Just a little help, please!

beamie2687

Hey everyone!

I am new to the group after deciding EM2WL was a better, more sustainable option for me. I put my TDEE activity level on "heavy" (because I've been doing p90x which is 6.5-7 hours per week of high intensity exercise) and came out to about 2790 or something close. Then I calculated my BMR which came out to 1620 for my height and weight. That seemed to follow everyone's guidelines of TDEE equalling about 1000 more than BMR. So I've decided I needed more fuel after seeing my pants tighten after almost a month of p90x and 15-18 glasses of water a day.

I had been attempting to net 1200 at least and eating back all my exercise calories (my mfp was set at 14something).

I upped my cals to 2150 and am attempting NOT to eat my calories back unless I burn more than my BMR - so, in general I'm attempting to net at least 1620. But last night, I barely made it to 1450! I was wondering if someone could check my diary and let me know where I can add a few calories (please ignore the pizza I ate for dinner! my boyfriend wanted to do something "nice" for me!) I did burn 900 calories in the P90X yogaX video, so I had to eat some calories back, but I didn't make it!

Also, I hear that I am supposed to expect gains for the first few weeks? Is that if I go all the way up to my 2790? Do I need to increase my calories to 2290 instead of 2150 - I just wasn't sure I could eat that much!

Last question - am I doing this right? Haha!

hypallage

As far as adding calories goes - add avocado to salads, maybe a few more nuts into your diet...

Greenrun99

Hey!
So I am gonna comment since I too am doing p90x and I just gotta say I have no idea how you burned 900 calories doing p90x yoga x that is one of the least calorie burning exercises in the rotation.. this site will give you a general estimate of calories burned ( http://p90xcalories.com/ ) you may want to check that unless you were adding something on that day as well.
Also with p90x you should of got a nutrition guide that points you towards foods and macro's that you should have, no idea how you were getting past plyo x with just 1200 calories a day..
I know myself I take recipes and stuff from the nutrition guide and blend it into my average day, not following it 100% (the guide says I should be eating 3k a day.. just a bit too much) but the macros and foods they suggest I am doing (as well as the ones you shouldn't be eating).. Feel free to look at my diary to see any suggestions...... and bring it.

beamie2687

Thanks!

I actually have used a heart rate monitor every day, because I wanted to be sure I was computing accurately. I wasn't getting by plyo on 1200 a day, I was netting 1200 after eating back as many exercise calories as I could. As for yoga, I often burn at least 450 calories in the first 45 minutes, then more throughout the next almost hour - I suppose at that point my heart rate is up enough that the balance postures also burn mega calories?

I guess my hrm could be off, but these readings were much closer than with the p90x calculator (which i used the first week) to the amount of exertion I was putting off.

rmk20togo

I guess my hrm could be off, but these readings were much closer than with the p90x calculator (which i used the first week) to the amount of exertion I was putting off.

Depending on your HRM, your settings may be off. I do 6-7 hours of high intensity workouts a week and recently discovered mine was wrong. I had my activity level set at moderate (which is for people who work out 3-5 hours a week). When I changed it to high (people who workout 5-7 hours a week) it cut my burn in half, presumably because I'm more fit than the average person.

+1 on the avocados. They make a salad!!!

beamie2687

Thank you! I will look into that!

It also could be too that I'm bigger and less in shape than I'm sure the average p90x-er is! I'll check into all the possibilities.