Why no change yet?

V

volleyball life

Cathlete
Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum and new to Cathe's workouts so bear with me if this question has been repeatedly asked.

I have been exercising since August of 2002. I started with The Firm and just recently started doing Cathe's Intensity series. My goal isn't to lose tons of weight (maybe 10lbs) but to firm up and get in better overall shape. I usually exercise about 4-5 days per week with an equal mix of cardio and weights.

My question is why haven't I seen much of a change yet. I have noticed a little bit of muscle definition in my legs and arms but not much, if any, in my mid-section. I know I should be better at watching my food intake but it doesn't make sense to me that I wouldn't have shaped up more by now since I'm doing so much more exercise than I ever have before. If I was able to eat pretty much what I wanted before and hardly ever exercise, why haven't I slimmed down now that I've added the exercise with no other changes? In fact, today I feel like my pants are a little bit tighter than they were a month ago. It's not an encouraging feeling!!

Hopefully, someone will have some insight to this or at least be able to say I'm not alone. :-(
 
I tried that same thing. I thought I could just up my exercise a whole lot without making any diet changes and I would lose that 10 pounds that were bugging me. WRONG!!!! You have to make diet changes to shock your body into losing if you aren't real real overweight. Then the exercise is what helps you lose a little faster and maintain the weight loss. The diet changes i made were cutting back to 1500 calories a day; cutting out "white" carbohydtrates (bread, rice, pasta, potatoes) and substituting high fiber verggies, beans and fruits for those; and cutting all sugar. I keep fat at about 25% of total calories. This has allowed me to lose about 1/2 pound a week ((i'm 45 and my metabolism doesn't let me lose as fast as when I was younger. This same diet at age 30 lost me 1 1/2 pounds per week.)
Beth
 
Thanks for taking the time to reply, Beth. I think I already knew what the answers were going to be but I have to tell you that it's kind of depressing. I guess if I'm going to be serious about meeting my goals then I'm going to have to suck it up and start dieting. I can't imagine not eating sugars everyday but if that's what it takes than I'm going to have to do it. It's no use busting my gut to get up at 5:00 am to workout and sweat if nothing's happening.

Thanks again for listening to me whine a little more. ;-)
 
I wouldn't say you're busting your gut "for nothing" just because you haven't lost weight. Don't forget about the benefits to your health that come from exercise. Good for the heart, good for the bones, keeps your immune system stronger, and a multitude of other things that you can't necessarily see but are happening on the inside. Don't be so down on yourself - the fact that you are exercising more now than ever before is something to be very very proud of, it should make you feel good about yourself!

Keep it up and have fun. ;-)
 
I also tried doing something similar. I was using the treadmill (about 1 hr per session) and various other fitness tapes (Firm, Tae Bo) 4-5 times per week without seeing any real change. (My diet stayed pretty much the same). I started doing Cathe tapes (5-6x/wk) and really watching my diet about 6 weeks ago. I've lost 5 pounds (my goal is 8-10)and have really noticed a change in muscle tone. I think the key really is to watch what you eat and possibly increase the frequency of exercise. Before I returned to exercising (oct 2002) after a 6 month break, I hadn't seen any real changes in my weight but had started to see some increases in flab deposits in the usual areas.
 
>Thanks for taking the time to reply, Beth. I think I already
>knew what the answers were going to be but I have to tell you
>that it's kind of depressing. I guess if I'm going to be
>serious about meeting my goals then I'm going to have to suck
>it up and start dieting. I can't imagine not eating sugars
>everyday but if that's what it takes than I'm going to have to
>do it. It's no use busting my gut to get up at 5:00 am to
>workout and sweat if nothing's happening.
>
>Thanks again for listening to me whine a little more. ;-)


Awww you're not wasteing your time! like another poster said, you ARE getting results!!! You are healthier, your heart is healthier, you feel better, if I gauged my working out on weight lost...well I would've been frustrated years ago. I'd love to lose 10 pounds but that is not why I workout and have been for 23 years....it's because of how I feel, and knowing I'm doing something good for my body. And anyway, if I didn't workout, I'm sure I'd be wanting to lose more than 10 pounds!
And once you've lost it....what then? Would you stop working out?
I know it's frustrating, but sometimes the results come from the inside out first, instead of the outside.
Just keep at it!!
Barbara P
 
Sometimes you do not notice the changes until one day you do something you could not have handled before. For me, it was the realization that I could keep up with shoveling compost with my husband without huffing and puffing. It was a great feeling. My breaks from the shovel were less often so I think my endurance gains after all the workouts paid off. I love to see muscle tone. I also think that increasing muscular mass and guarding against osteoporosis are other benefits that I will be grateful for once I get a little older (43 now).
 
Maybe if you just upped the amount of excercise to 5-6 times a week, with a little more cardio you'll see a change. I also agree with what everyone else is saying about food intake. I am not depriving myself of anything, I'm just keeping the portions smaller and working out 5-6 times a week. My clothes are getting loose, and I really notice my waist getting smaller. I refuse to weigh myself though.

Danielle

:)
 
Thank you everyone who responded, you all had such encouraging things to say and that really helps. You're absolutely right that I need to think of all the positive things that the exercising is doing for me instead of focusing on the things that haven't happened yet. I'm going to try to do better with my eating habits and see how that works.

I have to say that Cathe has given me more inspiration than any other instructor. She is awesome and I'm so glad I found out about her and her videos.
 
I can definitely commiserate with you on this one!

I started exercising regularly over 3 years ago. My main interest was to lose weight especially on my middle (that area between my upper thigh and what should be my waist). I need to lose about 10-15 pounds of fat. Nearly all of it is in my middle. I hate it and obsess about it.

