I've come to the conclusion...

"Lift Heavy".

Find what challenges you. "Heavy" depends on your abilities.

I generally do three sets of 8 when lifting. If you're not struggling by the final lifts, it's too light.

Don't be afraid of the number on the scale. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/LorinaLynn/view/one-year-of-strength-training-367482

I just joined a small gym at work last week. I played around with a few machines last week including chest press, leg press and leg extenstion. I'm unsure of the weight settings though. I don't want to set the weight too high, but I don't want to waste my time either. Unfortunately they don't offer personal training...which is clearly what I need.

All gyms should offer you a basic programme as part of your membership showing you how to get the most out of the equipment and not injure yourself. Don't be afraid to take weight up as heavy as you can - a good rule of thumb is you should feel you can't do more than eight reps at the weight you set and aim for three sets.

A word of caution - in the long run you'll be a lot better off using free weights - dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells etc. - rather than machines as you're using your muscles naturally and not isolating one at a time.

Hit those weights girl!

...that I went about this weight loss thing ALL WRONG. The majority of my weight loss was done without exercise. I am now "skinny fat". It feels hopeless and I feel that I'm obsessing. I like the number on the scale and want to stay there. However, I really need to tone up. What to do, what to do?

Let me stress that IT IS NOT HOPELESS!!!! :happy: You have done at least 85% of the work by just losing the weight! If you want to build muscle, and firm up- I highly recommend Jillian Michael's 30 day shred followed by her Ripped in 30

They use to say, when lifting weights. If you can't lift it 8 times it's too heavy. If you can lift it more than 12 times it's too light. I think the most important thing to do is to stay active.

Good to know...I will remember that!

Yeah, not so much. That's probably old school. 12 to 15 reps is good. You can shoot for less. I shoot for 10 reps. If I hit 11, I up the weight a notch. But, if you want to hit 15, that's fine.

Do they have zumba or yoga there? I have been doing turbokick and zumba, aquazumba and p90x to tone and lose. I love the organized classes Training for a uphill 5k too! I would say just find something you enjoy doing and stick with it, just get moving however you can. Yesterday I took my kids and went hiking even.
Take your measurements so you can see a different goal than the scale too. Remember, to be healthy and have a long term affect you do not want to lose your water weight, you want to lose your fat. As you define your muscles they will gain weight and you can still lose some fat to gain definition of those muscles. So, still keep calorie count going But you may want to up it a little, not even up for your workout calories, maybe add a protein shake after a workout.

Lots of good advice posted already. You're in a tricky place. You want to keep the pounds where they are. But you want to tone up. What you need to do is shift your focus from what you weigh to what your percent of body fat is. As you exercise and tone up you'll be in a trade off between fat lost and muscle gained. I'd strongly recommend getting measured in an immersion tank, which is the most accurate method. Or you can just get a scale that measures it. Pick a body fat % goal with advice from a trainer or your doctor. Forget the pounds for now. When you reach the body fat goal, and if you think you look right, then you can look at the pounds. That's what you should weigh.

Good luck!

I have done things the other way around. I am building muscle and looking better, but haven't really lost any weight because I put more effort into the gym than my eating habits. See pics below, evidence of what strength training can do I think.


Changes in my body shape were achieved by a small amount of HIIT training and body weight or dumbbell exercises over a period of 6 months (just this year, I rarely exercised before, and when I did, it was for about one month prior to having to wear a bikini!), 3-5 days a week, for up to 45 minutes a session.

With regard to knowing how much to lift, my trainer advises 3 sets of 12 reps. The first set should be managable, the second set should be a little harder, and by rep 8 of the third set I am struggling to keep good form. By the time I can accomplish all of that third set it is time to move on (usually about every 6 weeks).
When I started out I was using 2 and 3kg dumbbells for tricep and bicep work and 40on the leg press machine. I also do alot of bodyweight exercises like planks, squats and lunges.

One other thing, I have learnt to largely ignore the scales and use a tape measure to guage progress....my tummy has shrunk from 111cm to 97cm since February when I started doing more strength than cardio yet I have only lost 5-7 pounds in this time. That's my two pennies worth.

You've done brilliantly with your loss. Go you, you'll soon be where you want to be!

Sorry, no idea to make all three pics visible but you can right click and select View Image to see all three.