I have bumped up my workout from 3-4 days a week to six days a week for the last couple of weeks and I have only lost 1 pound over that time. I have not changed my eating habits, just upped my workout. It is very unusual for me to only loose such a small amount. I usually average 2 pounds a week. I did loose inches and I know I should be happy about that, but my motivation waivers when I don't feel like I'm seeing the results. It probably wouldn't bother me so much but I am working towards a particular goal for Christmas. (Oh, and don't worry I'm not trying to get to my ultimate goal by Christmas, just a lot closer to it.). I have a major shopping trip planned with my best friend the day after Christmas. I hope to use my Christmas money to start building a new wardrobe. Might sound like something I could do anytime, but she lives in Florida and I live in Louisiana and I will be there for vacation at Christmas so I am really wanting to at least be close to my goal. At this rate I'm afraid I'll be sitting right where I am now when Christmas rolls around. Sorry, I know I'm whining and in comparison to some of the struggles that others face this is no biggie, but for me it is. Thanks for listening. Tell me that if I just keep going I'll wake up one day and the scale will have plummeted. LOL

Hey godsgirltmm,

When you say you haven't changed your eating habits, do you mean you are following a food plan and it hasn't changed, or that you are not following any plan?

Most people find that exercise alone is not enough for weight loss. At least, that was my own experience. Would that it were so!

Tell us what your food plan is, if you do have one. Maybe we can make suggestions.

Jay

I would not get discouraged, although I know how you feel. There could be lots of reasons the scale is moving slower. The closer I get to my goal the slower my loss has been. I started out losing about 3.5 pounds a week and now I'm lucky to lose a pound. I was hoping to make goal by Christmas, but it's not going to happen. I'm just so glad to be where I am.

You've done so well. Be happy and proud of that. If you keep working out and eating healthy the weight will come off, maybe not as fast as you want, but it will. Since you're exercising more maybe you've probably gained some muscles. Heck you say you're losing inches... that's way more important than the scale!

I do agree with Jay, your diet will have more of an impact on weight loss than the exercise. You might want to take a look at that. I'd say weight loss is at least 80% diet.

Good luck and don't give up. If you're not at goal this Christmas you definately will be by swimsuit season!!

Yes, I am definitely following an eating plan. It's rather detailed, but basically it is a low carb diet filled with fruits and veggies. It still allows for some carbs. It's a program called Suddenly Slim. I really don't have any doubts about my eating plan. It works really well and I feel like it is pretty balanced. Something that I can continue to follow for the rest of my life. Thanks for the offer though.

I guess I just need someone to kick me and tell me to just keep moving! I just thought that with bumping up my workout to six days I would loose more or at least stay the same, not loose less.

How much exercise are you doing each day - a minimum of 90 minutes is required for appreciable weight loss - 60 minutes for health.

godsgirltmm, keep up the good work , it will all balance out. You have been doing a wonderful job!!!

OK... Well, I can't guarantee that your weight will magically drop, but do keep on with your workouts and stay on your plan! If your calories burned exceed your calories eaten, then you WILL drop eventually.

You might want to search on "suddenly slim" (in quotation marks) to see what's been said about it on the forums. Or go to the main 3FC page and look there. We have information about many different plans.

Jay

I'm not sure about this - I think if you're exercising intensely enough to challenge yourself, a duration of 90 minutes isn't necessary.

Any thoughts?

I've always done 45-60 for weight loss and 30 for maintenance. I've never had a problem. The important thing is to do something and to keep pushing yourself to do more (although, obviously not pushing so hard that you injure yourself.)

Regular exercise is important, and it really helps with weight loss, but people do need to figure out what is reasonable for them. For some people, just 10 mins of walking will be a ton; for others, 90 mins on the elliptical will be doable. It all depends.

That's what I was thinking. If the requirement for loosing is 90 minutes then I'm doomed.

But really, everything I've read says for health 30 mins a day.

At this season of my life it takes much effort to get in an hour (which is what I'm doing right now) a day. I've just built up to that.

It sounds to me like you're doing what you need to do. I would just keep it up and try not to be too discouraged. You could wake up one day and boom you've lost 3 pounds. It drives me crazy sometimes how my body does not respond to the diet and exercise they way I think it should. Sometimes when I'm perfect with eating and working out, I don't lose a pound. Then I'll have a bad week, skip workouts, eat a pizza, and then I'll lose a bunch of weight. It's just wacky!!

I know it's frustrating, but just don't let this temporary slowdown thwart your efforts! You can do it!

I sympathize with you... I'm at a plateau too.

I have heard that over an hour of cardio exercise, you can lose muscle... but maybe what you need is an exercise "shake-up". Maybe try a different routine, different intervals, different inclines.

I didn't read about how much resistance training you do. Maybe a change is needed there as well. Like some plyometrics, compound exercises, maybe some walking lunges or step-ups with weights.

I'm beginning a new routine tomorrow. It's a diet and exercise "shake-up" for myself!

I wish you the best!! Don't give up!

Hey keep up the good work!

Really, I find that exercise and diet go hand in hand. My advice is to step up the intensity of the workouts and be mindful of your caloric intake. Increasing the intensity of workouts and trying different workouts (in add. to your daily food intake) will help you drop pounds!

I've read, and my body seems to bear this out, that exercise, particularly weight training, causes our muscles to retain water, as part of the healing process. Maybe that is what is happening to you? Otherwise, keep on doing what you are doing, your body will catch up soon.