Ok so i weigh myself everyday before working out. Ive only lost about 2 lbs. Ive been going to the gym 4-5 days a week consistantly for about a month and a half from an hour-2 hours. I started with just weight training but added running about 4 weeks ago along with weight training.



the scale shows my daily up and down but its not showing the weight loss. the good thing is i didnt join the gym to lose weight. it was more of a lifestlye change so it doesnt bother me that much. i do see it in my clothes and i think i need a new belt...yay!



words of encouragement are greatly appreciated.



thanks

jedimastermark

250 and counting.....down.

Congratulations on your start!



Cardio is a part of the equation but it is only a fraction of it. Cardio burns a small amount of calories per session and then really stops afterwards. What you want is to create lean body mass that is eating calories every moment of the day. The unfortunate side of growing muscle is that it weighs more than fat, so when you start to grow muscle the scale becomes slower to see the change. Others will chime in and like you have said yourself, your features sizes are changing. The scale is a bad method guidance. Let your features guide your changes, the scale will follow after you've achieved other goals.





* Gain Lean Body Mass

* Get Enough Sleep! You only grow when you sleep! (8-10h)

* Eat right. You should know what is bad and what is good, if not learn. As well learn your metabolic rate so you can understand how to create a caloric deficit.

* Track yourself in 3mo increments. Don't try and look at the pot while it's waiting to boil, you have to understand we adjust over time and it's much easier to see results if you guage in quarters.

* Visualize then Realize. You are what you think.

* Continue Learning!



Much luck to you!



-a

well like andy said is good... do what was mentioned



all i know is that if you weight train u dont loose weight since it is replacing all the fatty in you and since "muscle weighs more then fat" you just have alot more muscle...



but keep it up... how are u doing this per day?



cardio one day muscles the next? or just everything each day?

i usually start with a 10 min stretch, 20 min run, and 30 minute circuit weight training. i try and keep it under an hour so that im not consumed with working out. i just want it to be part of my schedule.



things i do notice is an increase of energy level during the day at work.

falling asleep earlier in the evening. im hungry more often. i dont feel good if i eat junk. my arms are smaller. my shoulders are getting bigger.



so with the hungry more often how should i change my eating habits. i eat 3 meals a day. I cut my food intake a long time ago so for the past couple of years ive been consuming just about my required daily amount which is why i have gained very little weight if any in the past 3-4 years.



4 years ago around Lent seson i cut most sugar, most fast food trips, regular soda and most junk food. i slowly lost 40 lbs and have maintained it. for my meals i decided to only eat half of whatever it was that i ordered and i started giving the left over half to the local homeless guy. this became part of my lifestyle and i managed to keep it up for the most part.

Mark - it's good that you've got a schedule going that works for you. And as you said, it is good to not be consumed by your excercise routine, otherwise you risk giving it up.



As Andy mentioned above, muscle weighs more than fat, so if you are doing a lot of weight training, it is very likely that you will not be seeing much change in your overall weight, even though you are losing fat. This seems especially true when you are first starting out.



The other thing I would recommend is to not weigh yourself so often. I used to do this and would get obsessed with my small fluctuations in weight. There are so many variations in your weight during the day based on many factors. I would pick a time of the day that you can consistently check your weight (I prefer first thing in the morning, since your weight is less affected by hydration and digestion then). This way you have a good basis of comparison from day to day.



I also don't check my weight every day, maybe only once or twice a week. A healthy weight loss is 1-2 pounds per week, so you probably won't notice much (if any) difference from one day to the next, so it really just serves as a dissapointment that you aren't seeing any change. It feels much more satisfying to weigh myself at the start of the week, and then to see myself drop 1 or 2 pounds when I weigh again at the end of the week.



Welcome and good luck!

I hope I can help clarify the battle cry of gym-aholics everywhere:



"Muscle weighs more than fat!"



If you look at it this way, it will help you to understand why the scale LIES!



A pound of body fat and a pound of muscle weigh the same, right? A pound is a pound is a pound. But a pound of body fat is FIVE TIMES the volume of that pound of muscle which is why you're taking up less space (and your clothes are falling off) despite being the same weight. The scale is too stupid to know the difference.



Another interesting tidbit: A pound of muscle tissue burns roughly 50-100 Kcal/day, depending on activity level, gender, etc.



And a pound of fat?



2... and that's whether you're lying down or running down the street!



So keep going to the gym, don't take the scale too seriously, and keep putting on that metabolically magical muscle!!

thanks everyone, i stopped weighing myself i feel so much better. Gonna check weigh in on friday. People around me are starting to notice so i know its working. I think visual confirmation from others is much better than the scale.

I suggest that you keep weighing yourself and start reducing your intake.



If you are 250 pounds, you can have approx 2500 calories to MAINTAIN your weight. You need to eat less that 2500 calories per day if you want to lose weight.



Physical acitivity is important for your health but does not necessary melt your pounds off.



It is simple math... eat less ... expend more calories.



Good Luck