Confused about my calorie intake. What do I need?

eapragar

A little bit of info before I ask my questions:
So after Christmas I saw some pics of me with my family over the Holidays and I was horrified. I finally realized that my eating was out of control.

Last summer I tried to lose weight by exercising and changing my diet. I was eating healthy (can't remember how many calories i was taking in, but I was eating a lot of egg whites, salads, etc.) and was exercising 30 minutes to an hour and a half everyday (swimming, jogging, hiking, etc.). I did this for two months and I didn't lose a single pound or notice any difference in my body. I got frustrated and gave up.

So after Christmas, I went to the doctor. I starting taking Phentermine to help get my appetite under control. I was hoping that if I could get used to eating less I would have a better start on my new lifestyle. I went from 189 to 165 after two months, when I stopped taking the pills (also, I took half of a pill a day instead of a whole one).

So now, I have been doing Insanity and P90X workouts for two months. I have been doing insanity about 5 days a week. If I feel particularly exhausted or like my muscles are shrinking I'll do P90X. I have also been going for more walks. I keep up with the insanity workouts and push myself as much as possible, but I have to modify some moves because of my bad knees.

I have also been eating around 1500 calories a day. I calculated my BMR and TDEE and it said that I should be eating around 1950 calories a day. I don't see how this could be right. That just seems like so much food. On some days I eat as little as 1300 and on some days I eat as much as 1700 calories and I feel miserable. I was thinking I was eating too much food. I eat until I'm full after exercising, but don't over eat.

So, I haven't lost a single pound since I started doing insanity and P90X over two months ago. I have lost a couple inches, but nothing to even make my clothes fit any better or feel bigger. So, I have been trying to figure out if I am eating too much or if 1950 calories is accurate.

I am 5'4", 22 years old, female, 165 pounds. GW: 135

Thanks for any advice.

dgoradia

So now, I have been doing Insanity and P90X workouts for two months. I have been doing insanity about 5 days a week. If I feel particularly exhausted or like my muscles are shrinking I'll do P90X. I have also been going for more walks. I keep up with the insanity workouts and push myself as much as possible, but I have to modify some moves because of my bad knees.

I have also been eating around 1500 calories a day. I calculated my BMR and TDEE and it said that I should be eating around 1950 calories a day. I don't see how this could be right. That just seems like so much food. On some days I eat as little as 1300 and on some days I eat as much as 1700 calories and I feel miserable. I was thinking I was eating too much food. I eat until I'm full after exercising, but don't over eat.

So, I haven't lost a single pound since I started doing insanity and P90X over two months ago. I have lost a couple inches, but nothing to even make my clothes fit any better or feel bigger. So, I have been trying to figure out if I am eating too much or if 1950 calories is accurate.

I am 5'4", 22 years old, female, 165 pounds. GW: 135

Thanks for any advice.

TDEE would be around 2000 with activity level of 1.375.
Eat a couple hundred kcals below; e.g. 1700-1800

It's also possible you're not eating 1500 but more due to inaccurate tracking.
With insanity you will lose muscle, it's all cardio.

angelina2585

So you haven't been losing weight at the level you're eating. Why not give the 1950 a go. You may just be surprised to find that the pounds do start to drop off.

Just to give you a comparison - I'm also 5'4", nearly twice your age at 43 and have lost most of my weight eating around 1800-1900 gross calories per day. Every few weeks I'll eat at my TDEE of around 2500 calories. I weigh 133lbs.

Here are couple of helpful threads for you :-

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/993865-why-you-gain-weight-if-you-eat-more-than-your-cut

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/680246-tdee-bmr-what-they-are-and-what-to-do-with-them

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/521728-upping-cals-what-to-expect-why-you-need-patience

Hope that helps.

trisH_7183

So you haven't been losing weight at the level you're eating. Why not give the 1950 a go. You may just be surprised to find that the pounds do start to drop off.

