Newbie Intro and food questions

[Surviving_Amazon]

Hi all,
I'm a newbie to the forum and I have just recently bought the book of lifting for women. Just wanted to introduce myself and say hello. =) I have been active in the past -- played basketball in high school and a couple years in college, and ran 2 marathons beginning of last year. So some experience with strength training and stuff. =) About middle of last year I had health issues (blood clots in the lungs) and I have recently been cleared to run and lift weights -- basically go back to "normal". So I am very excited to find a forum with women very motivated in strength training. It seems like a very fun forum and encouraging. And I look forward to posting more on the forum.

Here are a couple questions I had for you ladies -- sorry if it's been asked already in the forum somewhere-- when you ladies started the strength training program, did you also follow the diet plan suggested? Or did you focus on getting use to doing the training and slowly go into incorporating suggested foods in the book?

Thanks for your help!! =)

[missjane]

There are a ton of threads related to nutrition here. Below are a handful of them. Happy reading!

Thinking about changing my calorie intake
The Calorie Question...
Just curious... since Alwyn says this is a "General Fitness" program...
New training and eating plan...weight gain possible?
newbie concerns aqnd questions
Newbie here - 10 pound weight gain?
Nutrition, Calorie Intake Confusion
weight gain
5 months of NROLW and I'm frustrated
Diet anyone ???
New. Thoughts on what I'm doing
Legs/Butt getting bigger - thoughts?
Nutrition Question

[Flyingdogs]

I'm near the end of stage 1, and I've been playing my diet by ear. I'm more concerned about how my body feels - do I have energy? Am I making progress in my workouts? Do my measurements indicate I'm gaining muscle?

There are two schools of thought on the issue. One involves rigidly monitoring everything, and the other involves a leap of faith that your body will tell you what it needs.

What you feel comfortable with depends on your personal goals, lifestyle, ambition etc. If you find yourself unhappy with your progress or results, then closely monitoring *everything* will help you figure out what fine-tuning you need to do.

I think it's good to just suck up all the information you can find - you can make more informed decisions that way. There are a lot of informative and entertaining articles linked in the old threads.

Welcome!!!

[LancelotsLover]

Originally Posted by Surviving_Amazon

Here are a couple questions I had for you ladies -- sorry if it's been asked already in the forum somewhere-- when you ladies started the strength training program, did you also follow the diet plan suggested? Or did you focus on getting use to doing the training and slowly go into incorporating suggested foods in the book?

When I did lifting in the past, even with a trainer, I never followed a diet plan. But I never was able to lose fat, either. This time I've been measuring and tracking all my food, and I am noticing a difference. I feel better, and I am starting to lose some fat. (But, I don't have a whole lot to lose, extra weight wasn't my problem, I've always been on the thin side.) But I have cut out sugar almost entirely, and have cut carbs and upped protein, and have been keeping almost exactly on a 40/30/30 ratio. I think it's worth the hassle of measuring and tracking.

[Surviving_Amazon]

Thank you for the feedback! I shall read the info you linked me to for the nutrition. =)

[Pips]

Not following the diet plan at all. I wanna lose weight, so I'm in a deficit. Also, I don't wanna prepare food to bring to work, that's too much hassle. Last but not least, most meals in the book have meat in them.

I think you'll find most people follow the macro's, or at least the requirements for protein intake, but not the actual plan, tracking their intake on something like www.fitday.com or www.sparkpeople.com