Here is my dilemma. I have been working out for around 5 months now. I first weighed in at 236 at 6'0. I work out 5 times a week with cardio every day. I use the elliptical for 1-2 miles at 8 minute miles. I also use the bike for around 10 minutes or 3 miles. I had surgery over last summer on my knee, so running is difficult and i just now started running .5 miles. With this cardio (sometimes i don't do it all, minimum is the elliptical), I then workout usually training multiple areas at once instead of targetting a specific area each day. I try to do compound workouts instead of isolated as well. So far I can tell I have gotten leaner and more muscle, but it makes little sense to me why my weight hasn't dropped but 12 pounds.

I understand that muscle weighs more than fat, but I feel that I should be burning more of this off. Any ideas on what I should change?

My eating habbits are good as far as I know. 3 decent meals and usually a couple of snacks in between.

Here is my dilemma. I have been working out for around 5 months now. I first weighed in at 236 at 6'0. I work out 5 times a week with cardio every day. I use the elliptical for 1-2 miles at 8 minute miles. I also use the bike for around 10 minutes or 3 miles. I had surgery over last summer on my knee, so running is difficult and i just now started running .5 miles. With this cardio (sometimes i don't do it all, minimum is the elliptical), I then workout usually training multiple areas at once instead of targetting a specific area each day. I try to do compound workouts instead of isolated as well. So far I can tell I have gotten leaner and more muscle, but it makes little sense to me why my weight hasn't dropped but 12 pounds.

I understand that muscle weighs more than fat, but I feel that I should be burning more of this off. Any ideas on what I should change?

My eating habbits are good as far as I know. 3 decent meals and usually a couple of snacks in between.

why are you worried about your weight? it's just a number... you said yourself that you know that muscle weighs more than fat... so don't worry about the weight... you say you look better, you've gained lean mass and you're leaner... so my advice... throw the scale away :tucool: it's useless other than to track trends, it doesn't mean anything


however... if you are only eating three times a day, your diet could improve.. read the sticky threads at the top of this forum on nutrition for fat loss... marcus & gravityhomer's sticky's are excellent reading... you'll learn a lot! once you've read them, figure out what you think you should be eating and when and we can help you tweak it... for starters... what are you eating now? amounts & times will help us to help you.... but read those sticky's too :gl:

A pound is a pound is a pound. 1lb of muscle is equal to 1lb of fat in weight.

Now it's smaller or takes up less room.

How many calories are you taking in?

A pound is a pound is a pound. 1lb of muscle is equal to 1lb of fat in weight.

Now it's smaller or takes up less room.

How many calories are you taking in?

and that is exactly the point... the size of one pound of fat is larger than the size of one pound of muscle... soooooooo... you CAN drop fat, and gain muscle, and not lose any weight on the scale, yet appear leaner & more muscular, which was the point I made earlier in this thread ;)

now.. until we get an answer on what trur1 eats I don't think we can do much more to help him at this point

Good posts in here already:nod: We need to see, if possible, exactly what your nutrition looks like to give you more advice. Knowing your training details would help too (exercises, sets, reps). One thing I did notice though was that you seem to rely heavily on cardio. Cardio is great, but I believe weight training to be much more beneficial when it comes to fat loss. Whenever you can, I'd prioritize lifting over cardio.

Thanks for the input so far.

Let me see if i can be more help for you guys to help

I was a soccer player for 17 years (im 24) and only played little after highschool. Cardio is waht I have done all of my life. While playing I have never been under 200lbs. It just a number, but some people who are very fit (way more muscular than myself), end up weighing a lot less. To put into perspective, if you follow UFC Many of those guys are ripped and in excellent cardiovascular health, yet weigh under 200 easily. If I were to guess my BF% I'd say 18-21% (assumption). Naturally i suffer from the dreaded "spare tire" as most do.

Mealwise I vary.
I honestly feel that in my diet if i have to cut out foods i love, I will never keep with it and end up failing at what i try to achieve. Which would mainly consist of your Starches (bread, potatos, pasta). What I do try to do is limit how much of it I do eat. I do subsitute White bread for wheat, only eat half of a potato and half of my pasta dish (if i am eating it)

My meals throughout the day may include eggs (over easy, limited yellow) bacon, and maybe a hashbrown. I also eat a lot of chicken and turkey. In fact, if i go out somewhere that's eactly what i order.
I take GNC megamen vitamins daily and also take hydroxycut. For my snacks its usually part of a peanut butter sandwich (all organic on wheat) or a granola bar (nature valley usually).

As far as I know, I eat fairly healthy. Im sure it can be improved, but im also sure it could be a lot worse.

