Hello all.........ready for a sob story?! LOL JK

Trying to sum this up and not bore you. I have been working out off and on for 15 years (no kidding) and have tried all kinds of diets. I don't have a lot to lose. I want to get rid of 10-15 pounds and the stupid scale will NEVER budge.

Stats:
45 years young
126 pounds
5"1 Inches short (lol)
Pear-shaped...oh, it doesn't look good in a swimsuit but heck I have my days where you know, I WILL WEAR that Bikini (yes, you saw that) and it will be purple and red and I don't care! LOL
Hevy legs...always had them

So, the nutrition part...actually, do eat pretty healthy most all of the time. Very rare I eat red meat or fried foods. Am a creature of habit and can eat the same thing everyday. On the weekends still do watch it for the most part.

Diet Example (Mon -Fri)

Bfast:100 calorie sugar free oatmeal, or choc. cream of wheat

Lunch: about a cup/half of edamame beans and a light yogurt or make a salad with romaine, 1/2 can of light in water tuna/few croutons, flax seed, dried cranberries, hard boiled egg and some cocktail tom. and a light yogurt

Dinner: healthy choice meal of somekind..Yes, has to have a dessert in it and either a 100 cal. popcorn for a snack or some peanuts.

Thing is, I cannot get the scale to budge either because I don't eat enough or that it is my age. I bought a nice treamill for Christmas so doing a 30-45 min. run/walk program mixed with an hour of Zumba (just started the Zumba about a month ago for variety of exercise) and some arm exercises now with a 12lb weight I just bought. I have to be doing something wrong for so many years. Granted, I do not exercise everyday but about 3-4 a week. The Zumba is either on a Tuesday or Wed and the other days I do my tmill and weights for my arm flaps. HELP ME!! LOL What are your suggestions/tips/advice. I want to see progress either with the scale or how my pants start fitting. I had Insanity and got rid of it because any type of lower body work (lunges, jumps, squats) seriously, makes my jeans much tighter and I want the opposite. I have been through the types of programs, Insanity, Billy Blanks Tae Bo/Jillian Michales (have about 4 of her dvds), The Firm. Yes, one would think I would be sporting a rocking body...LOL NOT! : ) I want to thin out my lower half and lose fat so that means cardio, I get that but something is definitely not working. I honestly don't think I will EVER EVER have a thinner lower half. Good Lord wants me solid! LOL

Sorry this was long....thank you to those who take the time and read this looong story. : )

Hello!

Sounds like you have tried many things! But it also sounds like you don't really want to tone up, because you are afraid of gaining bulk in your hips/thighs. I am pear-shaped as well, with about your same stats: 5'2" and 126 pounds. If you lose 10-15 pounds, you will be smaller, but you will still be a pear!

If you are exercising 3-4 times a week and eating healthy, you are doing great!

How long have you been doing ongoing, routine exercise? It took me a month before I started to lose any weight. Are you counting calories, do you know if you are having too many?

Are you measuring your legs, arms, waist as well as using the scale? I've found that the scale can be deceptive to the amount of weight I have lost and, especially around my TOM, I can sometimes weight more on the scales even though I've noticeably lost weight.

You may be doing too much exercise and making your body adapt. High intensity interval training (HIIT) is really good for fat loss. Its like running sprints...you sprint, rest, sprint, rest, etc. You can do a google search for more exact information, as there is plenty out there. Research has shown it to be far more effective to do 30 min of HIIT then 2 hours of steady cardio. That with weight training would probably do the trick. Of course, if you start lifting seriously, you might gain, but muscle weighs more than fat, and looks much much nicer!

If you don't want to count calories, I understand. However, it would be great if you figured out your BMR and then if you counted calories for one week to see how many you're consuming. It's very easy to underestimate how many calories you're eating. I'd suggest counting for a week because without that information, it's really hard to know.

If you want your body to tone up, you have to add strength training. This doesn't mean you need to go to the gym. You can use cans of food for weights, toning bands (less than $10 at Walmart), and your own body weight for resistance. Goggle it on the internet and you'll find tons of free routines to try.

You are light on protein and heavy on sodium from what you posted. An occasional frozen entree is okay but daily is not good. I'm 71 and tried to loss 20 pounds for years. Once I cut the simple carbs and added more protein, the weight came right off. I do not use any processed foods.

I cannot lost weight either