25 year old, overweight female seeks help! :)

[Shananigans]

Hey all! I've been lurking for awhile here and now that I finally got my star back I can post!

I have been working out 4 days a week for the last 8 weeks. I am about 80 pounds overweight and at first lost about 5-6 pounds. Two weeks ago I did my weekly weigh in, as usual, and had gained 1.5 pounds. Last week I did my weigh in again and gained another pound back. I am petrified to weigh myself tomorrow!

I have heard all the "gaining muscle" BS, but honestly don't think this is what is going on. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I can effectively lose weight through excersise and activity?

:)

[Poiuyt]

1. The mirror is the best indicator of fitness

Can you detect any difference in how you look?

How is your diet? That's about 75% of the weight loss formula. Remember, you don't want to cut calories too much or your body will go into "starvation mode" and your metabolism will slow down.

Please post your diet and exercise programs and we can better see what to do. And have patience, the fat will come off!

[flvegan]

2. My advice:

Take the scale and throw it out the window. Nothing but numbers. A scale takes nothing into consideration.

That being said, I agree that we'd need to see a diet/workout schedule to even begin to help out. 4 days a week working out is great, so you should be seeing progress.

As for replacing the scale, how do your pants fit? That's your litmus test.

[emulatorloo]

3. Please Please Please read this essay "Why The Scale Lies"

Poliuyt and flvegan are so right. Please read this essay here:

http://skwigg.com/id12.html

I will snip part of it, but please go there and read the whole thing.

<snip>

Why the Scale Lies

By Renee Cloe

We've been told over and over again that daily weighing is unnecessary, yet many of us can't resist peeking at that number every morning. If you just can't bring yourself to toss the scale in the trash, you should definitely familiarize yourself with the factors that influence its readings. From water retention to glycogen storage and changes in lean body mass, daily weight fluctuations are normal. They are not indicators of your success or failure. Once you understand how these mechanisms work, you can free yourself from the daily battle with the bathroom scale.

Water makes up about 60% of total body mass. Normal fluctuations in the body's water content can send scale-watchers into a tailspin if they don't understand what's happening. Two factors influencing water retention are water consumption and salt intake. Strange as it sounds, the less water you drink, the more of it your body retains. If you are even slightly dehydrated your body will hang onto its water supplies with a vengeance, possibly causing the number on the scale to inch upward. The solution is to drink plenty of water.

<snip>

[Longhorn]

6. Excellent article!

Thanks for sharing! :hi:

[CitySky]

4. continuing in this vein...

think of the list of potential benefits of exercising OTHER than the movement in that number:

1. able to enjoy more activities (personalize: WHICH activities?)
2. able to walk up stairs more easily without getting winded (e.g.)
3. look better in clothes
4. look better out of clothes
5. reduced risk of diabetes, heart disease
6. stronger bones; less risk of breakages in old age
etc.

That way you'll be encouraged to keep it up!

And set yourself a goal instead of a weight goal. Two good ones are (1) take a pair of pants that fit you tight right now - track your progress from too tight, to snug fit, to comforable fit, to baggy fit, to way-too-big-time-to-go-shopping! or (2) What your body can do. "I used to get winded after X number of kicks but now I can do Y number easily," or "I used to be able to walk/jog 2 miles in Y minutes, now I can do it in under X minutes" and so on. Enjoy your stronger, leaner, healthier body. You can do it!

[JimmyJazz]

5. Hay baby! Both me and progmom have been regulars on the

EFX556 - yes, this piece of hell not on wheels.



Anyway - in just a few trips to the gym, I noticed a difference in my appearance. The scale swears I've gained two pounds, but my belt says I've lost an inch.

I highly recommend it. 28 mintes at a pop, not my usual 45 on other equipment. :hi:

[emulatorloo]

7. EFX556 - It kicked my butt, and then it melted my butt away

EOM

[JimmyJazz]

8. EXACTLY! I've seen results in just a few visits to that monster!

I went to step class, I went to body pump, I went to aerobics, I did the regular precor (which helped, but not in my midsection). Nothing worked like this bad boy. :D

[TexasSissy]

10. What is it? A bicycle of some sort?

[emulatorloo]

11. "Elliptical Trainer"

Kinda bike like, kinda cross country ski like, kinda stair climber like.

[Longhorn]

12. Here's a picture of mine.

It's called an elliptical because the path your feet follow is an ellipse (as opposed to a circle, as on an exercise bike.) It's great for your knees because there is no jarring and it's a good total body workout since the motion mimics the motion of jogging. You can change the resistance level, too.

[TexasSissy]

13. Thanks! I like the part about the knees. I'll check this out. nt

[MissMillie]

9. Here's a question for you

Are you eating enough?

If you don't eat enough, your metabolism will slow down, which of course is counter productive to the exercise you've been putting in.

Try eating small meals, eating often, and concentrating on protein, high fiber, and vegetables.

Good luck to you!

[MemphisTiger]

14. What is your diet like?

That is 80% of your results for weight loss.