What the hell??

MelanieC

Hi guys, I am new to fitness but need advice. I joined a gym around six weeks ago and have been going religiously three times a week since then. I walk 6kms on the treadmill and do 15 mins each on the bike and rowing machine as well as a few weights and stretches. Altogether I burn 800 cals. I thought I might be seeing some results by now but no, absolutely nothing! Everyone else I know who walks that much loses loads of weight and tones up in no time so it's really frustrating me that I'm working just as hard (or harder) and getting nowhere.

Now admittedly I'm not dieting but I don't eat outragously as it is so I thought just by working out that much and burning that many cals regularly, I would begin to lose weight and tone up. I know muscle is heavier than fat so I shouldn't necessarily go by the scales but I can tell from my clothes too that my body hasn't changed one bit and I've not lost one inch of body fat. I don't get it. Can anyone enlighten me?

optimistic_

Can you give your age, height weight etc.
Can you post up your diet? A typical day from rise to bed?

I know you say you aren't dieting, but changing the way you eat is just as important as the exercise.

Also, do keep at it, you will get results.

Canis Lupus

Doing what you're doing cardio wise won't really "tone" you and "a few weights" probably suggests the abductor machine or something similar ie not a structured program.

If you want to 'tone' then you need a structured weights program where you lift heavy and on off days you can do cardio. Coupled with a reasonable diet you'll start seeing results.

Just doing the same cardio and not really upping intensity or throwing in HIIT sessions or doing proper weights (it's not just for boys) I'm not terribly surprised that you don't see any results in 6 weeks. Also, if you don't pay attention to your diet you can start increasing what you're eating to make up for the cardio (without realising) as well as the fact that if you don't change intensity your body just adapts anyway so it has less impact than when you first started.

brianthebard

You're almost certainly not using 800 cals despite what the machines say. And if you were that would only be 2400 cals a week. People usually use the simple equation of 3500 cals = 1lb of fat, so by that measure you aren't using enough calories to maintain 1lb/week fat loss, it would be closer to 1lb/10 days, (again assuming those figures apply in reality which I doubt, but its a decent measure for this situation).

MelanieC

Oh my god! And I thought I was doing so well! So even if I increased it to 4 days a week (which I don't think I could coz I'm already knackered from it as it is!) I still wouldn't burn enough cals to even lose 1 lb a week - how depressing. Especially when I see my friends doing less and eating more than me and the weight's falling off them! :mad::mad:

A typical day, well let's see. Today for example, I went to the gym. Stayed two hours, burnt 800 cals altogether (according to the machines. Are they not accurate then? I do put in my age and weight to get an acurate account.) Also spent 20 mins in the sauna and did a little bit of swimming. To be honest though, I mainly focus on the treadmill coz everyone always says walking is the best thing overall. And I know when I was younger and didn't have a car I used to walk more and did find it very good. Drank a litre of water.

For lunch I had three mixed grain ricecakes with tuna and salad on top and a cup of green tea.
Since then I've also had a cup of coffee and a classic bar. And I know people are going to tell me I shouldn't be eating chocolate but it's only little. And only around 100 cals and I've already worked off 800 today so I thought by working out that hard I wouldn't have to deny myself the odd bar or biscuit.....
For dinner I'll probably have pasta or a stirfry. And a pint of water.

I don't really want to have to diet AND work out coz that's too much punishment in my book and I know I'll end up quitting. Still, I'm not eating ridiculously am I? I thought I would be well on my way by now.

chuck101

Hey Mel.

First and foremost this is gonna sound a little harsh but a lifestyle change has to happen here before you will see any real results.

One thing i would do if i were you is sit down and write down some serious goals i.e target weight, target dress/jean size, level of strength and general health you would like to get to. put them in a journal and any good advice you hear put that in the journal too.. some of it is bound to be right!

. and also how u might get to them. as far as i'm concerned even the word ''toning'' makes me cringe these days beacuse i hear it so much.. what does toning mean to you?

To summarise..
1) need more details regarding diet? eg. breakfast..how much weight looking to lose etc.
2) forget about calories.. if an item has more than 2/3 ingredients i don't trust it very far.. tough to beat veggies,meat,fruit,nuts, seeds for most meals.. mix and match to your hearts content..
no need to make things complicated like seems to be happening at the moment.
3) QUOTE. ''when I see my friends doing less and eating more than me and the weight's falling off them''

---

this line says alot..at the moment 2 hrs i think would be too much for you. an hour should be plenty for most people.
4) walking is great don't get e wrong but not gonna get you where you want to be in a hurry weight wise or health wise.
5) sorry to say but your diet could do with a good bit of work .

6) this line worries me the most '' I don't really want to have to diet AND work out coz that's too much punishment in my book and I know I'll end up quitting''..
do you go to the gym with anybody? have any friends who are reasonable but in really decent shape ie. not complete annoyances who might be able to give you some tips.. if so bring them for coffee and ask a few questions.

here's just one good example of what you need to start doing to get in shape . http://thetransformationcatalyst.wordpress.com/2010/04/09/grainne-amazing-results-and-real-women-lift-weights/

hope this helps a bit.

MelanieC

Thanks for your advice Chuck and I really don't want to sound ungrateful or dismissive coz it's obvious you know what you're talking about but I guess what I'm saying is I don't want to have to be extreme about anything, you know? I don't have the will-power or stamina to make drastic lifestyle changes and stick with them and there's no point kidding myself that I will coz I know I won't. And I don't even want to coz I think it's very restricting.

