Need opinions, please! Gaining weight doing Insanity

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  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    I am 5'4 and weight 160. I was eating 1800 with exercise . I originally calculated to 2100 cals a day, but it seemed too high. Not sure if i calculated right. I am using my sister's insanity kit and unfortunately she lost her nutritional guide. I had to look up how to calculate my BMR through google.

    I'd eat 1800 cal & exercise 6 days a week. I am great at calculating my food intake , but am worried about my carb intake.

    I definitely see muscle improvements in my legs but none on the tooshy........ haha My face,belly and arms did get chubbier.

    I'm sure I've gained more than 2-3 lbs .

    How much should I eat??
    I didn't give up today and continued the program.

    If that is 6 hrs a week at that intense program, you are not near eating enough for that level of program. Probably burn 500 easily if it's 60 min long.

    That should be at least 2000 daily, every day, even on rest day, to make up for that.

    BMR this close to goal weight is more accurate unless you have suppressed it by undereating - 1486

    Activity level belongs in Very Active, but I picked Moderately Active and rounded up slightly to TDEE - 2400

    Deficit this close to goal weight is 15% so final daily goal is - 2040

    And no, your metabolism by itself is not 300 cal lower than expected being 19, the chance of most accuracy on that before years of yo-yo dieting kill it. Don't drop it by such a drastic amount.
    In fact, when you increase it, only increase 100 a day for a week, and then another week.

    You need to measure many spots to see loss when doing a program that is really trying to improve your body.

    If you want to get a better handle on that TDEE estimate before figuring the deficit, then use the spreadsheet linked to in this topic.
    BMR/TDEE tab, enter stats, and use the TDEE calc at the very bottom, using actual number of minutes weekly, plus your other weekly routine.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/717858-spreadsheet-bmr-tdee-and-deficit-calcs-macros-hrm

    You'll also notice a Beta tab you can use, but not finished yet, though the math is all correct, just missing a body fat calculator.
    But get the measurements there, that way you can keep track of what's more important, fat being lost.

    May be lower, but I'll bet not, those programs are intense.

    Oh yeah, regarding carb intake. Have your big carb meals after the workout. That workout is intended to be high intensity, which means very high carb burning. You gotta make that up before the next workout.
    If you have any estimate of how many calories you burn in the workout, you can safely assume at least 80% of those calories is carbs. You need to be eating that much back before your next workout, plus some.
  • rrrufty
    rrrufty Posts: 24
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    First I'll say that I've only been doing Insanity for a week now. I did the equation in the book to see how many calories it says I should consume per day (1600) for weight loss, and I have pretty well stuck to it. I ate a little extra 2 days, and that was because I was physically hungry. I have also been going for more walks than usual.

    Frustrated with gaining two pounds this week despite my efforts

    So... you work out for a mere week, while eating more than your targeted caloric intake, and you are "frustrated" that you gained weight?
  • foodno
    foodno Posts: 2
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    i have the same problem here. i am on my month 2 week 3 insanity. when i started i gained 3 lbs then dropped them off then i weigh myselt this morning and ihave gained 11 lbs!! since the holiday, i am not able to control my eating. i eat 1500 cal one day and binge the next!! any idea on how to stop eating so bad? my clothes still fit but they feel tighter as well. i am 5'9 and i weigh now 154 lbs. i was 143 lbs. i need help!! and motivation please!! would i lose the weight again?
  • astrampe
    astrampe Posts: 2,169 Member
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    ive been told, not to weigh until its been 30 days because your body will be gaining muscle and then ull start to see results :)

    You did not gain weight, your muscles are retaining water to help with the repair after starting a new program...

    And if you build any muscle in 30 days of doing pure cardio, please send some my way...because it won't be happening...
  • astrampe
    astrampe Posts: 2,169 Member
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    i have the same problem here. i am on my month 2 week 3 insanity. when i started i gained 3 lbs then dropped them off then i weigh myselt this morning and ihave gained 11 lbs!! since the holiday, i am not able to control my eating. i eat 1500 cal one day and binge the next!! any idea on how to stop eating so bad? my clothes still fit but they feel tighter as well. i am 5'9 and i weigh now 154 lbs. i was 143 lbs. i need help!! and motivation please!! would i lose the weight again?

    That's not insanity's fault - you need to start controlling you eating.....But at 5'9 and 159 you are already in the healthy weight zone...Maybe do less cardio and start lifting ?
  • laurenpwalker9
    laurenpwalker9 Posts: 4 Member
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    Try cutting your calorie intake down to 1600 for a week - obviously, eat more if you but feel you need to just try cutting it down slightly. Also, make sure you're drinking 3 litres of water a day - not drinking enough can make you retain CRAZY amounts of water. No pop, no alcohol, not too much caffeine... try to just stick to water wherever possible!!
    Try to eat a balanced diet, also... plenty of greens, lean meat, fish, fruits.... I honestly don't know what else it could be if you try all of this and are still putting on weight... I've been doing Insanity for 10 days now and have lost inches and lbs already. I'm following the nutrition plan as closely as I can and just sticking to the advice I gave above.
    I really hope this helps you... nothing more frustrating than gaining weight when you don't know why xx
  • Hybrice
    Hybrice Posts: 117 Member
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    Don't worry about it pal, I'm exactly the same - a week into it and feeling so much better, losing belly flab, clothes fitting better. But scales say I've gained weight :/ I just put it down to water retention during muscle recovery, apparently once you've completed 60 days and your muscles fully recover/drop their retained water, you lose like half a stone overnight. Can't wait!

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