5 months of weightlifting...can't get the calories right!

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Jasdramaqueen
Jasdramaqueen Posts: 55 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hello,

After years of cardio to no avail, I broke my ankle last year and decided to get serious. I do 4-6 gym workouts a week (comprising a weekly weights session with a trainer, weights and HIIT program 3 x a week and the odd spin and cardio session as well).

At the same time, I’m trying to wean off the binge eating which has been a journey. I’ve lost about 18 lb so far, but now find myself in a cycle whereby I might overeat or eat ‘more’ than my trainer suggested whilst I’m still trying to lose weight (c. 1450 calories) some days and then try to make up for it by eating less- i.e c.1,200 calories or less, which I know is bad for my metabolism and too low when I’m training. My concern is that when I eat more than 1,500 calories, even if I’ve trained 5 times that week, the scales don’t seem to budge.

Has anyone struggled with this and if so, any recommendations on how you overcame it?

Gratefully received as it’s driving me mad, seeing people say they’re eating 1,800 calories and still losing weight whilst training! I don’t want to have to eat less than 1,200 calories to lose weight as it’s affecting my ability to lift BUT at the same time, I want to lose the last stone…

Cheers
Jas

Replies

  • shaf238
    shaf238 Posts: 4,021 Member
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    I think you'd best start by looking at the reason why you're binge eating. You need to find a way stick to your calorie goals while consuming foods that you enjoy and the weight WILL come off.

    Are you weighing and logging all your food accurately? And how are you tracking your calories burned exercising?
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    what are your stats, what is your rate of loss and calorie goal currently?
  • elfin168
    elfin168 Posts: 202 Member
    edited September 2018
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    I find weight lifting can make me really hungry. I also think that you can add 'water weight' after doing resistance training as your 'damaged' muscles hold on to more water temporarily. Also restriction usually leads to eating more this is normal so restricting is not helpful. I would say be kinder on yourself and give it more time. Also are you taking into account the energy you are burning and including this in your daily deficient. Ironically the harder you are on yourself the less likely you are to be successful. A realistic achievable deficiet will be more successful than a bigger one and a harder training schedule

  • shaf238
    shaf238 Posts: 4,021 Member
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    bigrichieAF28 wrote: »
    You cannot "make up for" eating beyond your daily calories. If you go over on a Tuesday, you should eat what is required on Wednesday. As for the scale not budging.... You're working out quite a bit each week....I would think you should be eating more, but that's not my decision. Anyway, if you're building muscle and losing fat at the same time, you may not see the scale move. Which in your case is a good possibility. Do you take measurements? Arms, waist, legs.....etc?
    Don't agree with this bit entirely. If you go over on any given day of course you can't go back and make up for it by undoing it. However, your body works on a much larger timescale than on a day to day basis so yes, you can "make up" your calories/macros by the end of the week. i.e. I went over on my fat macro last week Monday, so I made small adjustments during the rest of the week so by the time I got to the end of the week I'd recovered it and ended up hitting my fat macro (as well as my overall calorie target of course).
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    Although the TDEE method where exercise is averaged out and you eat the same level daily is simple and good for people with regular exercise routines it might not be the best choice for you with such a varied routine.
    The MFP "eat back exercise calories" method might be better for you (as it is for me). On big exercise days it's totally normal to want to eat more than on a light or no exercise day.

    1450 that your trainer suggests sounds very low for someone exercising so much. Over-restriction is the flip side of the coin to binge eating.
  • Jasdramaqueen
    Jasdramaqueen Posts: 55 Member
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    Thanks everyone for your comments. I am weighing and logging painfully accurately. Aiming for 1,450 calories on a daily scale. I think the calories may be too low for the amount of exercise I am now doing and will be raising this with my trainer this week. I'm drinking 2-3 litres of water every day and doing everything right. The weight is coming off realllly slowly so maybe I need to take a step back rather than look at it week to week.

    I don't think I'm starving or restricting particularly- and even when I have my cheat' days, it doesn't really top 2,500 calories. Perhaps I need to aim for more consistency rather than focus on 'making up' for the odd over calorific indulgence. For example, I had a soup and salad for lunch and feel that was 'too much.' Definitely need to work on the psychology here in addition to the food and exercise...it's a journey!
  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
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    This is kind of a non-answer, I know, but it's the truth...

    You have to figure out what works/doesn't work for you. This is one of those areas where different methods/approaches/tactics work for different people. Some people can adjust on the fly to make up for higher/lower calorie days. Others can't. There might also be mental or emotional factors at play here... and that's something that you need to reflect on and see if there is anything there. Or is it just habitual?

    Again, I know that's not much help, but it sounds like that's where you're at. You know the bottom line (calorie management)... now you need to work out how to best do that for you, based on your needs/preferences/tendencies/etc.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    Jasdramaqueen wrote: »
    Thanks everyone for your comments. I am weighing and logging painfully accurately. Aiming for 1,450 calories on a daily scale. I think the calories may be too low for the amount of exercise I am now doing and will be raising this with my trainer this week. I'm drinking 2-3 litres of water every day and doing everything right. The weight is coming off realllly slowly so maybe I need to take a step back rather than look at it week to week.

    I don't think I'm starving or restricting particularly- and even when I have my cheat' days, it doesn't really top 2,500 calories. Perhaps I need to aim for more consistency rather than focus on 'making up' for the odd over calorific indulgence. For example, I had a soup and salad for lunch and feel that was 'too much.' Definitely need to work on the psychology here in addition to the food and exercise...it's a journey!

    what are your stats, and what is your current rate of loss?

    how often do you have a 2500 calorie cheat day?

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