My friend suggested I post and get some opinions. For the past month I have only lost 3lbs, and haven't lost much with the measuring tape either.

Monday, wednesday, and friday I don't lift but I do kettlebell (www.dragondoor.com if you don't know what that is). It combines weight lifting with cardio.

First two weeks of this month I was doing my 30 minute Walk Away The Pounds video every morning. I had lost 2lbs the first week. The second week I didn't loose any pounds but lost 1/2" almost body wide which I knew from measure with a tailors tape. I decided to mix it up a bit and went on my exercise bike each morning. Days I didn't do kettlebell I did something similar to HITT (I don't have a heart monitor). By the end of the week my knees were really bothering me and my form for the kettlebell sucked (which form is everything with the kettlebell), so last week I decided alternated video on days of kettlebell and 45mins of bike on days I didn't. The week before last I cheated on my diet one day I didn't loose nor gain any weight, but lost a 1/4" in most areas of my body. Last week I only lost a pound and again only lost about 1/4" in some parts of my body.

Right now my routine is: m/w/f - 30 minute video t/f/s 45min bike

Here is my diet:

breakfast - protien shake (1/2cp w/milk for calcium) after morning workout, 3/4cp kashi go lean cereal, 1/2 milk, 6 almonds

snack - slice of whole wheat bread, 1 slice turkey breast lunch meat, 1tsp flax seed oil

lunch - slice of whole wheat bread, 2 slices of turkey breast, 1/2 large apple, 6 almonds

snack - 1/4 cp honey roasted soynuts, 1 whole boiled egg

dinner - 3oz chicken breast (steamed/cooked in microwave), 3 oz when raw sweet potatoe (steamed before eating), 1cup of cauliflower/brocolli/carrot frozen veggie mix (1cp green beans sometimes use), 1tsp olive oil

snack or after kettlebell - protien shake (1/2 cp w/milk for calcium)

This breaks down to 1369 calories 39%protien, 34% carbs, 27% fat. (FYI first week january I was actually taking in around 1600 calories, 2nd week about 1380-1425 calories, 3rd week 1423, and last week 1369 calories)

Any advise will be helpful. Oh I almost forgot I am 5'0" and 121lbs

Here's my advice...throw away your scale. Do you look better (regardless of tape)? Do you feel better? How do your clothes fit? Has it just been a month since you started?

In my opinion the problem isn't you, its your scale...you wanted to see a certain number, you didn't see it, now you're upset...bottom line: It's not about the numbers its about how you look at feel!

It is very possible that you're not eating enough. You should check out Marcus' stickied thread at the top of the Beginners forum. You body might be trying to horde everything it can. How many cals were you eating before you started the program?

LemonSong,
Technically no I didn't just start in january. I really started 3 years ago, lost 27 lbs, then took a hiadis around fall of 2004 and gained about 20lbs back. I got up to 135lbs, then started really monitoring what I ate, and started cardio went down to 127lbs. Then my dr told me to eat around 1500 calories a day and do 1hr of cardio daily. After do that for 5 months and only loosing a couple of pounds when I upped my cardio to 1 1/2 hrs/day I decided to do something different.

In anycase, I never go by weight per se. I go more by the measurements. If I am losing in inches and don't lose weight no big deal, but right now I am not really losing in either weight or mass.

That is why I asked for the advice. I know i can loose weight by eating around 1200 calories and doing cardio 30 minutes a day. That is no problem. My goal this time is to do it more healthy by watching more what foods I eat and build more muscle, but I want to get a little thinner before I start bulking things up. That is really where my problem lies. That I am definately new at :)

Are you lifting or just the kettle exercises?

Mr Jingo,if you didn't see it in my first reply I was eating 1500 calories and doing 1 1/2 hours of cardio daily. If I altered from that at all I either maintained or gained.

Lemonsong, I just do kettlebell. I do it 3 times a week. It is more of a full body because a lot of it is tension in your muscles and power breathing. However, it works your legs pretty heavily, your core, and I do things with it and dumbells to work my shoulders and arms.

Mr Jingo,if you didn't see it in my first reply I was eating 1500 calories and doing 1 1/2 hours of cardio daily. If I altered from that at all I either maintained or gained.

Lemonsong, I just do kettlebell. I do it 3 times a week. It is more of a full body because a lot of it is tension in your muscles and power breathing. However, it works your legs pretty heavily, your core, and I do things with it and dumbells to work my shoulders and arms.

For one thing, 90 min. of cardio a day is vastly over training in my opinion.
Also, do you have access to a gym? Full body workouts are ok for a while, but you might consider doing a more structured weight routine.

I would seperate out the 1 1/2 hours I would do 45 minutes in the morning and 30 - 45 minutes at night. I would never do it all at once.

As far as access to a gym, nope I don't have the finances to spend $30+ on a membership per month. Sad but true. No I don't drink coffee, go out, or eat out. Sadly it all goes to bills and food.

The only things I have access to are 2, 5, 8, 10, 15, and 35lb dumbbells, a basic bench (nothing for bars or anything like that it is just a bench), one of those balls, bands, a trampoline, jump rope, and kettlebell. Most of those things are actually my sisters (my things the bands and 2-10lb weights). I go to her house and use the kettlebell and and her 10/15 lb weights for curls and rows (I have weak tendons in my right elbow so it dislocates when I do curls sometimes so I have to keep those minimal). Rows I do to strengthen my back muscles to counter act my chest muscles (my chest muscles pinch off the nerves to my arms so I have problems with numbness and pain in my wrist if I don't keep that in check). I have other joint issues too that just names a few.

In anycase, those are the only things i have right now, and I can't afford to buy anything else right now. That is why I like the kettlebell there are numerous things and moves you can do to work different muscle groups and you only need the one piece of equipment.