Discouraged, nothing seems to work

takahiroki
takahiroki Posts: 57 Member
in Motivation and Support
It's one of those days where I'm stressing myself out about if I'm going about this the correct way.
I have two weeks left of Insanity, so I took a few progress pictures, and well, they look the same [or maybe worse] than my Day 1 photos. [my weight/measurements have barely fluctuated]

I've read so many different opinions on what calories I should be eating etc.
Insanity recommends 2000, but that seems like SO MUCH, and I only burn an average of 400 per Insanity workout,
I tried it for the first few weeks but I gained like 6 pounds,
[Before that I was doing TDEE - 20% for over a month and not losing then either]
I currently dropped it down to 1400 calories per my doctor's recommendation.
I previously had luck with a 1200 calorie diet, but then plateaued.
I eat Vegan, very healthy. no Gluten or Soy, about 100g protein,
I drink like 125oz of water a day, sleep well.
The only thing I can imagine is that my Hashimotos/Hypthothyroidism is the problem.
I just don't know what to do! I've read through message boards etc. hundreds of times,
but if anyone has any suggestions, please tell.. :/

My diary should be open, and for reference I',m 5'11", 21 years old & currently 170 pounds.

Replies

  • wnbrice
    wnbrice Posts: 244 Member
    For insanity round one I didn't lose more than 4-5 pounds the entire time but I gained a good amount of muscle.

    Why did you quit after a plateau? Those are going to happen. I would try the TDEE -20% and accept that a plateau sometimes for months can occur. Just stick with it and eventually the numbers make it work.

    Also unless you are measuring attempts in months(not weeks) then you are probably not giving your body enough time to adapt.
  • Seraphemz
    Seraphemz Posts: 84 Member
    I didnt lose much when I did 1 month Insanity either. I did lose inches though. The second month I lost about 6lbs. Again, inches lost were more than weight.

    You seem to be looking ok at your current weight. I would say stick to it throught the end. The results are coming. Dont let the scale scare you.
  • takahiroki
    takahiroki Posts: 57 Member
    For insanity round one I didn't lose more than 4-5 pounds the entire time but I gained a good amount of muscle.

    Why did you quit after a plateau? Those are going to happen. I would try the TDEE -20% and accept that a plateau sometimes for months can occur. Just stick with it and eventually the numbers make it work.

    Also unless you are measuring attempts in months(not weeks) then you are probably not giving your body enough time to adapt.

    I never 'quit' per say, I was on 1200 before MFP [about 3 months] because I heard that was the lowest women could go, but after joining and reading bout TDEE - 20% that seemed to be the healthier more effective way, but after about of month of doing that and not losing weight, I decided to do Insanity, which would mean 2000 to follow it's meal plan, after month 1 of Insanity I felt ridiculous eating that many calories, and had gained 6 pounds, so after speaking to my doctor I lowered it. It's hard to stick to something when there are so many different sources saying either 'youll never lose weight with that many calories!' and the other half going on about starvation mode.
    I didnt lose much when I did 1 month Insanity either. I did lose inches though. The second month I lost about 6lbs. Again, inches lost were more than weight.

    You seem to be looking ok at your current weight. I would say stick to it throught the end. The results are coming. Dont let the scale scare you.

    I'm almost to week 8 and I've only seen a slight improvement in muscle, and my measurements have barely changed.
    I have no intention of giving up or anything of the sort, just having trouble deciding where to keep my calories. I only weigh myself occasionally because I know most people see improvements from Insanity via photos/inches rather than weight.
    I may look 'fine', i'm not too upset with my current weight, though my goal is to lose 20 more pounds,
    I'm only discouraged because for the amount of work I'm putting in I haven't been getting results.

    Did both/either of you follow Insanity's calorie meal plan when you did the program?
  • Siege_Tank
    Siege_Tank Posts: 781 Member
    If you are hitting the calorie counts each day with any degree of accuracy, doing insanity,

    It means that either your counts are not correct, or your BMR/TDEE calculations are overestimating what your BMR truly is.

    skip the guess work, and find a gym or health center that has a bod pod, that will tell you your REAL, measured, BMR. If you're moving each day, hitting your cut, and not losing, something isn't being counted properly.

    packaged foods and restaurants have been caught having up to 20% more calories in the food than what the label says. If you're cooking mostly from home, you shouldn't have trouble calculating the calories of vegan food though.

    The reason why 1200 works, and then stops is that our hormones move into a different.. "posture" for lack of a better word. when you eat at maintenance or a surplus, your leptin, cortisol, insulin, ect ect ect ect... are all set to spend energy. When you cut, your body adapts, and your hormones move into a protectionist stance, where, metabolically, it tries to conserve energy.

    People who cut more than 20% have to employ refeeds to reset their hormone balances, which makes the quickness of 1200 sort of go away.

    If your doctor recommended a cut of 1400 for you, then your BMR is something around 1600? 1700? at those levels, a 20% cut just from your BMR would take almost 11 days to see a pound lost (1700 x .2 = 340 --> 3500/340 = 10.29) ... 22 days to see two pounds lost... and with water weighing 8 pounds per gallon - 1 pound per 16 oz glass, any loss you might have could be masked by a change in salt from yesterday or being at different hydration levels. And that's without ever going over your cut goals.

