excercise help! - Exercise & Fitness Message Board

cmalibu1 · 01-25-2006, 12:59 PM

Hi! I am a 20 year old college student who has free
acess to the gym through school. About 2 weeks ago I
started working out. Doing cardio about 45 about 5
days a week. (Also doing mnor weight lifting just for
arms) I am not doing this necessarily to LOSE weight,
but would like to see a change in my body. (I am 5'2
and about 130 pounds.) Since I started working out I
weight myself at the same time each day. And thus far
I have not lost 1 pound. I do elliptical machines
and it says I burn no less than 400 calories each
time. My diet has change slightly but not much
(because like I said I am doing this just to shape up
a bit) But I guess I though my body weight would
change a little bit by now! I notice my Butt
cellulite has been reduced, actually quite a bit. And
I really like my excercise routine and am afraid if I
change it I wont be motivated. Can anyone give me advice on what I may be doing wrong. Or am I on the
right track to just shaping up a bit. Should I expect
to lose weight, or am I really losing "weight" and
gaining a little muscle instead?

Also I was wondering if someone had advice about when
the best time to work out is. I usually get up in the
morning and have breakfast, then head off to the gym,
so I can get it over with early so it doesnt interupt
my day. Is there a better time to work out?

Thanks so much! I cant wait to hear what you think.
Obvisouly at my school they dont have personal
trainers (that I know of) Its a smaller private
school, so I wasnt sure where else to ask these questions!!!

Thanks! Any response would be helpful

susieq0726 · 01-25-2006, 01:23 PM

First off, don't weigh yourself everyday. I only weigh once a week. Go by how your clothes fit. Losing pounds means losing weight. The only way to lose weight is to burn off more than you take in. Even if you spend 7 hours at the gym, but eat a zillion calories riddled with high contents of carbs and fat, you won't lose weight.
Stick to your routine if it makes you happy and keeps you going to the gym. I don't really think there is an ideal time to work out, just make sure you go. I work out after work because it's the only time I can during the week and work out in the morning on the weekends.
Cardio work outs burn fat, weight & resistance training build muscle tissue and change your body composition. I suggest a little of both - It works for me. I am in the process of losing 15 pounds and sculpting my body, so I need a combination of both. So far Ihave lost 10 of the 15 I need to lose.
You're young, and now is the time to create good eating and work out habits. Believe me, once you hit your 30's and then 40's, it's alot harder to dump the weight and stay in shape.

FoodAddictee · 01-25-2006, 05:01 PM

wait, i'm sorry, but burn off more than you take in?
you shouldn't burn off all of your calories because then your body will go into starvation mode.

F.R.O.S.T · 01-25-2006, 09:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FoodAddictee

wait, i'm sorry, but burn off more than you take in?
you shouldn't burn off all of your calories because then your body will go into starvation mode.

She means eat less than you burn in total, i.e. throughout the whole day from everything including just your metabolism.

cmalibu1 · 01-26-2006, 02:02 PM

Wait now I am confused. So does it matter how many calories I burn? Or is that irrelevant. I am not "counting" calories, but my diet hasnt really changed much, so I am burning off way more than I was before. I know I cant expect to see results right away, I know it takes like 4-6wks. but burning 400 calories 5 days a week is pretty significant right?