How many Calories do I really NEED?

[Amy]

My husband and I started P90x on Monday, and are trying to get our calories going by the book. We have both used the nutrition calculator, and came out with outrageous amounts of calories. I have read the posts that are already out here, but still so lost :(
Can someone tell me how many calories I really need to drop weight and keep on P90X track?

[MrMidnightDJ]

Amy,

I questioned the same thing upon starting. Upon researching, and getting some help from the awesome coaches here on the Fit Club Network, I've at least disciplined myself to cut back on the portions and eat more often throughout the day. The hardest part, in my opinion, is disciplining yourself to only eat till satisfied. Once you can get that down, the calorie count will actually come a lot easier. You'll end up eating 5-6 times a day easily, and it WILL make a difference. As far as sticking to it by the book, I can only encourage you to try your hardest. It hasn't been easy for me, but just by following these simple rules, I've seen a difference just in the past week or so. I was stagnant on weight for about 3 weeks, and this has caused the pounds to start falling off again.

[FitRunner]

Hi Amy!

The only person who can know for sure is you - after you've experimented a little. Human bodies are pretty complicated when it comes to the details. Nobody can tell you, especially over the internet, exactly how many calories you need to eat every day in every circumstance. In large part this is because some subjective judgments are involved: How satisfied are you? How much energy do you have for your workouts? We can't tell you that. Ultimately, you're just going to have to pick a strategy and go with it for a while (!1-2 months) and see if it works for you. If it doesn't, change something.

What we can tell you is things to consider when you're coming up with a strategy. In my experience, the RMR calculation that the nutrition guide uses is an excellent estimate. What may be less accurate is the guess at how many calories you burn. This is because it varies a lot more depending on how big you are and how fit you are than your RMR. Fit and trim ladies here with Bodybuggs say they've come up with numbers more like 300-400 Calories a workout. I use an app called Lose It! for my iPhone that estimates the calorie burn for a woman of my weight and height (5'6", 145 lbs) for an hour of vigorous weightlifting to be 345 calories. You can google exercise calorie burn numbers to see where you land. Pick something and plug that in instead of the 600 they have.

I've lost weight with P90X in the past and am still looking to trim some fat. I found it very difficult to run more than a ~300 daily calorie deficit while doing P90X, simply because the workouts require serious energy. I'm aiming for 1500 net (food calories-exercise calories) a day. I know that math may not seem very encouraging for rapid weight loss, but the numbers aren't the whole story. After all, your body can up- and down-regulate your metabolism on a daily basis to deal with a sudden influx of calories or sudden lack of them, and strength training usually increases your metabolism.

All you can really do is estimate an average over time to check that you're somewhere in the right ballpark. Frustrating? You bet. But on the flip side, it also can free you from being a slave to calorie counting. You need to know if you're consuming closer to 1500 or 2500 calories, but don't sweat 50 or even 100 calories. You just don't know if the math is that accurate, so let it go. Time will show you, based on how you feel and whether your fat is melting away, if you've got something good going.

Teresa

[Amy]

Thank you to both of you for your responses! This is week 2 on the nutrition plan, and P90x. We are starting to get in a rythm and figure out the calories, but have not weighed ourselves again yet....a little worried! We will see what happens on Friday when we hit the scales.

[FitRunner]

Amy,

Don't worry! Just keep settling in and you'll figure it out.

Teresa