Ask Me Help Desk - Still no weight loss?

I started working out jan. 7. I have been going 4-5 times a week for 40 minutes and increasing to 50 minutes. I started to notice that my tummy seemed to be going down, but I don't know if that was just my imagination. I still weigh the same, though. Is that normal? It's been 2 months and I still haven't lost 1 lb. I haven't gained any either. Can anyone suggest what else I can try? My eating habits? I traded pops and juices with crystal light. I drink a lot of water A LOT of water. I eat pretty good. Not GREAT but better than before. I try to eat an apple or banana for breakfast. I still eat too much bread.. I'm not eating out at all. I'm confused :( I don't know what else I can do. I really work out hard. I sweat like a pig. Maybe I'm developing muscle? Is this normal for me to not have lost weight yet?

Muscle is heavy, you have probably gained some. My mom walked three miles and ate 1200 calories a day for a year and never lost a pound. Then she cut out all carbohydrate (bread, noodles, rice) and finally began to lose weight. Her metabolism behaved as if it was processing carbohydrates in a strange way. That doesn't mean you have the same problem.

See a nutritionist and explain what is happening. Keep a log of what you eat every day. No need to stress over it, just write it down. Then you can tell anyone who asks what you have been eating without having to think about it.

I agree with simonaugie that muscle does weigh more.

Do you look slimmer/more toned?

It's great that you cut out sodas... have you cut out chips and snacks as well?

Try to find out what you eat. For weight loss, you need to make relatively moderate changes to your diet... if you want, pm me with your daily food intake and we'll see where we can go from there.

Eat a healthy breakfast -- don't skip lunch -- don't skip supper

I like to eat and then exercise -- don't skip exercises

Eat smaller portions -- eat healthy foods like fish and chicken

When you want a snack grab fruits or veggies

Water is now your drink of choice -- not soda or juices

Weight Loss - How To Information | eHow.com

Quote:

Originally Posted by simoneaugie

Muscle is heavy, you have probably gained some. My mom walked three miles and ate 1200 calories a day for a year and never lost a pound. Then she cut out all carbohydrate (bread, noodles, rice) and finally began to lose weight. Her metabolism behaved as if it was processing carbohydrates in a strange way. That doesn't mean you have the same problem.

See a nutritionist and explain what is happening. Keep a log of what you eat every day. No need to stress over it, just write it down. Then you can tell anyone who asks what you have been eating without having to think about it.

This is good advise. If you really won't to lose weight you will need to do more activities like jogging , speed walking and even doing cardio. When you do this you will need to exert it more meaning break a sweat. I always found that jogging and running makes people lose weight the fastest. It's hard but it works. Have you tried any of these?

Yes. I work out almost every day of the week, and I stick to cardio-type of work outs. Every day I do break into a sweat, so I know that I am working out my full body. I think it has to do with what I am eating. But I have to put my finger on what things are wrong. Thanks Everyone :)

Eating is about 70% of weight loss. Take a look at what you eat. If you're eating a bowl of cereal in the morning, a sandwich/burger for lunch with a bag of chips or fries, and eating a meal of pasta with some sort of meat for dinner... chances are, you'll lose a little bit of weight with exercise.

To lose weight, you actually have to make a moderate change to your diet.

I went from eating cereal in the morn, sandwich in the afternoon with a bag of chips, and a relatively sensible meal for dinner... to...

Bowl of cereal in the morn. Apple for brunch. Salad for lunch. Fruit/protein bar for mid lunch/dinner. Grilled chicken/fish with steamed veggies for dinner. Protein shake/fruit for snack.

... also, I drank roughly 2 liters of water a day.

This way, with 6 days of exercising (3 days running, 3 days lifting weights)... I lost 12 lbs in 2 months. Pretty vigorous... but it works.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ISneezeFunny

eating is about 70% of weight loss. take a look at what you eat. if you're eating a bowl of cereal in the morning, a sandwich/burger for lunch with a bag of chips or fries, and eating a meal of pasta with some sort of meat for dinner...chances are, you'll lose a little bit of weight with exercise.

to lose weight, you actually have to make a moderate change to your diet.

I went from eating cereal in the morn, sandwich in the afternoon with a bag of chips, and a relatively sensible meal for dinner...to....

bowl of cereal in the morn. apple for brunch. salad for lunch. fruit/protein bar for mid lunch/dinner. grilled chicken/fish with steamed veggies for dinner. protein shake/fruit for snack.

...also, I drank roughly 2 liters of water a day.

This way, with 6 days of exercising (3 days running, 3 days lifting weights)...I lost 12 lbs in 2 months. pretty vigorous...but it works.

Nicely added. Great answer. This is a really great outline that allot of others should see.

Holy Moly! That sounds like me actually. I am VERY SLOWLY making my eating habits better. I never eat breakfast, so I have been taking an apple with me EVERYDAY to eat it during class. Then when I go home... I do have sandwhiches, and I do eat chips. So I need to eliminate those chips! I completely cut out soda. I don't need it. I drink sooo much water. Right after I get off from work ( at 5:30) I go straight to the gym, not for 40 minutes, but I bumped it up to 50-60 minutes. I feel great! Energized and such, but still no weight loss. I need to cut back, eliminating the candy bars for snack bars... and no chips! LOL BAD! Thanks for your advice! I will keep pushing myself to make positive changes. ANd I will not give up the working out, it gives me so much energy!

Careful about estimating your sacrifices. For example, I hear lots of people talk about giving up soda or chocolate or chips or whatever without establishing the norm. For example, I eat cake maybe and I mean MAYBE twice a year, if I were to "give up cake" there'd be no net change on my weight because I eat it so infrequently. If soda accounts for (let's say) 10% of your daily caloric intake before you give it up, good for you, that's an accomplishment. If you have 100 calories worth of soda every other day, it's not going to show up on the scale.

As far as exercising goes, you might want to consider having a trainer supervise your workout. When I don't have a 6'4 230lb ex dominican heavyweight boxing champ screaming at me when I work out, I tend not to push myself to the limit. Call me weak, but I need a little bit of motivation from an external source.

What works for some clearly doesn't for others. Some people are good at finding the right gym, or workout. Some seem to give up loads of excess calories without much effort. The truth is, we all work differently. I suggest that if you have not had success, speak to your doctor. Seek advice from him/her as to what changes to make or what special measures to take. Maybe your struggle is due to diet, not necessarily what you eat, but how much. Perhaps a dietician could help. Also, try changing up your exercise routine. Cardio doesn't build much muscle, but is great for your heart and blood pressure. Alternate half the week with cardio and the other half with weight training. Muscle burns far more energy than fat, so building muscle is key to improving metabolism. It is not uncommon for people who are just starting (a month or two) to exercise to weigh the same amount or even more than when they began. Muscle is heavy and dense, unlike fat which takes up mass but is light in comparison. There is a great website I use for wieght loss. It is thedailyplate.com and it allows you to track your weight, calorie consumption, and physical exercise for the day. I joined less than a month ago and have lost 11 pounds since, simply by carrying out my exercise routine (which is just 3 days a week for 40 mins) and by actually logging every calorie I consume and not exceeding the limit I can ingest to still lose weight. The site takes your height and weight as well as your weight loss goals into consideration, then tells you how many calories you can consume in a day and still shed pounds. But you have to be honest. Licking the extra peanut butter off a knife after you've made a pb sandwich counts! By the same token, under-eating is dangerous, so be sure never to consume less than 1200 calories a day. Also, I suggest you take a multi-vitamin. I hope you check it out and find it as helpful as I have.