this is the start of my 6th week of working out 5-7 days a week... i havent seen major results... im mainly looking to lose weight and i do a combo of weights and at least 20 mins of cardio.. but i havent lost weight really. some people say it takes 4-6 weeks to see results and i know this is the 6th week but i was just wanting to see when i will see results.

thanks, nicole

What is your current diet/food intake like? How 'intense' is the cardio that your doing? What type of cardio are you doing? Treadmill? Bike? Elliptical?

It does take a few weeks to start 'seeing' results but keep in mind you ARE getting in better shape whether you see results or not in the beginning.

i do the elliptical or the cross trainer for no less than 20 mins- depends on how tired i am that day and how much time i have... and i work hard on the cardio.. its not like i sit there and just coast thru it- i work hard. my diet/intake... well ill be honest... is very low ( i have an eating disorder and my intake never goes above 600 calories)

i know that im gaining muscle, i can tell im stronger but i want to be able to see the tone-ness and the fat gone but i would have thought that at 6 weeks i would be able to.

Texascowgirl8, I don't know much about eating disorders (the different kinds) so I don't want to direct you to do something that isn't researched or educated.

Doing ANY cardio will help with weight loss as long as you get your heart rate into the fat burning zone (minimum) and this number varies depending on your age. Your intake is extremely low (only 600 calories) so just in that, you shouldn't be taking in anything that will effect your weight in a negative way when talking about 'fat'.

I suggest you do get some help on your disorder though, even when loosing weight you could double the intake your taking now, if not more, with healthy foods and see alot better results. Talk to a nutritionist or a health professional for some direction in this. Again I can't really comment much as I don't want to give you an uneducated response.

I have had eating troubles in the past as well. At first, I was finding it difficult to eat normally. I used to binge and then not eat for days to make up for it. I now eat about 6 or 7 meals a day. They are only about 200 to 250 calories each, so it helps. I don't feel overly full. You might try this. Just eat a little bit all day long to get those calories up and make sure you're making healthy choices. If you aren't getting enough calories, at least try to get as much healthy food in your body as possible. Your body needs to be getting enough fuel to get out of the mode that it's in now. When you are doing enough cardio and lifting and eating enough to fuel your body, you will see results. Good luck!

TAZ- i understand that you do not want to give me any advice that is uneducated for my circumstance. I am 17 and have talked to my parents about getting help and nothing has been done- so I personally cant walk up to a doctor's office by myself because I must have a parent, especially for this kind of reason. But as for the heart rate- I think mine goes too high, isn't that considered cardio when it goes too high?

Rubato- I sometimes would binge then fast but I just recently realised that hurts me in the end, so I have been eating more- mostly fruits and veggies but its still more. There's NO way I can voluntarily eat 1000+ calories aday. But I am doing my best to eat something at every 'meal' to keep me from getting stuck in that binge/fast cycle.

thanks for yalls inputs!
nicole

For your age, and this is a typical value based on statistics, the list below will explain the 'target heart rate' depending on your goals....

120 to 140 beats per minute - Effective Fat Burning Zone
140 to 160 beats per minute - Intermediate Aerobic Zone
160 to 180 beats per minute - Cardiovascular Performance Zone

Again there are 'website calculators' that will help you find this. Google things like 'target heart rate calculator' and you'll find the sites. You would typically want to get into a heart rate during exercise somewhere between 120-150 beats per minute for it to be effective as a cardio routine.

Yup, like TAZ said, get in your target heart rate. And once there stay there for at least 30 minutes. I think once you find your target heart rate you'll be working a little easier at the gym... Working too hard at the gym can be a useless as not working hard at all. Find out the right pace and keep at it.

I dont see how you could not be losing weight eating such little food while working out so often. The only logical thing i could think of is that you arent supplying you body with enough energy for your muscles to grow(and burn fat). If you do not have a Post work out shake or some good source of protein, your body will take enegry from your muscles before fat in order to supply the nutrients for the workout. this basically means you wont get any stronger depriving your body of nutrients while working out. We all know that muscles are the biggest fat burner so yo wont increase your ability to burn fat.

I reccomend that you increase your protein intake substancially(spelling), and that you have a post work out shake with at least 25 grams of protein. Protein is very hard for the body to break down and convert to fat, so any excess protein that you eat will turn into little or no fat. Try to get 100 grams of protein on your workout days and at least 75 grams on regular days.

Im sure you have gotten more fit/lost weight, its sometimes hard to notice as the results can be very gradual.

Good luck and keep up the cardio

She's not losing weight because her body is in "starvation mode". A year ago I was in the same boat and I would work out for up to 3 hours total at the gym and would only consume about 900 calories a day. I did lose some weight initially, but then it became harder and harder to lose. My body was hanging on to EVERY calorie I consumed and I lost A LOT of muscle because my body was feeding off of it.

Texasgirl, please try to eat more than 1,000 calories. Rubato's suggestion of 6 small meals is a start. In order to lose weight, which I'm sure you don't need to do, your body MUST get out of that starvation mode. I can totally understand what you're going through and the recovery is long hard process. You've ruined your metabolism by cutting you caloric intake so low and you have no choice but to begin eating more to get it up again.

Good luck!

I think Im over the 'fat burning' stage with the heart rate- my heart rate goes up and down and up and down while working out so its not like it just stays there at one spot. Sometimes it will level out- I will try harder to keep it at a lower rate.

I will TRY to eat something after workouts and try to make it high with protein. I think I am gaining muscle Im just not for sure if Im losing the fat over the muscle.

Snuggle- Even when I first started working out this much I didn't lose fast- I actually have just started losing weight again so I know the fat will start to shed. But I KNOW that my body will hang on to those calories that I don't burn because my body is trying to save them and after doing this for so long thats what its been doing. I know I can't eat more than 1,000 calories, in a way I am trying to recover on my own? but if I eat something at every meal it can't be high in calories otherwise I will flip but I am getting to the point where I will eat at least at 2 meals a day which is a step. Trust me I WANT to recover but I can't without my parents help and proper treatment. I WANT to lose weight and get toned the healthy way. But I know you know where Im coming from- its not easy.

Thanks for yalls help! I will try to keep my heart rate lower and hopefully that will keep me at the fat burning stage.

Taz, about that 120-140 beats per minute for fat loss. I have a treadmill that calculates your heart rate. Should one of those numbers in that range(120-140) appear on that gauge. Is that how you tell that is your heart rate to burn fat? I don't understand any of it. I just want to know what numbers should appear on that guage to burn fat. I hope I didn't confuse you because it is very hard to explain. Thanks