At The Gym, Scale Isn't Moving

Caper88

So I am just finishing up week 7 at the gym. I got 5 to 6 days a week but the scale has not moved. Let me give you some background info. I am obese. Currently I am a student, just finishing up the 2nd yr of a 2yr program. So I spend 7hrs a day in a class room not moving and the other time is spent at a computer doing homework. I started the gym with a friend. We are trying to get some guidance from others at the gym but it is becoming over whelming. Everyone has different opinions on what we should be doing. Some have suggested no cardio for the first few months, just strictly weights. I have been told no weights, just strictly cardio for the first few months. Some say it's better to lift as much weight as you can even if I can only do it once.....while others are saying its better to lift smaller weights a bunch of times. I have been told I should be doing a split routine meaning chest one day, legs another etc while others say a full body workout routine is better. I stepped on the scale today and I am still the same weight as when I started 7weeks ago. I am down some inches but I wasn't smart enough to take measurements from the beginning so over all I am not sure how many I have lost.

My goal isn't to loose "weight" meaning I have to be a certain number on the scale but I do want to burn all of the extra fat I have. I am starting to worry I am not burning the fat. I don't want to become a bodybuilder but I do understand the more muscle you have the more fat you burn. While I want to build strength, I am not interested in brute strength like olympic lifters have. I am interested in stamina, flexibility and coordination. I am concerned that my current unhealthy size and the profession I am entering, I am going to have a heart attach.

Someone has helped me put together a workout program but I am wondering if I am going about this all wrong? Should I have seen the scale go down by now? or is it normal that it has not budge? The odd time it goes down a lb or two only to go back up. The plan was suppose to be developed based on my goals, the fact I am limited to going to gym for an hr before school, I am getting use to being comfortable at the gym/using equipment and the fact remembering too much all at once over whelms and confuses me, which is why we are sticking to a two day program starting off.

I would also like to say that we been changing the program routine slightly or weight amounts every 4weeks. So I should be looking at changing things again next week. The core aspect was just added in this week. The idea was try to get me to use proper form at first.

Day 1….no mirror
Cardio
Walk/Run intervals…..30 minutes (first 10 min. walk fast use weight)
Use disc plates of 5-10lbs while walking (or 10lb kettle bells) for the first 10 minutes of cardio
Put weights down and begin walking one lap, running one lap… walk/run..20 minutes
Resistance Training as Below:
For every squat and lunge, hold a 15lbs weight medicine ball at chest level approx. 12”away from your chest for all lunges and squats.
10 Air Squats; include weight with ball
10 Lunges with each leg (=20 lunges) these lunges could be alternate legs; include weight with ball
10 Kettle Bell Swinging Squats - use 20lbs, hold kettle bell over your head for a few seconds.
Smith Machine
10 overhand pull up shoulder width
10 under hand pull ups
10 butterfly pull ups (unable to pull my body weight off the ground but trying to learn the motion)
Core
10 Stability Ball V-Pass
Stretch
Stability Ball Stretches

Day 2 ……. no mirror
Cardio
Spin Bike 15 minutes…Standing and Sitting (Use your Core)
Step off bike, walk/run without weights for 15 minutes.
Full Body:
Bar Bell…… 30 LB
10 lifts from knees to chest (Hands cupped under the bar) rest for 20 seconds
10 Lifts from Knees to chest (Hands cupped over the bar) rest for 20 seconds
10 Squats with bar bell at chin level
10 doubble squats - squat and bring bar to the chin, then squat and jerk the bar over your head as you stand again. Hold bar over your head for a few seconds. On your last one, take 20steps holding the bar over your head.
Lat Pull Down Machine 75lbs - not 100% on proper name
10 wide grip pull downs, hands over the bar
10 narrow grip pull downs, hands over the bar
10 pull downs, hands cupped under bar
Back stretch with T Bar (Hold stretch for 20-30 seconds)
Core
10 V-Ups with 5lb weight
Stretch/Cool Down
Go to physio ball, do pelvic stretches
Back Roll with physio.

cityruss

Burning body fat comes down to consuming less calories (energy) than your body uses, forcing the body to resort to using it's stores of energy (body fat).

Unless you are doing that, what you wrote above matters not one iota.

Caper88

I have been tracking my calories and as far as I know and understand I have a calorie deflect which is why I thought the scale would move. I am a bit confused because some are telling me to be in a calorie deflect while others are saying if I am at the gym I should be in a surplus.

galgenstrick

cityruss wrote: »

Burning body fat comes down to consuming less calories (energy) than your body uses, forcing the body to resort to using it's stores of energy (body fat).

Unless you are doing that, what you wrote above matters not one iota.

All of this..