Weight training usually involves 3 sets of 15 reps. My major problem here is that i dont have any set schedule of what i do.

I can't stand just working out chest one day, then doing arms another.
My preference is to do a little of all of it each day a week (i forgot what they call it)

On average my day at the gym is around an hour long, and on fridays i go twice, once for cardio another for weight training.

Let me know if this info helps at all, if not I'll see what else I can tell you. questions are good!

I'd suggest using one of the calorie counting websites for say a week. Figure out what you really are taking in. I'm guessing you'll need to cut calories some but until you have a good idea of what you are really eating it'll be hard to figure out how much to cut.

Mealwise I vary.
I honestly feel that in my diet if i have to cut out foods i love, I will never keep with it and end up failing at what i try to achieve. Which would mainly consist of your Starches (bread, potatos, pasta). What I do try to do is limit how much of it I do eat. I do subsitute White bread for wheat, only eat half of a potato and half of my pasta dish (if i am eating it)

Portion control is good, and it's a great way to start cleaning up your diet:tu: Now nobody is telling you that you need to "cut out" foods that you love. The idea of moderation is important though.

My meals throughout the day may include eggs (over easy, limited yellow) bacon, and maybe a hashbrown. I also eat a lot of chicken and turkey. In fact, if i go out somewhere that's eactly what i order.
I take GNC megamen vitamins daily and also take hydroxycut. For my snacks its usually part of a peanut butter sandwich (all organic on wheat) or a granola bar (nature valley usually).

Depending on your goals, and how badly you would like to lose the fat, you may have to start making some sacrifices. First of all, I'd drop the fat burner. If you're eating bacon and hashbrowns everyday, I doubt the fat burner is worth your money. Next, I agree with the post above from Robert. Try www.fitday.com (http://www.fitday.com) and/or www.calorieking.com (http://www.calorieking.com) to track your calories for a week. Write down EXACTLY what you eat everyday for a week or two, and punch it into those websites when you get a chance. You'll get to find out how much protein/carbs/fat and total calories you're actually taking in. This will help you get an idea of what changes might need to be made. Right off the bat, it doesn't seem like you're getting much fruits, veggies, and healthy fats. Your protein intake and your overall calorie intake also appear quite low, but it's hard to tell since you haven't given us quantities.

As far as I know, I eat fairly healthy. Im sure it can be improved, but im also sure it could be a lot worse.

Whether or not you eat "healthy" is an opinion. I agree with your second point, but at the same time that shouldn't stop you from wanting to aim higher and reach for your goals. It's kind of like saying, "I know I can finish the race is 5 minutes instead of 25 minutes, but I also know I can finish the race is 4 hours."

Weight training usually involves 3 sets of 15 reps. My major problem here is that i dont have any set schedule of what i do.

I can't stand just working out chest one day, then doing arms another.
My preference is to do a little of all of it each day a week (i forgot what they call it)

You don't need to hit chest one day and arms another. Full body training is very popular around here and is highly recommended by many members that have had great results. Do a seach on full body work out programs. It is important that you are progressive in your training. I find the best way to measure progress is to follow a program consistently and monitor weight, reps and rest times. Improvements in any of those areas, holding everything else constant, means you're progressing. Find a program that you can follow consistently for several weeks, or even come up with your own routine and post it up for feedback.

I have search all day and can not find a workout routine to adopt on here. most threads that pop up have 347234237 pages attached.

anyone know of any links to a good full body routine?

btw thanks for the reply dluc, I'll check into all the stuff you said

I have search all day and can not find a workout routine to adopt on here. most threads that pop up have 347234237 pages attached.

anyone know of any links to a good full body routine?

btw thanks for the reply dluc, I'll check into all the stuff you said

There are a ridiculous amount of workout plans on the 'net. Google it, go to bodybuilding.com, spend some time finding one that suits you, it's worth a couple of hours of research.

As for the rest, there are enough threads and stickies on here to give you pretty much all the info you need to start seeing results. If you think you're eating right but you're not seeing results, then chances are, you're not eating right. Take a couple of hours out to read these two stickies and absorb all the info:

http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=1222

http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=19229

Then make a spreadsheet and figure out exactly what's going on with your nutrition. I'd never used Excel before checking out John's spreadsheet, it's pretty easy to use. Try just adapting John's spreadsheet.

http://www.johnstonefitness.com/misc/transformation.xls

I know a lot of people don't get along well with details and fidgety things like calculating calories, but all it takes is one afternoon and you'll have a solid plan that will bring you to your goals.

Best of luck.