Weight Loss- What More Do I Need to Do?

Hey everyone,
I'm a little frustrated. I've been exercising pretty diligently the past few weeks- total I've miss 6 or 7 days of intensive carido over the past 21 days or so. I've completely cut breads, added salt, and sweets (except the occasional couple of sections of 85% dark chocolate- to satisfy that craving) out of my diet. I've been eating a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables, oatmeal with no sugar for breakfast, and usually tofu stirfry or something like that for dinner. I'll eat almonds or an apple for a snack, and drink about 3 liters of water a day (no juice, and a "skinny" latte maybe once a week). Up until a few days ago, I'd been riding my bike anywhere from 12-14 mph for 15-25 miles 5 days a week, doing reps of curls, flys, scissor-kicks, crunches, etc. (which I still do pretty much every day) and haven't even noticed much of a difference with my body as far as it looks. Yes, I can tell that things are firming up, and granted my pants are looser, etc.- but I really don't look much different. I'm 23, 5 feet 10 and an average weight to give you an idea of where I stand, and I just can't stand that I've been working harder than I ever have to get in shape and it's just not happening. I'm not going to give up, but I need help with this. My roommate (a guy who's in pretty darn good shape) told me I should run instead of biking, because it's higher intensity and will let me tone up like I want to- so I started that today, and unfortunately can only run about 45 minutes or so without feeling completely wiped out. I know this sounds like a sob-fest, but really, it's so utterly discouraging. I don't know what else to do. I start blaming myself for having gone out two nights this past week and drinking a substantial (which is not something I usually do) because of all the calories and carbs in alcohol, could it be as simple as that? I just don't understand. I want this to happen, but I just don't know how to get where I want to be.
Thanks in advance and sorry for the epically long post!

Mon. Aug 9, 2:49am

I just turned 24 and I started doing cardio when I was 17 and then a regular routine of lifting when I was 19 1/2. It took me awhile to see results from strength training. I'm now happy with how my body looks, but I just need to lose at least 15-20 more pounds to see the muscles I've developed under this layer of fat I have (I'm an emotional eater). I also want to get more muscular so I need to get consistent/change up my strength routine. Anyway, going back to you, 21 days is nothing! Give it a few more months. But you've made big progress already-- your pants are loser and it's only been 3 weeks! Also, don't strength train the same muscle every day. You need to let your muscles have a rest in between so they repair and thus grow/develop. Maybe you could do upper body one day, core the next, then lower the following day. In terms of cardio, it doesn't matter what you do...just do something that raises your heart rate. And it's good to alternate between cardio machines, the pool, outside/inside, classes, etc.

Diet is key. But bread is not the enemy unless it's white bread. You should take the time to read up on nutrition. The Abs Diet has excellent way of eating...basically just eating whole, natural, high fiber meals and snacks. Also, make sure you're eating enough. It bugs me when I see people here on PT who eat very little. Food fuels your body and keeps your metabolism going.

Oh yeah...read women's health magazines...you'll get a lot of insight and information over time.

Good luck!

Monday, August 09, 2010, 3:32 AM

Can 'only' run 45 minutes?! lol. I think you're doing plenty of cardio! If you don't have much weigh to lose and you're looking more to change your shape - start doing resistance/weight training. It changes your shape like nothing else.

Monday, August 09, 2010, 12:49 PM

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