Knowing when you're eating enough

[kzndr]

If you are trying to ensure you are in a calorie surplus while doing the NLP, to what extent can you just rely on signals from your body given that it is being put under stress and trying to recover -- if you're hungry eat more; if you're satiated, or even stuffed, you've eaten enough -- or is that likely to be an unreliable signal and you need to count calories? Since starting the NLP, I have consciously attempted to eat more (and eat high quality food) but have not attempted to quantify the amounts. I eat regularly and until I'm full, quite often until I'm actually a bit fuller than is comfortable. However, my guess is that I'm actually not eating sufficient calories, but eating more also feels like it will just be basically force-feeding myself like a duck being prepared for foie gras.

[Robert Santana]

Are you still adding weight to the bar on all of your lifts?

[kzndr]

Hi Robert, thanks for the reply. Yes, I've still been able to add weight, though generally in smaller increments (2.5lbs per workout on the squat, 1-2lbs on the bench, for example). Current numbers are: squat 260lbs, deadlift 300lbs, bench press 167lbs, press 127.5lbs. I'm 5'11" and have gone from 176lbs to 193.5lbs in about 4 months.

[Robert Santana]

What is going on with that bench press. Press ratio is on the high end. Why are you adding 2.5 lb on the squat at this juncture?

[kzndr]

Fair questions! And yes, the bench numbers have been frustrating. Despite the fact that the bench is lagging far behind the other lifts, it's also the lift that I've failed in a workout or two (though have been able to complete the sets in the next workout). My only potential explanation is that I did CrossFit for a few years off and on. While it never got me very strong (I've easily surpassed all my PRs in a month or two of the NLP), I did do a lot of squatting, deadlifting, and push pressing/jerking but almost no benching, so I feel like I am just able to perform those lifts much more effectively and efficiently. Still, yes, the bench is oddly out of whack. I did a few sessoins with a coach for a general form check, and he didn't note anything off with the bench.

On the meager additions to the squat, it's been mostly just a lot of nervousness -- which I need to get over -- about failing a squat and getting trapped under the bar (though I lift in a power rack with everything set up as prescribed and so should be able to safely fail a lift).

[Robert Santana]

You should practice lowering a bar to the pins. That will ease your mind. Walk outs with heavier weight help too.

CrossFit does spend a great deal of time over head and zero time on a bench so that makes some sense. Just don't make big jumps, eat enough food, and make all of your workouts on time and you should not have an issue closing that gap up.