should i abandon my current diet?

about 3 weeks ago, i started the isagenix program...i eat 2 shakes a day, one bar over the course of the day, and a 400-600 cal meal. but i am noticing that my jeans are getting tighter, not looser. i've noticed a similar effect when i have done shakes or bars before. i am still working out about 5-6 days a week doing power yoga and running and have been watching my caloric intake. of course, like many people, christmas and NYE were tough.i guess my question is could i be having a "bad" reaction to these shakes/bars? is running bulking up my legs? does anyone have any insight?

I personally am not a big believer in 'shakes' for a diet or a lifestyle change. I've known people to do it and just eat one meal of solid food at night and have maintained their weight. It is proven that solid foods  are what get the metabolism going because of the digestion involved, and of course manipulating macronutrient ratios. There could be several reasons for the 'larger' legs. Because you are cutting out a lot of solid foods, your metabolism is shifting so it could be getting more sluggish causing you to gain weight, or because of the same reasons causing you to retain water, etc.  I would got back to all solid foods introducing it  slowly over the course of a week and see how your body reacts. Try to stay away from high sodium filled or sugary foods, so you can measure your results accurately.

To be honest, I've never bought into the whole "shakes and bars" diet.

If you follow it you should loose weight (my aunt and i started a diet at the same time, she on that same sort of diet) we both have lost 3 stone so far (me using a calorie counting diet with regular food and better portions) the difference is she doesn't know what to do now shes lost what she wanted, the good thing about eating normal food is you really get an idea of what you should be eating.

The reason you might not be loosing is that you could be consuming to many or too little calories.

Without knowing the calorie amount you eat and your stats i couldn't tell you but with general knowledge about this... shakes range from 250-600 calories each and bars range from 100-300 including your last meal that could be as much as 2100 or as little as 1000, neither of which is very good.

I suggest finding out calories in what your eating and entering your stats into the site, if the calories match up roughly to what the sites tools say you should be eating then there is no reasn why you should be gaining, if on the other hand they don't then you've probably got your reason.

My suggestion is this sort of diet is really a last resort, do you think you could just try eating healthier? Or planning your meals and regular snacks? It takes more work but I can attest to the fact that it's worth it and you can also have lots of treats (if you work it into your daily allowance) and the nutrients you take in aren't synthetic so thas a plus :)

Good Luck and feel free to PM me if you need motivation/advice.