I 'm talking about regular exercise (by the way, why do you think 1 hour in the gym instead of 2 would be enough for me? Surely 2 hrs exercise is better than 1 and 800 cals burned better than 400? ) and eating moderately. I do eat veg and fish and salad and healthy stuff and I will gladly eat them when I feel like them but I want to be able to eat chips or chocolate when I feel like them too. That's basically why I started exercising as much as I am so that I can eat whatever I feel like. (Within reason of course, I'm not crazy!) I would never last doing extreme hardcore workouts plus living on an all-organic macrobiotic diet or the like as well. That sounds like an utterly miserable life to me. I was hoping that having spent all morning in the gym pushing myself, I could then come out and meet friends for lunch and say "yes, I can have the chicken melt or the club sambo, I've earned it". Maybe I'm naive. Or maybe I need to give it some more time, I don't know.

Red Cortina

Just adding my 2c here.

Sounds to me like you are trying to out-train a less than perfect diet!! If you stick around here long enough you will hear a couple of saying such as 'Abs are made in the kitchen', 'Eat for the body you want, not the body you have' or 'You can't out-train a bad diet'! As briantheblaze post put it, when you look at the calories in (for example) a slice of chocolate cake, you would have to do a lot of training to balance out the high calories of it.

The truth of the matter is that if you want to make changes to your body composition, diet plays approx 70-80% of a role in it.

Furthermore, it is thought that training for an hour is optimal, anything more is not beneficial (according to the PT that I go to anyways) so the likes of interval training will be a far better use of your time than steady-state cardio.

Transform

agreed and to be honest a better program will get you where you want to be in farrr quicker time

chuck101

Right mel.. time for the tough love..

To help you we need details such as a full days eating habits (don't pull any punches , the more detail the better!) , what are your current stats ie. weight at the moment- target weight.. etc.

Also no one said you need to have an ideal diet all the time but in the long run healthy foods are just better for your general level of happiness!!
There is also no decent way to outtrain a crappy diet..
again ask yourself how badly you want to change .
read these two articles and make some decisions.. http://thetransformationcatalyst.wordpress.com/2010/04/06/so-what-do-i-bloody-eat/
&
http://thetransformationcatalyst.wordpress.com/2010/03/30/are-you-just-asking-or-do-you-really-want-to-know/

finally.. i know i sound harsh but it just sounds like your friends aren't telling you what you might need to hear so we'll just have to!:)
1 hour of exercise = plenty of time to spend in any gym
2 hours of exercise = a bit too much time spent in the gym!

calorie counting on machines = making you neurotic and confused
eating food with your own common sense = always a winner.
again apologies about the tough love!!!!:)

Transform

chuck101 wrote: »

Right mel.. time for the tough love..

To help you we need details such as a full days eating habits (don't pull any punches , the more detail the better!) , what are your current stats ie. weight at the moment- target weight.. etc.

Also no one said you need to have an ideal diet all the time but in the long run healthy foods are just better for your general level of happiness!!
There is also no decent way to outtrain a crappy diet..
again ask yourself how badly you want to change .
read these two articles and make some decisions.. http://thetransformationcatalyst.wordpress.com/2010/04/06/so-what-do-i-bloody-eat/
&
http://thetransformationcatalyst.wordpress.com/2010/03/30/are-you-just-asking-or-do-you-really-want-to-know/

finally.. i know i sound harsh but it just sounds like your friends aren't telling you what you might need to hear so we'll just have to!:)
1 hour of exercise = plenty of time to spend in any gym
2 hours of exercise = a bit too much time spent in the gym!

calorie counting on machines = making you neurotic and confused
eating food with your own common sense = always a winner.
again apologies about the tough love!!!!:)

agreed

billybigunz

Your body is regulating your food intake through hunger signals to be the same as your energy useage. If you were burning more energy than you were taking in, you would be losing weight.

You need to eat a bit less.

chuck101

Less?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:eek:
No offence but what the OP needs is maybe more and better food choices!

billybigunz

chuck101 wrote: »

Less?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:eek:
No offence but what the OP needs is maybe more and better food choices!

So she needs to eat more food to lose weight? Right....

chuck101

does this look like an adequate diet to you billy?

Quote: For lunch I had three mixed grain ricecakes with tuna and salad on top and a cup of green tea.
Since then I've also had a cup of coffee and a classic bar. And I know people are going to tell me I shouldn't be eating chocolate but it's only little. And only around 100 cals and I've already worked off 800 today so I thought by working out that hard I wouldn't have to deny myself the odd bar or biscuit.....
For dinner I'll probably have pasta or a stirfry. And a pint of water.


not trying to be a pain here,, i just see this type of diet alot in my work and it never leads in a good direction healthwise. so yes.. maybe not alot more but defo much BETTER.

billybigunz

I didn't look at the diet. if she is not getting the results then she is not telling the truth to herself about teh diet. I reckon she is probably trying to follow that diet but of course her body is starved and then she fills in that space with all kinds of rubbish. You are right, eat decent food in a decent amount but still less than your daily requirements. Anything else will not lead to weight loss.

chuck101

agreed . a change in training would go a long way to helping achieve her goals also.

mel .. how is your sleeping ? solid 8 hours a night or regularly waking up maybe once or twice a night?
hoe stressful is your life? work very busy ?