And who put together your workout program? I hate to say it, but I'd scrap that whole program and get on a real structured program. What are your fitness goals?

galgenstrick

Caper88 wrote: »

I have been tracking my calories and as far as I know and understand I have a calorie deflect which is why I thought the scale would move. I am a bit confused because some are telling me to be in a calorie deflect while others are saying if I am at the gym I should be in a surplus.

if the scale is truely not moving over the course of months, then you are not in a caloric deficit. You goals and current fitness level / physique will determine whether you should be in a surplus or a deficit, not whether or not you go to the gym.

Caper88

My problem is I lack any cardiovascular endurance, muscle endurance, flexibility or coordination. My goal isn't really to become a fit body builder or a skinny size 2. I have been trying to research but with all the different articles its hard for me to determine what is write and what is wrong.

The best way to explain it, is with the job I am going to be going into, I will be spending 12hrs on my feet. I need to know if a code is called in the hospital I can run and respond to it or if someone takes a heart attack, I need to be able to spend extended periods of time doing cpr. Not sure if that best describes what I mean.

I am not sure of terminology but I am guessing it more of the idea of cross training, crossfit or full body that keeps coming up when I do my searches.

ilex70

Seems to me that you are over complicating things. Enter your info, set your goal and pounds per week then meet that target calorie goal.

I set mine to 2 pounds a week and I don't think it is out of line since I'm obese, at least for 5 more pounds. I started just walking for exercise, then mixing up my cardio to do some intervals on machines as I've gone along. Planning to start weights soon...maybe next week. Honestly the weights area intimidates me...it is very big with a ton of equipment and busy even in the middle of a week day.

I started Dec. 7 and have lost 21 pounds. My diary is open if you want to peek.

ETA: I'm not perfect and not following any special food rules. You will see chocolate and cheat days, notably Christmas Eve/Christmas Day.

Wheelhouse15

I agree that this program doesn't look well structured. Doing cardio and weights together in your program is ideal but I don't know how this program is supposed to meet your goals as it seems to neglect chest and much of your back but you are working your lats both days with essentially the same movements.

Anyway, it's normal to get such conflicting advice and if you can find a trainer or someone in a health and fitness program at your school who knows how to put together a proper program that's probably going to be your best bet to start.

As for the weight loss, all you need is a calorie deficit so if you aren't losing then start dropping calories by about 100 calories per day each week till you start losing.

Caper88

Thanks for the advice

cityruss

Yeah. You're complicating things massively.

- Consume less calories than your body uses.
- Move more.

Continue over a sustained period.

galgenstrick

hmmm, I know what you're talking about. There's a lot of *kitten* advice out there.

Here's the basics.

To lose weight, you need to consume less calories (energy) than you burn. It's the first law of thermodynamics. This can be done without any exercise whatsoever, you just need to eat less. Exercise does help burn calories, and thus makes things a little easier by allowing you to eat a little more.

Improving cardiovascular endurance is going to take a bit of time probably a few months to notice a big difference, and this is done by doing cardio exercises. When doing cardio, start out easy until you get used to doing it, then you want to push yourself to beat your previous workout, whether that's going a longer distance, pushing a little harder, or doing an extra interval.

There's a difference between muscular endurance and muscular strength. Both require resistance training to get better, however the approach will be different. For strength you want to focus on progressive overload -- increasing the weigh you lift over time, and also focus on a high protein diet while eating at maintenance or in a surplus. for muscular endurance, you will focus more on lower weight and higher reps to engage your slow twitch muscle fibers. for both of these, you should really be on a structured program that focuses on compound movements to engage all or most of the muscles in your body at once.

Suzanne106

I have lost 11 lbs in the last 6 weeks busting my butt at the gym doing cardio along with the BodyGym at home, it has literally changed my life. I haven't lost as much weight as I would have expected but the inches have fallen off. My clothes are too big and I feel great which is much more important to me than the scale. Maybe you should kick up the cardio, just a thought. P.S. The caloric reduction is BS as far as I'm concerned. Granted it will help somewhat obviously but it doesn't guarantee weight loss. You could easily replace fat with muscle, shrink and remain the same weight. Good Luck!!

juggernaut1974

Suzanne106 wrote: »

I You could easily replace fat with muscle, shrink and remain the same weight. Good Luck!!

That's not how this works...

galgenstrick

juggernaut1974 wrote: »

Suzanne106 wrote: »

I You could easily replace fat with muscle, shrink and remain the same weight. Good Luck!!

That's not how this works...

it would be nice though :-/

avhceois

Hi Caper 88. You sound highly analytical - a lot like me, so I recognize the symptoms! I admire your persistence on the exercise front but CityRuss' comment above (what a loss to the Diplomatic Service he is BTW!) is bang on. You may be suffering from the offsetting effects of a diet that doesn't really reduce your net calorie intake (even if it "feels" like it) and then the net incremental gain of losing fat and becoming leaner/more muscular - hence the inches lost. That seems a logical explanation for why you're seeing marginal change on the scales.

