Too soon for Plateau

I am beyond frustrated today! I have been on the Isagenix program since June 4, 2012. To date I have lost 18.6lbs with a goal of reaching 50lb lost or ultimately 70lbs lost. This entire month of July has been a huge battle and I have not seen the weight loss. I have too much to lose to plateau already and I have now added in The 30 Day Shred... today is day 8.

I drink my 8 glasses of water a day and I just dont understand why I am not seeing loss?!!

Thanks all

Your diary is private. How about opening it up.......plateaus are overrated.

Hi, I took a peek at your diary and it seems very low in calories. I only looked cos you agreed to open it

It is good that you want to lose weight to get to where you want to be, but what works for me and I think a lot of people on MFP is trying to follow the goals set.

That is to eat your BMR and exercise calories. Or at least try to eat all your exercise calories.

In my opinion, and this is only talking if you were me, I would ditch the shakes and try to eat foods that will give you better choices for the long haul.

good luck either way :-)

Lemme get this straight.... you have lost over 18 pounds since the beginning of JUNE? Um, that's a pretty awesome loss. The reason why you're plateauing is absolutely starvation mode. If you're only taking in 1200 cals and doing heavy duty working out your body isn't getting nearly enough calories to function, thereby holding onto whatever fat you have for dear life in order to survive. 1200 cals a day is meant only for someone who is totally inactive. What you're doing isn't good for you, Your body could be eating it's organs. Seriously, increase your calorie intake and don't stick to a number religiously, that will only make you plateau again. The best thing to do is zig zag your calories, not allowing your metabolism to get used to what you're doing. You really should seek counsel from a doctor or nutritionist if you can.

My opinion would be, get rid of the shakes, eat a proper healthy plate full of food, lots of veggies, protein and carbs etc. Something your body can actually digest.

Also if you goal is to lose all the weight as quickly as possible you may just as easily regain it when you have reached that point. Consider this whole process more about getting healthy, making good choices with food and exercise, changing the habits that gained you the weight in the first place. If its a life change its for life, a diet is temporary.

Most people here are doing this to be healthy, the weight lose is the added bonus. 1 - 2 lbs a week is a good steady rate and maintainable without staring your body of the food and nutrients it needs to rebuild after exercise.

I would suggest staying away from shakes after breakfast. I have a shake in the morning, to get my metabolism going, especially since i'm not much of a breakfast person. The diet you listed is not sustainable. Can you picture yourself eating that for years to come? I have eliminated soda, junk food and late night eating. I eat healthy snacks, a lean, vegetable oriented dinner, making sure i eat enough meat for protein, etc. Then I exercise three times a week. I have lost 35 pounds in three months. Im not following any miracle plan, or taking any major supplements. But, you are taking in too few calories. You need to reassess your goals and use the MFP app, because if you starve yourself, which is what you are doing, your body will convert sugars to fat and your muscle tone will deteriorate. This is NOT enough food. If you add some nuts and fruits to your snacking, and actually have a small meal at supper time (Brown rice, lean meats, spinach salad, etc), and add in a good exercise program, I believe you will start to lose.

Are you taking measurements?? ! I went weeks with being stuck around 9 lbs but in that time I lost about 8 inches total.

I am totally hearing you!! I guess because the shakes worked so great in the first month I was hoping for the same this month. I have learnded to eat healthier while on Isagenix so I have no doubt I can make the right chocies with "real food". lol I guess I have become used to my 1 meal a day but I am totally up for trying anything to get this ball moving again

A diet like that can be a great jump start, but I agree with everyone else, it's not at all going to be sustainable. Allow me to let you in on a little secret I've learned from my own experience: weight loss isn't nearly as difficult as people tend to make it for themselves. If you tally up all the pounds I've lost in the past 7 years it probably adds up to 250ish. I know how it works. Sadly, I'm an emotional eater and I tend to gain it back during times of major stress. Anyway, I digress. My point is that you don't have to go on crazy diets or fitness plans or starve yourself to lose weight. I go over my calorie goal plenty and I don't work out as much as I should (working on gradual change here), and I don't have a problem at all with weight loss, nor have I ever in my weight loss history, plateau'd. You are welcome to add me and scrutinize my food diary, if you care to.

eat back your exercise calories!!

you are past the initial surge of weight loss. you need to up your calories, especially if you are exercising as much as you say you are.

Starvation, probably due to exercising on such reduced calories. Hang in there! Plateaus can be frustrating, but you can do it.

You must look at NET calories. Everyone is correct. Women should NET 1200 calories minimum. Also, are you using the tool for macro breakdowns? Make sure you are getting enough fuel (and in proper proportions) so that your metabolism can stay up and running. Good job on the splitting it into 6 small "meals"... but DO replace the calories on the days that you exercise. Like stated, if you are eating 1200, then burning 400, that is only netting 800. PLUS your body burns thousands of calories every single day just being up and living. In your case, your body has become shocked by the limited supply of food and adjusts your metabolism to store away calories for energy later and burn them more slowly. Try upping your calories to 1500, but again, make sure you NET that many or at minimum the 1200 after exercise deficits. (I personally eat 400 at each meal, and have 300 for my 2-3 snacks during the day.) This will tell your body that fuel IS available and then help you begin to raise your metabolism back up. Also, if you add in carbs or if the shakes are providing your carbs, eat or drink your carbs right before or after a workout. This ensures that the muscles are replenished and keeps your body burning calories after the workout. Also, basic math tells you that at 1200 calories or less each day, you will OBV lose weight as long as you are burning more than that each day. But having your fuel that dangerously low will cause many detrimental effects, including muscle loss and it will take you MUCH longer to lose that weight than if you appropriately fuel your body. As you have seen by the early plateau. Goal, eat as much as possible while you lose 1-2 lbs a week. Sounds slow, BUT that's 50-100 lbs a year!!! YOU CAN DO IT!

That is starvation for sure as everyone else has said!

IMO the shakes are great for breakfast as they get you going, but then you need a balanced lunch and dinner, i find on exercise days i try to eat more for lunch as i burn it off at work, then a smaller dinner but everyone is different, stick with it, i had a rough spot (currently on the second) but i can see loss of inches with the weight the same.

Good luck