Why won't the weight come off?

I've been working out at the gym for 3 weeks now. I do 25-30 minutes on the eliptical and another 25-30 with the weight machines. I've tried to keep my diet at 1500 but sometimes (often) it floats up to 1700 or so.

I have lost some inches but the scale has not moved and I haven't lost inches in 10 days. Anyone know what I'm doing wrong? With me burning up so many calories at the gym I can't go below 1500 calories a day...I do need some energy.

Also, I have a blood sugar problem and if I don't eat enough, especially in the afternoon, my blood sugar drops so far that I am shaky and weak and then end up eating quite a few calories to get it back to normal. Yes, I've had it tested, I'm in the pre-diabetic range.

So my question really is (you knew I'd get around to it, right?) should I be doing something different with my exercise regime? Maybe more or longer cardio?

I'm feeling so frustrated at this point! If I go on a 1300 calorie a day diet I can lose 5 pounds in a week but that is about as long as I can stay on it. I want a healthy lifestyle change, not a diet.

Thu. Jun 15, 1:02am

You get hypoglycemic. Instead of eating stuff to bring your blood sugars up try drinking a glass of oj. It work really fast, much more so then eating. You should be more aware of how you feel before you get to the shaky and weak feeling of it. Your blood sugars at that point are probably somewhere in the high 60's to low 70's. I have this also as well as being a diabetic. Since you are pre-diabetes it might be harder to lose weight. 3 weeks is not that long and you might just lose inches at first. Give it more time and see what happens. If you still don't see any weight loss I would ask one of the trainers to give you a few pointers or suggestions. But you have had success by losing inches and that is sometimes even better then pounds.

Thursday, June 15, 2006, 1:45 AM

Here are a couple of things you might want to try -
1. Cardio exercise 6 days a week (in addition to, atmost, 3 weight workouts).

2. Each cardio session (or at least the ones during which you aren't also doing weights) for 60 minutes.

3. Change around cardio workouts - the more familiar your body is with one work out, the more "efficient" it can be in doing the work while conserving calories (which might have come in handy if you were living 5000 years ago and did not know where your next meal would come from, but not so fabulous when you know that all you have to do to get more food is stop by a supermarket or go to McDonalds). So . . . maybe try a spinning class one day, jogging or walking on a treadmill on another, going hiking on a third, etc.

4. Do you have a heart monitor? If you can afford one (and the most basic are not that expensive these days), they can be really helpful. You want to figure out what your heart rate would be between 70% and 80% of capacity and then watch during your workout to make sure you are in your target zone.

Thursday, June 15, 2006, 6:48 AM

(feeling like a broken record) Read Intuitive Eating and see if anything in it sits well with you....

Thursday, June 15, 2006, 7:59 AM

The cardio you're doing may not be "mindful." Reading and watching TV (if you have them at your gym) take the focus away from the intensity of your workout. In general, fat burning doesn't start until after 20 mins. of consec. cardio. You may want to stay on one machine for 40 mins. instead of changing machines, and challenge yourself with the intensity you do by doing 2 mins. all out, then 3, etc. Cardio is the most effective fat burner and cal. burner, but maybe you're not making the most of your time?

Thursday, June 15, 2006, 8:31 AM

Please, no more! I give in- UNCLE!

Please...please!......stop pushing the Intuitive Eating book- its everywhere in these posts!
I understant that you want to help, but we get it already ;) Geez!

Thursday, June 15, 2006, 10:19 AM

I didn't lose a pound for the first 3 MONTHS that I was dieting/exercising. Stick with it, it'll work! A year later, I love my new body! (Though I'm still working to improve it, it's already better than I ever dreamed it'd get!!)

Thursday, June 15, 2006, 10:25 AM

To the 10:25 poster:
Thank you very much for your comment, I am in the same boat. Have been working out and counting calories for 1.5 months and haven't seen "weight loss". It is really encouraging that it happened to someone else!!!
I must admit I think my clothes are fitting much better but I want confirmation from the scale too =)
Thanks again, I'm going to stick with it!

Thursday, June 15, 2006, 11:25 AM

I agree with 6.48 am. You could try that regimen for 1 week and weigh yourself before and after (not during the week). I'm sure that on 1500 cals and one hour a day cardio, you're guaranteed to lose weight. And - if you're like me - this will inspire you to do it again... and might give you the jumpstart you need. Don't think you have to keep this up - eventually you just maintain your weight with exercise, and can drop to 3 or 4 times a week.

Thursday, June 15, 2006, 12:04 PM

I threw the calories out the window and started weighing and measuring my food and lost 5 pounds in the past 2 weeks. The scales were not moving before that. Also are you drinking enough water.

Thursday, June 15, 2006, 1:13 PM

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