MelanieC

chuck101 wrote: »

does this look like an adequate diet to you billy?

Quote: For lunch I had three mixed grain ricecakes with tuna and salad on top and a cup of green tea.
Since then I've also had a cup of coffee and a classic bar. And I know people are going to tell me I shouldn't be eating chocolate but it's only little. And only around 100 cals and I've already worked off 800 today so I thought by working out that hard I wouldn't have to deny myself the odd bar or biscuit.....
For dinner I'll probably have pasta or a stirfry. And a pint of water.


not trying to be a pain here,, i just see this type of diet alot in my work and it never leads in a good direction healthwise. so yes.. maybe not alot more but defo much BETTER.

Ye probably think I'm very naive but what's wrong with the above??? From what I know, ricecakes - good, salad- good, tuna - good, wholewheat pasta - good, green tea - good, stirfry - good!!!! I would consider this one of my healthy eating days and you say it's not even adequate?? I'm not trying to outtrain a bad diet, just a balanced one. I might have steak & chips for my dinner one night but I might have grilled fish and steamed veg the next night to even things up. I mean, everything in moderation, isn't that what they say?

I don't have a stressful life, am not working, look after my daughter. Get a good night's sleep most of the time and exercise regularly as you know. I'm 32, around 5'4 and currently weigh a little more than 14 stone which is the most I've ever been, far more than when I actually did used to stuff my face and get no exercise! :rolleyes: I mean, that just doesn't make sense now does it? :mad:

I appreciate you guys helping me out but like I said, I'm not going to commit to any major lifestyle changes - there's no point me telling ye I will coz I know I won't! :rolleyes: Working out 3 times a week and eating a little better than I had been is as far as I go to be honest, I don't want to mislead ye. I just thought this would be enough coz I know it's enough to keep other people looking good. I'm going to keep at it anyway, maybe I'm a slow burner?

Transform

MelanieC wrote: »

Ye probably think I'm very naive but what's wrong with the above??? From what I know, ricecakes - good, salad- good, tuna - good, wholewheat pasta - good, green tea - good, stirfry - good!!!! I would consider this one of my healthy eating days and you say it's not even adequate?? I'm not trying to outtrain a bad diet, just a balanced one. I might have steak & chips for my dinner one night but I might have grilled fish and steamed veg the next night to even things up. I mean, everything in moderation, isn't that what they say?

I don't have a stressful life, am not working, look after my daughter. Get a good night's sleep most of the time and exercise regularly as you know. I'm 32, around 5'4 and currently weigh a little more than 14 stone which is the most I've ever been, far more than when I actually did used to stuff my face and get no exercise! :rolleyes: I mean, that just doesn't make sense now does it? :mad:

I appreciate you guys helping me out but like I said, I'm not going to commit to any major lifestyle changes - there's no point me telling ye I will coz I know I won't! :rolleyes: Working out 3 times a week and eating a little better than I had been is as far as I go to be honest, I don't want to mislead ye. I just thought this would be enough coz I know it's enough to keep other people looking good. I'm going to keep at it anyway, maybe I'm a slow burner?

i am afraid whats good for the goose is not good for the gander.

Do not base whats right for you on what others do as not everyone works the same

Oisinjm

To be honest, I think someone needs to write her out a weight and cardio program for her to build on (I'm not the person to do this as I wouldn't consider myself experienced enough). Plus, from what I gather you skipped breakfast? If I'm wrong sorry, but that is just a no no. Eat healthier but more often and you'll see results.

Hope this helps,
Oisín

snowfinch

Hi Melanie,

If you really want to see the weight come off I would do as was already suggested and post a typical day's diet here.

If you are not eating breakfast, I think you should. Time and time again it is said that those who are focused on weight loss and make time for breakfast are more likely to achieve their goal.

With regard to the gym could you at all make better use of your time on the treadmill and vary the routine. Perhaps jog for occasional short spurts until you tire, or have a look at the Couch to 5K program (google it and it should come up, and there is a thread here under Rec/Food & Drink/Nutrition/Food Diary) and bump up the effort you are making and make more use of your time in the gym. I wonder if your heartrate is raising much at all during your workouts? Have you spoken to a PT at your gym or done an induction program there which they put together for you?

Yes, some of your friends will be able to eat more than you and workout less. Life sucks. What you are doing doesn't seem to be working for you so far. If you actually want to lose weight you need to sit down and look at your diet (and this does not necessarily mean denial) and then put in the effort in the gym and get your heartrate up and don't pansy around for 2 hours when you could put in more effort and achieve better results (and gain more time for other things) in around an hour.

You have said you like to eat healthy food like wholegrain pasta. Watch your portion sizes. A typical serving size is 75gs. Weigh it out and have that instead of guesstimating from the packet. You could, without realising it, be overestimating what size portions are reasonable. A resource I use to track my food, which is free, is www.sparkpeople.com and if you track your diet properly on that then you can easily see where you are coming in calorie-wise.

Hopefully if you sit down and focus on optimising your time in the gym and eating properly then things will come together for you.

Best of luck

MelanieC

Thanks guys. Yeah I know breakfast is the most important meal of the day and all that but the fact is when I'm going to the gym I would begin to feel sick if I had eaten beforehand. I prefer to work out on an empty stomach first thing (I've read this is more beneficial anyway) and then eat when I get out. On my days that I don't go to the gym, I do eat a breakfast though.
Also I don't pansy around in the gym for two hours, I really do push myself for the whole two hours. And I do run for spurts to get my heart rate up and then walk to bring it back down again coz I know that's supposed to burn the most energy. If anything I feel I might be overdoing it coz the treadmill keeps flashing "High Heart Rate" at me all the time! (it goes up to 180 sometimes but then I bring it back down to about 160 by slowing down my pace.)

