some advice please?
 

im so fustrated ive been loosing weight at a steady rate on just diet alone

**STATS**

im 25

5'6

start weight 240's ( :( )

eatting 1500-1700 calories a day

and have been loosing weight at about 2-3 pounds a week WITHOUT exercise

so i thought that id join the gym to really kick this into high gear

my routine is

30 minutes on the treadmill at a 2 speed (slow, because im really out of shape and struggle to catch my breath ) but i do walk at a high incline i do 11.5 incline

5 minutes on the eliptical because again im too winded to do more

circuit (weights i think?) train for about 15 minutes

then i do a few crunches / squats maybe about 20

and then 10 minutes in the sauna just because it feels good and then im done

three days later i have not increased my calorie intake why am i up three pounds please help !

I think its important to remember that we are walking chemistry sets. So although it seems as though all you did was ADD exercise to a stable weight loss strategy, you actually changed TONS of things.

Exercise (even small amounts) changes HOW our bodies work. And for the better!!

I'd say give it a few weeks to stabilize before taking a look at the results of added exercise. If the numbers really mean a lot to you, you could look into investing into a scale that will give you your body fat in lbs instead of your overall weight (Withings is one brand). That should let you see that although your weight may fluctuate (maybe even upwards for a week) your body fat is going down.

It's extremely common to retain water when beginning exercise. Even now if I get even slightly sore I'm up from 1 to 4 pounds!

I understand the frustration and questioning, I've definitely been there, but it WILL come off. It might be weight gain, but it's not fat gain!

The same exact thing happened to me! You just have to keep at it and your body will normalize in a couple of weeks. LockItUp is absolutely right about the water retention.

You've been given good advice. Just keep at it and as you track your weight over time, you'll see ups and downs all over the place, but the progress will be steadily downward. Good luck.

Lin

It is natural to gain weight when you start working. When you're exercising you tent to gain muscle and retain water. Muscle become damaged and sore from working out, as a result the body retains water.

Just keep it up and you will start losing weight again!

I am so glad that you have added exercise. In the long run you will be healthier and will look nice and it is great to feel STRONG!

In the VERY short run, yes, you could (as you are) see some water weight gain. Your body is going, "Wait... hold up... what the heck are you doing to us? You want us to MOVE? Pant... pant...pant... After all this neglect you finally remembered you have muscles? Give us some time to get with the program, OK?"

Also- don't forget to take lots of measurements. I think you will be pleased with what you see in a couple months!

Yep, don't worry about this! Focus on FITNESS. I regularly get little weight gains because I'm working out really hard right now, including strength training. I admit I do find it discouraging even though I'm kinda used to it by now.

Start writing down your progress in terms of fitness and start pushing yourself a little further (i.e. next week do a 3 speed, next week go 7 minutes on the elliptical even if you are winded) - track this and you'll have something else to measure success than just the scale.

Agree with everything everyone has said and will add that as you develop muscle, it weighs more than fat. However, from a size perspective, a pound of fat is about 1 1/2 times the size of a pound of muscle.

I started going to the gym about 3 years ago. Other than the social aspect of it, I hate everything about it. However, I like how much better I feel and that is with needing to still lose a couple of small people.

Please stick with it. You'll be amazed at how much better you feel and the benefits will kick in to the point where you're able to notice a difference when you don't exercise.

My only suggestion is to talk to a trainer at the gym. The one at ours suggested doing treadmill first, then the weights, then more cardio.

Everyone has given you great advice, I'd just like to add that I would change up your cardio a bit. I used to be really winded on the treadmill at first too, but the only thing that will fix that is pushing yourself a bit. Your incline is way too high, bring it down to about 1.5% or 2%, anyone would get winded doing 11.5.

Also try this, for your first 2-5 mins walk at speed 2, then for the next 5-10 minutes push that up to 2.5. If you can, do the next 5-10 at 3, and then come down again to 2.5 and then 2 if you need to. The more you push yourself the easier it's going to become, and if you can only do a couple of minutes at a faster speed, that's fine, slow it down again till you catch your breath and then speed it up again. After 1-2 weeks of doing this, I'm positive you'll be able to do around 20 minutes at speed 3 with no problem, I mean it will be a workout, but you won't have to stop. (Then you're just a hop skip and jump away from actually running on the treadmill :) )

Also pay attention to your heart rate, you want it up to where you're working hard, but not so hard that you have to stop. Good luck!

One last thing I do to help push me is, I create a playlist on my ipod specifically for the treadmill. At about the 13-15 minute mark (about 3 or 4 songs in) which is when my mind starts to wander, and I really want to get off, I put a song that always makes me want to dance, since I can't really dance on the treadmill, I find I always start walking a little faster lol, and that pushes me through the next 4 mins. Once I see 19 mins past, I'm like bahhh, only 10 to go, I got this. :)