Advice on NROLFW - Just starting Stage One

rchupka87
rchupka87 Posts: 542 Member
edited December 17 in Fitness and Exercise
Okay - so before anyone sends me the link to the group.... I know. I am a part of it. I have posted there, and it's hard to get answers from the group board - so I thought I would try here.

I started the NROLFW last Monday. I have been upping my calories - 200 per week based on what the author said. However, I was sick last week, so I didn't eat as good as I normally do. I worked out Monday, Wenesday, and Saturday last week. I have been drinking water. A gallon a day, to be exact. I took my rest days. I expected a gain - everyone tells you to expect to put on some weight before your body catches up and starts to lose. How long should I expect to keep gaining before it will either level out, or start going down? I have put on 6 pounds since last Monday, and that scares me. It could be water weight. It could be my muscles repairing themselves. Or it could be the extra calories. I really don't know. I am not ready to quit, or give up, or go back to starving myself. I just want a realistic expectation of how long this will go on. I still have around 60 pounds to go to reach my "goal" weight. Prior to starting NROLFW, I was within 9 pounds of becoming "overweight" instead of "obese". It is SO hard to get that close to your (mini) goal, and then watch it get farther and farther away.

Help.

Replies

  • asugar
    asugar Posts: 178 Member
    What is NROLFW?
  • rchupka87
    rchupka87 Posts: 542 Member
    Its the New Rules of Lifting for Women.
  • rchupka87
    rchupka87 Posts: 542 Member
    *cricket**cricket*
  • Fitwam
    Fitwam Posts: 275 Member
    I am bumping this for you. Great questions....I want to get back to lifting this way soon. I just restarted the Body Revolution today...so I am going to hold off on this program until I have completed BR. I am a part of the board too (not really interacting...just reading and reading). When I started this a while back...I gained at first too. It freaked me out. Didn't follow it to a T though and hope to do more of what the author recommends next time.

    Sounds like you've got the right attitude...don't give up!

    There are so many folks on here that can provide the answers for you. I hope you get a response!
  • aweightymatter
    aweightymatter Posts: 222
    I'm not doing NROLFW yet -- I'm doing another heavy lifting program (Live Fit) -- and I just want to tell you to hang in there! After my first month I've actually gained a pound, BUT, my measurements are down all over, clothes from 10 pounds lighter now fit me, and I'm eating more and spending SO MUCH less time exercising.

    Just hang in there!! It'll all level out.
  • hiker282
    hiker282 Posts: 983 Member
    I'm just doing the normal NROL, started last Tuesday and was sore as hell until I felt good enough to hit the gym again this morning. I am up a good 6 pounds as well. I started the Insanity program back in early January and it took about three weeks after the initial bump up to start coming back down. So I'd say give it at least that long. If things are still up after the fourth week, I'd say to adjust your calories up or down and always give at least a few weeks for your body to catch up.

    Oh yeah, the poster above me reminded me that you should never base this on what happens just on the scale. Take your measurements too so you can track where your gains are and where your losses are.
  • skingszoo
    skingszoo Posts: 412 Member
    I started NROLFW on Tuesday last week too!!! I'm only doing it twice a week (thats all I have access to a weight room) and I plan on doing a modified workout at home. Im not really sure as far as the gains are concerned as I went overboard yesterday well the whole dang weekend but I plan on giving it about 3 weeks for my body to adjust the increase calories and all the water retention in my muscles.

    Im having trouble doing to moves properly but I am doing them at my own pace.
  • Howbouto
    Howbouto Posts: 2,121 Member
    I can kinda answer your question. Anytime you start a new exercise plan it can take 4 to 6 weeks to see results. With that being said, you'll probably see results within a week or two. I can almost guarantee your 6 pounds is water weight. Are you sore? If so you body will flood the muscle with blood to repair it and retain water to make additional blood. It will soon pass. Be patient. Try not to weight in on the day after you lift as you'll be retaining even more water. BTW you would need to eat 21000 calories to gain 6 pounds, if you didn't eat an extra 21000 your retaining water.
  • DirrtyH
    DirrtyH Posts: 664 Member
    I'm interested to hear the answer to this as well. I'm going to start the program this week. I can see myself blowing my lid if I gained six pounds in a week. I would assume this will even out and you should just hang in there and not change anything yet, but it would be hard.

    I'm actually not planning on upping my calories, though. (I'm at 1300 a day right now, which is a 500 calorie deficit per day.) I figure if I find myself starting to feel tired/sick/sluggish or not progressing in my workouts then I'll know I need to eat more.
  • aklitten
    aklitten Posts: 237 Member
    bump =]
  • perdie7
    perdie7 Posts: 266 Member
    I'm not doing the NROLW, but did start lifting weights in Jan...I went a couple weeks without losing, then dropped 5 pounds, and lost a pound or two a week for several weeks then stopped losing for a few weeks. I switched from the weight machines to the strongman 5x5..... I had a bad week with my eating, lots of parties etc...lost 2 pounds, the next week was just as bad, ate lots, lost 2 pounds again. This week marked the third week in a row of eating alot, lost 2 1/2 pounds. I'm figuring I must be burning quite a bit more calories now with the weight lifting. And may I say I LOVE IT!
  • tlhorsley
    tlhorsley Posts: 141 Member
    Stay away from the scale! All it is going to do is stress you out! If you have to weigh in only weight in every couple of weeks -that is what I do.

