Hi there, newb here!

I went from not working out more than 1 time a week for almost 2 years to working out 3-4 times a week for the last 4 weeks. Also, I have been watching what I eat, definitely eating less than before I started working out. In almost a month I haven't lost any weight or inches. At all. I feel better, but that is about it. My workouts are:

Mon: 45 min. intense weight-aerobics class w/ abs
Tues: 45 min. intense kickboxing (sometimes with weights) class w/ abs, 15 min. of low impact cycling
Wed: 45 min. intense weight-aerobics class w/ abs
Fri: 30 min. raquetball with husband

I don't understand how going from not working out ever, to a 4 day a week routine has not made me lose any inches? Am I not doing enough cardio? I have never had issues losing weight before. Extra info: my goal is 10 lbs, and I am 25 years old.

You aren't doing nearly enough exercise to have it affect it your weight loss. You have to do at least an hour a day 6 days a week. Less than that keeps you healthy. To tone muscles you have to actually lift weights, cardio won't do it. The biggest factor in weight loss is what you eat. To lose the inches you will need to do weights.

You don't have to work out and hour a day 6 days a week for weight loss so don't worry if you can't fit that much in. I would look very closely at what you am eating since maybe you are underestimating the amount of calories you are consuming. Keep a journal for one week (preferably longer) and write down everything you eat. Weigh and measure out your portions so you know exactly how many calories you are eating. Food has a bigger impact on weight loss than exercise so keep exercising but monitor you food better and that might help you see what is going on.

First of all, it's a myth that you have to work out 6 days a week for an hour for it to be effective. That's very untrue. Any amount of exercise is good for your body. No matter how much it is.

HOWEVER, that being said... exercise alone may not help you lose weight. If you're interested in losing weight, you are going to have to watch your food intake, as well. Weight loss is about creating a deficit in calories, and if you're still not controlling what you eat, you will either maintain or gain weight no matter how much exercising you do.

Keep up the exercise. It really is great for your body, but start writing down what you're eating. We might be able to give you better suggestions for weight loss if we know what you're consuming each day.

Like QuilterinVA Rated said, changing your diet is what's going to cause weight loss.

Cardio burns calories while you're doing it and has other benefits, but if you want workouts that will help you burn calories when you're not at the gym and will help you lose inches, you should probably do more lifting.

And you don't have to start out doing an hour 6 days a week. I never do that much, and I can see that lifting has helped my weight loss.

If you're interested in getting into lifting, this might be a good site to check out: http://www.stumptuous.com/no-fat-chicks.

Why you continue to repeat this nonsense is beyond my understanding. In my opinion you're part of the problem when it comes to people understanding what should be a simple topic.

Fat loss is an equation of energy, not exercise. Exercise merely causes one to burn some additional calories and not that many.

Someone can exercise for three hours a day and not lose a single pound of fat or someone could not exercise at all and lose lots of fat because the number of calories you eat matters far more than your exercise when it comes to fat loss.

Hey Clever! Welcome to 3FC! Losing 10 lbs when you are close to your goal weight can be a challenge! I'd encourage you to check out the Featherweights subforum:

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/featherweights-197/

Ignore Quilter, that's simply NOT true. I've lost over 60lbs without working out 6 days per week.

I think there's a few things going on here. If you only have 10lbs to lose I assume you're probably at a healthy BMI or close to it already. That's the hardest weight to lose because you're not going to have a lot of room for error in terms of you calorie intake. Definitely check out the featherweight group for others who have BTDT.

Also, like others said, cardio alone just isn't enough. You really need to watch what you're eating too. I personally don't calorie count but in order to lose weight I significantly changed my eating habits. You might find, though, that calorie counting work well for you (it does for my DH) and even if you don't do it every day it's important to be aware of the number of calories you're putting into your mouth at every meal. I do count every now and then and it's been a good experience just to see that some of my usual meals could be tweaked a bit to cut down on calories a lot (for example, changing the type of cheese you use or cut of meat.

I'd also suggest you look into weight lifting that's where you're going to get rid of more inches vs. cardio. Cardio is great for your heart and it helps to be burn calories, it's still something to be proud of but you really do want to work on building muscles too to help with losing inches.

If you eat within your calorie weight-loss range, and avoid food triggers, you should be good. I had the same problem as you when I started working out. But before I started working out, I lost 13lbs in one month with no exercise. Then I started working out, watch what I ate (calorie/carb/water/fat/weighing food) & worked out for 6 times a week, 1 hr to 1 1/2 hour cardio and I didn't lose a single pound, nor did I gain. After that 3 weeks of exercising I dropped a whopping 4 lbs that my body has been holding on to. Now I am consistently losing 1-1.6 lbs a week, never gaining. I'm close to my goal weight and my body feels more toned, more energetic & less hungry. Don't stop exercising. It helps you out in so many ways, although it may not show on the scale yet. Give it time. My body hates it when I first start exercising but eventually it gives in & let go of fats.

First of all, congratulations on making a change that will benefit your health no matter what the scale says! Regular exercise does help prevent a wide variety of chronic diseases and it is good for every part of your body.

Going straight from a long period of inactivity to suddenly working your muscles can cause your muscles to retain water. This will pass. You'll also start to build some muscle as the fat melts. The fact that you feel better shows you are doing the right thing. Drink plenty of fluids to help your body eliminate the excess water, and check your calorie intake in case something needs adjusting.

Keep up the good work!


Btw.. I have known plenty of people that lost weight by increasing exercise without adjusting their diets. And the other way around! We are all very unique and have to find what works for us as individuals. Exercise is extremely important for so many reasons that are not even weight related. I'm not sure why so many people try so hard to avoid it

I suggest keeping a food journal for a week, including counting up the calories. You don't necessarily have to count calories forever, but you should check and see if maybe you're eating a lot more calories than you thought. You could really be surprised.

I hear this a lot. Some friends have worked out consistently for MONTHS and lot lost a pound.

HOWEVER.....it comes down to food! Most ladies I know will bedgrudgingly admit that when they workout, they feel like they can reward themselves with chocolate or extar food...sometimes right after working out!

It's a numbers game. There has to be more calorie output, than input. You will see this much more clearly through Food Journaling.

Good luck!

There is some great advice on this thread. Are you counting calories or following weight watchers? Tracking always helps to see what and how much you are eating. Perhaps there is something that you need to tweak in order to see the difference in weight loss.

Changing your program up helps to challenge your body and muscles for growth of lean muscle. Don't be afraid to lift heavier weights to build muscle which will help to burn calories at rest. Give it time too. I'd say six weeks you should start feeling a change. Not seeing a loss on the scale doesn't mean you won't soon feel it in how your clothes fit.

Wow thank you guys so much for all the advice! I think this may be part of my problem: I am really good about counting calories up until dinner. Then I'm so friggin' tired (I go to school full time and have 2 toddlers) that I just make something healthy, usually broiled chicken and smashed red potatoes (no butter) and asparagus or some other veggie, but I think I am eating way bigger portions than I need because I think "Oh it's healthy it can't have that many calories!"

Also, I didn't know about the water retention in your muscles. Another thing I am terrible with is drinking water...this week I am going to make a "water drinking goal", and also start taking vitamins- I was just reading about how a vitamin D deficiency can slow weight loss (anyone else ever heard of this?)

AND I will definitely check out featherweights right now! Much appreciated!