Fitness question

heniko

Hi everyone!

Have 2 questions about fitness ...

1- I am not a sweater! I can workout for 45m on my cross trainer and barely just have that first sweat, 'dew" maybe call it. my husband keeps telling me to lose weight I should be dripping in sweat! Is this true? Or some BS? Does the fact, I don't sweat mean I am sick (as my husband calls it) and reason for such little weight loss?
BTW I water plenty of water 3L daily.

2 - For BMI of 39, 5'7 woman now 108kg (goal of 75kg) how much cardio is enough? I am currently doing AM/PM stretch and before after workouts, about 30m on my cross trainer 4-5 days a week in the morning , then some light weight (1.5kg) lifting 3x week or *try* do a workout from Bodyrock.tv
Is this enough? Or no? ... for weight loss since I need to lose alot of weight. I am realistic I know it won't come off fast ... but I am *looking* to lose least lb a week.

Thank you everyone! Good luck on your journeys!

khrys1

Hmmm, I'm pretty sure the amount you sweat doesn't have much/anything to do with weight loss. Are you keeping track of your heartrate somehow? That would be the true measure of how hard you're working out/burning calories.

It sounds like you're doing a good job at working out- if you are staying at/under the amount of calories set for you by MFP and are still not losing, either exercising more or harder could help. Good luck to you!!!!

SlimmingSarah

Hey no way!

I dont sweat either! My partner always teases me when we go cycling and he comes back looking like he has been standing under a waterfall and my body is just faintly damp.

I guess its just the effectiveness of your bodies temperature management. As long as you 'feel the burn' in your muscles, it means your body is working hard.

melaniecheeks

I'd suggest increasing the weights that you're lifting - you're doing a good mix of strength and cardio, but to really see any effect you need to work your muscles hard.

Athena413

Maybe try amping up your weight training a little. Our muscle is our body's fat burner, so if you're doing a crap ton of cardio and only a little bit of light weight training, try doing a little less cardio and some more weight training to strengthen those muscles. Sweat is just your body getting rid of water weight, so if you're well hydrated and your body isn't retaining water, then you're probably not going to sweat as much anyway. I would worry about sweat and I really wouldn't focus too much on actual pounds...try measuring yourself (hips, waist, bust, thigh, calf, bicep) once a month to see the real progress you're making.

TiDinzeo

How much you sweat doesn't make any difference as far as I know, some people just sweat more or less than others, the important thing as far as weight loss is concerned is calories burned. I think your husband is just jealous that he sweats so much when he works out.

And I personally think that you're doing enough exercise. You're doing a lot more than me so far that's for sure. Of course I'm only aiming for 1/2 lb per week at the moment. But what you want to concentrate on there I think is staying in your calories goal.

heniko

Thank you all for all the advice. I will buy some heavier weights ... which ones are best for me? I just bought the lighest ones which were 1.5kg ... Good luck and encouragement on your journeys!

backinthenines

Sweating is the body's way of cooling you down. If you don't sweat it could be because either your body temperature doesn't rise to a level where your body thinks it's necessary to cool you down OR you could be working harder. Only you know the answer to that.

A heart rate monitor should tell you. A very rough rule of thumb to guesstimate your maximum heart rate is 220-age, so if you're 40 your MHR would be around 180. You should then do your cardio sessions at around 70-85% of your MHR for decent effort. Cardio sessions should really not be steady state low heart rate just rocking the elliptical back and forth in a way you could do all day. Best cardio sessions are focussed 45 mins of interval based work. 4 sessions should do it.

Your weights are way too light and really won't make much impact at that rate. Strength training is great for maintaining lean mass and increasing metabolism but you've got to up the weights for that. Google "New Rules of Lifting for Women" and start lifting hard. 3 sessions should do it

And lastly, and it can't be said often enough, most normal people can not out-perform a bad diet!!

So making more optimal nutritional choices will make a major difference. IMHO for most people it's 70% about diet and 30% about exercise. An hour on an elliptical can be quite easily wipes out by one single burger. You need to run 3 miles to make up for a normal sandwich, so you can see why nutrition is important. Less simple carbs, more complex carbs, more protein.

And that's it.

heniko

Thank you backinthenines that was all very helpful info. I am so glad I joined MFP!!! my X trainer can measure my heart rate so I will keep tracking this. And get heavier weights too!