How much should I be doing?

LosingJenn · September 2011

Exactly how much exercise should I be doing? I am trying to lose 70 pounds. So far I have lost 11 since January. I added in exercise in August and have gained 3 pounds. So total loss since January has been 8 pounds.

My body fat % is the same now as it was in August when I first started working out with a personal trainer. We do circuit training with strength training using body weight, some hand weights and resistance bands, and cardio. 3 days a week for 60 minutes each time. I am also trying to do some cardio and yoga at home 2 days a week also for a minimum of 30 minutes but goal of 60.

What am I doing wrong? Why am I not losing body fat and weight? My calories are around 1300, but I am attempting to up them because I was told I was not eating enough after I exercised.

akopp1025 · September 2011

Are you keeping track of your inches?

LosingJenn · September 2011

Yes, I am tracking inches. I have lost 0 since August when I started working out.

acireme · September 2011

I had this same problem a while back. I was working out like a crazy woman and I saw no results. My trainer kept saying it was my nutrition. In the back of my head I wanted to punch her because I was doing, what I thought, was a good job. When I started tracking on MFP, I saw that it wasn't! Calories aren't the only things to be watched. Go over the kinds of foods you eat. I haven't looked into your profile or anything so forgive me (and please throw out any useless information I say here!) but make sure you're eating your calories from vegetables, fruits, legumes, and grains. For me, at least, the minute I added any fat or sugar that I thought was minimal, I just didn't lose anything. Watch your processed intake. All those "health foods" that are low fat/low cal/low anything still aren't the most optimal sources of nutrition. Not trying to lecture, just telling you what's worked for me!

As far as your original question of how much you should be working out, the current consensus is 300 minutes a week (5-60 minutes workouts). Obviously, you want to work up to that. Now if you'd like to lose weight, you may want to do more. My trainer told me that nutrition was 80% of the battle though, and that's why I mentioned that first.
Personally, I work out 5 days a week, 60-90 minutes a day. My nutrition (most days) is stellar. I eat less nutritious things once in awhile and when I eat them more often, I don't lose weight despite all my working out. (Like a few weeks ago I lost 7 pounds, and this week I ate out 3 times and only lost .2 pounds! Same workouts.) Anyway, I feel like I'm rambling in all directions, so my point is check out your nutrition and try to make that your priority while you're working your skinny butt off! Good luck!

ItsCasey · September 2011

How much weight are you lifting? The heavier the weight, the faster you're going to see results if dropping body fat is your goal. Cardio is not going to change your body composition. You will still lose pounds and inches if you're eating at a deficit, but it will be muscle AND fat, so your body fat % is not likely to change all that much. Heavy lifting will burn more fat, and you will look better, though your weight may not change as quickly as you'd like because your muscles will retain more water to help with recovery and repair after your workouts.

For all of 2010, I did mostly cardio and light resistance training 6 to 7 days a week on a pretty restrictive diet (1200 to 1300 calories per day). In January of 2011, I started training with heavy weights and got more results in less than 3 months than I did in all of the previous year. If you're just not interested in lifting heavy weights, that's okay. Just be prepared that it will take longer to get visible results, and your body fat % will not change by any drastic amount. I personally was just tired of killing myself nearly every day and not being to look in the mirror and see the results I felt I had earned, so I switched to heavy weights, and it worked for me.

The quality of the food you're eating is also really important for fat loss. It's not just about staying below a certain calorie total each day. Make sure your macronutrients are in the proper range for fat loss. I try to get 35-40% of my calories from protein, 25-30% from carbohydrates, and 30-40% from fats. For me, this equates to about 170 g protein, 125 g carbs, 80 g fat on training days (1800 to 1900 calories total), 120 g protein, 85 g carbs, 60 g fat on non-training days (1250 to 1350 calories total). Of course, by "fat" I mean healthy fats like those found in nuts, nut butters, natural oils, avocados, etc. Stay away from saturated and trans fats. As long as you are staying within your calorie limits, healthy fats are NOT going to hinder your fat loss goals.

JustMichelleB · September 2011

YOu may need to take a closer look at what you're eating. Consider opening your diary for input...

LosingJenn · September 2011

The first 50 pounds were a breeze, it is this last 70 that is killing me. I am trying to eat good, healthy food, but I will admit I have had several days of eating bad food including fast food because of time issues.

