Insanity + diet = why im not losing weight?

raquelpires

Hi!

I'm about complete my first month of Insanity, at the same time I changed my habits. I'm eating mainly clean (about 1300 calories/day), Im tryng cut on carbs (my guilty pleasure) and plus to Insanity I do 8 kilometres of walking (about 40 minutes).

So, I dont understand why I not losing weight because I think I'm doing the right things. The only difference I see is that my belly is smaller (but have facility in this part usally) and my endurance is greater.

I'm trying change my habits and adopt a healthy lifestyle (forever) but thats its so hard! Help me THANK YOU SO MUCH

Hungry_Gurl

Do you have a lot of weight to lose? Maybe you are building muscle.

Ninkyou

Try eating back your exercise calories. If your MFP goal is 1300 calories, that should be what you're NETTING after eating those calories back. It's not supposed to be under the 1300 calories. By undercutting (not eating them back), you're creating too large of a deficit and not giving your body enough nutrition.

nomeejerome

A calorie deficit is all that is needed for weight loss, so there is a miscalculation somewhere along the line. Do you log accurately? Do you weigh everything? Would you be willing to open your diary?

Ninkyou

Do you have a lot of weight to lose? Maybe you are building muscle.

No. You can't build muscle on a deficit.

mjl54

Do you have a lot of weight to lose? Maybe you are building muscle.

wouldn't be building muscle on 1300 calories. more than likely if your doing insanity you aren't eating enough at 1300 calories.

graysmom2005

A calorie deficit is all that is needed for weight loss, so there is a miscalculation somewhere along the line. Do you log accurately? Do you weigh everything? Would you be willing to open your diary?

^^^^This. If you're at a real deficit you should be losing weight. You either aren't properly logging (this means weighing everything...yes a pain!) and maybe not burning as much as you thought. Insanity is TOUGH but short. I burn around 300 calories in a workout. It is easy to forget to add or miscalculate 300 calories in a dayl VERY easy. You aren't building enough muscle to mask a fat loss....and not eating enough isn't going to make you stop losing...probably a miscalculation!

guessrs

Give it time. I lost nothing in the first two months of doing the right thing and then 8 pounds fell off. Hang in there. This is a lifestyle not a sprint.

Hungry_Gurl

Do you have a lot of weight to lose? Maybe you are building muscle.

wouldn't be building muscle on 1300 calories. more than likely if your doing insanity you aren't eating enough at 1300 calories.

Sorry on my phone, read the 1300 wrong.

Francl27

From what I hear, none of the people I've seen starving themselves while on Insanity have lost any weight.

Mianew

I changed my diet back in Jan. I lost 40 lbs., but have hit a wall for the past 3 to 4 months. Today I just started Insanity and I am going to start tracking my calories again, because I stopped for the past couple of months. I think Insanity is more about how you feel and how your body changes more then the weight loss. I do feel your pain though. I hate not seeing results on the scale. LOL

DaniettaF

When I had this problem I was told I wasn't eating enough, it early days but maybe you're in the same situation, especially if you don't have much to lose.

pavrg

No. You can't build muscle on a deficit.

That's not true. A newbie absolutely can gain muscle while losing weight by maintaining proper protein intake and lifting weights. It takes at least 1, most likely 2, years of weight training before you cannot make muscle gains on a calorie deficit because up until that point your rate of synthesis will be greater than your rate of loss (this is assuming a gradual weightloss plan of no more than TDEE-500). You also must be at sub 10% bodyfat for a man or sub 15% bodyfat for a woman for that to happen because with anything more than that, your body will use calories from stored fat as energy to synthesize new muscle from the protein you are eating.

However, you're unlikely to build a lot of muscle by doing insanity. It's a cardio/endurance workout, not a strength building workout.

pavrg

Hi!

I'm about complete my first month of Insanity, at the same time I changed my habits. I'm eating mainly clean (about 1300 calories/day), Im tryng cut on carbs (my guilty pleasure) and plus to Insanity I do 8 kilometres of walking (about 40 minutes).

So, I dont understand why I not losing weight because I think I'm doing the right things. The only difference I see is that my belly is smaller (but have facility in this part usally) and my endurance is greater.

I'm trying change my habits and adopt a healthy lifestyle (forever) but thats its so hard! Help me THANK YOU SO MUCH

My advice would be:

-Set your activity level to 'sedentary' when using MFP's daily calorie estimate.
-Do not count your walking toward your net total calorie intake. Walking is part of your sedentary TDEE.
-Wait at least 3-4 weeks before you count insanity toward your net calorie intake. You might be getting too tired or not doing the movements in a way that burns the calories you think you are until then.

Sarauk2sf

If you started exercising then you could be retaining water/glycogen in the muscle - it's normal. Give it a few more weeks to stabilize. Make sure you are tracking acutely and weighing your food where possible. I would also suggest checking the calorie target as 1,300 appears a bit low.

raquelpires

Yes! I'm 5'7 (170 cm) and about 190 lbs (86 kg). I need to lose 33 lbs (15 kg) min. : S

raquelpires

Thanks everyone. Maybe I need to eat more...

