Trouble losing weight at the gym...?

Im a 240 pound male. ive always done low carb diets in the past to lose weight, getting down to 180. but obviously i always gain it back. I decided to do it the "healthy" way, minimizing calories and going to the gym every other day for about 30 minutes. I cant do much right now at the gym because im so out of shape but i usually run a mile, walk some and lift a little. Right now on average i probably burn 300 calories each time i go.



I have really cut down on how much i eat as well. I have a nutrigrain bar for breakfast, a 6" subway sub for lunch and usually make dinner, ive been having chicken wings and turkey burgers lately. i dont snack and only drink diet soda. I would estimate im only eating about 1200 to 1500 calories per day. BUT, after two weeks the scale is the same. this is very frustrating and depressing, why go through all this? Im at least happy when i get to eat the foods i like so much...

Am i doing something wrong?

Is it possible that i just cant lose the weight?Trouble losing weight at the gym...?
When u lose weight it is 70% eating habbits and 30% exercise. Diet sodas are not very healthy for u, i would suggest u drink just mainly water and juices throughout your day. Try to stay at the gym a little longer if u can, maybe an hour more so u can run/walk an extra mile or 2, if u want to lose weight, running is always the better alternative than lifting weight, u will burn many more calories running. For breakfeast try to eat a piece of fruit like an apple or an orange instead of a nutrigrain bar, the fruit in the morning will make your metabolism more active throughout the whole day and give u more energy. Avoid all fried foods, and u should lose weight very steadily. Remember it's not so much how much calories u eat in a day that is the key to losing weight, it is how active u keep your metabolism, so instead of three meals a day, try to eat 6 snacks throught your day every 2 or three hours or so your metabolism has something to breakdown more ofteh throughout your day.
Dearest ricker. (nice name) lol

anyway Nice going WOW lol most people would just say psh,

forget about it. Lol my mom used to be over weight before she started running, and working out. I truely appriciate your efforts to lose weight. Just a question..... do you have a dog?

Because getting a dog if you don't already would be a big help. Dogs are an extremly good way to lose weight since they need to go for walks, (and runs!!!) Haha. (just don't get a boring dog!!!) But just to let you know 240 is a great weight!

Most men nowadays are like 260-300 thats like in the middle wieght chart. But since your 240 thats great!!! Well im sorry I haven't provided you with more information but good luck and thanks for trying to get fit!!! I know you can do it!! Good luck.

-Katey (11 years old)Trouble losing weight at the gym...?
Patience. Two weeks is nothing.



A couple of issues jump out at me, though.



1. 3 days a week of minimal exercise isn't going to have much effect, especially after so short a time. Not suggesting you start running marathons every day, you obviously need to work up to more exercise. I AM suggesting that you go every day if you can manage, and adjust expectations. Assuming your 300 calorie burn estimate is correct, 2weeks=6 sessions = 1800 calories. Or about 1/2 pound of fat. Your scale isn't accurate enough to notice that.



2. Be honest with yourself. I'm not there to see what you do, but by your description, I suspect you're being generous in estimating 300 calories burned per session. Similarly, I have my suspicions about the 1200-1500 intake numbers. Are you sure you're counting everything? estimating portion sizes correctly? If correct, I would have expected that low a level to have taken off a pound, maybe two.



Keep at it, good luck.



You CAN lose weight via exercise, but you're not at the point where you can go hard enough long enough to do it. The objective of your workouts right now should be strictly conditioning. At some point a few months, hopefully you'll be in good enough shape for longer workouts that can make a difference in burning calories.
even though subway is healthy-it also is just junk food if you eat it too much. diet soda?? what about water?maybe you should have fruit for breakfast and tea-breakfast is the most important meal of the day because it gives you metabolism to last the whole day. maybe become a vegetarian(just for a while) and buy a health cook book.



hoped this helped:)
You really need to burn more calories at the gym. You could problably burn at least 600 to 650 calories on an eliptical machine for an hour. You need to reconfigure your schedule for work or school and the gym. When I go to the gym I make a promise to myself that I have to at least burn about 800 to 1000 calories, so I first lift weights for about thirty minutes (mostly till I just give up) and then work on the cardio. I get on a eliptical for an hour then I just walk for about thirty minutes on a slight incline on a treadmill. I try to cool myself down a little on a stationary bike for about 10 minutes at slow pace then I just do a little jogging for about 15 or 30 minutes. Now Im not suggesting that you should do that because even I get sore from that stuff and it sometimes puts me out of commission from time to time. The only thing Im suggesting is that you need to make more time at the gym whether its an hour every three days or every day for 30 minutes, it's all up to you.



