[halo104]

Lately I have been hitting the work out room at my apartment complex. Hard. I either walk or walk/run every night for about 45 minutes, combined with my daily half hour on the treadmill and elliptical and a pretty intense 45 minutes with weights working whatever body group I do that day.

I'm eating the exact same but I swear on my mother's life that I have built muscle and lost fat overnight! Okay, okay, I know I haven't, but my calves are even more well defined, my shoulders are starting to look sculpted, I have some massive pythons (for a girl that is, lol) and my hammies are rock solid. Go me!

But here's where I'm confused- I know by the way I look (I don't keep track of measurements though) that I really haven't lost much fat. I'm still jiggly and fully of cellulite and yucky.

For people who start hardcore working out while being CONSIDERABLY overweight, do you think it's possibly to tighten up and tone while not really losing fat? Is it my muscle like squeezing the fat towards my skin and compacting it? Or am I losing fat while gaining muscle equally?

I'm sorry if this is a dumb question or in the wrong spot lol but I'm not new to the exercise game. I used to be super fit and muscular, but I have never gotten fat and actually went HAM on weights etc. so I don't know what to expect!

[Lolo70]

It took me quite a while to see changes myself. I did measure and there were evidently losses in volume after I started exercising. I think if you work out a lot, you carry quite a bit of water weight due to muscles repairing. This may mask fat loss. Moreover, I lost fat mostly through diet. Exercise helped with toning. I was at it for six months before I cut down calories and that is where the visual changes started to happen.

You will not notice your muscles until you loose the fat layer covering them. Depending on the area, this may happen early or late. I had the jiggly belly until about four months ago. Then somehow that area started shrinking fast. Now the same thing is happening on the back side. I have been exercising now for almost two years and like what I am seeing. I am wearing about two sizes smaller than I did when I was the same weight a couple of years back. There may be areas that will never fully tighten up, but it is definitely worth giving it a go. If I were you, I would start looking at calorie intake and try to cut back a little.

[Kscott]

Well--it looks like you're doing everything right--maybe concentrate on a little more body sculpting and see if that doesn't help. Cellulite--especially on thighs are very difficult to get rid of--and I think some of us are a little more disposed to have it than others--regardless of our weight our shape or how much conditioning we do. Fit--skinny people have it--especially women. Unfortunately due to our female genetics--women were made to store fat around their thighs--because back in ancient days when there wasn't a lot of food around--that was the place it was stored--so we had enough nutrition to nurse babies.