Having trouble losing weight

richardadam30
richardadam30 Posts: 2
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all,
I'm just looking for a little advice as i've been getting a bit frustrated lately. I used to be a swimmer in my late teens and was about 6"0, 176 lbs at my best. I am now around 205 lbs. I did lots of cardio over the summer and got down to around 198-200lbs. I gained it back and have tried adding more weights to my exercise routine to help become leaner and strong. But i'm finding i'm gaining more weight than anything else.

I was just hoping someone could critique my workout plan:
Monday - 10 mins exercise bike, 40 minutes weights
Tuesday - Insanity workout (Pure Cardio)
Wednesday - 20 minutes exercise bike, 20 minutes abs
Thursday - Insanity Workout (Cardio Interval)
Friday - 10 mins exercise bike, 40 minutes weights

Is this enough? I find that my upper body is looking better (chest, biceps, triceps, shoulders), but my stomach is still flabby. Is it more of a diet (eating less) and issue now, or should I do something differently?

Thanks all!

Replies

  • bajoyba
    bajoyba Posts: 1,153 Member
    Are you tracking what you eat? Weight loss comes from a calorie deficit.
    Exercise is a great thing for fitness, but it's easy to out-eat almost anything you may burn through activity.
  • SherryTeach
    SherryTeach Posts: 2,836 Member
    Weight loss is all about food. Fitness is all about exercise. If you aren't losing weight, look at your calories.
  • stahlight
    stahlight Posts: 119
    Eh, its hard to tell about the weights. If they are too light it might not be doing much. Also you can't expect visible results too quickly. You can expect physical results quicker. To tone stomach you might do two things: ab workout to add muscle and its all about diet. Maybe look at some fat burning foods like blueberries. Finally, consider adding a lower intensity workout say a long walk or something... burns a lot of calories and forces body to liquidate fat reserves...

    TL;DR: keep it up. look at low intensity workouts. double check diet. patience.
  • richardadam30
    richardadam30 Posts: 2
    Thanks all for the help. It sounds like I need to do even more dieting than I do now. Although it is not perfect, in the past year I have found that I have made significant improvements to this area. For instance, last year I used to drink pop, and eat ice cream as a snack a couple nights week. I rarely drink pop now (1 can a month), and didn't purchase any ice cream over the summer.

    A typical day looks like this:
    - Breakfast: Cereal -> Oatmeal crisp with milk, or bagel
    - 2 coffees in the morning at work
    - Lunch to End of Work Day: Leftovers -> (examples: Spaghetti, chicken stir-fry, pork loin/rice), a couple of yogurts, apple, granola bar
    - Dinner: Last night we had a mix of broccoli/chicken/cheese/rice casserole
    - Would do my workout around 8 PM
    - 1/2 cup nut mix and some carrots and dip around 9 PM

    To me this doesn't seem terrible, perhaps I should limit my portions?
  • KMPowell1980
    KMPowell1980 Posts: 7
    Maybe your body is getting used to the exercise you're doing? My body adapts to exercise quite quickly. I'm at a plateau right now myself which means I need to up the duration and/or intensity of my runs and add different cross training activities. What you said about your portions could also be an issue. Actually weighing and measuring food has helped me.
  • markiend
    markiend Posts: 461 Member
    For starters, I'd look at exactly how many calories you are getting through a day. Weighing and logging it all.

    My belly area was what drove me to dietary and exercise change and although it's still a work in progress I have reduced my overall weight by 35lbs, given up smoking and taken my waistline from 39 to 34inches

    The advice that was given to me was.. careful what you eat, careful how much you eat, get more exercise and lift heavy items
  • putherlady
    putherlady Posts: 1
    From looking at your exercise routine and what you eat this is what I see:

    Exercise is geared to muscle building which isn't a bad thing but it appears like you need to do more get-moving calorie burning exercise.

    Food appears that you are not eating enough veggies or fruits and maybe to kick start things try cutting back on carb related foods.

    I am no expert as I am also struggling but lost 70 pounds. I just can't get any further for some reason. I weigh, count and meaure everything. I also watch my sodium, sugar, look for fiber, protein and carbs on labels.

    I hope this has helped. Good Luck!

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