As for a typical day's diet, ok here's an example -
9am -gym 1 litre water.
12pm - 3 mixed grain ricecakes with tuna & salad. 1 cup green tea.
3.30 pm - Cup coffee & slice brown bread.
7pm - Skinless breast of chicken in a mushroom sauce with baked potato & roasted veg. 1 pint water. 1 funsize bag maltesers.
11pm - Cup tea & 2 oat biscuits.

I know it's not perfect and I probably shouldn't be eating the chocolate or the biccies but it's not awful either is it? I would consider this balanced enough and particularly when I'm working some of it off too.

I guess my basic question is this - You guys say I can't outtrain a bad diet and that's fair enough but if I originally was eating x amount of food and not exercising at all and now I am still eating x amount but exercising a lot, doesn't it stand to reason that that should make some difference?? I mean otherwise what's the point? No-one would ever do any exercise!

Inspector Coptoor

having a litre of water for breakfast is your main problem. your body has been receiving no food while you were alseep then you get up and start exercising and only filling the tank with water. your body is fighting back by holding on to fat stores.

start off with some low GI,complex carbs in the morning like porridge or even have your oat cakes in the morning 1st thing when you get up.

eat after you workout and make sure you get in enough protein.

bubblyone

No, the diet isn't awful but would definitely be better with breakfast! And watch portion sizes. I will never forget the first time I weighed out a few of my portions. I was so far over and was taking in way more calories than I would have thought.

It's already been mentioned that 2 hours is a bit much for you, and you said you're exhausted from the workouts. It's possible this could play a part as well. If you're so knackered from the gym that you collapse on the couch when you get home and move less overall during the day, your net calorie burn might not be as much as you want! A more focused approach to your workout (like Transform's videos) could be good.

And don't want to harp on about not being able to out-train a bad diet...but it really does matter. I know I've completely managed to gain weight while exercising regularly just by not watching my nutrition. "I've been to the gym so I deserve it" is dangerous thinking. All those little bars and nibbles here and there add up. Try keeping a food log and writing down everything you eat for a few weeks. It's amazing and scary how much we can "forget" when it suits!

bubblyone

This is fun if you ignore the claim that cardio is useless-Craig Ballantyne is a bit extreme in his statements. The first couple of minutes just kind of solidifies the importance of diet though!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQbuzsY_34Q

brianthebard

MelanieC wrote: »

Thanks guys. Yeah I know breakfast is the most important meal of the day and all that but the fact is when I'm going to the gym I would begin to feel sick if I had eaten beforehand. I prefer to work out on an empty stomach first thing (I've read this is more beneficial anyway) and then eat when I get out. On my days that I don't go to the gym, I do eat a breakfast though.
Also I don't pansy around in the gym for two hours, I really do push myself for the whole two hours. And I do run for spurts to get my heart rate up and then walk to bring it back down again coz I know that's supposed to burn the most energy. If anything I feel I might be overdoing it coz the treadmill keeps flashing "High Heart Rate" at me all the time! (it goes up to 180 sometimes but then I bring it back down to about 160 by slowing down my pace.)

As for a typical day's diet, ok here's an example -
9am -gym 1 litre water.
12pm - 3 mixed grain ricecakes with tuna & salad. 1 cup green tea.
3.30 pm - Cup coffee & slice brown bread.
7pm - Skinless breast of chicken in a mushroom sauce with baked potato & roasted veg. 1 pint water. 1 funsize bag maltesers.
11pm - Cup tea & 2 oat biscuits.

I know it's not perfect and I probably shouldn't be eating the chocolate or the biccies but it's not awful either is it? I would consider this balanced enough and particularly when I'm working some of it off too.

It doesn't make any sense to say you don't want to make a lifestyle change or ask for advice if you firstly actually do want to lose weight and aren't going to listen to the advice anyways. Ricecakes and oat biscuits are not good for you, and as someone said earlier without seeing the portions of pasta and other things you have we can't know that you are eating in moderation or not. Your 3pm snack is pretty pointless and would be better served being somewhat bigger and including a protein source of some some.

I guess my basic question is this - You guys say I can't outtrain a bad diet and that's fair enough but if I originally was eating x amount of food and not exercising at all and now I am still eating x amount but exercising a lot, doesn't it stand to reason that that should make some difference?? I mean otherwise what's the point? No-one would ever do any exercise!

This is all completely subjective and is of no importance to your current situation. That might sound harsh but you clearly need to be told this. Nobody here nor yourself knows what your basal metabolic rate was, the age you were, what work you did, how far you walked, etc, and a 1000 other factors that would be important to accurately explain why you weighed less at one point in time compared to another. So you should just drop the comparison completely because its only impeding your progress.

Ciaran500

MelanieC wrote: »

Thanks guys. Yeah I know breakfast is the most important meal of the day and all that but the fact is when I'm going to the gym I would begin to feel sick if I had eaten beforehand. I prefer to work out on an empty stomach first thing (I've read this is more beneficial anyway)

That's only true with light exercise, if you're pushing yourself on a completely empty stomach there's a good chance you'll end up fainting.

legend365

Mel, the best way to approach a diet is to accept it as gospel, and rest on the sabbath

Eat clean for the week and have 1 day off for a pizza and some malteasers or whatever is a treat.