Athijade

1) Open your diary so people can give a more informed opinion

2) You may be over estimating calories burned if you are eating them back already

3) You may not be eating enough calories in general for health weight loss

4) Many people on Insanity do not see the scale move much. Instead they see changes in body shape, measurements, and how clothes fit

heatherak

From what I hear, none of the people I've seen starving themselves while on Insanity have lost any weight.

Curious who you know starving themselves on Insanity.

ninerbuff

Do you have a lot of weight to lose? Maybe you are building muscle.

NOT building muscle on calorie deficit and a cardio program.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

ninerbuff

No. You can't build muscle on a deficit.

That's not true. A newbie absolutely can gain muscle while losing weight by maintaining proper protein intake and lifting weights. It takes at least 1, most likely 2, years of weight training before you cannot make muscle gains on a calorie deficit because up until that point your rate of synthesis will be greater than your rate of loss (this is assuming a gradual weightloss plan of no more than TDEE-500). You also must be at sub 10% bodyfat for a man or sub 15% bodyfat for a woman for that to happen because with anything more than that, your body will use calories from stored fat as energy to synthesize new muscle from the protein you are eating.

While a newbie can build a little muscle from being untrained, it AIN'T gonna last a year or two while in calorie deficit. With the other exceptions of a returning athlete after a long lay off and an obese person, the average person trying to put on muscle would need a calorie surplus. Gaining muscle MEANS adding mass which means adding weight. You don't add weight on a calorie deficit.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

simplycorey

It's normal not to lose weight in the beginning of Insanity and measurements are a better way to gauge your progress at first. I didn't lose much weight until about the second month but I was dropping inches. I just started my second (technically third but didn't finish the first time) round of Insanity. Last time I figured my BMR to be 1300 (I'm only 5'3" though), kept track of my exercise calories burned with a heart rate monitor and ate about half of my exercise calories back. If I was hungry, I ate more than half. I ended up losing more than my goal.

pavrg

No. You can't build muscle on a deficit.

That's not true. A newbie absolutely can gain muscle while losing weight by maintaining proper protein intake and lifting weights. It takes at least 1, most likely 2, years of weight training before you cannot make muscle gains on a calorie deficit because up until that point your rate of synthesis will be greater than your rate of loss (this is assuming a gradual weightloss plan of no more than TDEE-500). You also must be at sub 10% bodyfat for a man or sub 15% bodyfat for a woman for that to happen because with anything more than that, your body will use calories from stored fat as energy to synthesize new muscle from the protein you are eating.

While a newbie can build a little muscle from being untrained, it AIN'T gonna last a year or two while in calorie deficit. With the other exceptions of a returning athlete after a long lay off and an obese person, the average person trying to put on muscle would need a calorie surplus. Gaining muscle MEANS adding mass which means adding weight. You don't add weight on a calorie deficit.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Gaining muscle is not the same as gaining net mass or gaining weight. You changed the premises. You cannot gain net mass on a deficit. You can gain lbm while losing fat on a deficit (which will still be a net weight LOSS) until excess fat runs out or until you've trained long enough for lbm growth to slow, the latter takes 1-2 years of proper weight training.

pavrg

Put another way, you are contending that someone who loses weight via diet alone will look the same as someone who diets and exercises because you cannot build any muscle while losing weight. That is false from empirical observations.

diannethegeek

Isn't Insanity one of the programs that comes with a nutrition guide? Why would you use only one half of such an intensive program (exercise) and completely ignore the other half (nutrition)?

MeDoula

I don't know your stats but I completed Insanity 2.5 times and know that 1300 cal won't be enough for most people.

aloha311

You are not eating nearly enough if you are doing insanity. You should be eating at least 1800 cals a day. I would suggest following the guidelines that come with insanity. I would also start taking measurements and pictures of yourself. Sometimes the scale doesn't move but you are losing inches.

DesDawn24

You are not eating nearly enough if you are doing insanity. You should be eating at least 1800 cals a day. I would suggest following the guidelines that come with insanity. I would also start taking measurements and pictures of yourself. Sometimes the scale doesn't move but you are losing inches.

Definitely this! I've been doing it for two weeks and only lost 1/2 a pound, but lost 3 inches so far. Stick with it and up your calorie intake, you'll see the difference.

erickirb

weigh solid foods and measure liquids, otherwise you are probably eating way more than you think. other than that you are probably retaining water due to the intensity of the exercise

I would like to point out to you that the lowest suggested caloric intake while doing insanity is 1700 cals according to the program.

jadedone

You are likely not eating enough. 1300 calories with all of that activity? You are likely burning like 600 calories a day.

pavrg

It's important to distinguish that OP was referring to 1300 NET calories, and insanity's recommendation is for GROSS calories.

1700 - 300 to 500 for the workout puts net caloric intake at around 1200-1300 calories. OP should not aim for 1800 NET calories because she won't lose weight.