So I am on week 9 of my overall weight loss program, and I'm making some good visual progress, but I'm struggling in some other areas.

I started off just doing cardio for about 3 weeks. I was really out of shape compared to where I am now, and started doing a light 30 minute elliptical workout, which then turned into a moderate one, and now when i do the elliptical I do 30 minutes at a pretty intense pace (my heart rate stays between 150-170 the whole time).

However, once my sprained ankle finally recovered (3 months later), I started running on a treadmill. I started out running just one mile at a time, then going back to the elliptical to finish my workout, and now I'm up to 4.5 miles per work out!!!

My workout schedule is-

Day 1: Cardio- 40 minutes
Day 2: Cardio- 30 minutes, Upper body
Day 3: Cardio- 40 minutes
Day 4: Cardio- 30 minutes, Midsection
Day 5: Cardio- 40 minutes
Day 6: Cardio- 30 minutes, Legs (WORST DAY OF THE WEEK)
Day 7: Either light cardio or day off

I'm really good about my diet now- I eat a pretty consistent diet minus dinner, which fluxuates because of the family I'm living with (not my own, so hard to skip out on dinner).

Breakfast- 120 calories "weight watching" oatmeal
Mid morning snack- 75 calories: Half a bag of carrots
Lunch: Half a turkey sandwhich: 300 calories: Whole wheat bread, provolone cheese, bannana peppers, green peppers, black olives, pickles
Mid-afternoon snack: Same as lunch
Post workout protein shake: 200 calories
Dinner: Varies: Always try and maintain it under 600 calories

So, overall- I probably am between 1500-2000 calories everyday, plus obviously a fairly hard workout schedule (for me). However, here's the crux of the issue: I've only lost 3 pounds since i started!! I've gone from 195 to 192...

Now, I've gained a ton of muscle, which is really easy for me to see in the photos. I've also a big ammount of body fat... And I realize I must be losing fat at a faster rate than I'm gaining muscle or else I'd be gaining weight... But I still feel like I should have lost some weight by now. I'm only 5'11, and at 192 I'm worried I won't lose the body fat needed to really get the muscles I'm gaining out in the open.

So, what can i do :(


P.S.- Ran outside today without my shirt on for the first time in my life... It was amazing! I finally am not embarassed to go out without a shirt on... I love working out!

Calories are too low I think, and combine that with 30-40 minutes of running a day and you don't usually get optimal results (depending on the goal of course).

Day 1: Cardio- 40 minutes
Day 2: Cardio- 30 minutes, Upper body
Day 3: Cardio- 40 minutes
Day 4: Cardio- 30 minutes, Midsection
Day 5: Cardio- 40 minutes
Day 6: Cardio- 30 minutes, Legs (WORST DAY OF THE WEEK)
Day 7: Either light cardio or day off
What do you do on "midsection" day? Just abs? Abs and low-back?

Move legs to Day 2 so it's done first. It's important to try and put focus into training legs.

Either 1) do weights before cardio or 2) stop doing cardio on weightlifting days. If you're going to go with number 1 maybe try a 30 minute low-intensity session.

Please list out your entire routine including exercises used, sets, and reps if possible.

Breakfast- 120 calories "weight watching" oatmeal
Mid morning snack- 75 calories: Half a bag of carrots
Lunch: Half a turkey sandwhich: 300 calories: Whole wheat bread, provolone cheese, bannana peppers, green peppers, black olives, pickles
Mid-afternoon snack: Same as lunch
Post workout protein shake: 200 calories
Dinner: Varies: Always try and maintain it under 600 calories
B: please tell me more about the oatmeal as I've never heard of it. If possible please list out protein, carbs, and fats. Add protein to this meal such as 1-2 eggs and 4-5 egg whites. Since you listed no fruit I'd add grapefruit to this meal too.

MMS: get rid of the carrots or just eat much less than this. Add protein to the meal. For example have 1 can of tuna and a handful of almonds with only a couple of carrots. Personally I'd pull the carrots out and replace them with green beans.

L: how much of each food (about how much)?

MAS: See above.

PWO: Need more info. What exactly do you have, how much, etc.?

D: Need more info. :)

So, overall- I probably am between 1500-2000 calories everyday, plus obviously a fairly hard workout schedule (for me). However, here's the crux of the issue: I've only lost 3 pounds since i started!! I've gone from 195 to 192...

Now, I've gained a ton of muscle, which is really easy for me to see in the photos. I've also a big ammount of body fat... And I realize I must be losing fat at a faster rate than I'm gaining muscle or else I'd be gaining weight... But I still feel like I should have lost some weight by now. I'm only 5'11, and at 192 I'm worried I won't lose the body fat needed to really get the muscles I'm gaining out in the open.

