What is needed to lose fat? I’m doing lots of cardio, some weights, and eat well… & still look pregnant!?
I’m a mid-twenties woman, eat very healthily, drink 2-3 litres of water a day.
I have been running 6 days a week for about 6 weeks, and I do strength exercises (weights/machines/etc) for about 1 hour a week (over 1 or 2 days). I’m exercising 3+ hours per week now, burning about 1800 calories. But don’t seem to be losing ANY fat.
I have lost no weight whatsoever, and according to my fancy scales my “% body fat” is no different either. Waist/hips/etc measurements also show no change.
Why am I not losing fat? It’s not my primary goal (improved health/fitness is), but I was hoping and expecting to lose some excess fat, especially around my waist, which is disproportionately big.
… so much so that I’ve been asked 3 times in the last 6 months if I’m pregnant! (I’m not, thanks for asking!)
October 26th, 2010 at 1:33 am
kevin trudeau gives some really good tips in his book Natural Cures They Don’t WAnt You To Know About. like drinking a glass of ice water as soon as you wake up to kick-start your metabolism. drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day. getting a good night’s sleep, not stressing your body too much. don’t stress over losing weight, that prohibits weight loss. also try a colon cleanse. sounds nasty, but when you clean all those built up toxins out of your colon, you’ll shed a few pounds, and it’ll help with your continued weight loss. don’t skip meals, eat 6 small meals a day rather than 3 large ones. that’ll keep your stomach from getting hungry and keep you from snacking all day. the idea is to always keep your stomach 1/3 of the way full.
but most of all, give it some time. don’t stress.
i hear that dancing is supposed to help. like those videos you see in infomercials for dance work-outs. there’s one where you move all your mid-section in circular movements, it’s supposed to firm and tone that area quickly and effectively. i don’t remember what it was called, unfortunately. but you don’t have to buy those silly tapes to do it. try moving your midsection in circles, like you see salsa dancers do. that’s the best i can explain. good luck.
remember that weight loss takes time. also, i’ve read many times that when you’re working out as much as you are, you wont notice any weight loss when you step on a scale because you’re building muscle right now. i am certain you will notice a difference if you’re patient and keep up with it.
October 26th, 2010 at 1:57 am
Here’s 3 tips for you:
1. Calm down, take a deep breath and just keep persevering. It is a known fact that stressing about weight loss drastically reduces your results.
2. To put it simply you have to burn more calories than you eat to lose weight. Losing weight is hard, but be persistent. You’ll get there.
3. Think about seeing your doctor, they will have some good advice for you.
Good luck! x 🙂
October 26th, 2010 at 2:34 am
Cardio can’t lose any of your fat. Before you just give in to this popular belief and become the “hamster on the wheel” doing endless hours of boring cardio, I’d like you to consider some recent scientific research that indicates that steady pace endurance cardio work may not be all it’s cracked up to be.
First, realize that our bodies are designed to perform physical activity in bursts of exertion followed by recovery, or stop-and-go movement instead of steady state movement. Recent research is suggesting that physical variability is one of the most important aspects to consider in your training.
Another factor to keep in mind regarding the benefits of physical variability is the internal effect of various forms of exercise on our body. Scientists have known that excessive steady state endurance exercise (different for everyone, but sometimes defined as greater than 60 minutes per session most days of the week) increases free radical production in the body, can degenerate joints, reduces immune function, causes muscle wasting, and can cause a pro-inflammatory response in the body that can potentially lead to chronic diseases.
The reason is that by focusing more on multi-joint complex movements as opposed to single-joint muscle isolation, you not only burn a lot more calories during each workout, but you also increase your metabolic rate, and stimulate production of more fat burning and muscle building hormones like growth hormone and testosterone.
Good luck!