    This is why lower calorie strategies appear to work "better". They're just faster. Personally, I'm impatient. I can't stand the waiting so I cut a lot.
  • Seraphemz
    Seraphemz Posts: 84 Member
    [/quote] I'm almost to week 8 and I've only seen a slight improvement in muscle, and my measurements have barely changed.
    I have no intention of giving up or anything of the sort, just having trouble deciding where to keep my calories. I only weigh myself occasionally because I know most people see improvements from Insanity via photos/inches rather than weight.
    I may look 'fine', i'm not too upset with my current weight, though my goal is to lose 20 more pounds,
    I'm only discouraged because for the amount of work I'm putting in I haven't been getting results.

    Did both/either of you follow Insanity's calorie meal plan when you did the program?[/quote]

    I didnt follow the meal plan, I just try to eat healthy. Just recently started to do the calorie deficit. Like you, I have been pretty much at a stale mate for about 2 months. Im losing little in pounds, but I do feel a difference in how my clothes fit. I know I have lost inches though. (im on the last notch on my belt)
  • takahiroki
    takahiroki Posts: 57 Member
    If you are hitting the calorie counts each day with any degree of accuracy, doing insanity,

    It means that either your counts are not correct, or your BMR/TDEE calculations are overestimating what your BMR truly is.

    skip the guess work, and find a gym or health center that has a bod pod, that will tell you your REAL, measured, BMR. If you're moving each day, hitting your cut, and not losing, something isn't being counted properly.

    packaged foods and restaurants have been caught having up to 20% more calories in the food than what the label says. If you're cooking mostly from home, you shouldn't have trouble calculating the calories of vegan food though.

    The reason why 1200 works, and then stops is that our hormones move into a different.. "posture" for lack of a better word. when you eat at maintenance or a surplus, your leptin, cortisol, insulin, ect ect ect ect... are all set to spend energy. When you cut, your body adapts, and your hormones move into a protectionist stance, where, metabolically, it tries to conserve energy.

    People who cut more than 20% have to employ refeeds to reset their hormone balances, which makes the quickness of 1200 sort of go away.

    If your doctor recommended a cut of 1400 for you, then your BMR is something around 1600? 1700? at those levels, a 20% cut just from your BMR would take almost 11 days to see a pound lost (1700 x .2 = 340 --> 3500/340 = 10.29) ... 22 days to see two pounds lost... and with water weighing 8 pounds per gallon - 1 pound per 16 oz glass, any loss you might have could be masked by a change in salt from yesterday or being at different hydration levels. And that's without ever going over your cut goals.

    This is why lower calorie strategies appear to work "better". They're just faster. Personally, I'm impatient. I can't stand the waiting so I cut a lot.

    Thanks for the info, yes my calorie counting should be very accurate, my diet is mostly produce with the exception of things like almonds, oats, peanut butter, brown rice etc. all cooked/prepared myself. I have no problem cutting my calories, I have only ever had success with the 1200 calorie diet but there is constantly talk of 'starvation mode' and that makes me nervous. I have struggled with Hashimotos/Hypothyroidism my whole life and I don't know how much it effects these things, but I don't want to do any damage to my body by cutting too low. My doctor simply plugged in my stats to her computer to give me the '1400' calorie plan, which I can easily do myself online. She also said if I didn't see results in a 'week or two' to lower it to 1200 calories, regardless of how hard im working out. It's difficult to know whether to trust her or the Insanity guide which tells me 800 more calories a day! I'm guessing that my BMR is not what online calculators assume it is. I'll look into a health center, but I doubt I'll be able to do that anytime soon. I suppose I'll just have to stick with 1400 a day for now and keep up my Insanity workouts. I typically net between 900-1200 a day.

    Also, I plan on trying to do more strength training outside of the Insanity videos, it doesn't feel as though there is enough.
  • michiganderrdh
    michiganderrdh Posts: 151 Member
    Sorry you're getting discouraged but I'm sure things will get better!
    I'm looking at your diary, I know its mainly natural but how much sugar are you getting? I would love to see the overage on that. Could you replace some things with more vegetables and hummus maybe?

    1200 is pretty low for you. I'm 5'2 and 120 with a 1200 goal onlly on days I rest. I eat similarly to you, primarily vegan, and am still trying to figure out a good happy medium.
  • takahiroki
    takahiroki Posts: 57 Member
    Sorry you're getting discouraged but I'm sure things will get better!
    I'm looking at your diary, I know its mainly natural but how much sugar are you getting? I would love to see the overage on that. Could you replace some things with more vegetables and hummus maybe?

    1200 is pretty low for you. I'm 5'2 and 120 with a 1200 goal onlly on days I rest. I eat similarly to you, primarily vegan, and am still trying to figure out a good happy medium.

    Thanks! I'm sure they will eventually too..
    Hmm, sugar, I end up being over my goal which is 40, by anywhere from 30-70g
    I tend average eating 3-4 servings of fruit a day,
    mostly because I get sugar cravings and don't want to binge on things like peanut butter or poptarts etc.
    I usually avoid hummus because of how calorie dense it is, and I eat chick peas often in their original form
    I could try eating vegetables in place of the fruit, everything else is generally for protein,
    and trying to stay in my budget for groceries :p

    Yeah, I don't think I will ever go back to the 1200 diet, especially when I'm working out so much,
    hopefully 1400 will work ok after awhile! :/

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