Help ! How many calories should I be eating when doing 30 Day Shred? Advice needed :)

annabellemayh

Hello !

Hello everyone! I'm Annie, I'm 20 years old, 5'6 I weigh 11st. 10 lbs and I am currently on day 6 (level 1) of the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred!

I need to lose about 2 stone to be within my healthy BMI but at the moment I'm not worrying too much about the scales but really want to see my body changing!

I'm currently following myfitnesspal and sticking to 1200 calories a day and I'm doing the 30 day shred and that's it. I have lots of university deadlines coming up so 25 minutes of Jillian a day is all I can fit in at the moment, but I've heard and hoping it's still effective!

So my question isssss, is this right for my goals? Should I be eating more calories or less calories than this? Should I eat back my exercise calories or not? Etc

General diet advice on how to get the best out of the 30 day shred is much needed! Thank you very much !!

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

Probably more but first two questions:

1. How do you feel on your current intake? (Granted sometime it takes a bit for undereating to become apparent-- for me it's usually fine for about 3 weeks and then I feel like hell)
2. Are you using a food scale, eyeballing, or using measuring cups?

annabellemayh

Thanks for your help!

1. At the moment I feel fine but I've only been dieting for around a week. My appetitite has decreased but still getting occasional hunger pangs and then I usually snack on an apple or a banana.

2. Majority I'm definitely just going by eye, I used scales a couple of times when I was really unsure about pasta / quorn portions but everything else I'm pretty much guessing or myfitnesspal makes it easier with half a carton of soup etc, or one slice/ two slices bread.

I also have no idea how much 30 Day Shred burns calories wise! Currently entering it as 167 calories which is a number I spotted online but probably won't be right for my height or weight!

annabellemayh

ILiftHeavyAcrylics wrote: »

Probably more but first two questions:

1. How do you feel on your current intake? (Granted sometime it takes a bit for undereating to become apparent-- for me it's usually fine for about 3 weeks and then I feel like hell)
2. Are you using a food scale, eyeballing, or using measuring cups?

Thanks for your help!

1. At the moment I feel fine but I've only been dieting for around a week. My appetitite has decreased but still getting occasional hunger pangs and then I usually snack on an apple or a banana.

2. Majority I'm definitely just going by eye, I used scales a couple of times when I was really unsure about pasta / quorn portions but everything else I'm pretty much guessing or myfitnesspal makes it easier with half a carton of soup etc, or one slice/ two slices bread.

I also have no idea how much 30 Day Shred burns calories wise! Currently entering it as 167 calories which is a number I spotted online but probably won't be right for my height or weight!

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

annabellemayh wrote: »

Thanks for your help!

1. At the moment I feel fine but I've only been dieting for around a week. My appetitite has decreased but still getting occasional hunger pangs and then I usually snack on an apple or a banana.

2. Majority I'm definitely just going by eye, I used scales a couple of times when I was really unsure about pasta / quorn portions but everything else I'm pretty much guessing or myfitnesspal makes it easier with half a carton of soup etc, or one slice/ two slices bread.

I also have no idea how much 30 Day Shred burns calories wise! Currently entering it as 167 calories which is a number I spotted online but probably won't be right for my height or weight!

If you're happy with what you're doing and feel okay (not too hungry, sure, but also watch for fatigue, trouble sleeping, and aches/pains) then I'd keep doing it for a few weeks and see where you are.

Since you're not weighing everything you're probably eating more than you think but that's fine-- 1200 is very low. If you want to really track accurately then start weighing, but in that case you probably need to increase your calorie goal a bit.

I'd start out eating back exercise calories, and see how you get on. In 3 weeks reevaluate. If you've lost too quickly (more than 1 lb per week, considering you have 20 lbs to go) then increase your calories. If you haven't lost enough then definitely get that food scale and try to be more accurate.

If you notice you feel like crap in the meantime then absolutely try to eat more. You very likely can.

nhenryoliver

When I first started on my journey, I was just touching 11stone. I am also about 5'5/6. I found that 1200 cals was too little for me, so I changed to about 1400cals. With some activity most days, I lost 1/2lb a week. On weeks where I was active every day for at least half an hour, I saw 2lb losses.

I eat/drink back calories when I feel like it, and i have found that most of the time I didn't need/want to use all the calories I had earned through exercise.

Best advice I have seen and been given, is to weigh yourself weekly, and see if the current programme is working for you. If not, adjust it!

Good luck on your journey.

ninerbuff

Take your TDEE and subtract 500 calories from it.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

elansc

Everyone is different. How are YOU feeling? Tired? Unfocused? You will know if you are not eating enough - listen to YOUR body. And eat clean - 1200 calories of good, unprocessed food goes a lot farther than the typical university cafeteria food. With the shred you are likely to lose inches so if you have not already, take a few measurements and try to not obsess too much over the # on the scale (I know, we all say that

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

nhenryoliver wrote: »

When I first started on my journey, I was just touching 11stone. I am also about 5'5/6. I found that 1200 cals was too little for me, so I changed to about 1400cals. With some activity most days, I lost 1/2lb a week. On weeks where I was active every day for at least half an hour, I saw 2lb losses.