Remember, thats one day a week

Redpunto

maybe you're eating too late at night? I would normally have my dinner at 4 or 5 and i wouldnt eat after that, the 2 oatcakes youre eating at 11pm are gonna be used up by the body at that time and will just be stored.

And i can rarely touch pasta, its goes straight onto my hips, wholewheat or otherwise.

billybigunz

Redpunto wrote: »

maybe you're eating too late at night? I would normally have my dinner at 4 or 5 and i wouldnt eat after that, the 2 oatcakes youre eating at 11pm are gonna be used up by the body at that time and will just be stored.

Jesus wept, can we give the quackery a rest? She is eating too much.

9am -gym 1 litre water.
12pm - 3 mixed grain ricecakes with tuna & salad. 1 cup green tea.
3.30 pm - Cup coffee & slice brown bread.
7pm - Skinless breast of chicken in a mushroom sauce with baked potato & roasted veg. 1 pint water. 1 funsize bag maltesers.
11pm - Cup tea & 2 oat biscuits.

That is about 800Kcals and you are 14 stone. I have no doubt that you are trying to follow this diet. Your body is not having it though as they don't tend to like change. You get really hungry, your body goes into fast mode and regulates your hunger to maximise food intake. You say to yoursef I've been really good the last two days and you go and eat a few thousand calories worth of food.

Just eat proper, regular meals and just make yourself feel a little bit hungry.

ECFitness

Hello MelanieC,

I am a fitness instructor & personal trainer. I have some advice based on what I've read from your posts.

Firstly and most importantly congratulations on making the decision to exercise. It's very enjoyable and has multiple rewards!

Ideally you should get a programme done by a fitness instructor in your gym or hire a personal trainer to tailor a programme to you as there is no one for all programme. I will point out some things to you:

Your specific (specific to MelanieC) heart rate on the cardio when you're in your training zone should be between 112-159 (anything over 159 and you are over-doing it) Remember to always warm up and cool down. Keep up the swimming - I'm a swimmer myself, love it!

You should only spend a max of 10 minutes in the sauna and also this will not help you lose weight as when you drink water you will put the weight back on.

You said you drink ~1 litre of water a day which is great! Try bringing it up to 2 litres.

Brisk walking is good aswell, why not enjoy it outdoors instead of on a treadmill!

Also, light loads on weight machines, doing around 8-10 different exercises. Again, speak to a fitness instructor in your gym or hire a personal trainer. This way you will get the results you desire without injury.

tskk

I dont think you are eating enough food and your body is storing onto whatever it can. I lost a 17 lbs through a "weight club". There is alot of food that you can eat and you wont put on weight. I go to a gym 3 days a week to maintain my weight along with the healthy eating.

I suggest you look at the food you are eating or not eating and start there.

I am good throughout the week and enjoy myself at the weekend

chuck101

ecfitness. i can understand your considerate approach however no offence intended but your mention of target heart rates for the OP screams '' just fininshed my personal training cert'' . plus this ain't gonna find much success '' light loads on weight machines, doing around 8-10 different exercises.'' . weights machines make me sad !:(. i just think that the OP needs to sort out other things before weights mahines and reps etc. are spoken about.

Mel . alot has been said here both harsh but also honest and helpful so hope you find some good tips in here to help you out.

your main target though should be a list of goals. ie. target weight, when u want to get to that weight, level of strength you would like to achieve( weights or cardio- your choice- its not an issue for now), keep a food diary for 3 days if possible..roll in to the instructors in your gym and ask them what they think of the diary also.

hope it goes well for you anyways.

Transform

chuck101 wrote: »

ecfitness. i can understand your considerate approach however no offence intended but your mention of target heart rates for the OP screams '' just fininshed my personal training cert'' . plus this ain't gonna find much success '' light loads on weight machines, doing around 8-10 different exercises.'' . weights machines make me sad !:(. i just think that the OP needs to sort out other things before weights mahines and reps etc. are spoken about.

Mel . alot has been said here both harsh but also honest and helpful so hope you find some good tips in here to help you out.

your main target though should be a list of goals. ie. target weight, when u want to get to that weight, level of strength you would like to achieve( weights or cardio- your choice- its not an issue for now), keep a food diary for 3 days if possible..roll in to the instructors in your gym and ask them what they think of the diary also.

hope it goes well for you anyways.

thats the most diplomatic way of putting that was in my head thinking pure beginner

metamorphosis

ECfitness - it sounds like you are fresh from the ncef or something and havnt much ground experience.

Mel - overhaul the diet, change up the exercise. the advise has been given

ragg

billybigunz wrote: »

Jesus wept, can we give the quackery a rest? She is eating too much.



That is about 800Kcals and you are 14 stone. I have no doubt that you are trying to follow this diet. Your body is not having it though as they don't tend to like change. You get really hungry, your body goes into fast mode and regulates your hunger to maximise food intake. You say to yoursef I've been really good the last two days and you go and eat a few thousand calories worth of food.

Just eat proper, regular meals and just make yourself feel a little bit hungry.

A bit harsh, but probably 100%

sfag31

Poor Melanie,
all this stuff will make your head spin.
Mel - this is a fitness forum so advice you'll get here will go the whole hog on the food and exercise thing.