I opened my food diary.

I have been working with a nutritionist who says on paper I look good, so we are not sure what to do, we lowered calories and now are upping them again to try and find a sweet spot. I also take supplements, I take a multi-vitamin, B complex, vitamin D, and cayenne pepper supplement.

My thyroid tested normal. My cholesterol is good. I test out as fit or excellent on the flexibility, cardio, and strength endurance test, in fact the only thing that was off was my BMI and my body fat %.

A little background: I was never overweight my entire life I was tiny. When I graduated high school I was 97 pounds. After I had my first child in 2002, I weighted 118. Now, I am obese. My BMI is 37.1 and I have over 34% body fat. My healthy weight range for my height is 102-128 pounds and I need to lose over 60 pounds to get to the highest weight in that range.

My goal is to lose 70 pounds.

I gained the weight with my last pregnancy which was high risk with twins in 2004. I weighed 118-120 when I got pregnant, and weighed 235 pounds when I had the twins almost 7 weeks early by emergency c section. I have had multiple issues health wise since the pregnancy including having bladder surgery, a walnut sized tumor removed from my colon, a softball sized tumor removed from my ovary. A hormone imbalance (too much male not enough female hormone), and inflammatory arthritis.

I have been able to lose about 50 pounds in the past 7 years without exercising, but about 3 years ago the weight loss stopped and I started looking for ways to try to get it to start coming off again to no avail. I decided after seeing photos of me at the holidays in December 2010 I needed to do something about it.

I started exercising at home but was still not losing so I saw my Dr and he referred me to a nutritionist. She said I was eating the way I should be to lose weight and suggested I add in exercise and have the Dr check my thyroid. My Thyroid came back normal but I am going in for a follow up soon to see the numbers and ask him about other issues that could be affecting the weight loss.

I started working out with a personal trainer in August. I have actually gained 3 pounds since beginning to work out with the trainer. My body fat % is the same so the trainer said the weight is either water or muscle. I am very discouraged as I set very realistic goals for my weight loss and have not met them. I wanted to hit goal by Spring 2012. Now, I am hoping for my birthday which is a year from now in Sept 2012.

We use different weights normally starting at 4-5 pounds and going up to 9-10 pound weights in the same session.

ItsCasey · September 2011

I would increase the weights. If your fitness is as good as your testing has shown, you can definitely handle more weight. I would also look at doing compound lifts that utilize mutliple large muscle groups, like deadlifts, squats, and weighted lunges. You can lift more weight with these lifts than you can with isolated exercises like biceps curls because you're using more and larger muscle groups to manage the weight. This is MUCH more efficient for fat burning than the relatively simple lifts most trainers have women doing with small hand weights and resistance bands.

As far as gaining weight from muscle, women, even when they're intentionally TRYING to add muscle, don't typically gain more than 1/2 a pound to 1 pound per month. And we're talking women who lift and eat for the purpose of gaining muscle. With the amount of cardio you've been doing and the low amount of calories you eat, and given that your body fat % has not changed, I would say nearly all of the 3 lbs you've gained comes from water weight. If you had lost 3 lbs of muscle in a month, your body fat % would be lower.

I hesitate to say this because I know a lot of people are fiercely loyal to their trainers, but if your trainer isn't willing to show you how to do heavier lifts, you might want to consider a new one. Any trainer worth the fee they're charging you should know how to coach women through a lifting program that is targeted for fat loss, and 5 to 10 lb weights, even at the very beginning, just aren't going to get it done. I have been there. And I didn't get out of that rut until I started picking up much heavier weights.

sneezles · September 2011

Without testing for free T4 and T3 there is no way to accurately know if your thyroid is working properly. The TSH test can give a false negative. I'd ask your doctor to test for free T4 and free T3

LosingJenn · September 2011

We are doing deadlifts, squats, and weighted lunges, so maybe I should ask to up the weights instead of starting out low and working up. I can definitely see definition in my legs and starting to see little n my arms. My stamina has definitely improved and I can do more reps now than when I started.

Just my face and belly which is where I want to lose has remained the same. my neck and waist have not lost any inches since I started working out. I have lost 3 inches in my waist since January when I was not working out at all, and several from my hips, thighs, and arms. Just not since I started working out.

I really thought the working out would boost the weight loss, but it seems to have had no effect yet.

How much should I be doing?

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