Ladies who lifts: What is your calories goal?

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  • rchupka87
    rchupka87 Posts: 543 Member
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    I am 5'10, 216. I do NROLFW Mon, Wed, Fri, and C25K Tue, Thur, Sat. I try to stay between 1950 and 2250 calories, depending on my workout that day. Regardless, I am on a 40/30/30 diet, which puts me at 160g of protein per day....
  • Cmonnowguys
    Cmonnowguys Posts: 361 Member
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    I am 5'6, 159 lbs, down from 173 lb (in exactly two months.) I do Strong Lifts 5x5 three times a week, so I'm lifting pretty heavy and on my off days(Tues/Thurs) I do 30-60 min of cardio (Warm up on elliptical, then fast paced run, or zumba.) I started with a low cal goal of 1200 but since I've started lifting I am usually between 1600-2100 depending on whether it is a strength or cardio day.

    Since starting lifting and cutting back cardio my weightloss has not slowed down, but the results have been 10x better than when I was doing cardio all the time. I noticed that for me lifting heavy seems to melt away the bulk in my torso, which is where I hold all my fat. Cardio allows me to eat more which is great because I am always ravenous the day after lifting.

    ETA: My macros are 45C/30P/25F. I usually eat 130 g of protein on average. I'm able to reach my protein with shake supplements and bars. I LOVE thinkThin bars because they have 20g of protein each with no sugar or gluten. Sat fat is a little high at 3.5 g, but I just made sure I watch my fat with my other meals.
  • laurcampbell
    laurcampbell Posts: 54 Member
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    I am 5'8" 132lbs and trying to get to 125, but lean - I am a runner and usually training for one race or another so cutting back my cardio isn't an option but I am hoping to increase my lifting to 2-3x a week of heavy lifting (any suggestions of programs would be great). I try to stay around 1300 calories a day in order to try and lose about 1lb a week. If I work out and burn 500-600 calories I will eat most of them back but try to leave about a 200 deficit to calculate for any error. I am wondering based on things people are saying on here if I should up my daily calorie intake to 1500 (and still eat back my calories)...has anyone else increased and had success?
  • marieautumn
    marieautumn Posts: 932 Member
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    i lift twice a week, cardio 5 times a week. i stick to the 1200 cal diet, and eat back my exercise calories which usually are only 200 calories when i lift. however, i dont usually lift for failure, usually its part of a sequence work out for example....
    100m Sprint
    10 Cleans (75lb)
    100m Sprint
    8 Cleans
    100m Sprint
    6 Cleans
    100m Sprint
    4 Cleans
    100m Sprint
    2 Cleans

    so i dont know if calories should be more or not.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
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    I lift heavy 3-4 times a week. I am at an acceptable weight of 113lbs at 5'3. I consume net 1550 calories for maintenance (although on workout days I usually eat 1800 or so). I am focusing on losing fat and changing composition. Not my lean muscle.

    I consume atleast 100 grams of protein daily.

    If you want to lose more "weight" until you are happy with where you are creat a VERY small deficit. (10% I would say since you don't have much if anything to lose.)

    Although I would suggest at this point measuring strictly off body fat %.

    Good luck!

    Edit: also, I DO NOT do cardio... Atleast very seldomly. :) this is because I have no desire to burn muscle that I've worked so hard for.
  • kdiamond
    kdiamond Posts: 3,329 Member
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    I lift heavy 3-4 times a week. I am at an acceptable weight of 113lbs at 5'3. I consume net 1550 calories for maintenance (although on workout days I usually eat 1800 or so). I am focusing on losing fat and changing composition. Not my lean muscle.

    I consume atleast 100 grams of protein daily.

    If you want to lose more "weight" until you are happy with where you are creat a VERY small deficit. (10% I would say since you don't have much if anything to lose.)

    Although I would suggest at this point measuring strictly off body fat %.

    Good luck!

    Edit: also, I DO NOT do cardio... Atleast very seldomly. :) this is because I have no desire to burn muscle that I've worked so hard for.

    ^^^^^^ Smart lady there!

    What you "weigh" is really truly not important. I am wearing the same clothes at 112 pounds that I was at 102...but my body fat is lower now and I look and feel better. Trust the measuring tape and the mirror. The scale is irrelevant, women need to get out of that mindset! It is about being healthy and looking hot and fit!

    That being said...I eat ~1800 a day on workout days most of the time, some days it is 2000, some days when I don't lift it is 1500-1600. I despise cardio and I only do 20 minutes of HIIT twice a week for cardio health.
  • spazofthedead
    spazofthedead Posts: 175 Member
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    I lift heavy 3x a week and run 5x a week. Sports 2x a week. I'm 25, 5'6" and 162lbs and I eat anywhere from 1800-2100 calories a day. I'm set to lose .5-1lb a week.

    I try to get over 100g of protein a day. Never seem to get quite to 125 though.
  • brookesready
    brookesready Posts: 52 Member
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    I'm not 100% positive on this but I think that you need to increase your cardio to burn fat. I think that lifting is to help continuously burn calories during the day and tone but cardio is where you will really lose the body fat (my source is youtube, so who knows if its really accurate). good luck!

    At 123, it's definately lifting time if you want to "tone." Lifting HEAVY time.


    How much weight are you trying to lose (to the OP)?

    I'm WAY taller than you so we're as comparable as a man and woman but I eat 1700/day.


    I really only want to lose 5-10 lbs but I am more focused on becoming leaner
  • kaydensmom12
    kaydensmom12 Posts: 338
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    I lift heavy 3x's a week. Today I'm starting the SL 5x5 program. I was netting 1500 but have recently switched my calories to 1300. I was eating from 100-130 g of protein per day but felt starved, so I have been eating more fiber rich foods and slightly less protein. I do cardio 3x a week for 20-30 minutes strictly for cv health! We all need strong hearts:)
    I am 5'1" and 127lbs.
  • lhaas24
    lhaas24 Posts: 92 Member
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    bump
  • keiraev
    keiraev Posts: 695 Member
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    I am 5ft 3.5 and maintaining around 120lb.

    I was netting 1600 a day but I always found myself to be starving so upped my calories to about 1800 net - which meant I sometimes ate 2100/2200 on exercise days.

    However in the past 2 weeks I seem to have gained 4lb so I am thinking I am better off maybe sticking to 1700 on non lifting days and eating no more than 2000 on lifting/exercise days? Not sure whether to do this or keep it how it is.

    I aim for 40% carbs / 30 protein / 30 fat but it doesn't always work out that way! However I always try to get 100g protein a day at least.

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