Hi there! I'm new to this site, but not so new to trying to lose weight. So far, I've managed to plan my meals and cook at home most of the time. However, it's the exercise routine I have trouble following. I think I get unmotivated, which is why I need some help forming good, well-stated, goals. Can anyone help me with this?

A little about me: I'm 30 yrs old, 5'8" tall, and 185 lbs. I want to lose weight and tone myself back up, and I know that i need a mixture of cardio and weight lifting. I've been able to get into the gym consistently 3 times a week, but I don't feel like that's enough. I feel better - I built my endurance up from 10 minutes to 60 minutes on the treadmill - but I'm not seeing any weight loss. Everything I've read says to start slowly, but when should I start seeing weight loss?

I'm getting confused and discouraged. What is a good short term goal? What about daily goals and weekly goals that I've heard about? In the long term, I would like to lose a total of 40 pounds, but I have no idea of a healthy time frame for that.

Ugh, what a frustrating mess

Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

From what I've read you diet to lose weight and you exercise to tone up.

Doing both at the same time will make you healthier but it will also discourage you... you need to realize that the scale will make you think that you aren't doing anything because you might lose fat... but you will also gain muscle.

It's nice to have you on the forum! How long have you been trying to lose weight & how long have you been going to the gym?

Without knowing what you are eating, it's hard to comment on weight loss - I'll let the diet gurus chime in on food plans and so forth. But 3 times a week at the gym is awesome, and you must be doing well to have already increased your endurance from 10 to 60 minutes!

Thanks for the welcome Mountain Mamma! I've been trying to lose weight ever since 2009. However, I've been changing my lifestyle over the last year by cooking more at home and trying to get to the gym at least 3 times a week.

I need to figure out how to coordinate my eating and workouts to finally start losing weight. Just gotta pull it all together!

and give yourself some time for it all to come together

Don't worry about the weight - if you just started exercising especially your body is building a lot of muscle you didn't have before. And muscle is a lot heavier than fat. But you're still losing weight!!

So don't give up, all of this is a good thing. I'm sure you're losing inches

Thanks for the motivating comments everyone, it's so helpful to have a support group!