in the day. Used to do 200-300 kcal breakfast, now doing 500 of good protein and carbs and feel fuller during the day. I am 5'6 130lbs and female so the kcal for you will prob be higher.

    Listen to your body, just because you're not losing on the scale doesn't mean you're not losing fat:) by measurements I thought the past 2 years I was 20% body fat. Got a bodpod measurement last week and I'm 13-14% actually so my body composition has shifted a lot without a big change on the scale over the years.

    Good luck!
  • slaite1
    slaite1 Posts: 1,307 Member
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    ocrXfitter wrote: »
    If you only have 10 lbs left to lose, you should probably decrease your deficit from losing 1 lb per week to losing .5 lbs per week.

    Yup
  • HamsterManV2
    HamsterManV2 Posts: 449 Member
    edited May 2017
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    Couple of things that will help:
    • Take longer rests. Your body uses your ATP reserves (energy) when you go all out, like during a sprint. During a cut, you have less reserves to boot. At 3 minutes, you are at ~80% replenished. At 5 minutes, you are ~95% replenished. 8 Minutes for ~100%. Don't go for PRs (Personal Records) at 80%.
    • Eat as much single ingredient foods as you can (meats, veggies, fruits, nuts, etc.). These are both filling and will aid recovery.
    • Get 7-8 hours of sleep. Honestly helps a ton. Drink LOTS of water too.
    • Edit: I just realized you are doing Strong Lifts. Are you still doing 5x5? I'd HIGHLY recommend switching to 3x5 (3 sets of 5 reps). On a cut, you don't need the extra volume, just increasing the weight is good enough. The ICF5x5 program, which is similar to SL in many ways, advocates 5repsx5sets on a bulk and 3repsx5sets on a cut. Starting Strength has you on 3repsX5sets from the get go. Definitely do 3x5 if you aren't already.
    • Slow down the progression. Since you are on a cut, it's asking a lot of your body to keep on increasing the weight. I know Starting Strength has an "advanced novice" section where you increase the weight for squats only on Mondays and Fridays, and Wednesday is used as a lighter day to aid in recovery (also can do more accessory work like arms/abs since they aren't as taxing on your Central Nervous System). You can do this for Strong Lifts.
    • Slow it down even more. If the above doesn't work, switch to Texas Method style training - Volume Day on Monday, Light on Wednesday, Intensity Day (aka New PRs) on Friday.




      I am on a cut, and I am more advanced than you, so my progression only happens once a month (programs like 5/3/1 and GZCL have you progress once a month). Slow and steady is the name of the game. Once you finally reach your goal weight, you can maintain or go on a bulk and your strength gains will be much faster. Getting lighter AND stronger is a double positive, as you are getting stronger relative to the weight, AND the weight is still increasing. On a bulk, you should gain more strength but also more weight. (and Beach Season is coming and I wanna be shredded :smiley: )
  • omakase619
    omakase619 Posts: 226 Member
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    HamsterManV2 wrote: »
    Couple of things that will help:
    • Take longer rests. Your body uses your ATP reserves (energy) when you go all out, like during a sprint. During a cut, you have less reserves to boot. At 3 minutes, you are at ~80% replenished. At 5 minutes, you are ~95% replenished. 8 Minutes for ~100%. Don't go for PRs (Personal Records) at 80%.
    • Eat as much single ingredient foods as you can (meats, veggies, fruits, nuts, etc.). These are both filling and will aid recovery.
    • Get 7-8 hours of sleep. Honestly helps a ton. Drink LOTS of water too.
    • Edit: I just realized you are doing Strong Lifts. Are you still doing 5x5? I'd HIGHLY recommend switching to 3x5 (3 sets of 5 reps). On a cut, you don't need the extra volume, just increasing the weight is good enough. The ICF5x5 program, which is similar to SL in many ways, advocates 5repsx5sets on a bulk and 3repsx5sets on a cut. Starting Strength has you on 3repsX5sets from the get go. Definitely do 3x5 if you aren't already.
    • Slow down the progression. Since you are on a cut, it's asking a lot of your body to keep on increasing the weight. I know Starting Strength has an "advanced novice" section where you increase the weight for squats only on Mondays and Fridays, and Wednesday is used as a lighter day to aid in recovery (also can do more accessory work like arms/abs since they aren't as taxing on your Central Nervous System). You can do this for Strong Lifts.
    • Slow it down even more. If the above doesn't work, switch to Texas Method style training - Volume Day on Monday, Light on Wednesday, Intensity Day (aka New PRs) on Friday.




      I am on a cut, and I am more advanced than you, so my progression only happens once a month (programs like 5/3/1 and GZCL have you progress once a month). Slow and steady is the name of the game. Once you finally reach your goal weight, you can maintain or go on a bulk and your strength gains will be much faster. Getting lighter AND stronger is a double positive, as you are getting stronger relative to the weight, AND the weight is still increasing. On a bulk, you should gain more strength but also more weight. (and Beach Season is coming and I wanna be shredded :smiley: )

    Wow thanks for the info!
  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,572 Member
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    5x5 on a cut when you're getting lean is brutal. I agree with changing programs to something with less volume.

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