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Weightlifting + Feeling Hungry
primordialprimate
Posts: 3 Member
Hi!
I’m a female, 5’2’’ and I started weightlifting four weeks ago because I wanted to gain muscle and lose fat. My weight loss has been really slow (originally started in April and I was 116/117 and now I’m 112) despite being in a big caloric deficit due to the fact that my metabolism slowed down because my deficit was too big. Now I eat around 1400 calories a day and weightlift five times a week, as well as doing cardio once or twice (I also bike to my neighbors gym everyday which is an additional 10-15min of cardio).
I know I shouldn’t expect the weight on the scale to change much since I’m losing fat and gaining muscle, but I just feel hungry all the time and I’m wondering if I should incorporate refeed days into my diet or bump my caloric intake? I’m always thinking about food and I’m always hungry, and I was never this hungry a month back when I ate way less and did mostly cardio. Any advice or guidance is appreciated.
Thanks!
I’m a female, 5’2’’ and I started weightlifting four weeks ago because I wanted to gain muscle and lose fat. My weight loss has been really slow (originally started in April and I was 116/117 and now I’m 112) despite being in a big caloric deficit due to the fact that my metabolism slowed down because my deficit was too big. Now I eat around 1400 calories a day and weightlift five times a week, as well as doing cardio once or twice (I also bike to my neighbors gym everyday which is an additional 10-15min of cardio).
I know I shouldn’t expect the weight on the scale to change much since I’m losing fat and gaining muscle, but I just feel hungry all the time and I’m wondering if I should incorporate refeed days into my diet or bump my caloric intake? I’m always thinking about food and I’m always hungry, and I was never this hungry a month back when I ate way less and did mostly cardio. Any advice or guidance is appreciated.
Thanks!
2
Replies
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It sounds like you are wanting to recomp rather than lose more weight, which would be appropriate at your current weight. If so, you should be eating at maintenance, so yes - increase the food intake. Calculate what your maintenance calories would be, ensure you are getting enough protein, and eat that amount.6
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Thanks! I would say I’m skinny fat right now, and I am still trying to lose fat but I also want to look more toned. Do you think eating at maintenance would interfere with that?0
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I remember feeling extra hungry when I started lifting vs just cardio but I think my body just adjusted. I’m also short, 5”2 like you. I agree on the recomp. You are already at low weight so you can recomp. I don’t think eating at maintenance would interfere with your goal. I think it will actually help.6
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Absolutely will help rather than interfere with your goals.
Have a read through of this thread, great information and discussion here
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat/p1
4 -
After the barbell gym and yoga studio closed for Covid, I was determined not to put on any of the weight I’ve worked so hard to lose. I dropped my calories by about 400 per day, and began walking more than I had been, upped the running, too. No problem at all, no hunger, easily managed to stay within daily goal.
Upped them 200 when the yoga studio reopened a couple of months ago. Again, hunger fine.
Three weeks ago the gym reopened. I upped all the way back to where I’d been pre-covid and was eating everything in sight. Went over badly several times.
For the past week I’ve been very heavily focusing on protein. Don’t know if it’s the extra protein or just getting back in the gym habit and simmering down, but the urge to “eat it all” has pretty much gone away.
All anecdotal, of course. YMMV.3 -
Thanks everyone for the information! And the thread that was linked was really helpful too. So, even though I have some fat in areas like my midsection, I guess I could still be a good candidate for body recomp. And yeah, a couple months ago when I would do a lot of cardio for some reason I would never feel this hunger and feel satiated eating a lot less than I currently am, but as soon as I started weightlifting I’ve become so hungry and constantly thinking about when I can eat again. My training hasn’t suffered, but I am going to take everyone’s advice and bump my calories slowly back to maintenance and see how that feels. It’s just scary since I’ve been trying to loose weight for awhile and I’m scared I’ll put it back on as fat in places I don’t want.
1 -
Muscles are hungry buggers. As you build and maintain them, they demand a certain ammount of fuel to just, well.. live. I think that's the hungry feeling you're experiencing. I echo the good advice you got above to recomp. At the same time, you might want to de-emphasize weighing yourself and track your progress with the tape measure.
Also, let me just state, at your size, you are not ANY kind of fat. Hugs!5 -
primordialprimate wrote: »Hi!
I’m a female, 5’2’’ and I started weightlifting four weeks ago because I wanted to gain muscle and lose fat. My weight loss has been really slow (originally started in April and I was 116/117 and now I’m 112) despite being in a big caloric deficit due to the fact that my metabolism slowed down because my deficit was too big. Now I eat around 1400 calories a day and weightlift five times a week, as well as doing cardio once or twice (I also bike to my neighbors gym everyday which is an additional 10-15min of cardio).
I know I shouldn’t expect the weight on the scale to change much since I’m losing fat and gaining muscle, but I just feel hungry all the time and I’m wondering if I should incorporate refeed days into my diet or bump my caloric intake? I’m always thinking about food and I’m always hungry, and I was never this hungry a month back when I ate way less and did mostly cardio. Any advice or guidance is appreciated.
Thanks!
Yeah- it's pretty common for weight training to cause loads of hunger despite (sadly) not burning many calories. I would suggest playing around with macros a bit and see if it helps.3 -
Good info in this thread! (I also get ravenous after lifting anything)2
This discussion has been closed.
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