Help?! I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong.

I wonder if you're over/underestimating something. It could be that you're eating more or burning less than you think. Do you use a food scale?

Really, don't net below 1200. That seems like a lot.

That really is a good, realistic goal from all accounts. And if that is you in the picture, you are thin to start with so it will be harder to lose weight.

I've been reading a lot in How We Get Fat and Good Calories/Bad Calories, based on, among other things, the Harvard health studies. You might also think about the ratio of carbs in your diet. They suggest a good sustainable level for long term maintenance is 40% (http://garytaubes.com/works/books/why-we-get-fat/).

I found lowering carbs just to 40% (which is hard enough for me) was also very helpful.

muscle weighs more than fat...just because the scale isn't moving doesnt mean your not losing inches & building muscle too!! Keep it up & I'm sure you'll see results.

No, just no.

http://healthscience.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=549:does-muscle-weight-more-than-fat&catid=102:jeff-novicks-blog&Itemid=267

I wonder if you're over/underestimating something. It could be that you're eating more or burning less than you think. Do you use a food scale?

I was wondering that too. You say you're netting 800 but eating 1800 - you are burning 1000 calories every day from exercise? That seems like a lot. I don't know how much you weight, but for someone weighing, say, 150 pounds, that would mean running at a 7-minute mile pace for an hour, or bicycling very fast for almost 2 hours.

Also, are you weighing or measuring your food or using the serving sizes provided for premade food to make sure that your calorie count is accurate.

Read this:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

At least net above 1200. And don't worry - your metabolism isn't "frozen" and you aren't in a plateau. You just aren't eating enough. Listen to what everyone here has already said.

Search the boards for some posts about finding your BMR and TDEE, then figure out what your body needs.

Here is a good one to start with: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

You should always net above your BMR (base metabolic rate), which is what your body needs to function if you were to do nothing but lay in bed. Again, net means calories consumed minus calories expended during exercise.

Try this calculator to help you find your BMR: http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/
or search for others on google.

I agree you are NOT gaining muscle. You are retaining water due to increased activity. Which is normal. You do need to eat more.

Now, as to the "muscle does not weigh more than fat" issue. True, and ounce of fat and an ounce of muscle are both still an ounce. However, they have different density which means that an ounce of muscle does take up less space than an ounce of fat. So, if someone is losing inches but not weight it is possible that they are gaining muscle. This is, however, NOT the case here. In order to gain muscle you would, as a pp said, need to have a surplus of calories (coming from low fat protein) instead of a deficit. Further, it takes a fair amount of time to gain muscle. The body does not repair itself overnight, otherwise we wouldn't be sore for a day or two.

In Arnold Schwarzenegger's Autobiography Arnold: The Education of a Bodybuilder, he wrote "Many people regret having to serve in the Army. But it was not a waste of time for me. When I came out I weighed 225 pounds. I'd gone from 200 to 225. Up to that time, this was the biggest change I'd ever made in a single year."

So one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time had the largest weight gain in one year of 25lbs. That breaks down to slightly more than 1ounce per day and this is not entirely muscle.

Now, lets assume that you are trying to lose 2lbs/week. That's 32 ounces. If you worked out and ate the way that The Governor did while he was in the army it would take you about 30 days to put on enough muscle to counteract what you should be losing in 1 week.

This rant is all to say, eat a bit more healthy foods. (Oatmeal, eggs or fish instead of pizza.) Drink more than 8 glasses of water a day because you are losing a ton during your work outs. Dehydration and intense physical activity both cause water retention.

Finally, this is all coming from a compulsive eater who has been yo-yo dieting for years. Losing inches is a wonderful thing. Keep up with the physical activity. You should be very proud of your own dedication. Simply educate yourself a bit further on diet FROM RELIABLE SCIENCE BASED SOURCES, not the latest marketing scheme.

Good luck.

You are gaining muscle, which weighs more than fat. It's normal to see no movement on the scale, or even see weight gain, during the first few weeks of starting intense exercise. The key is to continue to use the tape measure as well as the scale. If you are losing inches but not weight then you are doing it right. Eventually your muscle gains will slow and your weight will drop as you continue to burn fat.

Muscle DOES NOT WEIGH MORE THAN FAT!!!!!!

It takes up less space then fat, but it doesnt 'weigh more'. A lb of feathers is the same as a lb of rocks.

AND you are unlikely to gain muscle in a calorie deficit. Inches are a great loss, dont worry about the scale

Yes still this - such a big calorie deficit so you won't be gaining muscle

jd,

If you are doing Insanity you should NOT be going by the MFP calorie calculation, it's notoriously low based on how many people I see say that MFP calculated their calorie needs at 1200 or lower. You should be using the Insanity nutrition guide to calculate your calories and using the recipes. I read on here of so many people doing P90X, Insanity, Slim in 6, Power 90, Les Mills Pump etc and they keep thinking that MFP is calculating the right amount of calories. MFP has no clue how to calculate calories based on the extreme exercises you are doing. 1200 calories is way too low for any exercise program as you're setting yourself up for failure by putting your body into starvation mode. My wife is 100 pounds and MFP calculated her needs at 1100 calories. Way too low, she tried it for 2 days and then asked me why she was feeling light headed and starving all the time. She's doing Brazil Butt Lift, so we used the nutrition guide and got her dialed in at ~1500 and she's doing great now. Body fat lowering and toned muscle coming on, all while staying at the same weight.

