Calorie needs during a lifting program...?

aamberrr
aamberrr Posts: 115 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hey guys, I posted this over in the weightlifting group, but it looks like the boards aren't quite as active there, so I figured I'd post it here, too. :)

A little background: I'm a female, I've been following New Rules of Lifting for Women for the past few months (but recently have put that on hold and started lifting with my future in-laws for the summer since I'm a teacher and they're beasts), my goals are to get stronger/gain muscle, but also burn fat.

I know a lot about nutrition and the foods I should be eating, etc., but I'm always thrown by my calorie needs since I'm trying to lose fat AND gain some muscle.

SO: According to New Rules and the formulas they use, on a nonworkout day I burn 2,141 calories, and on a workout day I burn about 2,425 calories. The author suggests not eating at a deficit or surplus to begin. However, I also use the myfitnesspal app to track my food. I have it set for me to lose about 1lb. per week, so it has my calories automatically set to 1,610 per day. Most days, when it takes my workout calories burned into account, I end up eating less than that number (So on a workout day, I may eat actually 1,800 calories, but my net calories is less that 1,610 because of burning some).

Annnyways. I haven't really tried eating 2,400 calories in a day, and feel a little apprehensive to do so. But would this actually be to my advantage? I have noticed some changes in my body, but my weight really hasn't changed. I DEFINITELY still have a decent amount of stomach fat on me that needs to go.

So what are your opinions? Is my body trying to hold onto fat because I'm eating too little? (It feels weird saying that about a 1,600-1,800 calorie diet, btw.) So should I up the calories to 2,000-2,400 per day? Or should I keep sticking with the 1,600? OR I was thinking maybe on lifting days eat ~2,000 and on days that I just do cardio or on my off day, eat the 1,600?

Thoughts/opinions? Thanks :)

Replies

  • kdiamond
    kdiamond Posts: 3,329 Member
    I've done NROLFW twice, and I've never adhered to their formulas. I think they are high, IMO. However - NROLFW isn't really a weight loss program, some have weight loss as a side effect, but it is really a program for gaining strength. But I doubt you are burning 2500 a day. I also thin 1600-1800 is good for workout days.

    If you aren't losing weight, and you desire to, lower your calories about 100 a day on non-workout days. Hopefully it gets things moving again for you. That said, I think it is a wonderful program and I saw a lot of good results from it...but I wasn't trying to lose weight. HTH
  • JennyZD
    JennyZD Posts: 176 Member
    I personally think that 1600-1800 calories is decent. The key is WHAT you eat. Your food should mostly consist of lean proteins, good carbs, and good fats. A lot of people are going to say that you can't really gain significant muscle on a caloric deficit, some people go on leaning/gaining periods but now that you're trying to lose some fat I suggest you stay on 1600-1800 cals. The more muscle you have the more fat you're going to be consistently burning and ultimately that should
    Be your goal, lowering your BF% and increasing lean muscle mass.
  • aviduser
    aviduser Posts: 208 Member
    I personally think that 1600-1800 calories is decent. The key is WHAT you eat. Your food should mostly consist of lean proteins, good carbs, and good fats. A lot of people are going to say that you can't really gain significant muscle on a caloric deficit, some people go on leaning/gaining periods but now that you're trying to lose some fat I suggest you stay on 1600-1800 cals. The more muscle you have the more fat you're going to be consistently burning and ultimately that should
    Be your goal, lowering your BF% and increasing lean muscle mass.

    I agree with this post. For building muscle, you need good, quality, lean protein in your diet. You need higher carbs (fuel) if you are doing endurance training or intensive cardio (eg, running, cycling, swimming).
  • teinepalagi
    teinepalagi Posts: 86 Member
    I'll tell you what i do and I've been losing weight (slowly), but more importantly, lowering my body fat percentage. I do the NROLFW 3 days a week, I run 5 days a week for about 30 minutes and I have recently started some core exercises on my non-weightlifting days.

    I'm 5'2" and 135. And I eat around 2000-2100 on lifting days and 1800 on non-lifting days. There are days when this is slightly off due to an overindulgance on one day that I try to make up over the week.

    I also have a fitbit....so I feel like I have a pretty good idea of how active I am and how much I should be consuming.

    My goal is to be around 20-22% body fat and that probably puts me around 120-125 at the end of it. I'm hoping to get there by December.

    I needed to play around with my calories to get to where I think I should be.
  • fittiephd
    fittiephd Posts: 608 Member
    I've been following the calorie suggestions in nrolfw. when I first started, I did the 200 cal deficit he recommends not going over, then made it 100 and now I'm at a 50 cal deficit (basically not at all since I have been maintaining for months now). I am 5'8" 130 lbs and I eat 1900 calories NET per day. So if I exercise I might eat more like 2100.

    The calculations are based on your age/height/weight so it's probably correct. If you do it for a while and feel like you're gaining, then change it a little. I personally am always trying to eat more so that maybe I can gain muscle. But have to be at a surplus for that!

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