[gariharlj]

OK, I havent done a single thing as far as exercising....and I kinda dont' reallly care.
I'm moderately active at my job and I go out everyday and walk around stores and things.
The reason I dont really concentrate on exercising is because everytime I do, I end up not losing weight! Then the scale doesnt move which in turn freaks me out which in turn makes me binge. SO, I havent worked out in about a month (by the way, working out to me is jogging on my treadmill for 30 mins).
I was thinking once I have the bulk of my weight off (about 25-30 lbs), I will start to get moving.

Any comments or advice?
Thanks

[lakraboob]

One of the reasons your scales say you are not losing weight is because you are "probably" putting on muscle. This would be the first thing I would look at. Some people actually gain a pound or two when starting an exercise program.. From what I have experienced, it takes about 3 weeks of this, for your body to adjust and start showing a loss on the scales. During this time it is optimal to stay off the scales and rather measure yourself.. because muscle weighs more than fat, you will experience a loss in body mass,, even if the scale doesn't budge,, or you go up a few pounds..

Adversely, if you aren't taking in enough calories to fuel the added workout, then your body may retain the fat as best as it can, in order to "save you" from starving.. This process also takes about 3 weeks of continued exercise to get over the hump.

Both scenarios are completely normal and your body will learn to adjust given enough time.. 3 weeks, is about the standing rule.

[somozasayre]

I think that a lot of people think that once they start exercising, the pounds will just fall off. You need to burn 3500 calories first. 30 minutes on the treadmill at 6mph, even 7 days a week could burn only about 2000 calories. That's still only about 1/2 pound. It will, however, begin to build your metabolism. It's not a quick fix - you have to do it for a while to get results. Exercise (strength and cardio) and diet have to be combined.

Think about this:
If you lose 10 pounds, but don't work out, you are most likely going to lose some muscle, too. Say, you lose 2 pounds of muscle - that's 80 calories a day less that you will burn naturally each day. You just lowered your metabolism - which is bad.

Now, if you gain those 10 pounds back again, (without working out), it will be all fat. You'll now be the same weight you started, but you'll be bigger because fat is larger than muscle. You will need to eat 80 calories a day less than before to maintain your old weight, so you'll probably gain even more. Hence, the yo-yo.

Also, running and walking are not going to build a lot of muscle. You need to use weights to get muscle. Each pound of muscle you build will burn an additional 40 calories a day without you doing anything.

[eduptultyt]

well, i will give you very short advice.

exercise is good for you.

the other responses were good too.

but seriously, i don't mean to blow off your frustration that when you exercise you end up thinking things are worse cuz of the scale. i get on that scale way too much myself, so i can relate, we all want that silly little scale to give us a better number. so my best advice really is. do it cuz you know that exercise is good for you and that is the best goal to have. to be healthy. good luck.

by the way, maybe joining us in the mardi gras challange would be fun for you. that kinda helped me get back into exercise, i had stopped for a while too. this is my first week back into it, i did 30 min of arobics 3 times this week.