Exercise programs calories are too low

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courtneyprudhomme
courtneyprudhomme Posts: 39
in Health and Weight Loss
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...
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  • beckymlong
    beckymlong Posts: 111 Member
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    Bump I was wondering the same myself
  • courtneyprudhomme
    courtneyprudhomme Posts: 39
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    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
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    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
    courtneyprudhomme Posts: 39
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    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
    Shaylam82 Posts: 25 Member
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    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
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
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    Inflated exercise calorie burn estimates are pretty common as well.
  • ngyoung
    ngyoung Posts: 311 Member
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    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
    courtneyprudhomme Posts: 39
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    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
    blleadon Posts: 187 Member
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    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
    MzManiak Posts: 1,361 Member
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    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
    psuLemon Posts: 38,411 MFP Moderator
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    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
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    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
    BradHallFitness Posts: 152 Member
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    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
    psuLemon Posts: 38,411 MFP Moderator
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    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
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    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
    courtneyprudhomme Posts: 39
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    actually i just got the Focus T25 and it DID indeed suggest 1200 calories.
  • courtneyprudhomme
    courtneyprudhomme Posts: 39
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    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
    psuLemon Posts: 38,411 MFP Moderator
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    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
    rhall9058 Posts: 270 Member
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    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
    courtneyprudhomme Posts: 39
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    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..

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