Help this girl right here!

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llfretwell
llfretwell Posts: 218 Member
Hey ya'll. I am a 25 year old female. I'm 5'7, 139 lbs, and currently starting my third week of Insanity. I am doing this Insanity program to lose 8-10 lbs and tone up. Shaun T is suggesting that I eat at least 1700 calories a day. This is scary for me since I have tried restricting my calories for a long time now. I keep hearing other people say that increasing my calories will help, but it seems so backwards and I'm scared :(. I also walk 1 1/2- 3 miles every day. Please offer any advice about this. Thanks so much!!!!!!

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  • rkasper22
    rkasper22 Posts: 61 Member
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    i'm also 5'7''. firstly, your weight is a VERY healthy, great weight for someone that tall! and i eat literally almost 1,000 calories more than you a day and am losing weight... you can do this! you kill your metabolism if you restrict them forever.
  • llfretwell
    llfretwell Posts: 218 Member
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    Thanks so much! I have been miserable since restricting my calories so much, so I am ready to EAT!!! Haha. Is there anyone else with advice or experience??
  • twinmomtwice4
    twinmomtwice4 Posts: 1,069 Member
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    You definitely need to eat more, esp when doing a program like Insanity where you burn crazy calories!

    Here's where the problem is....say you eat 1400 calories a day but between your walking schedule and Insanity, you're burning 1000 calories. Not to mention what you're burning just doing regular daily activity. You're simply not getting enough calories so your body is hanging on to everything you're feeding it. This is where you stall out in your weight loss.

    You need to eat enough to support all the activity your body is doing. And you don't want your deficit so large that your body continues to hang on to whatever you feed it.

    I know it may seem completely backwards but it works. You just have to have faith and jump in with both feet!
  • llfretwell
    llfretwell Posts: 218 Member
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    Thanks so much!!
  • AnitraSoto
    AnitraSoto Posts: 725 Member
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    Don't be afraid - your body needs that fuel! Honestly, with all that exercise (Insanity + Walking) even 1,700 sounds low. My guess is that you will probably still be netting at or below BMR (which is not recommended).

    Have you figured out your TDEE ?
  • rkasper22
    rkasper22 Posts: 61 Member
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    by the way, i just plugged your numbers into a few calculators on the web to see how many calories they recommended... it says you would need anywhere from 2,400-2,800 calories! dont be scared! i am WAY less active than you and am doing great on 2,200ish.
  • llfretwell
    llfretwell Posts: 218 Member
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    by the way, i just plugged your numbers into a few calculators on the web to see how many calories they recommended... it says you would need anywhere from 2,400-2,800 calories! dont be scared! i am WAY less active than you and am doing great on 2,200ish.

    So would that be 2400-2800 for maintenance? I should subtract from those numbers if I want to lose, right?
  • llfretwell
    llfretwell Posts: 218 Member
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    Also, I'm wondering if doing a metabolism reset would be right for me? Is that something that I HAVE to do since I have been aiming for such a low calorie amount in the past?