Advice needed (especially from those doing insanity)

LynnJ18 · January 2014

Hi all,

This is my first time posting but I have been reading for a long time. I know the facts....calories in, calories out, weigh/measure your food, etc.

Background: I started in May 2013 at 200 lbs. I lost 17 pounds by September, and was 183. At that point, I moved for 4 months where I didn't have access to a scale. I felt myself getting smaller, which is what counts. When I got home in mid-December, I weighed 179/180 (I do think I lost more, but gained a little bit before I weighed in due to the beginning of the holidays...so i'm not worried about that). I did this eating about 1500-1600 calories a day (definitely going over some days) and working out very regularly.

On January 2nd, I started insanity, and bumped my calories up to 1700 as a result of the workout. I am currently looking for a job, so other than insanity, I am fairly sedentary. I measure my food, but do not weigh it (I know weighing is the suggestion I am going to get from a lot of people, but it's just not realistic right now. Also, I don't eat back exercise calories (but I am set at lightly active so I am recognizing the workout) so that, with the 500 calorie deficit I have worked in, should make up for it with a deficit still built in. And I overestimate where possible (not by much, I understand the reality/possibility of underrating).

Anyway, since mid December (over a month) I haven't lost a pound. I feel like this is nearly impossible eating well and doing Insanity! I'm just about to start month 2 of insanity, so I'm worried about changing my calories. I don't want to go lower, since the workout is about to get more intense, but going any higher scares me because I don't want to gain weight.

Any suggestions? I'm at a very healthy point in my life where I am eating well and enjoy what I am eating. I know when to treat myself and this finally feels like a lifestyle change that I can stick with forever. So, maintaing is not the worst thing in the world, but I still have at least 20 pounds (maybe 30) I want to lose and I don't want to be slowing down this much yet!

Any suggestions? My diary is open.

Greenrun99 · January 2014

First even though you said weighing your food isnt realistic right now.. You need to do it, why isn't it realistic? Second a ton of people see no scale changes the first month of insanity (me included) and the Second Month it drops.

Won't even look at your diary as it doesn't sound accurate... I wouldn't change calories doing Insanity even if you do nothing afterwards, 1700 is good.

tom0018 · January 2014

I did 90 days of insanity 2 years ago and had kinda the same thing happen. My wife also struggles with weight and gets frustrated when the pounds don't come off as fast as she'd like. How often do you weigh yourself? I ask because my wife weighs every day and when the number doesn't make her happy, she gets frustrated and loses some motivation. My recommendation is to vary your diet slightly….but don't change what you know is right. Bodies react to exercise differently and sometimes the numbers are not what you expect or want. What I tell my wife is that if you are doing the right things, the results will come, but perhaps not on your schedule. If you are eating a healthy diet and keeping your calories where they should be and exercising regularly the results will come. I never got to my goal weight while doing insanity, but I felt better than I had in many years. For some reason I got off track and stopped and now I am working from the same starting weight and just as out of shape as I was last time. Frustrating, but you know what is right, and it will payoff. Don't get discouraged…..it's a journey! Good Luck!

crrampersad · January 2014

I'll second the comments above me. Even in the beachbody forums a lot of the group I was in were not losing weight in the middle of the program.

Also ask yourself the question - are you perhaps dropping fat and replacing it with muscle? I didn't have a lot of fat to lose in the program, but I toned up a heck of a lot. Remember a cubic inch of muscle weight more than a cubic inch of fat. Sometimes your eyes, and hands are a better judge than just a number on a scale.

mkraizel · January 2014

Take measurements and see if you're seeing results there. Muscle is more dense than fat so you could be getting smaller but not weight less. Also, weight your food =P Much more accurate

rose313 · January 2014

I'm on the third day of Insanity (I am only doing it twice a week though) and I am up 3 pounds, for no reason. I'm sure it's normal. For me, it could be water weight. Or sodium, or it could be anything. It's impossible to gain 3 pounds of muscle in a week, so it can't be that, at least not in my case.

I have a food scale, it only cost a small amount at Walmart, how come it's not realistic?

ge105 · January 2014

I didn't lose any weight doing insanity, period. I ate well at the time too. I looked better though. Its possible you won't lose weight but that doesn't mean you won't look better. Just putting that out there.

Edit:
Also sore muscles = water retention

alpine1994 · January 2014

I just completed my first month of Insanity and didn't lose anything either. I know my cardiovascular health is a lot better now but I started to dread my workouts and I like to have more variety. I just joined a gym that has an Insanity group ex class so maybe I would enjoy that more once or twice a week along with swimming laps, lifting, etc. Maybe the scale will budge now too. We'll see!

LynnJ18 · January 2014

"Not realistic" might not be the best choice of words. I don't have one right now, and I may choose to do it in the future...But this is the first time I've had a HEALTHY lifestyle that I felt I could maintain...I think weighing everything would cause me to get too obsessive and is just not something I want to do forever. I understand that it works for a lot of people and I definitely know the benefits of it, but I also know that there are many people that are successful without it, as I have been before I plateaued. Again, I do measure most of my food so I'm not completely winging it, but I want to eventually move to eating intuitively.

Advice needed (especially from those doing insanity)

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