From your opening post I can see that you confuse fitness with weight loss.

From me - not a guru:
Losing weight is about eating less.
Exercise is about getting fit.
Weights are about getting strong (so'll you'll look good with no clothes).
All three represent a 'major lifestyle change' - which you have stated you do not want.

The good news is you dont need a life style change to get thin - just to stay thin.

I'm like to stay fit and strong - relatively speaking - but I've never been able to lose weight whilst doing exercise as I eat to satisfy my increased hunger.

Based on my own personal experience I've lost significant amounts of fat (2 stone ish) three times in my lfe.
Two were unintentional and one was a deliberate attempt at dieting down.

The first two time involved losuy eating
The last go involved eating well.
Both worked.

The key each time - for me - was going hungry - stomach rumbling hungry between meals.
The meals were two a day with little snacking.
Breakfast was delayed till 12 and the last meal was around 6pm.
fwiw beer drinking after 6 did'nt seem to have any negative effect on weight loss for me.
The main (only) exercise was walking and lots of it - everywhere. No car - I had to.

My Tips and tricks to lose fat.
- Go hungry between meals. let your stomach rumble.
- Eat moderatly. Big meals do not stave off snack cravings.
- F*ck breakfast. It's not the most important meal. Thats crap. Skip it if you can. Have it if you are hungry and make it small.
- Walk before brekie - 30 to 40 mins+ - fast as you can.
- Walk every where else after that.
- If you are hungry then you will lose weight. Thats pretty simple really.
- Stave off hunger pangs with green tea or black coffee.
- When walking listen to music and radio talk podcasts - esp matt copper, pat kenny and radio 4. amusement and annoying issues to take your mind off the tedium.

I dont know why but a weeks good work is undone if you overeat for one day at the weekend - so dont.
If you binge then run it off.
Get thru the weekend for 5 continuous weeks and see the difference.
None of the above is meant to be a guide to healthy living and fitness gurus will not agree with it but it worked for me three times so take from that what you will.

Once you are down - and you will go down - follow the others advice on healthy living.
In order of priority this would be:
1. eat nutritional stuff.
2. enjoy life.
3. walk walk and walk.
4. lift and push heavy things (admitedly boring to do unless you guage and take pride in strenght progress)
5. do cardio - my least favourite cos lets face it - if its not sports related - it's gawd awful boring - so find a sport.

MelanieC

Thanks sfag, yeah my head was getting totally wrecked to be honest. One person saying the problem is I eat too much and another saying it's that I'm not eating enough!
I am pretty much doing everything you say at the moment, skipping breakfast (not to diet but coz I'm just not hungry first thing in the morning and I feel sick if I eat before a workout anyway), walking loads, letting myself get hungry between meals. The only thing I probably should work on alright is portion sizes. So hopefully with a little more time I'll start to see the results you did and then I can set about maintaining it. Fingers crossed.

Martian Martin

MelanieC wrote: »

Hi guys, I am new to fitness but need advice. I joined a gym around six weeks ago and have been going religiously three times a week since then. I walk 6kms on the treadmill and do 15 mins each on the bike and rowing machine as well as a few weights and stretches. Altogether I burn 800 cals. I thought I might be seeing some results by now but no, absolutely nothing! Everyone else I know who walks that much loses loads of weight and tones up in no time so it's really frustrating me that I'm working just as hard (or harder) and getting nowhere.

Now admittedly I'm not dieting but I don't eat outragously as it is so I thought just by working out that much and burning that many cals regularly, I would begin to lose weight and tone up. I know muscle is heavier than fat so I shouldn't necessarily go by the scales but I can tell from my clothes too that my body hasn't changed one bit and I've not lost one inch of body fat. I don't get it. Can anyone enlighten me?

A lot of people on here know a lot more than me but simply put if you wanna lose weight then this formula can not be ignored

Calories put in to the body must be less than Calories taken out of the body.

How you do that is up to you. Either Increase output of calories by moving more/exercising more or Decrease input of calories by making changes to your diet or ideally do a little a bit of both.

d'Oracle

sfag31 wrote: »

Poor Melanie,
all this stuff will make your head spin.
Mel - this is a fitness forum so advice you'll get here will go the whole hog on the food and exercise thing.

From your opening post I can see that you confuse fitness with weight loss.

From me - not a guru:
Losing weight is about eating less.
Exercise is about getting fit.
Weights are about getting strong (so'll you'll look good with no clothes).
All three represent a 'major lifestyle change' - which you have stated you do not want.

The good news is you dont need a life style change to get thin - just to stay thin.

I'm like to stay fit and strong - relatively speaking - but I've never been able to lose weight whilst doing exercise as I eat to satisfy my increased hunger.

Based on my own personal experience I've lost significant amounts of fat (2 stone ish) three times in my lfe.
Two were unintentional and one was a deliberate attempt at dieting down.

The first two time involved losuy eating
The last go involved eating well.
Both worked.

The key each time - for me - was going hungry - stomach rumbling hungry between meals.
The meals were two a day with little snacking.
Breakfast was delayed till 12 and the last meal was around 6pm.
fwiw beer drinking after 6 did'nt seem to have any negative effect on weight loss for me.
The main (only) exercise was walking and lots of it - everywhere. No car - I had to.

