I am in a frustrating fat burner dilemma. I have been on a 1900/cal fat shredder diet for 3 1/2 months. I got good results during a x/x2 hybrid I completed. However, my macros ended up being 50-55%Protein, 35-40%Carbs, and only 10-15%Fat. I went from 215lbs to 186 and 10%Bf

Well, I am in the third week of an X/Insanity hybrid and I hit a fat burning wall. My Ab progression has slowed and possibly reversed. I have gained 3 lbs an 1 percentage point of body fat. Do I need to change my diet to a hard 1900 cal 50/30/20? Do I need to increase or decrease calories? Am I in starvation mode? Does having such low fat in my diet hurt my fat loss?

I must note that I am getting stronger and my workout numbers improve each week. I am 5ft 11, 189lbs, and ~11%BF.

What should I do? I am frustrated and confused.

Matt S

My pleasure buddy! Congrats for committing to a new you before you turn 30!

None of the calculators are 100%. The best thing to do is to pick a number and stick with it for about 30 days (while keeping a food journal so you know you’re sticking with it). Then re-take your measurements at the end of 30 days and you’ll know if you need to reduce your calories more. If you’re losing inches…then that means you’re losing the fat, so you’ll want to keep sticking with your number. If you don’t lose any inches, then you know that you need to reduce your calories more. I’d probably stick to about 2,800 to 3,000 starting out and then go from there.

30 days isn’t mandatory, but just a guideline. It takes time to see results, so 30 days is just a good general guideline to go by.

I think you’re over thinking it big time! :-) Just decide on your number and roll with it! :-) Your body will then tell you where you need to go from there.

Also where are you from Timo? Let us know how your first workout goes! BRING IT!

First off, thank you for this wonderful and helpful website!

I will start my first P90X Classic tomorrow. I’ve gathered all necessary information and about the workout, supplements, nutrition etc. I’ve taken measurements and printed out all the helpful Trek2befit pdf files. All in all, I’m ready and psyched! I’ve always been a slim guy with no muscles. I decided that things are going to change before I turn 30. Here’s some basic information about me:

Sex: Male
Age: 29
Height: 6’4″
Weight: approx. 200 lbs (197 this morning)
Body fat%: 17-21 (depends on the calculation method)
Goal: maintaining weight (or gaining just a little bit), getting rid of midsection fat and growing muscles

The only problem is that I’ve had a hard time assessing my daily caloric needs. First I did the P90X Nutrition Plan determination (bmr + daily activity burn + P90X burn). Here’s what I calculated:

BMR: 200 lbs x 10 = 2000 (according to Livestrong.com you should multiply your weight by 13, in which case my BMR would be 2600)
Daily activity burn: 2000 x 20% = 400
Energy amount: 2000 + 400 + 600 = 3000
Nutrition level: III

After this I decided to get a second (third, fourth… etc.) opinion by using online BMR calculators. One website (http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/) suggested that my BMR is 2080 and my daily caloric needs during P90x (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) will be 3588. That’s a lot more than 3000. According to Livestrong.com my BMR is 2474 and my daily caloric needs (again, during P90x) will be 4268. Wow! And finally, Team Beachbody suggests that to reach my goal is should eat 2983 calories a day.

Well, like it is said in the Nutrition plan and here at Trek2befit, daily caloric intake is something that can be adjusted (after 30 days) and the important thing is to use a number, say 3500, as a starting point. But wait, there’s more to come…

A couple of days ago I bought a heart rate monitor that has a electrode chest belt. I’d found this article (http://www.livestrong.com/article/419896-can-you-wear-your-heart-monitor-all-day-to-see-how-many-calories-you-burn/) that suggested that “when wearing a heart rate monitor throughout the day, you will be able to gauge an approximate number of calories burned in a 24 hour period.” I then entered my sex, age, height and weight in to the system and wore the thing for 24 hours yesterday.

And what numbers did I get? I burned approx. 4100 calories with a 80 average heart beat. I slept 8 hours during which the heart rate average was a bit over 60. The day was lightly active (broke a sweat as I cleaned up the apartment, walked a couple of miles in the city).

If the heart monitor results are to be trusted, imagine my caloric burn during P90x. Nutrition Plan says P90s burns 600 calories. According to LiveStrong.com it burns 709 calories. Basically we are talking about approx. 4800 calories burned daily!

I’m sure that by this point you realize why I consider assessing my daily caloric needs a problem. My true caloric needs are somewhere between 2983 and 4800. There’s a whopping 1800 calorie difference. My nutrition level is quite possibly off the charts.

What do you think? Am I overthinking the whole energy thing? With what number should I start? Is it mandatory to wait 30 days before adjusting the diet? I’m guessing my true caloric needs will be between 3500 and 4500. Is there a to reasonably decide towards which of the two numbers I outta aim?

Thanks for you time! I hope you can answer soon.

– Timo