Exercise programs calories are too low

courtneyprudhomme

I love love love beachbody programs.. i've done several.. p90x.. brazil butt lift.. Les Mills Pump.. and just received Focus T25.. but i have noticed something .. in their meal/eating plans.. NONE of them take into consideration calories burned.. in other words.. they give you a blanket 1200 or 1600 calories to eat per day and speak nothing of upping the calories for higher burns.. for instance.. on a beast mode day (yesterday for me) - I burned 1400 calories.. but today Im only burning 750.. soooo shouldn't that be reflected in my calorie allotment? I pretty much ignore the meal plans with this workout system bc i have one that works, but I don't understand them marketing these things to the public who don't know they should be eating more than 1200 on a day with a big burn.. I dont get it...

beckymlong

Bump I was wondering the same myself

courtneyprudhomme

in general i go with what MFP tells me to eat in order to lose weight (after i plug in my exercise for the day).. its just crazy to me the difference between that and what these exercise programs suggest..

Mokey41

For one thing, most people who buy those programs don't stick with it so it doesn't really matter what they say but also the people buying them are looking for a quick fix and eating at 1200 calories for a few weeks will give them that result.

I find a lot of people using MFP even with good direction and advice still can't figure out a healthy eating plan so some DVD you buy is not likely to be able to explain it in a way that the general public will understand. Even if they did I know they would grossly over exaggerate the calorie burns because that's how you sell those types of products (along with your special shakes!). Some of Jillian Michaels DVD's suggest you can lose UP TO 5 lbs a week. Not realistic but the person that's based on probably weighed 400 lbs to start with.

courtneyprudhomme

that's a good point..Im a beachbody coach myself, but only b/c i love the workouts they sell.. i dont care so much for their nutrition products that even as a coach I can't afford.. I personally use GNC shakes b/c they re affordable and give me the protein I need.. I do a protein shake or two a day b/c i have trouble getting in enough calories a day.. helps me up my intake.. but i digress... I just wish that with such awesome fitness products they would do a better job with the nutritional aspect or leave it alone.

Shaylam82

My coach told me to follow the Harris Benedict formula for nutrition. It already incorporates the fact theat Im working out. I use MFP for tracking purposes.

jwdieter

Inflated exercise calorie burn estimates are pretty common as well.

ngyoung

You kind of want your body to use your body fat for fuel as well. If you keep feeding it increased calories to match your level of activity it won't really need to use your body fat since it is burning the fuel you're digesting. Not saying that you shouldn't bump up your intake a little but I wouldn't do it to the same level that you estimate you're burning increasing from exercise.

courtneyprudhomme

mfp sets up a deficit so even if I eat all of the calories mfp allots ( I usually don't.. I usually am 200 or so under the allotment) - Im still eating at a deficit based on the weight I want to lose per week.. so Im still in fat burning mode..

blleadon

I have come to believe that most weight loss programs don't tell you everything because then you wouldn't need them anymore and it wouldn't be profitable for them. It's the same thing with gyms. They focus so much on workouts and all different types of exercises but don't fully tell you about calorie counting unless you ask, and even then it seems off the record.

MzManiak

Perhaps they are using an average TDEE? Some people like to account for their work outs in their base calorie allotment so they don't have to do the math every day. They can eat the same amount every day regardless if it's an active day or rest day, because it's all averaged out...

psuLemon

I love love love beachbody programs.. i've done several.. p90x.. brazil butt lift.. Les Mills Pump.. and just received Focus T25.. but i have noticed something .. in their meal/eating plans.. NONE of them take into consideration calories burned.. in other words.. they give you a blanket 1200 or 1600 calories to eat per day and speak nothing of upping the calories for higher burns.. for instance.. on a beast mode day (yesterday for me) - I burned 1400 calories.. but today Im only burning 750.. soooo shouldn't that be reflected in my calorie allotment? I pretty much ignore the meal plans with this workout system bc i have one that works, but I don't understand them marketing these things to the public who don't know they should be eating more than 1200 on a day with a big burn.. I dont get it...

