Hi I'm having a little problem losing weight...
I exercise everyday for about 2.5 to 3 hours...and 1 hour of it is spent on the elliptical machine or the treadmill ...the rest are muscle toning exercises ...working with 2 lb dumbells at 15 reps and 3 sets...i've been doing this for 2 weeks already...but i havent noticed any weight loss...instead i think i gained a pound or two...which is really frustrating...i've also cut out carbs from my diet and have been eating less too
my friends have said that i look slimmer compared to before i started the exercise...but..the scale doesnt reflect that change.
what am i doing wrong?

Take measurements...losing inches is just as important as pounds.

i think i am losing a bit around the waist...but then if im really losing inches shouldnt the pounds drop too?

have you checked your diet as they go hand in hand?

ya i have...i've cut out most carbs from my diet...i occassionally cheat once in awhile..maybe once a week by having a piece of bread or half a bowl of rice but nothing more...i dont eat sugar...i drink mostly water...if i have cravings then i drink sugarless drinks...i eat mostly vegetables and proteins...i dont eat out at all...and im pretty active cause i spend my day at the school...then when i get home i hit the gym...so i have no clue whats going on :P

and i have another question...if i do arm exercises everyday with 2 lbs dumbells...will i bulk up in muscle or will it just tone?

i'm new here - looking for answers - i feel your pain! one thing that i have heard - and working on now - is to amp up the routine. when on the eliptical, do 3 min at regular, then 1-2 at the highest level you can - then back down, those little bursts in there according to various magazines are said to do the trick.
goodluck - and if your scale isn't budging, but people are complimenting you - maybe the number isn't as important as your body toning up?

Giving the amount of exercise you are doing, including strength training and the fact that your friends say you look slimmer...it seems to me that you are gaining muscle, which weighs more than fat...but is way better for your body. The good news is that muscle burns fat all by itself...while you're just sitting down watching FitTV. So keep up what you're doing and you will eventually see the scale change. Like DQ mentioned, chances are you've lost inches as your body is becoming more lean.

I'm not a fan of low carb, but I've seen it work for many people. The key is to burn more calories than you take in to see the scale go down, but don't be dismayed with your regimen you are likely gaining muscle and it will all even out for you at some point. Keep your head up and keep up the great work. I love your determination, but don't burn yourself out, 2-3 hours is a lot of work. Best of luck to you!

2 pounds is nothing. You won't bulk up.


I would recommend getting with a trainer and evaluating your heart rate. I see lots of people who claim they do all this exercising yet they're really just only going through the motions. You need to get your heart rate up to at least 60% of your max heart rate and keep it there. As you get stronger you can increase the rate up to 85% MHR.

I guess my point is that you should absolutely feel like crap, totally drained, at the end of a 3 hour exercise session. Are you???? I am guessing not, but hopefully I'm wrong. If not, you're just going through the motions and won't see any big results.

thank you all for your helpful suggestions and advises...

umm i do have a trainer but the thing is im living abroad right now and theres a bit of a language barrier and he sometimes can't understand my questions..
i think i do workout pretty hard...but i dont know about the heart rate thing cause i havent measured it during my workout...but usually after my workouts im pretty tired...i sweat a lot..usually my whole tshirt would be soaked :-P...and im pretty sore after...
i've had some ppl in the gym notice that i did get slimmer...but then when i get home...the weight is still the same...i've heard that it could be due to gaining muscles which weighs more than fat..but i dont want to be just building muscles...i wanna get rid of the fat thats making me so heavy

why are you spending so much exercising?

u shouldnt stay in the gym for more than 1:30 hours.

exercising = 10% / diet = 90%

fix your diet

I agree that an hour and a half a day is more than enough time in the gym to succeed, but I wouldn't promote that ratio, especially if somebody enjoys their exercise time. Unfortunately it sounds like she's probably on the road to burnout, so cutting back would probably be a good thing, but still, exercise is highly important so I just feel strange seeing it promoted as such a small part of the puzzle. Weight loss is simply burning more calories than you bring in, no matter what your level of exercise. Just for "food for thought"... 24-hour bike racers have been known to eat between 12,000 and 15,000 calories a day while racing and still lose weight, according to the Mountain Bikers Training Bible.

You definitely seem to be over training. You shouldn't do strength or toning exercises on the same muscle groups two days in a row. Try a rotation like: day 1 arms and chest, day 2 legs, day 3 abs and back, repeat. You shouldn't need to spend more than an hour a day on strength training. Even a half an hour should be sufficient. You should also make one day a week a rest day. Don't go to the gym. If you want to do something active, take a relaxing walk. It's OK to gain a little muscle. You won't bulk up (I promise) and in the end, it will help you lose the fat and keep it off. Don't worry, the weight will come off if you are persistant.

Try changing your routine a little. Try other cardio exercises such as jumping rope, the rowing machine, stationary bike, jogging, stairmaster, some type of sports such as basketball or raquetball, swimming, things like that.

When you do switch exercises and machines, do it as quickly as possible. Don't rest in between. Keep your heart rate high. I suspect that alot of this time past the 1 hour on the elliptical machine is rest time, but maybe I'm wrong. Even if I am though...

3 sets of 15 with 2 pound dumbells is, well, not much of anything. Increase your weight. Your weight should be enough so that at rep #15, it should be pretty painful and difficult to complete that rep. THAT is when you're doing good toning. No way will 2 pounds do that. You're spending way too much time doing this too. What exercises with the dumbbells are you doing that takes 1.5 hours anyway?

I highly recommend getting with a personal trainer. I don't think you are OVERtraining by any means... I think you are UNDERtraining and spending too much time doing so. I think that if you did an hour of the right things the right way, you'd be so blasted that there's no way that you would want to be in there for another 1.5 hours.

Yikes 3 hours seems like way too much - thats just me though-

My weight didn't budge until about 3 weeks and then 1-2lbs a week.

You should try writing down and keeping track of how many calories and fat you eat each day for a week ( try using a free online food diary) . It really shocked me to see what I was actually consuming.

I have trained little old ladies, and even most of them need more than 2 lbs. What you are doing isn't working for a variety of reasons. Start with cutting back on the amount of time and upping the intensity of your weights. Think quality, not quantity when it comes to your time spent. Time is valuable, make the most of your time in the gym.