Hi all, I am new to this forum. Nice to see so many people here.

I'll be brief. I have a sciatic nerve issue that keeps me from walking or any upright exercises at the moment. With luck soon this will be remidied but for now that is where I am. I own a bowflex and a stationary bike. For the last six weeks I have been working out on both 3 times a week. I am 40 lbs overweight, 30 years old and I have never been IN SHAPE a day in my life. I am determined to get there.

What I have been doing is riding the bike moderately for 3-5 minutes and then doing two or three exercises on the bow flex, strenghth training, beginner exercises, then going back to the bike and then back to the bowflex. I do a total of 12 strenghth training exercises on the bowflex breaking the segments into 3-4 exercises and then the bike. I do lat pull down, tricep kickback, bicep curl, row, butterfly, push up, crunches with resistance, inner and outer thigh, top of the thigh and back of the thigh, and glutes. All of these exercises I do at 15 lbs on each side of the machine. So for a bicep curl its 15 lbs, but on the leg exercises its a total of 30 lbs. On the push up and the butterflies though I only do 10 lbs on each side, these are very hard for me. I do 2 sets of 15 for everything.

NOTHING is happening. So in talking to a woman I know she said what I need to do is go as fast as I can on the bike for 1 minute and then do one exercise on the bowflex both sets and then back to the bike for 1 minute. Etc etc until my workout is complete. Well I have done this 2x now and I have definetly noticed an increased heart rate, sweat, etc. Its like it makes the whole workout cardio with the strenghth training too.

I also noticed that I am doing the reps faster and therefore the sets are not as easy as they were getting up until this point.

So my question is this....how long is normal until you see some change or result? Will I ever see anything since I cannot walk or stand at this time? Also, how many sets/reps are ideal for weight loss...am I anywhere close?

Any help anyone can give is appreciated, TIA.

REBEKAH in AZ

I'd spend some time reading the stickied threads in this forum...

the weight training exercises you're doing - are somewhat isolated and not giving you full body workouts - the workout thread should give you a much better idea of what you should be doing -

why are you breaking up your cardio?

How about your diet?

I firmly believe that weight-loss is 80-90% proper nutrition, I don't see anything about how you are eating.

I used to weight train and do cardio for 2 hours a day about 4 years ago. Lost 30 lbs... from about 275 lbs to 245 lbs... then, stopped working out and shot up to 285 because I never had the nutrition down right.

oh yeah and increased sweat really doesnt mean much... just means increased sweat... increased heart rate is good...

I am breaking up the cardio because I can't do it any other way. I have no endurance. I can't cycle on the thing for 3 minutes. The idea behind what I am doing came from the idea behind Curves gyms, the people I know who have stuck to the program there have had great results. I am trying to duplicate that idea in my home.

My diet is not strict because as soon as I get strict I freak out and binge. I eat moderatley for the most part. My two worst habits are that I have a really hard time eating breakfast and I am a night owl and get hungry late at night. I am struggling with this part of it, but am aware of the role.

sweat means something in my body..I do not sweat easily at all. Im not a sweater. So if I am sweating I know I am doing more and therefore heart rate is up higher.

I am not a weight flucuater. I have been at the same weight for 3 years. I had my daughter 3 years ago and every pound I gained with her is still there. No fluctuation. Before I had my daughter I was at the same weight for 3 years. No fluctuation. I know nutrition has a lot to do with it but I think since my weight doesnt fluctuate I should see some difference with exercise. Shouldn't I? I really struggle with the exercising and diet at the same time I feel like I am trying to move the whole world. I was hoping by tackling the exercise I would take some baby steps and make some progress to push me into bigger steps.

The reason I am doing the workout I am is because I cannot stand (physically) to do cardio. I have a sciatic problem that prohibits me standing, walking, jumping rope, doing aerobics or pretty much anything but a sitting down exercise. So I have the stationary bike.

Does that answer some of the PP's questions? Thanks for your help and responses.

what are your current stats and do you know approximately how many calories a day you're eating?

I am personally convinced that weight loss is 90% diet related.

I've been that guy who has done a ton of exercise and cardio with minimal losses just to bounced right back up there. When I changed my diet, my losses from a caloric deficit nearly double the losses of weight loss via exercise I've previously experienced.

So you might be right about the fluctuation part... but how do you know you aren't eating more than usual? How do you know you aren't taking larger portions because you are hungrier from the little exercise you are doing? You could be doing it subconsciously and not even realize it... I don't want to psychoanalyze the situation, but unless you really record your daily eating habits, you might never find the proper combination for effective weight loss.

no I really have no idea what my caloric intake is. I have tried and failed at so many diets the thought of counting calories makes me want to puke. Its failure one more time before I even start. I have so much better luck sticking to the exercise than I do a diet.

