Super annoyed + Q about New Rules of Lifting for Women

withchaco
withchaco Posts: 1,026 Member
edited October 3 in Health and Weight Loss
Back when I was heavier, it was so much easier to burn 800 calories a day. I love to eat, and some of my favorite foods are rather calorie-dense, so the exercise calories helped a lot.

But now that I'm 132lbs (I'm short so I still need to lose more)... It's such a struggle to burn just 500! Judging by my heart rate, I'm exercising HARDER, but the calories just aren't as flammable as they used to be.

This is really annoying me. I'm considering building a little muscle to raise my BMR so I can eat more. I realize 1) this will take time, 2) I may have to gain a tiny bit of fat during the process, which naturally means 3) I'd have to put my weight loss on hold for a while.

While I have been doing weight training during my journey to preserve muscle, there's still a lot I don't know about weight lifting and muscle building. So I skimmed through New Rules of Lifting for Women at the bookstore, which brings me to my question...

The book talks about losing fat and building muscle simultaneously. It also gives you a guideline on how many calories to eat. Who here has dropped sizes and built muscle by following the book? The book's equation gives me 1900+ calories on a rest day, which seems like a lot!

What I've been doing so far has worked very well for me. It's just gotten a bit harder because of the decreased burn...

Replies

  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
    Iost the weight and lifted to try to maintain some muscle, then I started eating in excess to build muscle using nrolfw.
  • withchaco
    withchaco Posts: 1,026 Member
    Iost the weight and lifted to try to maintain some muscle, then I started eating in excess to build muscle using nrolfw.
    That had been my plan until now. Now I'm just too hungry :laugh:
  • shellbell525
    shellbell525 Posts: 80 Member
    Very interested to see what everyone has to say
  • withchaco
    withchaco Posts: 1,026 Member
    Bump.
  • RangerSteve
    RangerSteve Posts: 437
    What exercises are you doing that don't burn the calories you want? Heart rate monitors are not good indicators of how many calories you're burning anyway (when lifting weights)

    http://www.sparkpeople.com/community/ask_the_experts.asp?q=75
  • kneeki
    kneeki Posts: 347 Member
    I did what you're asking and really, it's quite simple. Get an accurate body fat measurement (misnomer, I know) - and if you're around 17-22% body fat (as a woman), use the Katch-McArdle BMR formula to calculate your lean mass. Then the rest is easy:

    Workout days: Consume +20% more calories than maintenance. 1g protein per pound of lean mass, the rest of your calories should be 70/30 carbs/fat.

    Rest days: Consume -20% calories than maintenance. 1g protein per pound of lean mass, remaining calories should be 40/60 carbs/fat.

    The above has so far, taken me from 173lbs @ 12% body fat, down to ~169lbs @ 8.5% body fat in three months. So long as you eat clean, and want this, you'll get it.

    edit: I should note that I spent roughly 1-2 hours in the gym lifting heavy with ~20 minutes of cardio (incline treadmill) 5 days per week. Taking weekends off.
  • kdiamond
    kdiamond Posts: 3,329 Member
    Just a little "food for thought" (excuse the pun): It takes a woman at least a month to build .5 pounds of muscle...replacing fat with muscle simply doesn't happen. Yes you can do a "recomp" which is a body recomposition, but that is only if you are starting at a pretty low body fat...

    That being said, you're off to a great start and I highly recommend NROLFW. I am doing it again for the second time. The first time I lost about 3% body fat (started around 20, went to 17) and that took a good 6 months to do. It is definitely a slow process, but so worth it in the end, as you said, you can eat so much more when you have more muscle!
  • lesliemk
    lesliemk Posts: 382 Member
    ME ME ME! I've been lifting since January (started at 3x/wk) and am now lifting 5-6x/wk. I love lifting and am currently following a bodybuilding.com program, but prior to that I did NROLW and before that, ChaLean Extreme. Lifting rocks, if you want to be able to eat and have a shapely body. I think my stats say it all... I've dropped all of my weight lifting and doing rather minimal cardio, I hate cardio. :D
  • Ebbykins
    Ebbykins Posts: 420 Member
    I did what you're asking and really, it's quite simple. Get an accurate body fat measurement (misnomer, I know) - and if you're around 17-22% body fat (as a woman), use the Katch-McArdle BMR formula to calculate your lean mass. Then the rest is easy:

    Workout days: Consume +20% more calories than maintenance. 1g protein per pound of lean mass, the rest of your calories should be 70/30 carbs/fat.

    Rest days: Consume -20% calories than maintenance. 1g protein per pound of lean mass, remaining calories should be 40/60 carbs/fat.

