Nutrition Guidelines

[passi0n]

Okay, normally I am pretty clear on this. I've been told to lose weight, do 10-12 x bodyweight, and 15x bw is maintenance.

Following those guide lines, my nutritional guidelines would be set up like this
Maintenance:2250
Losing weight: 1500-1800

Easy, makes sense to me. But the book is confusing me, (Got the training part now I just have to get the nutrition part figured out!) from page 63 - 65...

Okay.. so weight in kg would be 68... my resting metabolic rate would be 1283 and my BMI is 25.

Using the figures from page 65.. I guess this would be how much I need to eat? or this is how much I burn doing that stuff?

Before this, I've always ate around 1700 cals and I've maintained my weight on that. Going up to 1900/2000 is kind of scary! Now on page 68, it says I should stay at my maintenance level...so should I raise calories to 2000 for 4 weeks and then adjust after that?

[UConnJulie]

All formulas are just a guesstimate ... what Cass (and Lou) are telling you here is that to do Alwyn's workouts you will need to EAT. Don't be afraid to experiement. So try 2000 cals a day for a month ... don't be a slave to the scale because likely your body comp will change without the scale dropping a whole lot. Take pictures and measurements to track your progress. And in a month, re-evaluate, and then drop calories if you need to.

[rixatrix]

Originally Posted by passi0n

Okay, normally I am pretty clear on this. I've been told to lose weight, do 10-12 x bodyweight, and 15x bw is maintenance.

Following those guide lines, my nutritional guidelines would be set up like this
Maintenance:2250
Losing weight: 1500-1800

Easy, makes sense to me. But the book is confusing me, (Got the training part now I just have to get the nutrition part figured out!) from page 63 - 65...

Okay.. so weight in kg would be 68... my resting metabolic rate would be 1283 and my BMI is 25.

Using the figures from page 65.. I guess this would be how much I need to eat? or this is how much I burn doing that stuff?

Before this, I've always ate around 1700 cals and I've maintained my weight on that. Going up to 1900/2000 is kind of scary! Now on page 68, it says I should stay at my maintenance level...so should I raise calories to 2000 for 4 weeks and then adjust after that?

This interview with Lou, Cassandra, and Alwyn is great and in it, Cassandra addresses this very topic. (Plus you get to hear Alwyns delicious accent - I can't be the only one who thinks Scottish accents are hot.) You have to do a free sign-up, but it's worth it.

Basically, she says this - you may know what your maintenance is now, but you don't know what your maintenance is on an Alwyn Cosgrove workout. (And then he comes in with that accent and says, "1600 calories on an Alwyn Cosgrove workout is probably suicidal." You don't have a death wish, do you? What a way to go.)

The whole point of his workouts is to create the biggest metabolic disturbance possible. So your metabolism on this program is not going to be the same as it was before. Throw out what you know, embrace the new.

And in a month, you'll have concrete data about how much you can afford to eat for your goals. Wouldn't it be grand to lose fat on 2000 calories a day? That's way more strawberries, almonds, and turkey cheeseburgers than 1700.

Worst case scenario - on 2000 calories, you weigh exactly the same. And underneath your skin, precious muscle has been silently growing, taking the place of fat...raising your metabolic rate...making you stronger...And pretty soon, you'll be doing one-armed chin-ups and making all the boys drool. Or maybe that's just my fantasy.

[passi0n]

Oh okay. Yeah that's what I thought I was understand in the book. I just wasn't sure. Still confused how you can lose weight on 2000 calories, but it makes sense from reading the book now that the scale may not budge but you look like you lost 20 lbs!

[LisaS]

Have you done any of the workouts yet? Lifting 2x15 for as heavy as you can with only 60s rest may help you appreciate the nutrition recommendations.

[passi0n]

No I havent,
but I used to do exercises at 2x15 with 60s rest at like 1800 cals.
I guess not good lol

[rixatrix]

Originally Posted by passi0n

No I havent,
but I used to do exercises at 2x15 with 60s rest at like 1800 cals.
I guess not good lol

If you have the time, you should read this article on G-flux by Dr. John Berardi:

You see, most people think there is one point of energy balance for each individual and that energy balance point doesn't change.

But that's not true. Energy balance is a roving parameter and as you'll learn, finding your highest energy balance point leads to the highest metabolic rate and the best body.

Check it out.

[jellopy]

I was doing some pretty haphazard resistance training (with dumbbells and machines, a lot less full body exercises) before starting NROL4W and I track approximately how many calories I burn each session with a heart rate monitor. Including my warm ups and cool downs, I burned on average 300 calories. Doing NROL4W, I've been burning on average 500 calories. The program definitely a lot more intense! Also, the numbers from the heart rate monitor don't include the calories you burn after (EPOC, Excess Post Exercise Oxygen Consumption) as a result of the anaerobic activity. When I plug all the numbers into my calorie tracker, my net calories on workout days is actually quite frighteningly low even though I'm eating maintenance.