NO results yet... getting dissapointed :(

Ok, I joined the gym one month ago and do about an hour on the treadmill burning 400 calories and about a half hour on the strength training machines. I go at least 5 days a week. I have been eating better, no bad fast food and a lot more water, salads and fruit. Occasionally I have a cheat day, like some pizza or something, but I have really been watching what I eat. How come I haven't lost any weight and my pants still feel as tight as they were when I started? I'm not noticing any results here... Am I wasting my time? Will I ever lose these 40 pounds? Is anyone else struggling and giving up hope?

Additional Details
Age: 29
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 197lbs
Calories: 1400-1600 a day

Oh, and I work out at night after dinner, is that bad? It's the only time I have... We eat around 7 and I hit the gym at 8.

Are you actually measuring your food and tracking your calories, or is that just an estimate?  If you're not measuring, sometimes it can be suprising how many calories you're actually consuming.  But you're definitely not wasting your time.  You're developing good habits which are good for your health, and you're probably building some muscle at the gym, which will help speed up your metabolism.

It's really hard to say what (if anything) is going wrong without an accurate calorie count. I hate to be pedantic, but the secret to my success has been counting calories very religiously. I can't stress how important that is for some of us. 

I was estimating and eating what seemed like a healthy (and it was healthy- no "bad" foods) and reasonable diet in reasonable amounts, but the problem was that the average calories were just too high. You can exercise your butt off and blow it in five minutes with a veggie burger. No kidding. The super healthy, organic, veggie burger I used to get for lunch I discovered after the fact had over 900 calories in it. NINE ZERO ZERO. It didn't look greasy. It didn't seem that big. It was full of legumes, seeds, veggies, etc, and served on an organic wholemeal roll, and yet there it was, the bulk of my daily allowance in one piddly little meal.  It's so shockingly easy to estimate wrong and if you do it on a daily basis and overeat by a couple hundred calories, it adds up.

The other possibility is that your exercise is causing you to gain muscle which is offsetting your weight number on the scale... a much better measure is to measure your actual body fat %. They can usually do that for you at a gym. Considering that you are strength training, I'd be surprised if you haven't gained some lean mass, so don't necessarily rely on that scale number. The scale can and does lie sometimes.

Try upping your calories a little.

luvpudin, i am right there with you!

25, 5'8", 195! i've been counting, measuring, and exercising 2 months now, very similarly to you, and haven't seen the scale budge (occasionally one day it'll be down a lb or two, but the next day, it's right back up!). i'm actually considering going to get my thyroid checked when the insurance from my new job kicks in. i'm at a total loss. i've tried alli, too, and it hasn't done a thing for me, either. my target calories are the same as yours, and i've tried upping and lowering it, with no results. i'm weeks away from either no longer watching what i eat at all, or doing something totally unhealthy-- like renewing the prescription for adderall that i had a few years ago for ADD (which i do legitimately have!), because it's a huge appetite suppressant, and then i'll starve myself!

sighhh.

I'd love to see a representative menu, luvpudin. It all has to do with calories, there's no way around it. You are eating about as much as you're putting out. I am losing, but very slowly. I'm not counting, but yes, I do have a handle on what I'm putting in my body. For me to lose weight, according to the charts, I have to eat about 1200 calories a day, and when I look at food plans, that is very little. So ... in order to keep myself happy and not feeling deprived, or eating foods I don't like, I am working on eating when I'm hungry and learning to stop when I'm full, while eating nutritious foods. I kind of know what will add weight on me, and so I'm learning to be cautious with those foods.

But don't give up hope -- I do suggest, like the others, that you count calories for a while. It would be interesting to see your daily menu for a day or two on this board, maybe we can help out with a few suggestions. I know when I was in your shoes I would work out and then go have a good bowl of soup or plate of vegetables at the local diner. I never lost weight, even though I tried so hard. I was thinner than I am today, though, but now I'm working on it from my thinking on out. :-) Cindi

You have just started weight training.  When I did this, it took FOREVER to lose, but I could SEE changes.  Here is what is happening... You are gaining muscle weight, (which is nicer looking and leaner) and losing fat.  The muscle weighs more (sorta) so you are probably losing the fat as fast as you are gaining the muscle.  Also when you lift weights, you are basically tearing the muscles.  They use water to heal (or something like that) What I do know is that water goes into the muscles so that makes the scale think you are heavier too.

Keep it up though, you will eventually start to see the scale go down, but in the mean time, start measuring.  It is such a great feeling to see the inches come off, or your muscles get bigger.  (that was what I wanted!)

Good luck!

Others have said this, but I thought I'd chime in wrt using measurements as well as how your clothes fit rather than weight to see progress.  I weigh myself weekly, but also take my waist measurement and my body fat percentage (with calipers) twice a month.  I've been stalled at 183-185 for just over 2 weeks now, but my shorts are feeling looser and my waist measurement is down a bit as well so I'm not stressing about the number on the scale.  At least, not very much!  It is hard not to feel a little bummed when you're working hard, counting calories, and not dropping pounds. If you still feel like you're not making progress, definitely go to a more accurate food log and calorie count if possible.  If you're already being very meticulous, I think you will find lots of threads here regarding weight plateaus and how to shake things up by changing your routines, 'zigzagging' your caloric intake, etc. 

To be very honest, I am not working hard at this -- and I'm losing weight. It's all in the mind, which translates into the body. If I think I can eat something without worrying about paying the consequences, I'm deluding myself. Very often I have told myself (in fact, much, much TOO often) that I don't care how many calories I'm eating, as long as I'm satisfied. I would stuff myself to the point of being sick, with acid reflux, etc. Maybe that's not your problem, but once I started working on my cognitive reasoning powers within me, using the wisdom and insight I have gained over the years, it has become much easier and much more pleasurable to lose weight. I'm losing slowly, but surely, and pleasurably. Understandably you are discouraged, but, frankly speaking between you and me <g>, you need to lower your caloric intake in order to lose weight. Really you should see a loss every one or two weeks, not every day. If you're eating 1400 cals a day and exercising, at your weight you should be losing. Unless you're constipated. I notice when I'm constipated I will not lose weight too quickly. This is not to suggest purging yourself, however. But at 1400 cals you should be losing weight. However, let me tell you something. I'm about 186 now. I'm 5'5" and 65 yrs. of age, rather sedentary. According to the charts, my intake is estimated to be 1200 if I want to lose a pound or two a week. OK? Only 1200 calories a day. That's nothing. So I have to really work on myself mentally to eat minimal, but good, portions. Obviously I haven't been eating 1200 cals a day, because I would have lost much more weight than I have. I'm losing about maybe 2 -3 pounds a month, that's all. And I'm still working toward the goal of eating less. Until I get down to what I know to be 1200 cals a day or so.