The way BB sets up their caloric needs calculator is based on the TDEE method. Where you average your TDEE over a week and form a deficit. This is why it's different then MFP.. I have used harris benedict, BB and Katch McArdle and all give me about the same. I would suspect that if you are using the BB calculator, it's probably your weight loss goal is aggressive. I do know from reading a ton of their nutrition guides, none of them suggest 1200 calories. In fact, the majority of people on here that I see fail because they let MFP set their goals. Minimum requirements for p90x and insanity is 1800, clx is around 1400 or 1500.

I do nothing but BB programs and do NOT use a heart rate monitor. But I can tell you my TDEE is 3000 calories. I can tell you that because based on those three calculations, i ate 2500 calories a day and averaged 1 lb per week. So I actually do not believe you need to know how many calories you are burning because if you know how much you eat, you can figure the rest out.

jonnythan

They just want you to see some short term results on the scale so you keep buying. They don't care about actual proper nutrition or sustainable success. So what if you can't eat 1200 a day long term? It puts the failure on you instead of their stupid program.

BradHallFitness

The way BB sets up their caloric needs calculator is based on the TDEE method. Where you average your TDEE over a week and form a deficit. This is why it's different then MFP.. I have used harris benedict, BB and Katch McArdle and all give me about the same. I would suspect that if you are using the BB calculator, it's probably your weight loss goal is aggressive. I do know from reading a ton of their nutrition guides, none of them suggest 1200 calories. In fact, the majority of people on here that I see fail because they let MFP set their goals. Minimum requirements for p90x and insanity is 1800, clx is around 1400 or 1500.

I do nothing but BB programs and do NOT use a heart rate monitor. But I can tell you my TDEE is 3000 calories. I can tell you that because based on those three calculations, i ate 2500 calories a day and averaged 1 lb per week. So I actually do not believe you need to know how many calories you are burning because if you know how much you eat, you can figure the rest out.

^^This, great response.

@jonnythan - Totally incorrect on your "assumption" of not caring about proper nutrition and short term results.

Just as psulemon has stated, I also do nothing but BB programs for my workouts and I've dropped 77 pounds following their nutrition guide calculations for my calories (never once used MFP calculation as it set my calorie needs way to low and the macros were completely wrong, not to mention the fact I don't use an HRM and don't plan to either, crush my workouts each day and eat at the calorie/macro level I need based on the nutrition guides). I also used a lot of the recipes provided when I first started in November of 2010 and for my first 3 rounds of P90X. Which taught me the importance of nutrition, hitting my macros and a calorie deficit for weight loss.

psuLemon

They just want you to see some short term results on the scale so you keep buying. They don't care about actual proper nutrition or sustainable success. So what if you can't eat 1200 a day long term? It puts the failure on you instead of their stupid program.

yea... not even close to how their programs are designed. They are designed for longevity if people follow them. And like I mentioned if you use their online calculator you can still go too aggressive.

jonnythan

They just want you to see some short term results on the scale so you keep buying. They don't care about actual proper nutrition or sustainable success. So what if you can't eat 1200 a day long term? It puts the failure on you instead of their stupid program.

yea... not even close to how their programs are designed. They are designed for longevity if people follow them. And like I mentioned if you use their online calculator you can still go too aggressive.

If people follow them being the key words.

I don't think they're designed well. I don't think they're designed for compliance and sustainability.

courtneyprudhomme

actually i just got the Focus T25 and it DID indeed suggest 1200 calories.

courtneyprudhomme

If people follow them being the key words.

I don't think they're designed well. I don't think they're designed for compliance and sustainability.

