Lifting a lot. Appetite increased. Is it only in my mind?

[moonbogg]

I am trying to be honest with myself here, so I'll be honest with you all as well. I have actually been almost perfectly consistent with my workout plan and it involves mostly lifting and a little running. I have been eating more. My appetite has increased, or so I think it has.
I hear people say that in order to build muscle, your body needs extra calories. I am willing to bet my body doesn't actually need that many more calories and I am using the lifting as an excuse to simply eat more and not feel guilty about it. Your thoughts?

 

[RagingBITCH]

Your metabolism is boosted by lifting, and your body does need addtl calories to support the increase in muscle mass.

The obvious questions here are the fact that the statement was void of any details. How many calories were you eating? What ratio of protein/fat/carbs? What were you eating? Same question now. What lifts are you doing? How many times a week? Too many variables to say you are eating too much now - little bit of a loaded question.

 

[moonbogg]

Everything is mostly heavy with rep ranges 1-6, sometimes 8-12. around 6 sets each exercise. I used to only run about 15-20 miles per week but mostly lift now. I want foooood.

Tuesday:
Bench press
Pull ups
Squats
Stiff legged dead lifts

Wednesday:
Dead Lift (traditional)
Landmine twists
AB wheel rollouts
Up right rows
Shoulder Press (alternating single arm on land mine)
Bent over rows (alternating single arm on land mine)

Thursday:
Run 2-5 miles
Landmine twists
AB wheel rollouts

Friday:
(repeat Tuesday's workout)

Saturday:
(repeat Wednesday's workout)
adding curls and tricep extensions here
sometimes run in morning if I want, then lift later in the day.

Sunday:
(repeat Thursday's workout)
Adding squats and pull ups here as well

Monday:
off day

 

[KIAman]

What is your goal? To lose weight? To gain weight? And what is your base caloric need and what are you currently eating?

 

[moonbogg]

I want to be lean, strong and fit with a good shape. I have no idea how much I am eating now, but it varies wildly and I eat whatever is available. I'm like a garbage disposal with regard to my diet. I have no diet. I just eat what sounds good in whatever quantity satisfies. I have about 15lbs of fat I could lose and still have plenty of body fat left, I know that much.

Base caloric need? I have zero clue.

I'm 5'9"
about 185lbs
Eat like a horse

 

[RandomWords]

I want to be lean, strong and fit with a good shape. I have no idea how much I am eating now, but it varies wildly and I eat whatever is available. I'm like a garbage disposal with regard to my diet. I have no diet. I just eat what sounds good in whatever quantity satisfies. I have about 15lbs of fat I could lose and still have plenty of body fat left, I know that much.

Base caloric need? I have zero clue.

I'm 5'9"
about 185lbs
Eat like a horse

Without knowing your basic needs and the amount of calories you eat to compare to your activity level - no one can tell you if you're really eating too much. I guess a good basic indicator would be you should only gain about 1 lbs a week for muscle growth maybe 1.5... so if you're gaining like 5lbs a week then it's obvious you're eating too much.

There are websites that can calculate the calories and such for weight lifting. A basic search will find them.

 

[moonbogg]

I was just wondering if its normal for the appetite to increase after starting a lifting program.

 

[RandomWords]

I was just wondering if its normal for the appetite to increase after starting a lifting program.

Yes