I've been working out for about 8 weeks now and I have yet to go down a size. I have only lost 4 pounds and I'm getting a little frustrated. I love working out and I've definitely developed a habit. I weight lift three times per week and do about 30 minutes of cardio three times per week. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to boost my results?

Hey there. Are you watching what you eat, as well? My understanding is that 30 mins of cardio 3 times a week is about what you need to maintain your weight, but to lose, you'll need to change your eating habits as well. Do you have a diet plan?

Well you mentioned the exercise. But you didn't mention what kind of eating plan you are currently doing. Usually just (and I don't mean to say just lightly) adding in exericise is not enough to get weightloss results for any length of time. Some kind of calorie restriction is also necessary. Have you altered your eating plan as well. Let us know, so that we can help you better.

I was going to ask about food, too!! Great minds and all that!

I agree with everyone else... are you watching what you eat???

I used to work out regularly with absolutely no weight loss, because I didn't change what I ate. You're here at 3FC, so you're probably watching what you eat, but I agree with everyone else that that's the first thing you should look at.

In addition, you may want to increase your cardio. What are you doing for cardio? You could either increase the intensity of your sessions or the length, or add a day or two of cardio to your exercise schedule. Someone else mentioned that your cardio is at maintenance-level, and from everything I've read that sounds right. Is increasing it an option?

30 minutes of cardio is about my minimum and I do it almost everyday.

Again I'm about the food! Let us know a little about how you eat. Maybe a small combination of cutting cals a bit and upping that cardio to 45 minute would be just the shake-up you need.

Half a pound a week is progress, IMO. My experience with my body is that simply adding weight training does NOT guarantee weight loss. Diet has been extremely important for me, as much as I wish wish wish it weren't so. Almost-daily cardio is super-important as well. I'd say look at your food intake, both quantity and quality, and consider revamping your cardio to make it more effective. You may just need to fine tune things a bit to get more results.

I agree that what you eat makes or breaks the results. My roommate and I went to the gym for about 3 months from January - March and nethier of us lost much weight. Then I started doing weight watchers with the same gym routine and have lost 12 lbs in about 3 months.

You have very little to lose. I noticed when I neared my goal, it became MUCH harder to lose just a pound a week. And THAT by dropping my calories and upping my exercise to hard cardio. I worked out 60 to 90 minutes per day 6 or 7 days a week, just to shed that pound a week.

I started about where you are at and I'm about your height. I did not lose any weight at all, not one single pound, until I started measuring all of my food very carefully and limiting my calories. The fact that you've managed to lose 4 lbs through exercise alone is fantastic but I think you're going to have to be fairly strict about your eating habits to get down to your goal.

I have started drinking more water and cut soda out of my diet all together. I also cut back on my morning coffee. I haven't really changed my eating habits too much, but I didn't really think they were bad before. I'm eating my ideal amount of calories. Any suggestions on a good diet plan?

Well, if you've been maintaining your weight on the calories that you're eating now, you'll need to cut them back in order to lose weight. There are many calculators out there on the internet to help you determine how many calories you should eat to lose weight at a certain rate. They're all estimates, but they're a good place to start. The general principle is that 1lb = 3500 calories, so to lose 1lb a week, you'd need to cut your calories by 500 a day.

I tried to lose with exercise only a few months ago and pretty much nothing happened--I had to cut my calories and start logging my food properly before the weight started to come off. It doesn't make alot of sense, but my guess is that because exercise makes a person hungry, one can pretty easily eat away the deficit created by exercise without obviously increasing the amount you're eating.

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