    The above has so far, taken me from 173lbs @ 12% body fat, down to ~169lbs @ 8.5% body fat in three months. So long as you eat clean, and want this, you'll get it.

    edit: I should note that I spent roughly 1-2 hours in the gym lifting heavy with ~20 minutes of cardio (incline treadmill) 5 days per week. Taking weekends off.

    This is great advice. :D
  • millerll
    millerll Posts: 873 Member
    Kneeki - That's an interesting technique that I've never seen before. It's obviously working great for you, but I'm wondering where you came across it? Thanks!

    PS - Love the picture of you with the bunny. Too cute!
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
    I just started New Rules last week, so havent seen anything yet. I'm eating at what it tells me, 2000 base basically, plus eating exercise.
  • withchaco
    withchaco Posts: 1,026 Member
    Thank you for all the advices! I'm taking notes and am feeling motivated :happy:
  • withchaco
    withchaco Posts: 1,026 Member
    What exercises are you doing that don't burn the calories you want? Heart rate monitors are not good indicators of how many calories you're burning anyway (when lifting weights)

    http://www.sparkpeople.com/community/ask_the_experts.asp?q=75
    I don't keep track of calories for weight lifting since, as you said, I don't have a way of measuring that accurately. Just for cardio.
  • Yanicka1
    Yanicka1 Posts: 4,564 Member
    I am starting my week 8 of the new rules. I eat at maintenance + I eat my exercise caloreis.

    My weight stayed the same plus or minus 1 pounds. I lost 6 inches total in those same 8 weeks.
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
    What exercises are you doing that don't burn the calories you want? Heart rate monitors are not good indicators of how many calories you're burning anyway (when lifting weights)

    http://www.sparkpeople.com/community/ask_the_experts.asp?q=75
    I don't keep track of calories for weight lifting since, as you said, I don't have a way of measuring that accurately. Just for cardio.

    But you do burn some calories lifting and you should be able to eat them. You can use the entry of "strength training" from the cardio database.
  • RangerSteve
    RangerSteve Posts: 437
    What exercises are you doing that don't burn the calories you want? Heart rate monitors are not good indicators of how many calories you're burning anyway (when lifting weights)

    http://www.sparkpeople.com/community/ask_the_experts.asp?q=75
    I don't keep track of calories for weight lifting since, as you said, I don't have a way of measuring that accurately. Just for cardio.

    But you do burn some calories lifting and you should be able to eat them. You can use the entry of "strength training" from the cardio database.

    That's the point though, the calorie estimate for whatever you burn is going to be waaaaay off for the most part.
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
    So what do we do then? How do we know how much more to eat when we lift?
  • ennaejay
    ennaejay Posts: 575
    bump:happy:
  • dmpizza
    dmpizza Posts: 3,321 Member
    That is not alot for a very active person.
  • up2me2lose20
    up2me2lose20 Posts: 360 Member
    I'm in stage 4 of the NROL for Women. I started the program in June. I am not one to follow the diet recommendations exactly, but I do log my food & calories, fat & proteins. I have upped my protein since June...and have been eating at about 2000 cals/day. I'm 5'6". I started the program at 122lbs. I'm currently 122lbs. But I have gone from a size 6 to a size 2/4 (mostly 2's). Which is crazy, 'cause I've never been a 2 anything in my life. I mix in cardio & weights to try to maintain a balance that I'm happy with.

    I find that the more muscular I get, the hungrier I am. And I have no idea how, when I started losing weight in January, 2011, how I existed on 1200 cals a day!

    I don't have the time to figure out ratios of protein/carbs all the time, but I try to keep the ratios under control. I really wouldn't worry so much about the exact number of cals burned...if you are eating clean, mostly whole foods until you are satisfied, you will not be doing yourself a disservice, in my opinion. Filling your plate with lean protein, colorful veggies & good-for-you grains is a good gauge of healthy eating. If you pig out on pizza and chocolate 'cause you lifted....well, that's another story! :)
  • simone207
    simone207 Posts: 45 Member
    Very informative. I'm always confused about lifting for women. I lift but I'm never sure if I do enough wieght or reps.
  • sinclare
    sinclare Posts: 369 Member
    bump
  • Janda06
    Janda06 Posts: 168 Member
    So what do we do then? How do we know how much more to eat when we lift?

    I don't know if it helps you figure out your numbers but my calories burned with my Bodymedia for stage 1 of NROLFW have been from 300-350 with a 5-10 min warmup. So maybe 250-300 calories more on your lifting days? (I'm 5'5 133)
  • Ebbykins
    Ebbykins Posts: 420 Member
    Google Lyle McDonald for body recomposition. Very well known, respected for his straight put no BS nature and attention to detail though he can be... well.. Lyle. :) Everything on his site for free is worth it's weight in gold for helping you recomp ladies. http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/index.php?s=BMR+calculation
  • dawnemjh
    dawnemjh Posts: 1,465 Member
    bump!
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