High cardio not showing me any weight loss results

clover04750
clover04750 Posts: 7
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm 5'1" and 120 pounds. In the end of May, I started doing 30 minutes of treadmill walking every day. I used leg weights, hand weights, and inclines throughout my exercise to keep it interesting. Then in mid June, I bought an elliptical trainer. By that point, I started doing 10 minutes treadmill, 20 elliptical, and 10 more treadmill. I have also dabbled on adding hula hooping, squats, and "retro walking" or reverse walking on my elliptical (very difficult for me).

Here's a link to my fitness blog, where I keep a record of my speeds, milage, things I learn, routines...etc.
http://karengetsfit27288.blogspot.com/

The problem is that I haven't lost a single pound and I don't appear to have any physical changes. I'm not really sure what I'm doing other than sweating like crazy on these machines. I do pay attention to my core, posture, and stretching. My diet has actually decreased a little since I have a new found knowledge of how many calories are in my foods and how long they take to burn off. I have pretty severe social anxiety and PTSD, so all of my exercise is done at home. I'm not on any medications and I am over all healthy to my knowledge. I would like an educated perspective as to whether or not I'm doing things right.

Thanks

Replies

  • _Waffle_
    _Waffle_ Posts: 13,049 Member
    My diet has actually decreased a little since I have a new found knowledge of how many calories are in my foods and how long they take to burn off.

    Ding ding ding! We have a winner. Yep, you guessed it. Losing weight has nothing to do with exercise and everything to do with calories. That said, exercising makes you healthier and gives you a much larger calorie budget which makes losing weight easier. Keep up the exercise and keep track of calories. Don't forget to account for the exercise in your calorie demands. You don't want to lose too much weight at once. It isn't healthy for you.

    Oh, and your picture is sort of creepy. That is all.
  • clover04750
    clover04750 Posts: 7
    Lol thanks. I just started adding a food journal yesterday. I've always found food logging to be intimidating because trying to fit the calorie plan in the past has made me very sick and sluggish. Hopefully the extra exercise will allow me to eat enough so that I don't feel nauseated and over-stressed about fitting foods into the calorie counter.
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
    You can't out train bad nutrition. You mentioned you just started logging yesterday. Adhere to your calorie goal and track your progress for a few weeks. If you're still not using weight then lower calorie intake.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    focus in on the diet.

    and I would recommend strength training. You are just going to look like a smaller version of the person you are today with cardio only. You'll see no real physical changes outside of just getting smaller.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    There are lots of runners (including me) who carry en extra few pounds despite racking up reasonably significant mileage. The weight loss part happens in your kitchen.

    If you've been using a heart rate monitor one thing you will notice over time is that your resting heart rate will (most likely) go down, your heart rate during exercise (assuming same level of intensity) will go down, your recovery heart rate will improve etc etc etc which are probably more important indicators of health than a number on the scale.

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