Plus, the "eating back your calories" method makes no sense. With any Beachbody program you calculate your daily needs and it already takes in to account your exercise routine. If you put that number into MFP and then record your exercise it will say you can "eat back X amount of calories". WRONG! Then you'd be going way over your caloric need. Simply input how many calories you need to eat each day based on the calculation from the Insanity Nutrition guide. Trust the program/process it lays out if you want the results that it states it will give you. I've tried doing it "my way" with those programs and it worked OK at best. When followed to the letter, you get the results you really want. Not my rule, just the way the programs work. Beachbody has spent millions on the science behind each program (exercise, nutrition, tons of testing) before it even comes out. Most programs spend 2+ years in development to get everything fine tuned and tested.

Every person I've coached/helped over the past 2 years that has done it their way, put the weight/inches back on. But those that followed the plan as laid out.....they dropped the weight, changed their lifestyle and still have kept the weight off. One of the guys I helped has dropped 80 pounds in 10 months and totally changed his lifestyle. All through P90X, Insanity, P90X2, The Ultimate Reset just by following the instructions in the package and support.

What you eat after exercise is also important. Try to find a protein powder or eat some meat, fish, eggs or something else high in protein to repair your muscles. As far as having to figure out how much pizza to eat, preplan your meals and you will know how many slices you get to eat, and how much exercise is necessary to earn those slices.

Good luck. I get 1490 calories, according to MFP, but normally eat about 2400-2500 based on my exercise. I've lost 57. You can do it. Stay on the site and see how many discussions come up about people who have the SAME problem as you are experiencing and then see what the response is 90% of the time. "Eat more, lose more"; if it works for others, what makes you think you're so special that it won't work for you?

So I've been actively using MFP for almost four weeks now. And my weight is pretty much back at square one and I'm not sure why.

I'm kicking my own *kitten* working out every day for about an hour (Insanity and then a mix up of either treadmill, Jillian Michael's or bike ride). I'm staying under my calorie goal (which is 1200 a day; with my workouts my net is usually 800-900 and I don't feel hungry). Drinking my water (maybe not 8 cups every day - but I'm not drinking anything else if it's not water, or coffee in the AM).

I've lost about an inch and a half on most of my measurements.

Am I doing something wrong? Any suggestions. When I started I was on my period (sorry guys) so I those two extra pounds I chalked up to water weight, but recorded them. Now I'm not on my period and those two pounds are back.

The fact that I have to plan out dinner based on this app is kind of annoying, but it helps, or so I thought. But when the numbers on the scale are going backwards I'm not really seeing the point.

But on the positive. I'm feeling great! My pants aren't SO snug, I'm in a better mood, productive, I'm sleeping better (minus my husband's snoring). I know these are all great things and I shouldn't go by the numbers on the scale but I just can't help it when I work so hard and see "no results".

Eat more. You should never net less than 1200.. I personally would up your caloric intake as well. 1200 is not enough if you are doing insanity. Your body is holding on for dear life.

QUOTE- I don't mind planning out my meals for the day. Actually makes life easier but for instance my husband got a pizza last night and before I could even open the box I had to stop and figure out how much I could eat - it was kind of annoying.
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Eventually you will get the hang of it and almost know instantly which foods are how many calories. I know by heart how many calories my favorite foods are and how much I need to limit myself too

You are gaining muscle, which weighs more than fat.

Not a chance when you have such a big calorie deficit - generally you can only build muscle when you have a calorie surplus

Possibly extra water in the muscle due to increased exercise

The idea that you can't put on muscle while on a calorie deficit is a common misconception. If you are doing a lot of anaerobic exercise and eating enough protein, the body will avoid burning muscle.

That's true - heavy lifting and enough protein will indeed help to avoid muscle loss - but that's not what we are talking about. Significant muscle gain on a calorie deficit is no misconception - it's the holy grail and all but the very newcomers will not find it!

Calorie deficit with significant muscle gain - nope, I would like to see some stats of anyone who has acheived this all but impossible task

The human body requies a lot of calories just to live, by live I mean breath, pump blood, process food, etc. If you dont take in enough you damage yourself badly over time. That being said.

You lost inches and gained weight. This is more than likely a result of lean muscle replacing fat. This is what you want! I do not believe in scales as weight can swing by as much as 10 pounds in any given day. I measure my body fat once a week on the same day at the same time. This is highly accurate and prolly the best way to go.

What you eat after exercise is also important. Try to find a protein powder or eat some meat, fish, eggs or something else high in protein to repair your muscles. As far as having to figure out how much pizza to eat, preplan your meals and you will know how many slices you get to eat, and how much exercise is necessary to earn those slices.

"Eat more, lose more"; if it works for others, what makes you think you're so special that it won't work for you?

Actually the majority of people will digest carbs a lot faster than protein. For recovery drink or meal right after working out, a ratio of 4:1 or 5:1 Carb to Protein is needed. After exercise your muscles need to replenish the glycogen stores that it depleted. This requires a fast digesting carb to carry nutrients to the muscle, not a protein. In general, foods leave the average stomach about as follows:--fruits, vegetables, bread, eggs, lamb, beef, pork, chicken, nuts, guinea hen. Carbohydrates usually leave the stomach rapidly, proteins remain longer. Foods requiring longer time for gastric digestion are not necessarily harder to digest; it is often merely that the process of digestion is different.

Faster recovery means you can start doing more activities that you enjoy doing by not being as sore.

Eating more to lose more weight I've experienced multiple times. It works, and I've seen it work in my clients as well.