My daily eating habits are routinely this:
usually no breakfast, but if I do happen to have breakfast I have Kashi high fiber cereal or a high fiber whole grain english muffin.
I boil myself a cup of tea as soon as I get to the office and I drink that over the next couple hours. I like all kinds of tea so it varies i might have english breakfast or lemon grass. I put about a teaspoon of organic honey in the cup of tea. Around 11 I heat up a can of progresso chx and rice soup or lentil soup both are approx 200-250 calories for the whole can. I sometimes have a few kashi whole grain crackers but most times I am busy working and just eat the soup. When i get home I usually snack on sunflower seeds or something like that while i make dinner...which varies greatly. If there is something sweet in the house I usually eat it at this time because I am famished. I eat dinner with the family and then I clean it up and go about bathing and getting my kids in bed. Then I take my shower and settle in at my laptop to do 3-4 more hours of work. I usually crawl into bed around 1 am. I will have 1-2 cups of tea during this time varying types. But then I get munchy. I hate chips and stuff like that so sometimes I will make myself tunafish and crackers or eat leftovers from the fridge, or make an english muffin with peanut butter and honey.

That is my routine and normally the way I eat.

There is a good chance I am eating more lately...not sure how much. I am really really hungry when i start to exercise, I dont know how to curb that and I dont understand why my body is doing it. I just figured it needed it.

You should really try and eat breakfast. I use to be like you, skipping breakfast most of the time. I think that this can increase the chance of increasing in weight. I have read many articles that eating breakfast actually helps boost up metabolism.

Well that is a sad menu and overworked day. I say that with lots of sympathy. That is A LOT to do in a day woman! What's up with the 3 hours of work after you finally put the kids to bed?? How can you get a handle on your health when you are overworked and have no downtime whatsoever. I am honestly surprised you had time to post here..

Now the reason you are famished by the time you get to your exercise is because you literally have eaten nothing all day long. Eating a 250 cal soup for most of the whole day, with maybe a bowl of cereal and a few crackers, is not sustainable. It is sad. And it will leave you with little energy to get through your busy day. Are you too busy? not hungry? trying to save on calories?

How about adding up your calories for one day to see what's going on. Its hard to figure out how much you're eating because you're vague about dinner and night time eating.

Take care

I understand what you are going through. I also have sciatic nerve problems that prevent me from exercising sometimes. I know the pain can be horrible. Have you been to the doctor to make sure your your discs in your back are ok?

I have noticed that as I lost weight the frequency of the attacks has decreased. I agree with the other's that diet is the main part of weight loss. When I can't workout due to the pain, I make sure my caloric intake is in check and I am still able to loose about a pound a week.

My trainer gave me a good stretch that helps me when I am in pain. Take the affected leg and cross it over the other so your ankle is on the knee of the other leg and lean forward and press down on the affected leg for about 30 seconds, just enough so you feel a stretch. I find this stretches out something that relieves the pain for a while. I know this might not work for everyone since there are various causes of sciatica, but it works for me and may be worth a try.

Yes I am very overworked and busy. Its life. I am a REALTOR and I am working 2x as hard to make 1/2 as much in this market right now. My husband is in construction and he lost his job in December and took a $5 pay cut when he hired on at a new job. Things are tight and the work I do at night is feeding us. Not too well obviously...lol. I will try to do better on the eating more reguraly. I know what I need to do...just got to make it a priority.

As for the sciatic..I don't have attacks. I have been to 7 drs. There is no stop to the pain. When I sit it is gone when I stand it is there. There hasn't been a day in over 10 months it hasnt been there. When I walk it is there, if I bend at the waist it goes away. As the day goes on my pain tolerance decreases and I get very tired from dealing with it. I have stretched, I have walked through it thinking I just needed to push through the pain, I have taken herbs, been cracked...lol you name it. I am now seeing an acupuncturist and she has seen me 2x this week. I had 30 seconds without the pain while standing on tuesday for the first time in 10 months and then wednesday I did a minute. Of couse I am full of needles and when she takes them out the pain comes back. But today I had I would guess about a 20% decrease in the severity of the pain. I am hopeful she can get me to 0 pain in the next few weeks. At this point she has made more progress than any other dr I have seen.

I think a large part of my night eating is feeling depressed and sorry for myself for the pain I am in. But its just an excuse I am a fairly bright, person I know that is dumb to do...its just easier to know than do what you should sometimes. The past 2 nights I havent snacked though and I ate breakfast today...it's a start.

I am reading a lot on this forum. Im getting it together.

At one time I had good luck on weight watchers maybe I need to go back to that, it was nice to have the preportioned meals and things. It was just expensive and that made it not so palatable.

I'm sorry to hear about your money troubles and your pain. That is awful to deal with all that on a daily basis! You're to be admired for just getting through your day. Good to see you eating something earlier to increase your energy for your busy day.