My Tips and tricks to lose fat.
- Go hungry between meals. let your stomach rumble.
- Eat moderatly. Big meals do not stave off snack cravings.
- F*ck breakfast. It's not the most important meal. Thats crap. Skip it if you can. Have it if you are hungry and make it small.
- Walk before brekie - 30 to 40 mins+ - fast as you can.
- Walk every where else after that.
- If you are hungry then you will lose weight. Thats pretty simple really.
- Stave off hunger pangs with green tea or black coffee.
- When walking listen to music and radio talk podcasts - esp matt copper, pat kenny and radio 4. amusement and annoying issues to take your mind off the tedium.

I dont know why but a weeks good work is undone if you overeat for one day at the weekend - so dont.
If you binge then run it off.
Get thru the weekend for 5 continuous weeks and see the difference.
None of the above is meant to be a guide to healthy living and fitness gurus will not agree with it but it worked for me three times so take from that what you will.

Once you are down - and you will go down - follow the others advice on healthy living.
In order of priority this would be:
1. eat nutritional stuff.
2. enjoy life.
3. walk walk and walk.
4. lift and push heavy things (admitedly boring to do unless you guage and take pride in strenght progress)
5. do cardio - my least favourite cos lets face it - if its not sports related - it's gawd awful boring - so find a sport.

Hi Melanie.

Disregard this.
Its largely utter unmitigated crap.

Particularly the Breakfast bit.
Can't state enough how wrong that is.

legend365

Skip breakast??

People should have to pass some sort of test to be allowed advise here!

Someone explain how important it is to ignore that statement, please!

Cork24

Mel,

You are kind of over doing, it. I would train less maybe something like this

Monday: 300meter Swim

Tuesday: 30min Weights, Light Weights More Reps.

Wednesday: 15 min Bike, Even better(Spinning class)

Thursday: Rest

Friday: 300meter Swim

Saturday: 20 Cardio

Sunday: Rest

Remember, your Belly is the size of your fist, for every 1gram of protein you should be taken in 4grams of Carbs
I.E Left hand protein, Right hand Carbs, and dont go over 2 hours with out eating, if you feel that you need to eat something at night have a Glass of Water, if you still have the feeling have some brown rice,
have a glass of milk with breakfast, as you will fill up faster and feel fuller longer. plus Milk has Animo-Acids which are need good health working body

Magic Eight Ball

sfag31 wrote: »

- F*ck breakfast. It's not the most important meal.

sfag31 wrote: »

When walking listen radio talk podcasts - esp pat kenny.

I dunno which statement is worse. :eek:

ECFitness

Magic Eight Ball wrote: »

I dunno which statement is worse. :eek:

Haha!

To reiterate what I said earlier, your best option is to meet with a fitness instructor in person in your gym to write out a tailored programme to suit you. From my experience I have seen alot of people working out the wrong way and they may as well have not come to the gym at all! They should have stayed at home and listened to Pat Kenny !

Your fitness instructor will help you achieve your short and long term goals. Another option is to hire a personal trainer.

willit

I'm not a PT but I've been working out for a number of years. Lived in Australia for nearly 5 years, was a member of 4 different gyms in that time and had 4 different PT's. I've been to 2 different PT's since I got home from Aus 2 and a half years ago and they all say the same thing and it is all pretty much polar opposite from the wacky rantings of sfag31.

Unfortunately, sfag31's advice sounds great. Things like skip breakfast, drink away, if you binge run it off all plays into what you want to hear which is you can have the body you want and that chocolate bar.

The thing is you need a structured diet, which means eating a full breakfast at breakfast time (say Oatabix or porridge at 8 a.m. (not a fry up)), have a snack at around 10 (handful of nuts like almonds not salted cashews) full lunch at lunch time (your Tuna on wholemeal crackers is great) another snack at around 4 (a piece of fruit say) and a propper dinner (like has been said lean meat or turkey or fish and some veg or brown rice). For the very best results you shouldn't drink any alcohol, but that is a huge lifestyle change so I won't even go there.

Again I'm not a PT or a dietician but if you eat often and keep the portion sizes right then you can't go wrong. As for your gym work, I can only agree that an hour would do you better than two if you could up the intensity just a little and try cardio one day and weights another, if you stick to lighter weights with high repetitions you won't bulk up. Muscle might weigh more than fat but it also burns more calories at rest than fat does so think of it like that. You could also add in protein shakes if you are going to the gym to help stave off hunger as well as aiding recovery. You say you don't eat breakfast because you would feel sick in the gym and you also said you don't work so why not go to the gym an hour later or maybe in the afternoon or something. There's usually an excuse for every bad thing we do but there are ways around those.

Fair play to you for at least having the ba**s to post on here and put yourself out there but the best thing you could possibly do is to actually seek the advice of a PT at your gym.

I wish you the best of luck and can only tell you that I used to do no exercise before I moved to Australia but one trip to Bondi made me take a hard look at where I was going. 6ft 2 and 19 stone, size 38 inch waist:eek::eek::eek:, not very nice on the beach, more like a beached whale. I also couldn't imagine not having my kebabs and 4 day drinking sessions but after a while you get to love the healthy foods and they do actually taste great, if you had known me in the early noughties you wouldn't believe I would say that about healthy food believe me. Now I'm still 6ft 2 but wear size 32:cool::D. I weigh about 14 stone but that doesn't mean anything as my BMI would tell you I'm still overweight so the scales do lie sometimes. If you take any advice from anyone on here, please don't let it be sfag31, but let it be to talk to your local PT. Best of luck and I hope you achieve whatever your goal is.

legend365

willit wrote: »

I weigh about 14 stone but that doesn't mean anything as my BMI would tell you I'm still overweight so the scales do lie sometimes.

