Weight Loss

I stationary bike 14 miles a day - 7 days a week. I work 5 days a week - 8 hours a day in an office. I eat to my calorie limit each day and I have only lost 2 lbs. in 4 weeks. I am 31 years old  5'4" 183lbs

Am I doing something wrong?

Have you taken measurements? Maybe you're burning the fat and replacing it with muscle. Muscle weighs more per cubic inch than fat so you can lose fat and inches but weigh the same. Exercise is not a bad thing. You just have to know how it affects your body. Plus, muscle burns more calories per hour even at rest. It's complicated isn't it?

I measured my waist last night and I am 38" and my hips are at 46"

I know for a fact my hips haven't changed at all - I have lost a veryyyy little amount in my chest area (I went from a full C to an average C).

My friend who is the same height and starting weight is now down 10lbs and we both do the same sctivities and eat the same food.

I am just getting discouraged :-(

Have you had your thyroid checked? Hypothyroidism can cause a really slow metabolism. Just because you and your friend are the same height and weights doesn't mean that you have the exact same muscle mass.

What does your deficit look like? Compare your deficit to your weight loss and if you are not losing your deficit, there could be an underlying medical issue.

If your lack of weight loss is not rooted in a medical issue,
I would suggest changing up your work out routine. If you continue to do the same exercise for long periods of time, your body will eventually hit a plateau and the exercise will stop being effective.  So try something new! Also, though your calories might be in check, you should make sure that the foods you are choosing to eat are not holding you back. One more suggestion, add in some weight training. I read about a study once where people who dieted, did cardio, and weight trained lost more weight than those who dieted, or dieted and did only cardio. hope this helps!

I would like to suggest weight training as well. I use inexpensive barbells and a weighted bar along with my Firm Series video tapes.

How many calories are you eating a day?

edit: how long are you exercising each day?

To answer all the above: I had my thyroid checked 1 month ago - all was good.

I eat @ 1600 and burn @ 2100.

I ride my bike an hour a day. Because of my kids and parents - I am stuck doing this exercise. Once I am home and the nurse leaves - I cannot leave my parents.

As for weight training, how do you get started and know what to do?

I take Lexapro 10mg, multi vitamin, Vitamin C, and BC (I have been on it for 9 years so the weight isn't from that :-) )

 

I would suggest a pair of 5 pound and 10 pound weights each to begin with. Basic lifting guidelines suggest the following exercises are most important, but it's often personal choice:

Push-ups (from knees is OK at first, but try to do as many as possible in the regular position)

Sit-ups and/or crunches (there are many variations, just use google for ideas)

Dips (try a bench dip at first, with or without your feet up on a chair)

Squats (use weights and lower repetitions to build muscle)

Pull-ups/chin-ups (these are often difficult to do, but there are variations online that can show you ways to make it easier)

Lunges

Bicep curls (using the weights)

Bench press (using the weights)

 

Bodybuilding.com and also the site I linked to for the bench dip have a lot of other ideas. You will quickly find that 5 and 10 pound barbells are often not enough, so consider what you want to spend as far as equipment is concerned. Many of the the exercises can be done with bodyweight only, especially at first, so keep that in mind. Good luck!

 

Hi

Your problem is all cardio. You need some resistance, and I'm sure you know that by now. I use weights, but I'm not doing little weight either. You can start off slow-get you some Resistance cords and bands. Range from 5.99-14.99 I'm sure of at Wal-Mart. You can also find resistance bands with a DVD workout included in the package.

Cardio is good, but adding weight training to that is even better-or some type of resistance. You can also toss a program of Yoga or Pilates in there and get some great muscle tone and a good workout. You don't have to bike it all the time. Mixing it up is always good. I do 3 days out of the week a 30/30/30 program, and then do 1 hour of lite cardio for the 2 days I'm not doing my 30/30/30. I do 30mins Cardio/30mins Yoga or Pilates/30 mins of Weight Training at the gym.

