Insanity and Calorie Intake (and weights question)

uwdawg07
uwdawg07 Posts: 372 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I just got Insanity for Christmas! So excited! I did the fit test last night...and wow! This is going to be a great program.

For anyone that did, or is doing, Insanity, did you have to increase your calories to get through the workouts and still lose weight? How many calories did you eat? I know it's totally different for everyone, just curious.

These workouts are shorter than what I've been doing, so I'm worried about eating the same amount and gaining weight....but maybe these workouts burn more calories?

Another question I have - I've built up a lot of muscle, and doing Insanity alone, I'll lose it. So what did you do for weight training along with Insanity? I got P90X for Christmas, but I don't think I could do both at once! Should I just do free weights on my own (no DVD)? I'm worried I'll miss muscles...

Thanks!

Replies

  • tbellamy1
    tbellamy1 Posts: 353
    You will burn tons of calories with Insanity. I didnt eat well when I did it and I didnt have great results because of it. In the book it gives you the calculations. Go with that or cut from there. And as far as lifting maybe try a rotation with Insanity and P90x, lift one day and cardio the next. Or if you have the time and energy P90x 3 days a week and follow the Insanity calendar.

    You will need your calories with Insanity trust me. Whenever I do a random workout now I get so hungry during the day.

    Do you have aHRM?
  • uwdawg07
    uwdawg07 Posts: 372 Member
    Bump :)
  • kmillers
    kmillers Posts: 144 Member
    Some people burn a ton of calories and some don't burn as much as you think. I burned between 300-400 the first month and 4-500 the second. Others burned tons more. I am 5'4 and weighed around 140 when I was doing it. I pushed myself hard, but the less you weigh, the less you burn. An HRM will help with keeping track of the calories. I just added into mfp under aerobics-high impact. I only lost about 6 lbs doing it but 5 inches off my waist. Push hard, its addicting.
  • Kandyhar
    Kandyhar Posts: 95 Member
    Bump! I'm on day 2 of Insanity
  • Panna9406
    Panna9406 Posts: 92 Member
    I had to increase my calories from 1200 to 1500, and still, I'm starting to see some changes:).
    I had to do this because I was really hungry, and didn't want to starve myself.
    So, if you feel like it, you should eat more, because this program is really intense;)
    Good luck with it!
  • lilchino4af
    lilchino4af Posts: 1,292 Member
    You will burn tons of calories with Insanity. I didnt eat well when I did it and I didnt have great results because of it. In the book it gives you the calculations. Go with that or cut from there. And as far as lifting maybe try a rotation with Insanity and P90x, lift one day and cardio the next. Or if you have the time and energy P90x 3 days a week and follow the Insanity calendar.

    You will need your calories with Insanity trust me. Whenever I do a random workout now I get so hungry during the day.

    Do you have aHRM?
    A hybrid program is what I did; followed the insanity program and added the P90X weights workouts on those scheduled days. Definitely do the weights first so you have the energy and proper form as Insanity will definitely wear you out initially lol. And I echo what others have said about a good HRM. I've got one with a chest strap to get a more accurate reading to know exactly what I burned. Then I created a special entry for exercise for each workout video and manually entered the cals burned each time I did the workout. I left my MFP goal to 1/2 lb loss a week and ate back apprx 80% of my workout cals and that seemed to work for me.
  • Mellisa9882
    Mellisa9882 Posts: 9
    I am planning on starting insanity today. I did week one a few times stopping at day 4 and starting over. I just got out of working out for the holidays. No excuses this time. This info helps. Thanks..
  • evelynfuchs75
    evelynfuchs75 Posts: 2
    oh my i honestly thought you meant mental illness insanity and was curious as to what you had to say. I guess I have been out of touch
  • uwdawg07
    uwdawg07 Posts: 372 Member
    Thanks guys!

    I do wear a good HRM, and it's been showing about 10 calories per minute burned....so about 300 calories per workout.

    I've been mixing the Insanity workouts with some Total Body Revolution, but that isn't enough weights....my fiance got P90X for Christmas, so maybe I'll add some of that in. I'm just worried if I try to do both I'll crash and burn out!

    I haven't increased my calories yet because I'm burning less overall during workouts than before, but shoot! I've noticed I'm really hungry since starting Insanity!

    I know I'll definitely have to up for month 2 because the workouts are longer and more intense. I'm hoping to increase my cals to 1800ish and still lose. We'll see what my body says - it's being a real pain right now!
  • daphnemoon
    daphnemoon Posts: 216 Member
    Yeah, this is a bit of a dilemma with Insanity - in month 1 I burned fewer calories than in my regular gym classes (maybe 400-500 per workout, compared to 600-700) even though I was going full throttle and was always at the top end of my HR throughout. However I was so hungry, especially in the first week or two, that I wanted to eat a three course meal after every workout.

    Month 2 I'm burning around 600-650 cals which is a bit more what I'd expect. It is tricky because in the 1st month I followed the nutrition guide recommended cals plus macros pretty closely and didn't lose any weight, only .5 inch off waist and put on .5 in on hips through muscle and I was hoping for better. But this is results month apparently so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll see big changes by the end of January. Good luck :)

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