I feel like i'm losing motivation. I don't know why. I want to get fit and eat healthy but it just seems like i'm not getting anything right. I'm not working out as much as I should, I cant even go cycling for 30 minutes! I want to aim for 1 hour, but on the stationary bike it's impossible, normal bike seems to go quicker but I still probebly won't get that far.

I just dunno what to do. I'm doing some weights, but I guess i've come to a dead end and it's got me wondering if this is even working.

I do cardio maybe a couple of times a week, not lately since it's been raining outside, and I just cant get up the motivation to go on my stationary bike. My weight training doesnt seem to be going anywhere because of my limited variety in weights, as I only have dummbells and a mutli gym set. I can feel a little muscle building but I don't know, maybe i'm just full of it.

The thing is, I just don't know what to do or where to go. I try and do ab exercises everyday too. ohh man... I want to do it all... but i'm just not getting anywhere

i think your are losing motivation b/c as you said "you want to do it all." you dont need to do it all. start somewhere. you dont have to be perfect and you dont have to do it all. you wont get results right away. you need to be realisitic with yourself and you need to stick with something long enough to get results. you are being very hard on yourself. you dont need a thousand pieces of equipment to get results. start moving, continue with a regular routine and give it at least 6 weeks of consistent exercise and diet before you might see changes. write down some small goals for yourself and keep with it. soon enough, you will start to see results.

Motivation never lasts forever. It's what you do after it runs out that gets you to your goals. Stop telling yourself you "can't" and "don't". Every time you said something good about what you've been doing, it's followed by "but." Give yourself credit for what you've done, and look forward to what else you can do. I think Jennifer's right, you have to pick something and stick with it. Challenge yourself in a specific way, and go for it. Motivation won't get you through... determination will!

Well jennifer though I havent been trying to do it all. I've made a start and have been using dumbbells for a few weeks now. That's all i've been really doing, that and cardio for a while and my ab workouts. That was my start and I was hoping to go from there. But I just don't know what else to do, as in if this is good enough. I will keep doing it for a few more weeks but I guess i've got doubts. All I just hope is that what i'm doing is actually working.

all you are doing is dumbbells, and cardio and abs? sounds like alot to me. you need to give things a chance to work before you see results. things dont change overnight. it takes awhile to see results. what kind of reults are you looking for?results take time. you wont see them overnight.

You know, I don't really know to tell you the truth. I guess I should be focusing more on the cardio because I want to loose the fat. But I don't want to loose muscle.

To prevent losing muscle don't I just eat more protien or do weight training to counteract that?

I always wanted to have bigger biceps, as a kid I loved that kinda look. I know it's wierd for females, but I don't want the really strong weight lifting women look but I just want it to be bigger and really pronounced.

I know I've been seeing some results with the biceps - I think. Because before I did this I could feel my muscle on the top end, but now I feel it more on the inside of the bicep, so I hope that's good.

I find some relief that you think it's alot, but I see some people how they have this whole training routine set out, and I would love to have that I guess. Though with restricted equipment I can't do that.

All in all I just want results where I have around 19%- 23% body fat (I heard 24-29% is average) and nice abs and muscles in the arms and a bit in the legs - I dont want to look muscly on the top and weak in my legs.

I'm doing cycling for the cardio and im hoping that would strengthen the muscle in my legs, whether I need weights for that I don't know

Jennifer, and any others, for these results to happen if I keep being consitant how often do you think I should be doing cycling? 30 minutes a day or an hour and for how long? I know you need to take into account intensitiy and all but with the person that I am, I like knowing and having guidelines.

you dont ever really need to worry about bulking up. it is very hard to put on muscle. i want to gain muscle very badly and im working out with weights and im not at all concerned about looking like a bodybuilder so dont think you are overdoing it with weights. you dont need alot of weights do get a full body workout. a few sets of dumbells will work or use your own body weight to do strength training exercises like squats and lunges. try doing 30-60 min 5 days a week in your target heart rate zone for 6 weeks. if you are eating a proper diet, there is no reason why you shouldnt get results with that.

Thanks jen, as you know I go onto youtube alot to see how trainers perform exercise routines. I checked out variations of dumbbell exercises and do them because I don't have many weights.

I still eat unhealthy sometimes. I do have junkfood maybe once or twice a week, but im working that to less. Considering I never liked healthy food and constantly ate junkfood I guess im going well there.

Thanks for the cardio info, I guess my target heart rate would be 60-90% as you said once before ?