But if you don't have a gym membership. You can come up with your own program. 30 mins cardio, and 30 mins resistance training- (Calisthenics).
What ever you choose, it can be a good body resistance DVD.

Here's a link you can check out.

www.bodyforlife.com

I got the book from Wal-Mart. Body For Life By: Bill Phillips

Hopes this help..

Are you breaking much of a sweat on that bike? Or are you just pedaling moderately and slowly that entire time?

In addition to the weights, you should do interval training on the bike. Doing sets of all out sprints and then slower and then fast again. You will increase your calorie burn that way.

I don't know if you are using this site's calorie burning totals for exercise equipment on there but they run pretty darn high. Just make sure you have an accurate count.

Well, most of it has been said before but...

Whatever you do, don't stop exercising. It;s good for you, even if you don't lose weight.

Make sure you exercise at a reasonable level. for weight loss the general belief is that you should do at least an hour of cardio everyday within your fat burning zone, that means that your heart rate should be 60-70%  of your maximum heart rate. Your maximum heart rate is 220-(your age), in your case 189. However you should stay at this level for an hour- not less. If you are a beginner this will work very well for a while but then the effect will probably wear off and it would be best to do interval training or something high intensity, as mentioned on another post. And don't forget to stretch before and after exercise.

In general, although exercise is a great way to tone your body nad improve your mood, you will still need to watch your calorie intake. You say you eat your recommended calories daily but how do you eat? What is the quality of your food like? You could eat 1600 calories of sugar but that won't help you lose weight in the long run.

I would recommend the following that has worked for me:

a. stop eating low fat or light/lite food. Diet Coke is 1 cal a can, but that's no excuse and it doesn't help at this stage

b. cut down on sugar completely. If you want something sweet, have fruit. Check the labels for hidden sugars. the same applies to drinks

c. Have some protein at every meal and choose low-GI carbohydrates.

I also found that eating smaller meals regulalrly helped me (eath three meals and have two snacks or something liek that, don't leave more that three or four hours between meals).

If you keep a food log here, see the analysis for the past few days- if you are mostly A then you are doing alright for content.

Also, 1600cal is OK, but the deficit that will produce weight loss also depends on how much you were eating before you started the diet. If your metabolism has been mixed up by yoyo dieting in the past, then you need fewer calories to maintain your weight and you will need to eat fewer calories to lose the weight. The tools available in this website are too generic and do not apply to most serial dieters. If you did not lose much in the first couple of weeks then you are eating too much. Try 1500 instead but again, make sure it's quality food.

 

So, you are riding your bike for 1 hour a day, for 14 miles.  I expect you are probably doing this at a consistent speed for the whole 1 hour?  If so, you should mix up your speeds and resistance to really push it hard for good interval cycling.  Go hard for a few mins, then slow and recover for a few mins, then hard again.  DO that a few times, and even if you only ride for 30 mins total, if you are doing intervals, it will be better for you.

4:30am I wake up and have coffee 

6:15am protien shake with skim milk (I cannot eat food 1st thing in the morning)

9:00 - 10am  either fruit and low fat cheese or veggies with non-fat dip

12pm meat, veggies, and if applicable whole wheat bread product

3pm  either veggies and dip or nuts or plain popcorn

7 pm  I have meat, veggies, and if applicable whole wheat bread product

9pm  fat free yogurt or protien shake with skim milk

I bike in the morning for 30 minutes at 14 miles per hour. I walk the mall at lunch time (the pace varies depending on how busy they are) and I bike for 30 minutes at nite at 14 miles per hour.

I drink alcohol maybe on Saturday with my friends but that is limited to fit into my calories for the day

I weighed myself this morning and I am still at 183. This is sooooo discouraging

How much water do you drink during the day?

 

I drink about 1/2 gallon a day plus 1 serving of diet iced tea, one serving of crystal light, and one diet soda with my pills (have to have the carbination to get them down)