I eat/drink back calories when I feel like it, and i have found that most of the time I didn't need/want to use all the calories I had earned through exercise.

Best advice I have seen and been given, is to weigh yourself weekly, and see if the current programme is working for you. If not, adjust it!

Good luck on your journey.

1200 didn't work for me either, just FTR. I lost on 1420 plus exercise almost the whole time I was losing weight.

annabellemayh

ILiftHeavyAcrylics wrote: »

annabellemayh wrote: »

Thanks for your help!

1. At the moment I feel fine but I've only been dieting for around a week. My appetitite has decreased but still getting occasional hunger pangs and then I usually snack on an apple or a banana.

2. Majority I'm definitely just going by eye, I used scales a couple of times when I was really unsure about pasta / quorn portions but everything else I'm pretty much guessing or myfitnesspal makes it easier with half a carton of soup etc, or one slice/ two slices bread.

I also have no idea how much 30 Day Shred burns calories wise! Currently entering it as 167 calories which is a number I spotted online but probably won't be right for my height or weight!

If you're happy with what you're doing and feel okay (not too hungry, sure, but also watch for fatigue, trouble sleeping, and aches/pains) then I'd keep doing it for a few weeks and see where you are.

Since you're not weighing everything you're probably eating more than you think but that's fine-- 1200 is very low. If you want to really track accurately then start weighing, but in that case you probably need to increase your calorie goal a bit.

I'd start out eating back exercise calories, and see how you get on. In 3 weeks reevaluate. If you've lost too quickly (more than 1 lb per week, considering you have 20 lbs to go) then increase your calories. If you haven't lost enough then definitely get that food scale and try to be more accurate.

If you notice you feel like crap in the meantime then absolutely try to eat more. You very likely can.

Thanks so much this is all so helpful!! I have been having trouble sleeping so I think I will up the calories a bit! I guess I always worry it will interfere with my weight loss goals but I know there's a lot more to weight loss than eat less lose weight! Thanks again really helpful!

annabellemayh

nhenryoliver wrote: »

When I first started on my journey, I was just touching 11stone. I am also about 5'5/6. I found that 1200 cals was too little for me, so I changed to about 1400cals. With some activity most days, I lost 1/2lb a week. On weeks where I was active every day for at least half an hour, I saw 2lb losses.

I eat/drink back calories when I feel like it, and i have found that most of the time I didn't need/want to use all the calories I had earned through exercise.

Best advice I have seen and been given, is to weigh yourself weekly, and see if the current programme is working for you. If not, adjust it!

Good luck on your journey.

Thanks so much! I think I will up the calories slightly! I guess I'm working out solidly for 20 minutes per day, but I still want to see moderate paced results! (I'm so impatient) Thank you!

I_Will_End_You

30 Day Shred is not a huge calorie burner, but I'd say your estimate is probably pretty good. I think I'd log it around 150 for your height and weight. At 1200 calories, I'd go ahead and add those back in.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

annabellemayh wrote: »

ILiftHeavyAcrylics wrote: »

annabellemayh wrote: »

Thanks for your help!

1. At the moment I feel fine but I've only been dieting for around a week. My appetitite has decreased but still getting occasional hunger pangs and then I usually snack on an apple or a banana.

2. Majority I'm definitely just going by eye, I used scales a couple of times when I was really unsure about pasta / quorn portions but everything else I'm pretty much guessing or myfitnesspal makes it easier with half a carton of soup etc, or one slice/ two slices bread.

I also have no idea how much 30 Day Shred burns calories wise! Currently entering it as 167 calories which is a number I spotted online but probably won't be right for my height or weight!

If you're happy with what you're doing and feel okay (not too hungry, sure, but also watch for fatigue, trouble sleeping, and aches/pains) then I'd keep doing it for a few weeks and see where you are.

Since you're not weighing everything you're probably eating more than you think but that's fine-- 1200 is very low. If you want to really track accurately then start weighing, but in that case you probably need to increase your calorie goal a bit.

I'd start out eating back exercise calories, and see how you get on. In 3 weeks reevaluate. If you've lost too quickly (more than 1 lb per week, considering you have 20 lbs to go) then increase your calories. If you haven't lost enough then definitely get that food scale and try to be more accurate.

If you notice you feel like crap in the meantime then absolutely try to eat more. You very likely can.

Thanks so much this is all so helpful!! I have been having trouble sleeping so I think I will up the calories a bit! I guess I always worry it will interfere with my weight loss goals but I know there's a lot more to weight loss than eat less lose weight! Thanks again really helpful!

Good deal. Up it by a couple hundred and then reevaluate in 3-4 weeks. Good luck!

Sh3rl0ckH0lm3s

I'm on level three of 30 day shred and although I've only lost a couple of lbs (1lb a week as set by MPF) I feel so much better about my arm muscles and abs for example. Stick with it!! I'm eating at least 1470 calories AND + 250 for days I do the shred. Otherwise I'd be too hungry or tired to stick with it. (Fyi im 5'8" and 11st 11)