Hello! I am 18, 5' 10'', and as of now I weight 220 pounds. At the beginning of March I weighed in at 267 pounds, but decided that I wanted to make a drastic change in my life before graduation and going off to college. Well, I got a gym membership and I go at least 5 times a week (sometimes 6). I use the elliptical everyday and run at least 4 miles on it. I set the resistance to 5 to work out the muscles in my legs. Every other day I lift weights on the nautilus equipment. What I was wondering is how to work on my abs? I do it at home, because I would much rather do crunches on the floor than use the ab equipment. I started doing 25 reps a set, and 3 sets a day. Every other day I would continue to add 5 reps to each set, to push my limits. I am up to 65 reps, and 3 sets as of today. Is this okay? I know that I have a long way to go to be how I want to be, and I am in it for the long haul. I've been very devoted, and I have actually come to love exercising. It is such a stress reliever... Am I going about this right? My body fat percentage is still high, but it dropped 2 percent last week and I am hoping that it dropped again this week (I only weigh in on Mondays). I know that there will come a time when I am not losing weight as rapidly, and I am fine with that. Thank you for your input!

Sounds like you are on the right track! Just like you said, it just takes time to see the results. Some people think that doing ONLY crunches will do the trick, but cardio definitely plays a part in it since you have to burn the fat that's over the abdominals off. Sounds like you're doing great with that! Just make sure you are eating a healthy diet as well.

Do you mean that you have lost over 40 pounds since March of this year? Sounds like you are losing weight very quickly! Just make sure you aren't pushing yourself too hard. Usually losing about 2 pounds per week is normal, but you are losing a lot more than this. Everyone loses weight differently though, so if you are being healthy, I'd keep up with what you do. Some people lose a lot of weight really fast and then it slows down after a while.

Just wondering... about how long does it take you to run for at least 4 miles on the elliptical? I'm starting to think that the elliptical I use is VERY off on the calorie and distance counters. Sometimes it says I've run only 1 mile after half an hour! I also go 85rpm and move quicker than many of the people around me at the gym and I do keep up the pace, so this just doesn't seem accurate at all or even close to it! I recently switched to the treadmill and can go much more of a distance with a slow jog or even with a fast walk!

Yes... I weighed in today and lost another five pounds. I think that it is because I am still a decent ammount overweight, but yes, I do anticipate that my weight loss level will slow down and I am fine with that. My scales have a built in body fat reader also, so as long as I see that percentage number go down, I am fine.

I get on the elliptical for 45 mins, but I go at a very rapid speed. I'm not sure what brand of elliptical you are using, but here is how I do the one that I am on. I set the resistance to level five, and instead of watching the calories that I burn, I set it to calories burned per minute. I usually stay around 15 calories burned per minute, but I never let it slip below 14. If I get too tired, I slow down for about a minute or so and then start back up when I feel like it. Putting the resistance on will really work your legs, so it can burn quite a bit. I did this yesterday and it measured me as running 5.34 miles and burning 620 calories. I'm not really sure how accurate these machines are because everyone burns calories at a different rate. It still makes me feel better to see that 620 calories burned. :)

Good for you! I think it's just the machine I used... because I went on a different one at a different gym and the distance AND calories were much more for a similar workout! I felt that I already looked like one of those silly people that look funny going fast on the machines, and any faster would just look ridiculous. Thanks for your feedback on that. Best of luck to you!!! Sounds like you are doing wonderful!

Just remember that weight training is the real key to burning the fat off and keeping it off. Don't get me wrong, cardio does burn calories/fat and is great for your heart lungs and blood vessels, but by adding more muscle to your frame, your body has to use more calories, thus, increasing your metabolism.... and that's what you ultimately want to do.

Too much cardio breaks down muscle, so be careful not to do too much (for the reason I mentioned above).

Another suggestion is to do more interval training instead of steady state cardio. In other words, sprint for 30 seconds walk for a minute, sprint for 30, walk for a minute, etc. Studies show that your body keeps burning more calories up to a day and a half later post interval training!

Good luck with your training and keep it up!

I have also read that interval training is great for burning more calories as the day goes on than steady state cardio, but if you want to build a base fitness level, at least one long steady cardio session a week is necessary.

This is why long distance folks do the long session weekly.