Far from overweight my friend.

Im 14 now, aiming for 15

Bit more lanky tho (6'4) :P

willit

I only wish I had done the health & fitness thing sooner. Spent my early twenties sweating at the thought of a staircase :eek:

Losing the weight and keeping it off is all about your own motivation. No-one can do it for you.

Cork24

Well Said MAN Well Said!!!!

Sick of listening to people Crying and Wishing that they were not fat and at the same breath start drinking Cola and a Mars bar!!

OK, One more thing for Chocolate Lovers!! Remember! its not the Cals on the bar you should be worrying about its the Gram of fat 4.5g your not going to burn off in one Sitting in the GYM!!


4 calories in 1 gram of Protein,
4 Calories in 1 gram of carbohydrate
9 Calories in 1 gram of FAT.

ok must bar have 121 calories of Energy fine, their about 7.2 grams of FAT, 3 grams of Protein and about 8.5g of carbohydrate
7.2 * 9 = 65 calories
3 8 * 4 = 15 cals
8.5 * 4 = 34 cals
65 + 15+ 34 + 121 = 235 cal in Total top off the head with grams

Ok we look at a 100g of a big Mac

Calories 229.0kcal Carbohydrate 20.5g Protein 12.4g Fat 10.7g Fibre 2.5g
20.5 * 4 =82
12.4 * 4 = 49.6
10.7 * 9 = 96.3
82 + 49.6 + 96.3 + 229 =456.9kcal
that would be 46 mins of Work on a Rowing Machine with a good Avg Speed of 7.5 !! is a big mac the Reason why So many people are fat and to lazy to cook good Health Meals at home is it why Mc D are always full?? every Saturday night Drive Though??

Ok not being a PR**CK or anything,, but really Sick of people mainly Women Crying and asking what are they doing Wrong, while their not willing to Hear the Truth!! Well Sorry you have to Wash the Sh**T from your Eyes and Ears and Hear it and SEE IT!!..

IF it does Not Walk Swim Fly Grow from the Ground nor from a Tree!! then dont FUC&&KING EAT IT!!! and you wont be FAT

billybigunz

IF it does Not Walk Swim Fly Grow from the Ground nor from a Tree!! then dont FUC&&KING EAT IT!!! and you wont be FAT

A big mac passes that criteria.

Calories 229.0kcal Carbohydrate 20.5g Protein 12.4g Fat 10.7g Fibre 2.5g

I quite like big macs, a nice balance of the main nutrients. Good food if you are looking to get strong and need something to eat.

colly10

MelanieC wrote: »

Also spent 20 mins in the sauna and did a little bit of swimming. To be honest though, I mainly focus on the treadmill coz everyone always says walking is the best thing overall.

Unless you enjoy spending time in the Sauna it's a waste of time, all your doing is loosing water weight so unless your a jokey or boxer it's not doing you any favours. I would not consider walking to be great, i've never heard anyone having great results from walking. Build up your ability to jog, try build it up to 5k at least (If you were a fella i'd talk about concentrating on heavy weights but I don't know if they have the same affect on women cause they don't build muscle as easy, hope someone gives me the answer to this)

billybigunz wrote: »

So she needs to eat more food to lose weight? Right....

Eating more often, not necessarily more calories, theres a difference

MelanieC wrote: »

One person saying the problem is I eat too much and another saying it's that I'm not eating enough!
I am pretty much doing everything you say at the moment, skipping breakfast (not to diet but coz I'm just not hungry first thing in the morning and I feel sick if I eat before a workout anyway)

The people who are telling you your eating too much are taking about the amount of calories your consuming. The people who are taking about not eating enough are taking about how often you eat.
Basically you should not be starving when it comes to meal time so you should eat less food but eat more frequently, this also makes the body less likely to store fat than starving yourself then binging.

This is also the reason you shouldn't skip breakfast, skipping breakfast (even though you may not be hungry at the time) causes you to be starving by lunch and this causes your body to crave fatty/suggery foods. If you eat breakfast you can eat a smaller lunch and don't have the same cravings for rubbish at lunch time, your bodies also less likely to store fat cause your not starving then binging.

If you can't eat breakfast cause you can't train while full then go to the gym at a different time (I mean you gotta change something somewhere cause what your doing just isn't working)

Cork24

Its Simply eat ever 2.5 hours small amounts, if you feel you having a snack 30 mins after something drink water if the feeling does not go away have a fruit.

Walking!! is great for you anything that gets you up and out is great for you.

Big Mac are not health for you their is nothing in them to give you a what you need, that is a meal, you can have a Chicken Warp at home which will give you 23g of Protein. and less the fat.

Why do you need to eat every 2.5 hours, Easy to keep the body burning Cals. it take about 2 hours for your system to fully break down the food that you have taken in, if you only have 3 meals a day you system is Starting Stopping, its not breaking the food down Fully as it will hold on the some fat! as it know it wont see Energy for a while,

One More thing, if you dont train in the Morning! Then do their are 100 to 1 reason why you should train in the Morning, ill give one Reason,

Even after Training your body is still burning double the amount within the whole day! so your body will burn up to an Extra 300 cals from Working out in the Morning,