If I do the insanity programme do I need to eat at a calorie deficit?

00mid
00mid Posts: 79 Member
edited November 11 in Health and Weight Loss
My main goal is to get toned, mostly my stomach and legs. However, my question is do I need to eat at a deficit, a slight deficit or eat at maintenance? Dropping pounds would be great, however my main concern is getting toned.

Replies

  • Mikeyloye
    Mikeyloye Posts: 43 Member
    Losing body fat will help in the toned look

    Example, the 6 PAC look mostly depends on body fat percentage.

    Consider increasing protein intake to assist in muscle repair and lower some calorie intake see how you go
  • markjacobs1987
    markjacobs1987 Posts: 162 Member
    If you are looking to lose weight then yes you'll want to eat at a calorie deficit. If you're just looking to get toned eating at maintenance will probably get you where you want. It really depends on what your goals are.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    So your main goal is to lose body fat, because getting "toned" = lowering body fat %.

    Yes, you require a calorie deficit. Working out does not guarantee a calorie deficit.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    What do you weigh and how tall are you?
  • 00mid
    00mid Posts: 79 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    What do you weigh and how tall are you?

    144lbs, 5'3
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    meganidavies wrote: »
    My main goal is to get toned, mostly my stomach and legs. However, my question is do I need to eat at a deficit, a slight deficit or eat at maintenance? Dropping pounds would be great, however my main concern is getting toned.

    'Toning' is basically losing fat, so you need a calorie deficit.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    meganidavies wrote: »
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    What do you weigh and how tall are you?

    144lbs, 5'3
    0.5lb/week deficit goal while eating back 50-100% of exercise calories (most do 50-75%) if using MFP-generated goals to lose some body fat. Heavy lifting to maintain most lean body mass. 0.8x total weight in lbs as a general minimum for protein intake in grams (i.e. 115g for you) would be a good place to start.

  • 00mid
    00mid Posts: 79 Member
    ana3067 wrote: »
    meganidavies wrote: »
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    What do you weigh and how tall are you?

    144lbs, 5'3
    0.5lb/week deficit goal while eating back 50-100% of exercise calories (most do 50-75%) if using MFP-generated goals to lose some body fat. Heavy lifting to maintain most lean body mass. 0.8x total weight in lbs as a general minimum for protein intake in grams (i.e. 115g for you) would be a good place to start.

    should I put my activity level as sedentary?
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    meganidavies wrote: »
    ana3067 wrote: »
    meganidavies wrote: »
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    What do you weigh and how tall are you?

    144lbs, 5'3
    0.5lb/week deficit goal while eating back 50-100% of exercise calories (most do 50-75%) if using MFP-generated goals to lose some body fat. Heavy lifting to maintain most lean body mass. 0.8x total weight in lbs as a general minimum for protein intake in grams (i.e. 115g for you) would be a good place to start.

    should I put my activity level as sedentary?

    You can if you want. Your activity level if using MFP method means your activity level before considering exercise. I personally dont' believe that most people are truly sedentary outside of exercise - you walk around to get places, you make food, you have a life. I personally would put lightly active and then adjust up/down based on results. If your goal is not to lose x lbs though then I would definitely choose the higher activity goal and eat back most exercise calories so you can make sure you're fueling yourself well for your exercises. You can always lower your intake by ~100 cals in the future to speed up results if needed. I assume you are new to this type of exercise (i have no idea what Insanity is) so you may experience some mild newbie results in the form of mild body recomp while still eating at a minimal deficit.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    meganidavies wrote: »
    ana3067 wrote: »
    meganidavies wrote: »
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    What do you weigh and how tall are you?

    144lbs, 5'3
    0.5lb/week deficit goal while eating back 50-100% of exercise calories (most do 50-75%) if using MFP-generated goals to lose some body fat. Heavy lifting to maintain most lean body mass. 0.8x total weight in lbs as a general minimum for protein intake in grams (i.e. 115g for you) would be a good place to start.

    should I put my activity level as sedentary?

    If you're sedentary in your daily activity, yes.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    meganidavies wrote: »
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    What do you weigh and how tall are you?

    144lbs, 5'3

    Yeah, then probably "toning" would involve reducing body fat. ana's recommendations make sense. You could also try the TDEE approach and adjust based on results. Here's one of many calculators to get starting numbers: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    I currently like the TDEE approach because I like eating the same each day and also like not having to mess with exercise calories, but just adjusting based on results, but I've also used the MFP approach in the past, so it depends on what feels more comfortable to you.

    You could also just figure your maintenance if sedentary/lightly active and then exercise--that would likely be a moderate deficit.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Yes, a deficit is necessary for your goals.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    meganidavies wrote: »
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    What do you weigh and how tall are you?

    144lbs, 5'3

    Yeah, then probably "toning" would involve reducing body fat. ana's recommendations make sense. You could also try the TDEE approach and adjust based on results. Here's one of many calculators to get starting numbers: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    I currently like the TDEE approach because I like eating the same each day and also like not having to mess with exercise calories, but just adjusting based on results, but I've also used the MFP approach in the past, so it depends on what feels more comfortable to you.

    You could also just figure your maintenance if sedentary/lightly active and then exercise--that would likely be a moderate deficit.

    I also prefer TDEE. Net/MFP might work better for OP at the start though if she isn't consistent with her exercise routine yet, but otherwise I think that it is a better approach from a psychological perspective. And I'm too lazy to track all of my exercise on the app.
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