I've been looking up more information on ellipical machines, I read that this is the most popular machine because its easier on the joints. What gets me is that I read that if you performed at a certain rate on a bike say, and then did the same rate on the ellpitcal you would be burning more calories because your arms and legs are moving and it feels like you're not exercising hard at all - hence you loose more calories fast on the ellipcal machine. is this true? I might save up and get one in that case

i know you like reading info and getting info from other people before you start but none of us have the exact answers b/c all of our bodies are different and respond differently to exercise. also, none of us (i dont think) are professionals in this field even if we read up on this forever.
its ok to eat unhealthy once in awhile, its ok to not have the perfect workout b/c thats called life. there is always going to be a better machine, a better diet, a better workout, a better body etc. you can get great workouts on all machines. you can get great workouts with few weights or no weights. YOU NEED TO START TRUSTING YOURSELF!!! The elliptical might burn more calories than the bike. i have no idea. it all depends on the intensity you do it at and alot of other factors. to figure out your heart rate you do 220-your age x .65-.85 that is an approx. you will get a range. you will want to stay in that range. it doesnt have to be the high end. i would go for the high end on high intensity days. i wouldnt focus on the calories burned on the machines. they are just approx and are usually overestimated. try working out for 6 weeks consistently and then take measurements again. dont take them everyday. you wont see changes daily. you will drive yourself crazy and yes you will lose motivation if you do that.

I LOVE the elliptical machines! They do burn more calories because you're working both your upper and lower body, and it feels easier because you're not working out any one muscle group too hard. I could hop on one of those for an hour and watch TV, and burn 600 calories without thinking about it.

When you research, you'll notice the lower % max HR are called "fat burning" regions, and the higher are cardio regions. Again, if you're REALLY wanting to burn fat, working in the cardio range is not going to do that as well as a longer duration of lighter exercise. You will get your cardiovascular system in shape, true, but it's not optimum for burning fat because it's too strenuous and fast paced - your body can't burn fat fast enough to keep up with the workout pace. The result is you burn a little fat and a lot of carbs (whatever is stored in your muscles). The carbs stored in your muscles are generally restored from eating, not necessarily from your fat stores.

Remember that book I suggested? It has all of this information in there. Get that book!

I'm trying to get the book, I havent seen it yet

Well, thanks for the help guys. I guess i'll just.. workout. Sorry I can't give more of an answer...

Hi Stitch. Like you I was wanting to lose some lbs so the key was finding something that I could do every day for 30 minutes.

30 minutes is easy to keep track of, easy to remember, not a ridiculous amount of time and absolutely will keep you losing weight. Every day means that somewhere down the line it becomes a habit and you feel weird NOT doing it. This is my goal, so far it seems to be working.

For me, I agree with Angie that the elliptical was the right thing in my case. Great workout, fairly quiet, can watch my CNN every morning while on it. (BTW I got a good deal on craigslist). Maybe you can watch tv or listen to music while on your bike - - something to take your mind off the exercise.

For motivation I use my daily stats. Seeing incremental progress - even a little bit - shows me Im moving in the right direction. Maybe you can invest in a multi-function bathroom scale that measures weight, fat pct, water pct and muscle pct. The good thing about these is that, you've got a one in five chance at getting at least ONE happy reading every time you step on it. No joke, I look forward to seeing those numbers move!

Hope those suggestions help and keep telling yourself that as long as you're staying active and care about what you eat, you're moving in the right direction.

Stitch, don't be so hard on yourself! It sounds like you are depressed over this. Don't be! You are doing this stuff (workout/exercise/diet) to feel better about yourself. Don't let it have the reverse effect. Is it impossible for you to join a gym? Maybe you'd like working out at a gym better. That way you can try a different cardio machines until you find one you really like.

When I really got into a weight losing groove last year, I was doing cardio about 4 or 5 times a week - running twice and ellipticals the rest. And I was doing weight lifting about 3 times a week. I never felt like I was losing muscle. In fact I could tell that my arms were getting more defined.

I know that being healthy has had some positive benefits for you. So give us a list of positive results you've seen so far.

Hi Stitch-
I hope you are getting your motivation back. You've received some wonderful advice here. I just wanted to point out many fitness experts claim it takes 8 weeks to really notice a physical difference. This may be why you're struggling now - you're just expecting too much too soon. It sounds like you're doing a wonderful job though.

Also, I don't see it mentioned what weight your dumbbells are, or if you have various weights. I'm just wondering if maybe you should be moving up to the next class, or maybe using a variety. I'm absolutely not a fitness guru, though, so it's just a thought - you should check with someone who knows about this.

My prayers are with you-

Sarah

Ok well the positive things i've had so far is that I can tell my biceps have gotten a little bigger, which I wanted to do.

My partner says my stomach is looking better, but i've been doing hardly any cardio (for now anyway).

The weights im using on the dumbbels are around 10 pounds now. I started off with 5. The chrome bar weighs a little bit. Though today if im gonna do weights i'll up the strenght to 12.5. When I first started I tried lifting the 10 pound dumbell to try and my god it was really hard. But I can do it alot easier now. Even though sometimes the weight can still prove to be difficult