How much calories to eat while doing Insanity?

Im 5ft 4in (172 lbs) and ive been trying to NET at least 1400. Im just starting week 3 and its worked pretty well for me so far.

I am finishing Insanity now and I ate just around 1200 calories like normal....I lost a lot of inches, and am getting ready to start round 2!!!

I'm not an expert, but I do know that an Insanity workout will usually burn around 400 to 600 calories for most people, so if that's the case and you're only taking in 1400 (without subtracting the calorie burn from the workout), then that's really low. Too little calories for too long can lead to complications with your body down the road - not good; however, if you're NET Calories is about 1400 AFTER you subtract the Insanity calorie burn, then you should be okay.

The Elite Nutrition guide that came with the Insanity program will step you through what you need to do to figure out your calorie needs, but based on the information you gave and assuming you are about 30 years old (you didn't specify in your post), and assuming you are moderately active (which is where you would rank if you're doing the Insanity program), then here's where you should be:

For weight maintenance: 2322.60 calories
For weight loss: (deduct 500 calories from the above number) which = 1822.60

Your numbers will vary slightly based on your actual age and your actual lifestyle (lightly active, sedentary, extremely active, etc.)

If you want to plug your actual numbers in yourself, below I have laid out the actual scientific formula (Harris Benedict Equation) to calculate your caloric needs and how to plug them into the Insanity program:

Step 1: Plug your personal numbers into the following formula
For women: 655 + (4.35 X weight in lbs.) + (4.7 X height in inches) - (4.7 X Age in years)
For men: 66 + (6.23 X weight in lbs.) + (12.7 X height in inches) - (6.8 X Age in years)

Step 2: Take that number and multiply it by your Exercise Factor number:

1.2 = You live a mostly sedentary lifestyle; get little or no exercise each week
1.375 = You live a lightly Active lifestyle; get light exercise 1 to 3 days/week
1.55 = You live a moderately active lifestyle; get moderate exercise 3 to 5 days/week (Most people rank here if they're doing Insanity)
1.7 = You live a very active lifestyle and get hard exercise 6 to 7 days/week (Most people rank here if they're doing Insanity)
1.9 = You live an extremely active lifestyle; you do daily hard exercise and/or work a physical job

Step 3:
That number you figured out from the above two steps gives you your daily calorie requirement for general weight maintenance. If you want to lose weight, then take that number and subtract it by 500 calories. If you want to gain weight, then add 500 calories to it.

Important: Everyone's body reacts differently to exercise and proper nutrition, so if after a couple of weeks your body is gaining weight, and your goal is to lose weight, then adjust your calories accordingly. You can do this by adjusting the Exercise factor part of the formula up or down a notch. Don't adjust your calories until a week or two into the program, because it is very normal for the body's weight to fluctuate up or down a few pounds daily. Also, if you're doing strength/resistance training as well, please note that you may additionally be adding muscle weight. The Insanity program has a few resistance exercises, but nothing that will add much muscle bulk, so really you should just be seeing weight loss and increased muscle tone/definition.

Also don't forget that you can burn around 400 - 600 calories (sometimes more) in an Insanity workout, so you will still be creating a deficit in order to lose weight. Healthy weight loss is about 1/2 to 1 pound a week for most people (unless you are very overweight or obese, in which case you can safely lose a few pounds a week) Sometimes you have to eat more in order to lose weight. Sounds weird, but it does work IF you're working out intensely, eating properly, and getting at least 8 hours of sleep.

Good luck with Insanity!

This might sound redundant but here it goes...im well into my second month of Insanity (wk7) and
I am hitting a serious plateau with my weight loss. Im 5-7 Male and currently weigh 177, my goal is
To lose 2lbs/wk so that puts me consuming 1200 calories. However, should i be consuming the calories
Ive burnt from my work out. Lets say I burn 800cal, does that mean I need to consume around 2000cal? And
And could consuming to few calories be the cause of my weight.plateau?
Please email me with help/advice! dylan_thomas31320@yahoo
com

This might sound redundant but here it goes...im well into my second month of Insanity (wk7) and
I am hitting a serious plateau with my weight loss. Im 5-7 Male and currently weigh 177, my goal is
To lose 2lbs/wk so that puts me consuming 1200 calories. However, should i be consuming the calories
Ive burnt from my work out. Lets say I burn 800cal, does that mean I need to consume around 2000cal? And
And could consuming to few calories be the cause of my weight.plateau?
Please email me with help/advice! dylan_thomas31320@yahoo
com

for a male 1200 is especially WAYYY too low! I'm 5'7, female and least I take in is 1500 and when I'm doing Insanity, starting week 7 on Monday I take in anywhere from 1800-2200, once in a while 2400. You definitely need more calories and your body is probably plateauing from the lack of calories you're giving it. You need at least 1500-1700 just for your BMR, probably more than that. get your BMR, TDEE and take a deficit of about 1 lb/week. not sure what your goals are but 2lbs/wk may be too strenuous.

you can use http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

How on earth can you eat only 1400 cals while on insanity!!! I'm at 1800 at least now...I started at about 1400 and was way too hungry. I can feel myself burning calories for at least 24 hours after. Even by the equation, it says that I should be eating 1900 (giving me an overal deficit of like 500/day). (5'5,145lbs,27yrs)

I'm 5"2, 121 lbs, and am eating ~1500 kcal a day. I did the calculations according to the nutrition plan that came with the program and it gave me about 1600 a day. I burn 330 kcal during an average insanity workout, so I usually end up netting 1170. is that too little? maybe I should add that I'm very sedentary. I work an office job and once I'm at home, I'm back at my desk because I'm still at college and do all my work on my computer.

I'm honestly so confused already and have no idea what to do and how much to eat. I've tried it all: I was eating 1200 for months while working out and didn't lose one single lb, then I upped to 1300, to 1400. I recently did a metabolic reset, eating between 1600 and 1800 every day. the thing is, I never gained, but I also haven't lost in months. and I think I do everything right (eat very clean, have plenty of water and sleep, etc.). I'm so desperate to lose the last 10 lbs or so, my bodyfat % (~26 - 27%) is higher than average and I wanna wear shorts again, you know what I'm saying?

so any advice would be greatly appreciated, I'd love to hear your experiences

I'm now started week 3 and already I've noticed I've not been eating enough and I'm starting to burn out. Missed my first day yesterday. I eat around 1400 but net after insanity it's only roughly 1000cals, way to little for the high cardio workout. I'm going to increase my cal intake so I don't miss a day again.