So I'm a complete newbie when it comes to exercise. I could really use some input on what I'm doing from any of the fitness experts on here

So far, I've been doing a HIIT skipping rope routine for 20 minutes from BodyRock about 3x per week. It sounds short, but my legs are jelly and I am drenched in sweat afterwards. It consists of 4 jumping styles at 25 jumps each, and I can do 11-13 sets in 20 minutes (with short breaks between each).

As of this week, I'm integrating a bodyweight circuit which I hope to do 3x per week. It consists of...
10 Press Ups
10 McGill Crunches (switch legs halfway)
Side Plank (each side)
10 Split Squats (each side)

I'm going to start with 3 rounds with 1 minute breaks between each. This routine is from: http://www.bodyweightcoach.com/01/be...eight-circuit/

I would like to try some free weights but I won't have access to a gym until September and I'd like to be a bit more comfortable in my fitness level before trying to navigate the weight area. In September I'll also be able to take a whole host of fitness classes (pilates, zumba, boxfit, etc) so those are options too.

For food, I usually eat about 1500 calories a day and aim to get a fairly well-balanced diet with little junk. One night a week I have a few drinks with friends so those days are usually a bit higher.

As for my goals... right now I'm mostly focused on fat loss and dropping sizes. I don't aspire to have a 6 pack but I also don't want to be 135 lbs and 40% BF.

If you've taken the time to read my plan, thank you so much! Any input is hugely appreciated.

Sounds like you've got it all covered: cardio, HIIT and bodyweight circuit. Maybe add in a yoga or Pilates class to keep you flexible would be my suggestion. Diet seems okay to me. Just watch your sugar intake and drink lots of water.

BTW, a six-pack just sometimes happens naturally when you lose enough body fat for your abs to be visible; usually once you hit the low 20s/teens. It's a nice little side benefit to all your hardwork...at least it was for me, lol.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Thanks so much for the suggestions, fitmom. I was doing Pilates for a bit and quite liked it...very challenging for me but still enjoyable. Good point re: sugar, I should really be subbing some fruit for veg because I've been quite fruit-heavy lately (mmm peach season!).

I only meant the six-pack as an analogy really, just to say that my focus at the moment is not so much to get cut, although perhaps I should have a more long-term focus. Thanks again for your advice!

I definitely agree with the wisdom of having short-term and long-term fitness goals. And sometimes the goals change as you go along too. I started out just wanting to lean out by losing some weight/inches/body fat and when I saw my 'girl abs' (think like Jillian Michaels' abs, lol) start to emerge (at around 19% body fat) - a visible six-pack became one of my long-term goals as well as to maintain it. But everyone's different. You're doing great so far...keep going. We're all behind you 100%.

Fitmom.. this is none of my business, but your body is not going to allow you to maintain at a BF of 16% or 15%... without EXTREME effort, and even then youll still eventually adapt metabilically and start putting on fat again.

It took me a long LONG time to accept that i cannot maintain "shredded" all year long..... almost NO-ONE can, with the exception of Tom Venuto, lol... your female body does not want you that underfat and will find a way to win... im not saying it will force you up to 25%, but a more realistic MAINTENANCE range is 18%-20%...which is still incredibly fit and very low BF for a woman..... i understand at least just wanting to GET there, even once..... i made it too 14%... for about 2 days lol... then my body rebelled, and up and up it went I fought a very hard battle for over a year, not eating, obssessively exercising TRYING to do everything i could to keep it low....... eventually ended up with sever metaboli adaptation and hormonal issues,..... Anyway, im currently in the 20-22% range, and i HATE the "flub" around the middle, and softness of my look,, even if it is still a very good and low BF %. My goal is to get to 18% and maintain between there and 20%, if i can.... Im going about it MUCH differently this time thou....... safely.. with carb and calorie cycling, and refeed days, and training and maintenance breaks, etc....
anyway, good luck to you! youve been making awesome progress!

I'm an ectomorph and extremely lanky, always have been. I don't have a soft layer of belly fat covering my abs anymore. My abs are visible (uppers, linea alba, v-cuts and obliques) - not completely cut like a bodybuilder but they are definitely there, lol. Tom Venuto is the exception not the rule, I agree with that. I'm eating very cleanly and running gave me the abs, seriously. It shredded the fat off me like no other exercise ever did.

Please don't take offense to this but - for what it's worth...unless you're kissing 40 like me and have had your stomach stretched out to the nth degree with two pregnancies, no one can imagine the struggle it's been for me the last number of years to get my body back. It's affected my self-confidence, my um, 'intimate time' with DH, my body image, etc. I didn't go to the beach for almost a decade because I was so embarrassed of my body. I finally got me back just a little older and wiser.

Good luck to you as well.

It sounds like you have an excellent fitness plan! Keep it up and have fun!
You're going to love how you start to look. Make sure you take some good measurements as well to get an idea of the inches you're losing!

Thanks tdiprincess I'm relieved it seems to be okay. I've been keeping track of my measurements - how often do you measure? I am trying to move away from the scale but I don't know how frequently I should measure without getting discouraged.