So, what can i do :(


P.S.- Ran outside today without my shirt on for the first time in my life... It was amazing! I finally am not embarassed to go out without a shirt on... I love working out!
It's hard to make suggestions on your diet without more info. Generally speaking I believe it's too low in calories for your size and your protein and healthy fat levels are too low.

BTW 192 is not too heavy for your height at all. :) Seeing pictures would make it easier for others here to help too (if possible).

So fill in the gaps with more info and we'll try to help.

Ahh- sorry about the lack of info.

I only have a few answers (my weight lifting info is at my Y, and I go completely based off my records).

The oatmeal is actually pretty good. It's got 7 grams of protein per servering (usually have 2), very low on calories, high in fiber too if I'm not mistaken.

As for some of your suggestions- I unfortunately don't have the option of being overly diverse because of work... Hence the carrots. I absolutely despise green beans, but I'll keep it in mind ;)

I'll get more detailed information tomorrow-

I guess my question for you would be, overall, should I cut back on weight lifting then and push more the cardio? Or should i keep up the balance (switching those two days around). Thanks again for the help, i'll post a more detailed diet tomorrow afternoon.

you should eat alot more for starters.....more protien more fat....toss the weight watchers oats get the real deal......

you should be eating around 2700 cals a day .if not more..

toss the weight watchers oats get the real deal......


Actually, what he's eating isn't bad for convenience. I've bought some packs to travel with, but I'll have more protein. It's actually primarily rolled oats (better than instant) with some whey in it and no sugar (sucralose instead).

WHOLE GRAIN ROLLED OATS, WHEY PROTEIN ISOLATE,MALTODEXTRIN, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS, SALT, OAT FLOUR, CALCIUM CARBONATE, GUAR GUM, CARAMEL COLOR, SOY LECITHEN, ACESULFAME POTASSIUM, SUCRALOSE, NIACINAMIDE*, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, REDUCED IRON, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE*, RIBOFLAVIN*, THIAMIN MONONITRATE*, FOLIC ACID*. *ONE OF THE B VITAMINS CONTAINS MILK AND SOY INGREDIENTS.

From their web page (http://www.quakeroatmeal.com/qo_ourProducts/instantQuakerOatmeal/WeightControl/product.cfm?productid=57). Not optimal, but could do worse with the sugary instant packs. I agree on needing more protein, though.

I feel that you should eat more too, especially more protein during breakfast. Throw in a coupla servings of fruits, maybe around breakfast and mid-morning snack. With the amount of activity you're doing, it's a surprise that you're not feeling the burnout yet. Try bumping up your calories for a few days, I have a feeling that your body is holding on to the fat and could be in starvation mode.

Also noticed that you're lacking some good fats.

It's weird, because I usually have tons of energy throughout the day. By the time I'm done running at around 6 at night, I have that much more energy, and really don't get tired till around ten (go to bed around 11). I'm cautious about eating carbs three hours before going to bed too, as I've read that's terrible.

I'm a big fan of tuna, so I'm thinking maybe I'll convert my turkey sandwhich to a veggie sub from Subway, and just bring in tuna to put on it (since their tuna is so high in fat, I don't think I could let myself eat that).

My cheat meal is once a week, going to a chinese buffet and having some good mongolian beef and a little bit of general tso's chicken, so I do crazy ocassionaly!

I like the idea about breakfast though- I'll go out this weekend and buy some new oatmeal, and get a couple grapefruit to eat during that meal. For midafternoon snack, I would like to keep it a low-cal high fiber vegetable though because I tend to graze on that food for the 3 hours before lunch (usually too busy to leave until 1).

By the way, I don't think I mentioned that I'm only 20. I know that can make a fairly big difference because of my age.

I really appreciate all the info guys, I'll post my workout routine tonight, and also post a new diet after I go to the store this weekend :) Nice to have people around to keep you motivated.

My cheat meal is once a week, going to a chinese buffet and having some good mongolian beef and a little bit of general tso's chicken, so I do crazy ocassionaly!


This may have nothing to do with it, but depending when you weigh yourself in relation to your cheat meal, you might be getting an off reading. Chinese food is typicially LOADED with sodium, which aids in water retention. So some of that weight that doesn't seem to be dissapearing may just be water weight.

Otherwise I definitely think you should be eating more. (At least 2000 calories a day. 1500 is way too low.) Also, I don't think you should up your cardio, if anything, decrease it. Maybe up the intensity if you must, but you shouldn't do more cardio. Just keep up the weight training, and go hard with it.