5'3" female REALLY REALLY need some advice about fitness routine!!!!!!!!!

Two weeks means very little. You are probably retaining water due to the exercise and maybe losing some fat as well and they even out. Stick with it for about a month or two, completely, and then look at your progress. Don't weight yourself more than once a week if the scale haunts you like this. Also, make sure you record everything you eat, even or especially when you overeat. Sometimes it can be harder if you skip recording to see why you may or may not be having problems.

you absolutely want to incorporate strength training. Remember, cardio burns calories while your performing it. Strength training burns calories around the clock and replaces fat with muscle (sort of), then, the more muscle you have, the harder your body works to maintain it 24 hours a day... after a month or 2, you'll be amazed at the progress you'll see in the mirror, and, at that point, who cares about the scale? Don't be discouraged and don't worry overly much about the scale. Do the right things and you'll see results. I used a workout app and a little internet research to set up my work out and I watch people at the gym and read up to tweak it from time to time and it's working great for me

tiffanylacourse wrote: »

Hey there! I send you a FR with a message - but in the mean time, we have similar stats and goals. I've been considering starting StrongLifts 5x5. If you have the equipment at home, or have a gym membership, I've heard it is GREAT. Looking for a workout/weight loss buddy? :flowerforyou:

I am also going to do the 5X5.

Taking cardio and all the other stuff is good but now I am coming up on 2yrs and the change is minimal. Plus I am at a "community center gym" which is 1 min. from my house, which is Ok but not you know.

I am going to change to Gold's Gym, I think.

I am just wondering if you NEED a POWERCAGE to start 5X5?

I am 5' 3" also!

If you have humana insurance, Humana.com has a program called Humana Vitality. It's has a TON of resources. One of the courses I recommend is the Living Lean: Nutrition and Lifestyle Management course (10 easy sessions). The information has completely transformed my relationship with food (no more dieting) and an ability to eliminate cravings.

Human Vitality also rewards you for logging your exercise workouts. I got a new fitbit for Free just by syncing MyRunKeeper. It's a great resources if you have humana insurance.

what works for me is focused exercise about 4 days a week, sometimes 5. 3 of those days (with at least one day apart in between these ones) are in the gym doing 1 mile warm up jog on treadmill, a round of various strength training exercises (like squats, push-ups, sit-ups, whatever) then straight to another mile the treadmill at a slightly faster pace than my warm up jog (often I'll sub the treadmill during this second cardio round for a spin bike or that rotating stairs machine so I don't get bored), a second full round of the same strength exercises, then straight to another mile on the treadmill. I usually jog a bit slower by this time since I'm pretty worn out if I've pushed myself hard. Then I stretch for at least 15-20 min. The stretching part after is SO IMPORTANT and you HAVE to spend more than just a minute or two on it. Keeps you flexible and helps avoid pain and injury.
As far as recommendations for strength exercises, most gyms will give at least one free orientation on the machines - and you can always ask someone who works there to show you the correct way to use them. They don't want you to hurt yourself at their facility, so trust me they WANT to help you. YouTube videos are a gold mine for info regarding this, too. Best use of time, especially in the beginning, is to focus on exercises that use large muscle groups - doing them at a slow-ish pace, never rushing through the moves. Honestly, hit up the Internet for the VAST amount of knowledge available there, find a trainer you enjoy who posts on YouTube and it's like having your own DVD set.
The apps I use on my iPhone the most (other than MFP) are "Daily Workouts - Free" and Hot5. For my cardio workouts outside the gym I use MapMyRun.
Last recommendation, depending on where you live there are usually a bunch of various bootcamp style workout classes that meet at local parks or community centers for very inexpensive. Often you can even work out a lower rate with the trainer of you explain your situation. The ones I've known have been so passionate about helping people achieve their goals that they have cut the cost just to keep the person from giving up.
GOOD LUCK!!
* also, DO NOT obsess over the scale. weigh yourself once every week or so, first thing in the morning the same day each week, just to keep an eye on things. If you're consistent with the workouts AND your calorie logging, YOU WILL succeed. I went the slow route because I didn't want to drop my calories much, but the weight has come off and I have enjoyed the whole process because I'm not starving myself. But yeah, I log EVERYTHING, even drinks when I go out with my friends.

Just gotta say- I feel ya on the boyfriend losing weight and your scale not moving. hubs weighs less than I do and doesn't even do any fitness routines! here I am-cardio, strength training and treadmill-and eating like 1200 cal a day-hubs comes walking in-I lost another 5 pounds-really? lol..but I have to remember that are bodies are different in many ways-and I cant compare my situation to his. Totally second the strength training-just because the scale doesn't move doesn't mean my body is not changing. I could lose inches instead of fat. oh-and for me I cant weigh more than once a week-was weighing everyday-like multiple times a day-yeah-not good for me. some days I would weigh like 3-4 pounds heavier than just the day before! factor in lots of sodium-not enough water. Yes, its nice to see the scale move-but walking up a flight of stairs without a pit-stop is also nice.

donnysoule wrote: »

you absolutely want to incorporate strength training. Remember, cardio burns calories while your performing it. Strength training burns calories around the clock and replaces fat with muscle (sort of), then, the more muscle you have, the harder your body works to maintain it 24 hours a day... after a month or 2, you'll be amazed at the progress you'll see in the mirror, and, at that point, who cares about the scale? Don't be discouraged and don't worry overly much about the scale. Do the right things and you'll see results. I used a workout app and a little internet research to set up my work out and I watch people at the gym and read up to tweak it from time to time and it's working great for me

Completely agree!! Definitely want to add strength training a few times a week. I have been doing about 25 mins of cardio (Zumba, T25 alpha cardio, elliptacle etc) then 20 minutes of strength training (squats, lunges, leg lifts etc) mixed with arm worksout with 5lb weights and the weight has just been melting off. I also follow a 1200-1500 calorie diet depending on whatever I have planned for a workout that day.

Also dont forget, muscle weighs much more than fat! Dont let that scale intimidate you!

Hey, I'm 5'4" and I've been as heavy as 178, though didn't start quite that high with this app. I second the advice about lifting. I lost 25 pounds lifting on a deficit with minimal cardio, and I can't imagine how my body would look now if I had lost a bunch of muscle along with the fat. Just give it a try! You might like it.

How do you like the TDEE method? Just checking because you were talking about your calorie burns...Are you eating exercise calories back?

I didn't see if you were weighing your food on a food scale or not either, but that is important.