I agree.. i don't think 1200 or even 1600 are intakes ppl could maintain long term.. I wish that they provided more realistic plans.. and were more reflective of the burn.. I believe that it is important to know your burn so you can make sure (in my case) that you are eating enough.. of course there are a million ppl and a million ways that ppl calculate and keep track.. I just dont think that the BB plans are realistic for the general public.

psuLemon

If people follow them being the key words.

I don't think they're designed well. I don't think they're designed for compliance and sustainability.

I agree.. i don't think 1200 or even 1600 are intakes ppl could maintain long term.. I wish that they provided more realistic plans.. and were more reflective of the burn.. I believe that it is important to know your burn so you can make sure (in my case) that you are eating enough.. of course there are a million ppl and a million ways that ppl calculate and keep track.. I just dont think that the BB plans are realistic for the general public.

Are we talking about same programs? I just used the calculator below and it suggest that I eat 2850 to maintain my weight. It's pretty close to what actually should eat to maintain (which is 3000 calories). Also, keep in mind you can't blame a company for a person's inability to follow a program. Each of the programs provide a simple formula to calculate calories to lose weight. Now if you want to gain, you slowly increase your calories until you stop losing.

Using a HRM is only another way of calculating exercise calories but it does come with inaccuracy. Most HRM's are only 80% accurate and only work during cardio type workouts. On top of that it doesn't account for daily active. So either way, you are still trying to work out how many calories you actually burn in a day. This is why I suggested don't even bother buying a HRM, using an online calculator, try it for 1-2 months and back into your TDEE. Like I said, it doesn't matter how much you burn if you know you average 1 lb a week. The only time it will vary is if you change your routine.

http://www.teambeachbody.com/eat-smart/nutrition-tools/caloric-needs

IN the end, if you don't follow it or if it doesn't work, you just change routines. In the end, weight loss and maintenance is no about the workout, it's about the calories. Teh workout determines how much you can eat.

rhall9058

Most of those authors (and I've talked to a few), assume that you know they are talking about NET calories. At the end of the day, when all is said and done, you need to go to bed with 1200-1600 cals to keep living. But your correct, they don't differentiate that, nor do they explain how to achieve that number. Totally frustrating when you have to explain it to a general user.

courtneyprudhomme

Most of those authors (and I've talked to a few), assume that you know they are talking about NET calories. At the end of the day, when all is said and done, you need to go to bed with 1200-1600 cals to keep living. But your correct, they don't differentiate that, nor do they explain how to achieve that number. Totally frustrating when you have to explain it to a general user.

I hope you are right.. but the way it's explained - it doesn't seem that.. way.. it being NET calories makes more sense.. however looking at the provided meal plans - it looks more like they mean 1200 or 1600 GROSS.. I would tell people thinking of trying those plans to consider that they need to eat a decent amount of their exercise calories back ... I've learned the hard way that's true.. when you work at such a high deficit you get really tired, your body doesn't function efficiently.. and you can do some serious damage..

courtneyprudhomme

If people follow them being the key words.

I don't think they're designed well. I don't think they're designed for compliance and sustainability.

I agree.. i don't think 1200 or even 1600 are intakes ppl could maintain long term.. I wish that they provided more realistic plans.. and were more reflective of the burn.. I believe that it is important to know your burn so you can make sure (in my case) that you are eating enough.. of course there are a million ppl and a million ways that ppl calculate and keep track.. I just dont think that the BB plans are realistic for the general public.

Are we talking about same programs? I just used the calculator below and it suggest that I eat 2850 to maintain my weight. It's pretty close to what actually should eat to maintain (which is 3000 calories). Also, keep in mind you can't blame a company for a person's inability to follow a program. Each of the programs provide a simple formula to calculate calories to lose weight. Now if you want to gain, you slowly increase your calories until you stop losing.

