How long have you been following this routine and how much weight and/or inches have you lost so far?

- Barbara

That seems to me like a good and balanced exercise/diet routine. That's what I try to do, but I have a VERY difficult time sticking to the diet part.

If you are losing weight, you must be doing something right!

Yes, the elliptical is just as effective as the treadmill for cardio, according to my sister the exercise physiologist (I hate the treadmill so I asked). Just know that eventually your body will get used to your routine, and your weight loss might slow down or stop as a result. When that happens you'll need to change up your routine (either through intensity, duration or equipment) to get going again.

I have been on this for 5 .5 weeks, and only lost 5-7 lbs

A loss of 5-7 pounds in just over 5 weeks is great--don't knock it! Between 1 and 2 pounds per week is a pretty good rate of loss, so I think what you are doing is working. I wouldn't worry about it not working until that happens--cross that bridge when you come to it. Counting calories and exercise absolutely works. I've taken off close to 30 pounds with this method and there are lots of others here that can also attest that it works.

When I first started, I had trouble believing it would work (I was sure there was something wrong with my metabolism that would prevent me from losing weight) and I was also very impatient to see progress. But the fact is that losing weight is a long-term project; you didn't gain the weight in a day and you won't lose it in a day. One thing that really helped me not feel so stressed about it was to commit to following my program for long-term period. I told myself I would follow the plan for six months and if I didn't see any changes after that time, I would look into doing something different. This forced me to give the plan time to work and by the time six months elapsed, it was pretty clear it was working.

A few thoughts on your workout (and note that I am by no means an expert, I've only been doing this for about a year myself): It sounds like you are doing plenty of cardio. In fact, an hour of cardio a day might be more than you need to do. You might limit your cardio to 30 minutes on every other day and do a little more circuit training on those days.

I agree with what Thistoo said about potentially needing to change up your cardio routine at some point. I have a personal trainer and he has really been after me to do different cardio machines (I'm a creature of habit). Others on this forum have told me the same thing as well. If you do the same machine for every workout, your body gets more efficient at it and you aren't burning as many calories. Since you are doing the elliptical every day, this might be an issue for you at some point and it might make sense for you to try out some different machines. But I'm not sure you really need to worry about this as long as you are continuing to lose weight at a steady pace.

Figuring out the right calorie level is more of an art than a science. 1500 calories sounds reasonable to me based on your weight, height, and level of exercise (if anything, it sounds low). But you could fine tune it by adding or subtracting 100 calories a day for a couple of weeks and see how that effects your progress. But if you make changes to your diet, I would only go up or down by 100 calories at a time and remember that you have to give it time to work (at least a week, maybe two).

You could post a thread listing the foods you typically eat in a day in the calorie counters forum and ask for feedback on the specific foods you are eating.

- Barbara

Barbara thank you so much for those tips! That is a good plan to do it for six months and see if it is working. By no means am I impatient, ive gone that route and obviously it didnt work. I knwo I should switch machines more, but man I HATE the treadmill haha I just do, I dont know why. Il have to figure something out. Thanks for the Calorie counter suggestion too ;0)

You don't have to do the treadmill. Try the stair machines, stationary bicycle, or whatever else is available to you. Or rather than running on the treadmill, try walking at a fast pace with a steep incline (as steep as you can manage) - it's great for your butt and the incline really ramps up the workout. Or try running outside one day a week. Or try jumping rope--that's also a great cardio workout. Or bicycle outside (if you have a bike) or swimming (if a pool or lake is available to you, this one of the best cardio workouts you can do because you have to hold your breath while you do it). Go hiking (especially if you have some hills nearby).

And you never know, the treadmill might grow on you. I HATED the treadmill when I started and I avoided it for months, but now it is my favorite of all the cardio machines. I like it because it sets the pace and all I have to do is keep up. I like to change up the pace, do sprints, add an incline, etc. With the elliptical, I have to push myself and I just use the same setting until it is struggle to move my legs, then I lower the setting. It's a great workout but it gets a little dull.

Also, I don't see a dire need for you to change up your routine so long as you are continuing to make progress with what you are doing. I am almost at my goal weight, so my progress is a lot slower, hence the pressure from my trainer to change things up a bit. And, you know, I might sound like I have my act together, but that's only because it's so much easier to give advice than to follow it. If you read through the exercise threads, you'll find one from me whining about not wanting to change my routine and looking for a validation to keep doing my same routine over and over again (to my dismay, I got the same advice I'm giving you ).

- Barbara