Cannot lose a pound and been at gym 3 months

I have been going to the gym for 3 months now. 3 days on, 1 day off and 3 days on for an hour each time. That is 6 days a week for an hour each time.

I eat a very healthy diet that is mostly vegetables, very little carbs or meat. If I eat carbs it is one piece of whole wheat toast in the morning.

Average daily meals:
Breakfast: 1 piece of toast or 1 banana with coffee
Lunch: Vegetables cooked in a pan with olive oil
Dinner: Vegetables cooked in a pan with olive oil with maybe a yogurt or piece of fruit

I look a little more toned in the hips and legs but nothing dramatic.

I was just wondering what I may be doing that is hindering my efforts to lose weight.
I seem to be staying at the same weight while building muscle and not really losing fat.
Here is a sample of my workout routine: (it varies each night)
20 minutes on elliptical (level 12)
20 minutes on bike (level 6)
10 minutes on treadmill (speed 3.8, incline 3)
10 minutes of weight training (arms, stomach and legs)

If anyone can give me advice of what I may be doing wrong I would really appreciate it.
REPLY

You may not loose a pound but look much better.
I've seen this lots of times, the scale is the same but your body tells different.

Here is what happens, you burn fat but also add some muscles. Muscular tissue is heavier then fat, your loose from there and put it there. This is not a bad thing.

How do you feel? What does the mirror tells you?

I don't think I look that different.
My fiance says I look more fit and trim, but I don't see it as much.
I mostly am trying to shrink my enormous thighs, but I've read that that is a hard area to target and overall body weight loss is needed.
Seems I am naturally supposed to have larger thighs.

You can work out forever and just waste your time. I used to have the same problem. Your goal should be an EFFECTIVE 30 minute workout that makes you sweat and gets you out of the gym in no time. Check out this free web page for some of the 30 min workouts I use. Some of them burm 500 calories in 30 minutes.
freeworkoutsguide.com/cardioworkouts.html

yeah. I basically do the interval training on the treadmill..but the machine never reads very many calories burned. I walk slowly, faster and then run for 1 minute then repeat for about 10 min.

I have read that 30 minutes is never enough of a workout as you get older. I am 35 and have noticed my metabolism slowing as I age. I have read that 1 hr to 1.5 hrs is usually best at least 4 days a week. In follow up to my previous posting..many people have said that birth control can hinder weight loss efforts. I notice that when I go back on birth control after the 7 day off time I instantly gain a pound or two. The water weight gain is evident to me and I feel swollen while taking the birth control.

I ran track and field in colllege and can say that the best way to lose calories, burning muscle or fat, would be to run some miles.  At first, it will seem hard, like the soreness usually experienced after lifting weights without training for a while.  Your heart will become more efficient at burning calories whille delivering oxygen. Distance runners do not just up and decide to run a marathon spontaneously, nor should a program to lose weight also be taken as likely. Scrap the elliptical, bike, and treadmill, and hit the road for 800 meters - 1 mile a day, around 5 minutes forward, then run back for a day. 

Hi jenNC1973,


This is a fairly common complaint I hear from new clients. First let me address diet. From what you wrote there are a couple of problems.
1) you need to increase your protein intake. If your protein is low your body will waste muscle and store fat.
2) You need to eat more frequently, I suggest 3 meals and 3 snacks about 3 hours apart.
As far as exercise you have to constantly vary your routine to get the best results. I would work on increasing the intensity, add more weight training, and start a sprint program on either the bike or treadmill.
Studies have shown that 20 minutes of sprint training can burn 3 times as much weight off as 40 minutes of moderate cardio. Try a format of 30sec sprints with 1 minute easy recovery for 20 minutes plus 5 minute warm-up. Vary with 15 sec sprints/30 sec recovery on the bike for the same prescribed time. Always work to your capacity on these days. Faster is better than longer for now.

Personal Fitness Trainer Los Angeles

you are definately not eating enough. I agree with the post above.
I was eating hardly anything and working out SIX days a week. I wasn't losing ANYTHING. my body was in starvation mode and holding onto every calorie I put in my body. I upped my intake to 1200 a day and wow...all of a sudden I was losing a pound every couple days. you're body needs energy to burn energy. remember that. a veggie diet is NOT EVEN CLOSE to enough. you need proteins, and I'm going to say it...YOU NEED CARBS AND FATS....just not a lot of them, but your body DOES NEED SOME, so give it some.

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ooo, your big problem is protein protein protein. You need allot more of it. It sounds like your body is in starvation mode because of you tiny diet. You have got to eat more chicken and fish. If you want to diet cut out the bread and sugar but don't ever cut out the protein! I am an aerobics instructor and I see this allot with students. You have to fuel your body. If you want your body to burn fat then don't eat as many processed carbs or sugar. But to repace that eat allot of protein, fruit and vegies.
Try a supplament with antioxidents to support your matabolism. Follow the link bellow. Good luck!

funkyrat.com

You should change your workout routine to yoga and aerobics,  increase your metabolism intake before workout, eat less after workout, apply body sculpture lotion twice a day on thighs and abdomen (morning & evening) will help you lose fat in target areas.
i'm a mother of two, and lost a total of 115 pounds after two pregnancies.

Jennc1973 I was once in your same position. I thought I was working out enough to lose weight and really see a change in my body and the way I looked. After months of working out I did not see enough of a change to be happy so I searched online to find a new way. I came upon this workout program that asks for 3 days a week for 45 minutes and it really worked for me. The program is called Turbulence Training and believe me it works. Heres the link and check it out. Turbulence Training