    Also -pay attention to the day you weigh in. Like a previous person mentioned water weight after a heavy lift will cause the scale to go up. I "tested" this one day. Weighed myself and then did a heavy lift that day (NROLW) and weighed myself the next day -yep that darn scale went up.

    I also agree with what was said with waiting 4-6 weeks to see what is truly happening with your body.

    Continue to eat as he says to (that is what I am doing and although the fat is not dropping off as fat as I would like I know it is fat that is going and the changes I am making are good) and lift heavy. It will all come together.
  • Buckeyt
    Buckeyt Posts: 473 Member
    To be expcted, Just keep pluggin away.

    Two weeks into my first round of P90x I was up about 5 pounds. Was killing myself with workouts and the scale was going up. My muscles were in shock retaining fluid to repair themselves. I knew that I was doing this for the longterm and just kept at it.

    I dropped 16 pounds the first round of P90X and another 16 in the second. If I had quit, not telling where I'd be now.
    If you're still up after a few weeks, take a look at your calories again and really make sure it's accurate.

    tim
  • kms1981
    kms1981 Posts: 207 Member
    bump as I am starting sometime this week!
  • Kcham817
    Kcham817 Posts: 106 Member
    I'm in the same boat entering into Week 3 and have gained 4 pounds. Yet my clothes are still loose and my measurements are the same from when I started.
  • mes1119
    mes1119 Posts: 1,082 Member
    bump, I'm starting as soon as school stuff settles down.
  • carey593
    carey593 Posts: 7 Member
    I started lifting in December with a trainer, and was warned that I would gain weight initially. I put on 3 pounds, and it took 6 weeks for it to start coming off.....and I increased my calories around the same time. Take your measurements, and be patient, it will be worth it in the long run!
  • jamiesadler
    jamiesadler Posts: 634 Member
    I gained the first two weeks. I added an extra day of cardio in and started losing again. I am my last week of stage 1. Feel free to friend me if you want. I love this program.
  • fittiephd
    fittiephd Posts: 608 Member
    I started NR about 3 weeks ago, and i decided when I started that I'd wait a month before weighing in to give myself time to adjust. I will be weighing in on the 20th of April so I can let you know then how it's going :) I know the first week I felt suuuper full but now I feel great! It's hard to get the protein that's required but besides that I'm usually fine.

    Good luck! I'd just give it more time if I were you and make sure you're meeting the macro requirements and also that you're eating good foods :)
  • cmp04d
    cmp04d Posts: 59 Member
    I just stared stage two of NROLFW. The first few weeks of stage one, the scale didn't really move at all. Then the weight slowly started to drop, but it is definitely waaaay slower than before I started this program. On the plus side though, the inches have started to melt off, I noticed a big difference after only a few weeks. My advice would be to not focus so much on the scale and start taking your measurements instead.
  • kmjenkins
    kmjenkins Posts: 396 Member
    I started last week as well, and I didn't gain this week, but have had a much smaller loss than I normally do. I did not however increase my calories, nor did I change my regular workout routine other than to add the additional strength training sessions to my week. I read the whole book, but am not following it to the letter as I'm really only looking to add the strength training into my food/exercise routine that I've already established.

    As for the weight gain or my lack of weight loss, if I had to guess based upon what I read in the book--I'd say it is due to muscles retaining water/repairing themselves. Once you get used to the strength training it should even itself out. Good luck!
  • kdiamond
    kdiamond Posts: 3,329 Member
    I can kinda answer your question. Anytime you start a new exercise plan it can take 4 to 6 weeks to see results. With that being said, you'll probably see results within a week or two. I can almost guarantee your 6 pounds is water weight. Are you sore? If so you body will flood the muscle with blood to repair it and retain water to make additional blood. It will soon pass. Be patient. Try not to weight in on the day after you lift as you'll be retaining even more water. BTW you would need to eat 21000 calories to gain 6 pounds, if you didn't eat an extra 21000 your retaining water.

    ^^^ I second this post.

    100% sure you didn't gain 6lbs of real weight eating 200 extra per day.

    Give it a good 4 weeks of the program before evaluating.
  • KareninCanada
    KareninCanada Posts: 962 Member
    The best advice I can give you is, put your scale away, or only weigh in monthly. Your body composition is going to change quite dramatically, and neither the scale nor the BMI chart are going to be your friend for the next little while. Get yourself a measuring tape, and use THAT as your gauge!

    I'm one workout away from finishing Stage Two... so far I've dropped about ten pounds in just over two months, which would have me completely bummed if that's all I was going by - but in the same time frame I've lost twelve inches total (thigh, hips, waist, chest, arm) and feel a whole lot better in my own skin. Eat the calories the program recommends (NOT what MFP tells you), do the workouts, keep inching up the weight on the bar, take the rest days you're supposed to take, and you will see progress faster than you think. :o)
  • rchupka87
    rchupka87 Posts: 542 Member
    Thanks for all the advice and support everyone!
  • ATLMel
    ATLMel Posts: 392 Member
    I'm on week 4. Don't panic yet. Get a measuring tape. Give it another month.

    I think you'll be pleased. I know I am after a month! I can't wait to see what Stage 2 has in store.
  • LuLuRunner1
    LuLuRunner1 Posts: 329 Member
    I'm about half way through reading the book and I cannot wait to incorporate it into my routine! I've got to dig out the measuring tape from somewhere, though!
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