Using a HRM is only another way of calculating exercise calories but it does come with inaccuracy. Most HRM's are only 80% accurate and only work during cardio type workouts. On top of that it doesn't account for daily active. So either way, you are still trying to work out how many calories you actually burn in a day. This is why I suggested don't even bother buying a HRM, using an online calculator, try it for 1-2 months and back into your TDEE. Like I said, it doesn't matter how much you burn if you know you average 1 lb a week. The only time it will vary is if you change your routine.

http://www.teambeachbody.com/eat-smart/nutrition-tools/caloric-needs

IN the end, if you don't follow it or if it doesn't work, you just change routines. In the end, weight loss and maintenance is no about the workout, it's about the calories. Teh workout determines how much you can eat.

the 1200 or 1600 is in the paperwork that came with the program - it's not a calculator from the BB website..

psuLemon

May I ask which program gave you 1200 calories because that is ridiculous. Also, whats the difference between the 1200 or 1600 numbers?

sawshuh

Focus T25 does. It has this basic point system quiz where if you have 3 points, you eat 1200 a day, and 4 points, 1600.

http://rippedclub.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/FOCUS-T25-4-STEP-CALORIE-QUIZ.png

amb918x

Hey there, first off, don't trust your calorie burn on a heart rate monitor. They are a good benchmark to know if you are burning MORE or LESS than your last workout but they are by no means completely accurate. I mean, go one monitor to the next, and you'll see a 200 calorie difference per hour in a given intense workout (like Insanity). That said, unless you are a very well conditioned athlete, don't pick your intake daily based on your burn. As it was mentioned above, Beachbody's nutrition guides reflect the TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). They are based on an average expenditure over the course of the week too. If you want to start fueling for your workout, you'll have to worry about your macronutrient ratios each day as well. The best and most sustainable way to just see results is to work on an average. Consider it this way, your body doesn't magically reset every day. If you consumed 2500 on Monday and 1500 on Tuesday, you're averaging 2000 for both days. Obviously it's more complicated than that since there are a number of factors to consider but that's the basic gist. If you know you'll be going HARD one day by doubling up, add a couple hundred extra calories between the day before and the day of and you'll have that extra fuel in your body (note carb loading that a lot of athletes use).

Anywayyyy 1600 is certainly sustainable on the long term as is 1200 (although 1200 is quite low). It depends ENTIRELY on your body composition and daily needs. If you are active in addition to the workouts, eat more. If you are sedentary but only move when you workout, eat less. I'm not sure where you saw P90X as 1600 or under by the way. P90X and P90X2 are 1800, 2400, and 3000. It should also be noted that it has been stated in the nutrition guides (not all but some, AND on the website) that ALL nutrition guides are starting points/guidelines. They are not a strict manifesto. Beachbody acknowledges that we are all different. We all process food differently, our bodies are different, and we have different goals. The nutrition guides give you choices on how to build your lifestyle, not restricting "diets." Try to see it that way and it will make more sense. If you feel like the T25 numbers are too low, try the harris-benedict equation to see how that works for you. Use that number--if you're not getting results, try dropping by small increments like 100-200 calories a day until you start losing 1+ lbs a week.

Finally in response to them not being made for the general public or crafted for compliance (or however it was put), I strongly disagree. They all work and do what they're supposed to do. Everyone that has had success with them is a member of the general public. I've been successfully living the lifestyle introduced to me by Beachbody a long time ago. After a while, I found the nutritional approach that works best for me for this type of workout or that and I monitor myself. I learned a LOT from their guides and programs first before taking it into my own hands though since, if that worked, I wouldn't have needed their guidance in the first lace.

You're right that most people don't follow the guidelines but also notice that most people that start the programs take a VERY long time to see the results they want. BB cares a LOT about their customers and spends an exhaustive amount of time and energy (both through corporate and the coaches dedicated to actually helping people, not just making a quick buck) to ensuring long term success.

Phew, sorry about the LONG post, so much to talk about here though!

holieghloren

I have friends that burn about 550-650 in 1 session at 5'7 and 120-130 lbs. 2 girls I know who are doing it

Mr_Knight

Delete. answered in a later post.