Ok...basically my problem is that I'm not losing any weight. I've been going to the gym religiously for about 3 months now with at least 3 2 hour sessions a week (ofter 5+ sessions). I often burn about 800 calories a session and get high in the cardio range (I'd like to get fitter too). Since I started this I have barely lost a pound...sometimes it drifts a pound or two either way but doesn't get anywhere. My eating is not great...I mean I'm not really dieting, but I don't binge or anything like that and the food I have isn't that unhealthy (I'm not really a fan of crisps or cakes or cheese and such). I feel a lot fitter and more toned (my tummy feels flatter) but I haven't really lost any inches either.

The last week or two I haven't gone as often...maybe 3 times a week and I've been quite bad with my eating (three nights in a row I had takeaways from the indian and the chinese ) and I notice I've lost 4 pounds! So I'm also curious if doing slightly less exercise and eating more (like up to your calorie limit) can actually speed up the weight loss process?

My Stats
Age: 20
Sex: Female
Weight: 11 stone 7 (161 pounds)...11 stone 3 if you count the few that have come of the last week or two
Height approximately 5' 6"
Waist: 30 inches
Hips: 40.5 inches

Any help would be greatly appreciated

I've said this before here... I managed to get to almost 400lbs by eating healthy foods... i never ate fried foods, never ate sweets, never ate crisps... the weight packed on by eating healthy foods.

You aren't counting calories but calories are extermely important - especially in the early stages of weight loss.. you really need to know what you're taking in - and consume less...

Get an account at FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal and become very aware of waht portion sizes are and keep track for a week or so and see where you are...

How do you know how many calories you are burning? You cannot rely on the machines as they are really not that great at giving accurate readings.

I'm with Mal, you need to figure out exactly what you are eating and go from there.

couple factors that could contribute to this and is really what i think you are doing is you are building muscle mass instead of losing weight.

remember muscle weighs more than fat! if you are doing any weight training or anything along those lines lower your weight and do more reps.

when you go to the gym you don't need to spend 2 hours there spend one hour max and go 4 or 5 times instead of the 3 times you have been doing.

and well of course start to watch what you eat. Count your calories!

another thing your weight is 161 pounds lets say your moderately active and multiply that by 16 which equals a little over 2600 this is approximately how many calories you need to take in per day to maintain your weight cut the amount of calories buy around 200 (not too much because our body does burn them for energy to workout) this will give you a guideline to follow for how many calories you should take in. cutting 200 not enough seeing no results? increase your cardio workout do more rally training with small breaks 15 seconds in between keep hydrated and drink lots and lots of water all day long!

Don't get discouraged by seeing nothing for a couple weeks that is normal its that is when you plateau the only way to get over your plateau is to push yourself harder then you ever have before!

Don't be afraid to pm me for more information.

Sincerely,
Matt

Really? the best way to get over a plateau is to really take a look at what you're doing and make adjustments from there..

again, whats w/ the PM'ing...don't you have anything that you can post publicly??

oh yeah and forum rule state you have to be here 5 days and 10 posts before you can pm... so - ya might as well just share what ya know..

1 lb muscle = 1lb fat

she said she hadn't lost any inches...

why is low weight high rep effective?

Hi guys, I too wanted to know... WHY is low weight, high rep effective? I thought that was just a myth?

That's the regime I used to follow, until I read somewhere in this forum that high weight/low rep is more effective...

Right now, I try to do 2 sets of 6~8 high weight, followed by 2 sets of 10~as much as I can life of low weights???

I don't even know if that is correct... I'm just blindly following somebody elses advice.

I DO notice that I'm getting huge!! A good huge! I'm starting to look ripped. ALthough I wanted to get smaller in size, I'm liking how my body is shaping right now = )

Hi, sorry...I have been a bit busy lately.

For the person that said go for 1 hour 4-5 times a week instead of 2 hours 3 times a week. 3 times is a bad week for me! Normally I'm going 6-7 times a week for 2 hours a go. It is heavy cardio I do...generally running or on the cross trainer and my heart is often 160-170 (it comes down very quickly now so I'm pretty sure I'm a lot fitter). I work full time so I can't reasonably go any more often and still maintain any sort of normal life!

I haven't been weight training because I am naturally quite broad and have good muscle mass as it is and don't really want to get bulkier in that sense although once I've lost the weight I may consider doing a little to tone up the flabbier bits.

I did expect people to come round and say "count calories" and I know that is important but its not really what I was asking. What I really want to know is is there an optimum calorie range to aim for for weight loss (i.e. low enough to not meet your calories burned but high enough to not set your body into food depravation mode) and is there an optimum amount of exercise you should do for weight loss as well?

From what I've read & understand in other threads, everyone has an "optimum" calorie range, based on your stats. Generally, you want to find out your maintenance calorie count for your present weight, and then cut 500 calories below that for weight loss. If you're at a plateau, you may need to eat maintenance for a few weeks before you cut your calories again. Even though you may gain a bit of weight back by eating maintenance, it will allow you to lose weight again when you cut your calories back, if that makes sense.

Here's a calorie counter that lets you input your info and gives you maintenance calorie levels: Recommended Daily Calorie Intake Calculator for Adult males, females & Children & Pregnant Women - Hpathy.com