I'm very active (on the order of 12 hours a week - about half being weights and about half being cardio). I love the changes to my muscles! I'm hard in places where I was soft and squishy. My arms are toned and no longer flabby! I love that. But, my middle is still my problem. I get really depressed about this sometimes. My weight is higher than ever (muscle gain w/o fat loss). My pant size has absolutely gone up! (Bigger glutes - still some fat).

I've tried giving up all sugars and the bad stuff. No changes for me - I'm sorry to say other than having dreams of desserts (and heavy pangs of deprivation) for months. Now, I'm trying to add more of Cathe's cardio. I'm trying to work in CTX plus the Cathe Cardio of my choice once each week. I've gone with just GREATLY reducing the sugar. I absolutely go into this denial depression and (nighttime dreams) fantasies of sweets if I cut them all out (even after a couple of months). If I know that I can have a little bit sometimes, I'm okay.

I'm still hoping that I'll get the lard off my middle. But, I am delighted that I feel strong and healthy. I can do so much more than ever before. The hours of exercise that I spend give back so much more than the amount that I put into it in so many ways that I could never give it up. I sure do wish that I could lose the gut. If you do, please tell me how.

Any success stories out there for losing ten pound (especially those mostly on the gut)? I'd love to hear how too.

Dona
 
Hi there,

I have been working out with Cathe for about 6 months now and I can tell you that her tapes are the hardest and they do work, but you have to challenge yourself. My fitness has improved enormously and I have lost some weight (I don't follow a particular exercise plan). However, I can tell that I have lots of room for improvement.

I do running, walking, stepping and weights. Sometimes I one Cathe's step tapes is not enough, so I do a weights to follow two or add a weight tapes on to that (e.g. Rhythmic Step and PH). I also belong to a running club and they are all much fitter and faster than I am (I thought I was so fit when I started). I walk if I can't run. I average about 4-5 days a week 1-1.5 hours each time (2 on weekends).

My advice is to up the weights gradually: I started off with 35lbs for MIS lower body, but have increased it to 40lbs. The MIS series are also very good.

My rule is the more you do, the more your body can do. So, although you say you are doing 4-5 times a week, are you working at your body's maximum potential each time? Diet isn't such a problem if you are not overweight.

Yen
 
When I see the word diet, I see red! What you need to have is a good diet. In that I mean make the lifestyle changes that will allow all the good work you are doing for your body with exercise show you the results you want to see. Make small lifestyle changes by adding more fruit and vegtables. Don't elimate anyone food group all together or you will just end up craving it all the more. Find choices that are better for you. Make your servings of those so called "bad" foods smaller and have them less often.

Exercise for most people seems to be the hard part and you have already conquered that! So pat yourself on the back, you are already half way there!
 
Volleyball,
I bet Cathe will have a better, more succinct answer for you but till then, please bear with me while I toss out 3 suggestions.

Keep a food diary (you might be eating more because you know you're exercising) with goals: protein about 1 gram per pound of body weight, per day (less is OK)

six meals a day, 250-400 calories each

daily calorie variety: shoot for a weekly calorie goal, not daily; for example, Monday 1800, Tues 1700, Wed 2200, Thur 1900, Fri 1600, Sat 2800, Sun 2200.
At least some protein with every meal or snack.

Once or twice a month (subject to change by you) go ALL OUT in intensity. Lift only 4 reps with the absolute heaviest weight you can handle, keeping good form to the last second (do not 'go to failure')

Same with cardio- go ALL OUT 1-2 times a month

Try these 3 things. If you're already doing them, then just stay patient and it will happen.

I have a food diary in Excel format here: http://www.geocities.com/ciaobella98765/FoodDiary.xls

Hope this helps! Also drink water, sip it all day

HTH
-Connie
 
Thank you everyone for the responses. You all have given me some new things to focus on and try. I definately need to pay more attention to what I eat and I like the idea of adding more fruits and vege's instead of getting rid of all of the "bad" foods that I enjoy. I'm going to check out your food diary Connie, hopefully that will give me the motivation to stick with it.

This board has been really supportive and I'm so glad that I found it. I look forward to visiting it everyday to find out what new and exciting challenges you guys are talking about.
 
Hi--

You said that you aren't happy with your midsection and feel like it could use some work. May I suggest incorporating more Kickboxing and Core/Plank work into your workouts? That might help shape up the middle area more, and give you a leaner look.

I have noticed some significant body changes in my abs/midsection by doing exactly that.

Also, if you are eating pretty well, are you spreading out your calories throughout the day? 5-6 mini meals? That will help keep your metabolism going throughout day, which should help as well.

Good luck!

Lynn
 
Connie! Thanks for the spreadsheet. I've been meaning to journal my eating and just never got around to it. Do you use one page per day? Or maybe I can just transfer your idea to my notebook, this way I won't have to print off so many pages and then put those into a binder! :)

I love all the ideas presented here in this post also. Made me look hard at the things I'm doing or rather not doing therefore explaining why my middle is not whittling down as fast as it should or could!:*

I've got to get back on track! :)

Angie
 
You can use it any way you like. First you need to calculate your basal metabolic rate (that's a daily calorie number) and add calories for your activity level. Next you need to find out how many calories of protein, carbo, and fat you need per day. Measure them by calorie, not grams. Well, I mean 30 to 40 percent of your daily calories from protein is *not* the same as 30-40% of the grams.

What I did is I divided the total into 6 equal portions and then shoot for that in each meal. I subtotaled all the time to see how much I had left (like a budget!)

First I discovered I had been eating for two all this time. But later on, after working up to Cathe-tape fitness level, I discovered that working out with Cathe uses up more than I expected so I could eat more.

But the food diary really, really helped me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top