catladylifts3
First Post
Hi all,
I am really hoping someone can help me out in regards to eating for my lifting and physique goals. First and foremost, I desire to lose body fat and gain strength. Once this pandemic is over I really aspire to train for powerlifting comps or strongman, whichever works out best first. I really have fun lifting and want this to be a lasting feature in my life, but nutrition is a huge part of it and I am really struggling in that sense. I started lifting back in october 2018, and was seeing excellent results gaining strength for the following year and half. I started out as a couch potato and unhappy with how I looked; I really just wanted to lose weight but ended up changing my goals to be more strength oriented. And this is mostly still true; I have no desire to be a ripped, size 0, model type. But i do need to lose at least 5 inches off of my waistline in order to be considered "healthy", and in order to become more well rounded athletically. (I currently boast a thicc 35in waist) So I need to lose fat and build muscle.
At the moment, I struggle with body weight exercises even though I was DL'ing ~300lbs. I weigh in at about 185lbs. I am a woman in my late 20's, and grew up without any true nutritional or fitness habits. I ate pretty healthy growing up, lots of vegetables and clean organic proteins. I do not gravitate towards fast food or unhealthy snacks, so recognizing what kinds of foods are healthy is not my problem. However, issues with eating included: no one cooking for most of the day, so a lot of times while I was growing up, and as an adult, I would only eat 1 meal a day, or a small breakfast and a larger lunch/dinner combo. Making myself eat at least 3x a day has been a struggle (hence the habits emphasis). I was never encouraged to workout and didn't have access to working out facilities etc (if this sounds surprising, it's because I grew up outside of the US). My family is too quick to jump into fads like paleo, keto, etc and I am sick of that because I am sure it messed up my metabolism. And I really want something simple, that I can follow for the rest of my life. I also really miss being able to have simple treats without getting a panic attack about weigh gain. I simply do not know where to begin when it comes to eating for my goals. How do I know what my macro intake should be? Caloric intake? How often is it recommended I eat a day? How does this change with the kind of workouts I do?
Another issue is that I live with my family (mom and sibling), and food prepping is hard because of this. I try really hard to set boundaries around my food but it doesn't always work out. If I purchase certain foods for myself, or expecting them to last because of portioning, they usually end up gone in 2-3days. A part of me is concerned that I just might not be able to afford the amount or type of food I need for my goals, and to feed my family. I know it seems silly but I clearly need to factor them into the cost of my meal prep. Yes, I am the main contributor to household expenses.
Has anyone dealt with the issue of family not respecting food boundaries, and if yes, what advice could you give me for this? If you live in the US, and are a female who lifts, how much do you regularly spend on groceries per week/month? I feel like expecting costs is important to meal prep.
What are people's thoughts on the RP method/app? Is it recommended for someone like me, who struggles with scheduling in meals? It is really popular amongst the lifters I know but I am afraid of failing at it - I have failed to reach my goals in the past.
well.....not really. When I was dating my ex, I gained weight - up to 220lbs. That was the most unhealthy and miserable I had ever been in my life. And I managed to lose most of it (from a size 16 to a 12), but I am not done yet.
some more questions: when weighing out food to calculate macros/calories, do you usually measure it out before, or after it's been cooked?
I know this is already really long and rambly, but if there are any questions anyone has, in order to give me better curated advice, please ask. I am really desperate to see what my abs look like before I turn 30. And advice like this seems really hard to come by.
Also, if anyone has simple, affordable recipes for meal prep, please share, I will be eternally grateful. The hardest meal of the day is breakfast so any recommendations are greatly appreciated.
Something else: I do not have access to a doctor currently.
Thank you so much for reading.
I am really hoping someone can help me out in regards to eating for my lifting and physique goals. First and foremost, I desire to lose body fat and gain strength. Once this pandemic is over I really aspire to train for powerlifting comps or strongman, whichever works out best first. I really have fun lifting and want this to be a lasting feature in my life, but nutrition is a huge part of it and I am really struggling in that sense. I started lifting back in october 2018, and was seeing excellent results gaining strength for the following year and half. I started out as a couch potato and unhappy with how I looked; I really just wanted to lose weight but ended up changing my goals to be more strength oriented. And this is mostly still true; I have no desire to be a ripped, size 0, model type. But i do need to lose at least 5 inches off of my waistline in order to be considered "healthy", and in order to become more well rounded athletically. (I currently boast a thicc 35in waist) So I need to lose fat and build muscle.
At the moment, I struggle with body weight exercises even though I was DL'ing ~300lbs. I weigh in at about 185lbs. I am a woman in my late 20's, and grew up without any true nutritional or fitness habits. I ate pretty healthy growing up, lots of vegetables and clean organic proteins. I do not gravitate towards fast food or unhealthy snacks, so recognizing what kinds of foods are healthy is not my problem. However, issues with eating included: no one cooking for most of the day, so a lot of times while I was growing up, and as an adult, I would only eat 1 meal a day, or a small breakfast and a larger lunch/dinner combo. Making myself eat at least 3x a day has been a struggle (hence the habits emphasis). I was never encouraged to workout and didn't have access to working out facilities etc (if this sounds surprising, it's because I grew up outside of the US). My family is too quick to jump into fads like paleo, keto, etc and I am sick of that because I am sure it messed up my metabolism. And I really want something simple, that I can follow for the rest of my life. I also really miss being able to have simple treats without getting a panic attack about weigh gain. I simply do not know where to begin when it comes to eating for my goals. How do I know what my macro intake should be? Caloric intake? How often is it recommended I eat a day? How does this change with the kind of workouts I do?
Another issue is that I live with my family (mom and sibling), and food prepping is hard because of this. I try really hard to set boundaries around my food but it doesn't always work out. If I purchase certain foods for myself, or expecting them to last because of portioning, they usually end up gone in 2-3days. A part of me is concerned that I just might not be able to afford the amount or type of food I need for my goals, and to feed my family. I know it seems silly but I clearly need to factor them into the cost of my meal prep. Yes, I am the main contributor to household expenses.
Has anyone dealt with the issue of family not respecting food boundaries, and if yes, what advice could you give me for this? If you live in the US, and are a female who lifts, how much do you regularly spend on groceries per week/month? I feel like expecting costs is important to meal prep.
What are people's thoughts on the RP method/app? Is it recommended for someone like me, who struggles with scheduling in meals? It is really popular amongst the lifters I know but I am afraid of failing at it - I have failed to reach my goals in the past.
well.....not really. When I was dating my ex, I gained weight - up to 220lbs. That was the most unhealthy and miserable I had ever been in my life. And I managed to lose most of it (from a size 16 to a 12), but I am not done yet.
some more questions: when weighing out food to calculate macros/calories, do you usually measure it out before, or after it's been cooked?
I know this is already really long and rambly, but if there are any questions anyone has, in order to give me better curated advice, please ask. I am really desperate to see what my abs look like before I turn 30. And advice like this seems really hard to come by.
Also, if anyone has simple, affordable recipes for meal prep, please share, I will be eternally grateful. The hardest meal of the day is breakfast so any recommendations are greatly appreciated.
Something else: I do not have access to a doctor currently.
Thank you so much for reading.