Just to give you a comparison - I'm also 5'4", nearly twice your age at 43 and have lost most of my weight eating around 1800-1900 gross calories per day. Every few weeks I'll eat at my TDEE of around 2500 calories. I weigh 133lbs.

Here are couple of helpful threads for you :-

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/993865-why-you-gain-weight-if-you-eat-more-than-your-cut

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/680246-tdee-bmr-what-they-are-and-what-to-do-with-them

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/521728-upping-cals-what-to-expect-why-you-need-patience

Hope that helps.

It will help me for sure.I'm learning,learning about the subjects you posted. A lot of info to sift thru.Thanks for the post.

eapragar

So you haven't been losing weight at the level you're eating. Why not give the 1950 a go. You may just be surprised to find that the pounds do start to drop off.

Just to give you a comparison - I'm also 5'4", nearly twice your age at 43 and have lost most of my weight eating around 1800-1900 gross calories per day. Every few weeks I'll eat at my TDEE of around 2500 calories. I weigh 133lbs.


Angelina:
Thanks for the info. What kind of exercise do you do and how often? Thanks for the comparison also.

eapragar

So you haven't been losing weight at the level you're eating. Why not give the 1950 a go. You may just be surprised to find that the pounds do start to drop off.

Just to give you a comparison - I'm also 5'4", nearly twice your age at 43 and have lost most of my weight eating around 1800-1900 gross calories per day. Every few weeks I'll eat at my TDEE of around 2500 calories. I weigh 133lbs.

Angelina:
Thanks for the info. What kind of exercise do you do and how often? Thanks for the comparison also.

Salt_Sand_Sun

With insanity you will lose muscle, it's all cardio.

Wha?!! Go find all the Insanity folks and tell them they don't have muscle. While it is a lot of cardio, it is also body weight exercises and resistence training. Lots of mucscle can be built. I agree that incorporating other strength training wouldn't be a bad idea. But just doing Insanity will not lose muscle!!!

Natdogg37

Thank you this information. I am having the same problem. I eat my calories without ever going over and I have been busting my butt at the gym 5 day a week for 5 weeks now. It gets to me because I feel like giving up if I am not getting any results!!!

bcattoes

TDEE would be around 2000 with activity level of 1.375.
Eat a couple hundred kcals below; e.g. 1700-1800

It's also possible you're not eating 1500 but more due to inaccurate tracking.
With insanity you will lose muscle, it's all cardio.

The calorie information is probably correct per a calculator (i.e. correct averages per population), but this is total nonsense about Insanity. If you are eating a large deficit you may lose some muscle on Insanity, though if you are eating enough protein you will not likely lose much. Insanity is partly plyometrics and calisthenics, both of which can build or maintain muscle.

Your personal BMR and TDEE may vary from the averages.

elleloch

If your exercise is Insanity and P90X, you're going to need more than 1500 calories.

JulesAlloggio

I would say for your height and weight, try around 1600 and with a breakdown of 30/40/30 Pro/Carb/Fat

Good luck sweetie!

angelina2585

Oops can't go back and edit my post - my TDEE is 2,050 not 2,500! So I definitely don't take as big a cut as my initial post indicated.

My workouts -

Cathe Friedrich workouts :-

Muscle Max
Gym Styles Series (legs and 2 upper body ones)
Fitness blender workouts (google the website, sorry I'm on my phone. It may just be fitnessblender
.com
Stationary bike
Jillian Michaels - banish fat,boost metabolism

Walking - not logging this now that I've recently bought a Fitbit.

Feel free to check out my diary. I log all my workouts.

I hope you've found the links I posted helpful. When you go to the calculator at scoobysworkshop make sure you are honest about the number of hours you work out for. It can be scary when you see how high your TDEE and CUT is and it's tempting to think it can't be right and lower the activity level. Don't short change yourself

eapragar

Thanks for all the info everyone! I've been trying to eat more theist few days. It's hard cuz I feel like a stuffed sausage since I was already eating til I was full at 1500. I'm trying to spread the food across the day instead of in 3 or 4 meals. Let me know if you have more advice