Cardio VS Strength Training

http://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations

Read this^^ reference the 2 lb gain.

A mixture of both is good.

Strength training helps preserve muscle as you lose weight. Cardio is good for heart health and is better calorie burn.

bauzston wrote: »

It just blows my mind that my rate of weight loss or whatever is so slow. Plus I haven’t noticed much loss in the inches department.

For what it's worth, the visceral fat is typically much later in the process. You might be able to help target it with intermittent fasting or certain food choices. There's some research out there on the topic.

Five pounds in three weeks sounds significant to me. At that rate, you could potentially be under 160 in a year. Probably hard to even imagine that. It likely took you a lot longer to put the weight on.

3 weeks isn't enough time to see any difference. like everyone has said above, weight fluctuates up and down, every day. Patience. Ignore the day to day differences, look at averages.

bauzston wrote: »

Yeah the scale said 5 lbs lost but then up 2 a few days later. That’s pretty normal right? Why if I’m doing all this would I have any gain? TMI but my period isn’t until 1.5-2 weeks from now. After what you have read does it sound like I’m on the right track though? That if I keep this up I should start noticing something soon? 🤦🏻‍♀️

Yes, it sounds like you're on the right track. It just takes time to fine-tune what we're doing and figure things out: That's also a normal part of the process.

Different women add different amount of water weight at different points in their monthly cycle. If you stick with it and track your weight for a couple of months, you'll start to understand what your personal pattern is. There are also bunches of other reasons water weight fluctuates (read the link quiksylver296 provided: it's very enlightening, reassuring, and helpful).

As a premenopausal woman, you'll get the clearest view of progress from comparing your weight at the same point in two different menstrual cycle. Even then, water weight fluctuations from other causes can obscure fat loss sometimes (really, read the link quiksylver296 provided ).

Realistically, it takes a while to notice results.

Visually, or in terms of clothes fit, it can take a while to notice results. Think about what 5 pounds of cooking shortening or lard looks like. Then, think about the fact that we (especially women) lose weight all over our bodies, kind of like layers off an onion, not all in one spot all at once. This is a terrible mental visual, but if I smeared 5 pounds of shortening over my body, it wouldn't increase my size noticeably, and it wouldn't decrease much when I gratefully showered it off.

As you get lighter, smaller increments of weight loss will make more of a difference, just like with the onion's inner layers make a more obvious difference in its size.

The same thing is true of clothing sizes. At first, it took me probably 20-30 pounds to drop a size. Once I got close to goal, it was more like 5-10, if I wanted a good-looking fit.

The visual part is complicated by the tendency most of us have to look in the mirror and see "me", with all of our experience of and assumptions about ourselves built into that. Even in photos, I didn't see a difference in myself at the time from weight loss even other people found noticeable. Now, looking back with some distance on my self-perception, I can see the difference, too.

You can expect your scale weight to go up and down as you lose. If you follow your sensible process for weeks and months, patiently, you'll see the overall downward pattern on the scale. That will build your confidence that your process is working, and when there's a scale jump (while you're still following the process accurately) it's a meaningless thing. I get that it's a little stress-y at first, but hang in there!

For progress evaluation purposes, I'd suggest the following:

* Weigh yourself regularly, at a frequency up to daily, that is not stressful for you; and do so at the same time of day, in the same state of dress. (Many of us prefer first thing in the AM, after bathroom, before breakfast/drinking).

* Measure yourself with a tape measure. Hips, waist and bust (maybe under the bust and fullness) are pretty standard, but maybe also upper/lower arms, thighs/calves, and/or neck. Yes, we lose weight in all those places (even ring sizes and shoe sizes can change!). It probably doesn't make sense to do that more than every couple of weeks to a month.

* Take photos, dressed in something that is either snug but not compressive, or low-coverage, in a solid color, in good lighting, in a standard position. A two-piece swimsuit or close-fit shorts/sports-bra are especially good, because your midsection may change. (I don't suggest naked or undies because I'm betting someday you're gonna want to show off your before/afters, even though that may seem daunting now. ). Take front and side views, at least, no sucking in or other contortions. You don't have to show them to anyone. Back view is also good, if you can manage it. This is probably a once a month thing, or maybe longer.

* Pick an item of clothing whose fit is clear to you, either something that's snug you can wear now, or something that's just that little bit too tight. Try that on maybe once a month, and see if you see a difference. The usefulness of this will vary depending on how your pattern of weight loss varies around your body, and how much water retention is in play, but it is an indicator.

If you stick with this, you will see progress. I can't tell you exactly when, but it will happen! :flowerforyou:

P.S. Can I make a suggestion about treadmill vs. strength training? If you plan to use the same weight machines or do the same lifting exercises, it might be good to think about doing that M-W-F, filling any remaining lunch time with more treadmill (or other cardio), then do just the cardio on Tu-Th. Best results usually come from leaving 2 sleeps in between strength work of the same muscle groups. The 3-day thing is one way, or splitting up exercises to do some parts some days, and others on other days.

bauzston wrote: »

(snip photo for reply length)

Can you see a difference?

I think there's a bit of difference in contour. Also, your little girl is so cute, with that smile and little pigtail!