CALORIE MAINTENANCE

prof41 · 02-05-2008, 11:28 AM

Hi

Is anyone thinking of reducing the # of calories they are taking in.

I followed the maintenance level according to the book, and since most of us are at the one-month point, I was wondering.

According to the book if we saw little change, we could drop by 200 cal/day.

I've seem a small difference in my lower body, very small, and am not sure if I should continue eating at the same level. I'm averaging 2000 cal on w/o day and 1700 on a non w/o day.

Also, I noticed alot of people are doing interval cardio, though according to the book, we start this in stage 2 only. I haven't done any cardio as I'm trying to follow the book as much as I can, but I am tempted to start. Any thoughts.....

thanks a bunch

missjane · 02-05-2008, 11:31 AM

I'm following a different nutrition plan, but as far as intervals go.....see the chapter "Extra Stuff To Do" where Lou talks about how to integrate other activities in with the weight work.

Susan4 · 02-05-2008, 02:10 PM

The book 'allows' a 300 calorie cut from maintenance which I took after a couple weeks into it. I've been tracking my intake for the better part of a year and a half and I have a real good idea of how hard a plateau I'm currently on. I added intervals early for that reason as well. Once I break through this set point I'll certainly reevaluate as I don't want to sacrifice strength, but getting to a healthy weight is my first goal.

Cynthia · 02-05-2008, 02:44 PM

I maintained after 4 weeks and am currently cutting back by 100 per day.

AnnetteW · 02-05-2008, 03:16 PM

I didn't do so well tracking calories last month, so I was giving it this month to perfect. I started by following the numbers from the book, which for me are 1600 on non-workout day, and 1800 on workout day, but after doing that for 5 days I had a pig out day. I'm thinking it's not enough calories for me, so I'm going to start now at ~2000 cals a day, workout or not, and see how I do. I'll give it 4-5 days and as long as my weight doesn't increase will stick to that, else drop it from that point on.

LaraT · 02-05-2008, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnnetteW

I didn't do so well tracking calories last month, so I was giving it this month to perfect. I started by following the numbers from the book, which for me are 1600 on non-workout day, and 1800 on workout day, but after doing that for 5 days I had a pig out day. I'm thinking it's not enough calories for me, so I'm going to start now at ~2000 cals a day, workout or not, and see how I do. I'll give it 4-5 days and as long as my weight doesn't increase will stick to that, else drop it from that point on.

Annette--I was told to stick with the calorie range for 4 weeks to see if it is right. 4-5 days won't tell you much at all. The scale could go up just from the initial increase in food but that doesn't mean you gained "fat". Also, our weight can fluctuate for so many reasons. The book does a good job of explaining why we should give it about 4 weeks.

I increased my cals to *almost* what the book recommended. I had been a good bit lower so I didn't want to increase too much too fast. I am just into my second week of eating more and have committed to sticking with it for a month with once per week weigh-ins before a make any changes. Just something to consider.