I don't know if it helps you in any way, but I have seen good results from using an incremental approach, starting with diet ONLY and calibrating what my calorie deficit needs to be to lose a certain weight - I go for 7000 calories per week at 3500 calories/lb = 2lb per week. I know after a few weeks of this "diet only" adjustment - at least for now - that a strict daily diet of 1500 calories delivers that result, which implies that my physiological calorific weight maintenance "baseline" is (1500 +7000/7days=) 2500 per day. Of course this varies by gender, level of normal activity and age, which is why it's important to establish your own baseline. So any net calorie deficit below 2500 daily will result in predictable weight loss and, at least up until now, it is a highly reliable model. Now that I've established that baseline, when I maintain a daily 1500 calorie diet, any exercise I add is incremental calorie burn which reduces weight further beyond the 2lb /week level. The secret then is not to exercise so much that you need to ingest more calories as fuel until you fully understand that dynamic. Based on your schedule above, that could be a real risk for you, which would further confuse the situation. Perhaps better to work up to such a schedule?

BTW - one other benefit of this approach is that the weight loss is very predictable, so as of yet I've had no "surprises". This will no doubt change over time. In the meantime this predictability moderates my personal/emotional expectations whenever I get on the scale and don't see the needle shift more than 3lbs a week. I've convinced myself that slow and steady wins the prize and I ain't a contestant on "Biggest Loser" who, using the method I show above, must be spending 30 hours per week+ at the gym!

I hope this analytical approach is useful for you, since it seems to fit your personality type.

Good luck!

MichelleLea122

I noticed on your profile it says you have PCOS, which could be one reason you're not losing weight. I personally don't have it, but I know the unbalanced hormone levels can cause insulin resistance. As much as I hate when people suggest this, but you might benefit from a low carb diet.

jkal1979

Caper88 wrote: »

I have been tracking my calories and as far as I know and understand I have a calorie deflect which is why I thought the scale would move. I am a bit confused because some are telling me to be in a calorie deflect while others are saying if I am at the gym I should be in a surplus.

If your goal is fat loss, you will need a deficit. Weight loss happens in the kitchen. Your post is all about the exercise so I'm wondering how much of your focus is on your diet (noun).

In order to know that you are in a calorie deficit you will need to do two things: weigh you food with a kitchen scale and make sure that the entries you are choosing in the database are accurate. Estimating or using measuring cups paired with logging inaccurate entries can be enough to wipe out a deficit. If you are not sure if you are logging accurately you can either open up your diary so others can help or read the Logging Accurately thread that is in the Helpful Posts announcement at the top of this forum.

ASKyle

Hello! Must ask the all important question: Are you weighing your food on a food scale? Measuring? Using an entry that may look correct?

If you're not, I suggest a food scale immediately. You may find that you're eating much more than you think. This will give you the ability to see exactly what you are putting into your body.

Also, are you logging your exercise calories? Be aware most machines (and MFP entries, in my opinion) are grossly exaggerated. Do a search on the forums and you'll find many threads about this.

Caper88

Avhceois I lost 40lbs based on diet only which is why I said I thought I had my diet now under control but yes I understand both your points that I must revisit my diet again.

arditarose

Suzanne106 wrote: »

I have lost 11 lbs in the last 6 weeks busting my butt at the gym doing cardio along with the BodyGym at home, it has literally changed my life. I haven't lost as much weight as I would have expected but the inches have fallen off. My clothes are too big and I feel great which is much more important to me than the scale. Maybe you should kick up the cardio, just a thought. P.S. The caloric reduction is BS as far as I'm concerned. Granted it will help somewhat obviously but it doesn't guarantee weight loss. You could easily replace fat with muscle, shrink and remain the same weight. Good Luck!!

You created a deficit for yourself with cardio-bravo. It is not easy. And it's not completely sustainable, because eventually you will be smaller and burning less calories doing your workout. Caloric reduction is not BS...you need to be in a deficit to lose weight, period. Whether you create your deficit by reducing calories, adding cardio-whatever, the bottom line is if you are consuming less than you burn you will lose weight.

And you don't replace fat with muscle. You can lose fat and maintain muscle. The scale should still be dropping.

slinke2014

Maybe you could try a good structured program for lifting like Stronglifts, starting strength or Ice Cream 5x5. they come with simple apps so all you do is plug in your numbers and it will tell you what exercises at what weights for that day. Do that, toss in some cardio for fun and heart health and keep an eye on your calorie intake.

Keep it simple