Good luck.
you need more protein in your diet. wings/burgers/condiments on your sub may have too much sodium for your body to retain water.

buy the abs diet book. it's a healthy program that works!
Well, you are on the right track - the key to losing weight is in consistent "dieting." Working out is also an excellent way to accelerate fatloss and get healthier.



However, you definitely have some to learn with regard to eating healty and eating right. At 240lbs and 1200 calories, your body very well might be in "starvation" mode - thinking it has run into a famine so-to-say and it wants to hold onto anything it has. The human body is an incredible adaptive machine, and it is very smart when it comes to feeding itself.



I highly recommend eating at LEAST 4 meals (4-6) throughout the day. The key is to eat the right foods and time it right as well. It is good that you cut out the processed, refined sugars - those are poison for weight-loss!



Eating right doesn't mean you have to be hungry, but it certainly means your cannot eat all the junk food you want. I would suggest going to bodybuilding.com and reading some of their weightloss articles. The key is to eat healthy meals 4-6 times per day and make sure they are nutrient rich!



Good luck!
Instead of telling you how to loose weight check out this site below. Loosing weight its easy unless you put work into it. All these weight loss programs where they say loose weight in 3 weeks is ideal but majority of them are not the healthy way. Sounds like your meals you are eating are ok but you need all the food groups to keep you healthy. You must eat less carbs or cals than you take in which you seem to know. But to tell you the truth not everyone has the same body type. Just look at The Biggest Looser, the whole point of the show is to see who can loose the most carbs vs cals but at the same time they have a motivator and hard working hours to do it. Try logging on to their web site and see what they have to offer.

Dont give up, its not easy to try something out and not see results quickly. Give it time. Try lifting weights, when you lift weights dont try to be a stud and lift more than what you can. If lift a decient amount of pounds/weights with more reps you will see more definition in your arms. You will quickly see results. Most people in the gym try to do more to show off. I learned the hard way in high school trying to lift more but when I found out less weights more repetitions I started to see structure in my arms. I hope this is helpful to you and just remember this You Only Get Out What You Put In.
A lot of it is psychological... if you think you cant, you wont. I put a picture of Jessica Alba up on the ceiling so that every day i woke up, i was reminded of the body that i wanted, and id avoid the bad foods and work hard because i was reminded of the weight i needed to lose.



Another thing is lost the fizzy drinks.... it contains lots of sulfates which makes you bloated- try and just drink water, i know its bland but it really is better for you and it works as an antioxidant as well, and ud be surprised at how much you lose just by making this change!



Chicken wings and turkey burgers arent that great for you, they have a high level of fat in them and probably salt as well. If you need to have meat/chicken, try grilling some fish or chicken breast- fish has omega 3 which helps get rid of the bad oils in your body and the chicken breast has the least amount of fat of any of the other cuts. I like to marinade my fish in lemon juice, a bit of olive or avocado oil and grated garlic- then grill- its quite nice, easy and low in fat.



Nutrigrain bars arent that fantastic for you either, they have high salt levels and i think a high GI (dont quote me on that) the best breakfast is oatmeal or wheatbix or something like that... the less processing there is, the better for you it is.



If you like to snack, snack on things like nuts- especially walnuts- they have high levels of omega 3.



I know that regime isnt that glamorous- in fact its quite bland, but trust me, once you start on these foods..... you just need to detoxify your body for about a week, and you wont go back to the greasy foods you once had! The last time i ate mcdonalds i almost threw up!
Well chicken aint good, to start with, substitute it for fish if you can, chicken will give you man boobs :)

But what is happening is your fat is turning into a bit more mussells and mussells are heavier then fat.

hence your not loosing weight... just keep at it and you'll feel fitter, its not how much you weigh anyway but how fit you become thats what you should focus on...

I would also sugest rollerblading, or rock climbing... more fun then going to borring gym :) with rollerblading you dont notice your doing excersise but it works! and rock climbing is good for confidence and works on your entire body.... and ofcourse is a bit challanging :)



keep at it! good luck!

drink loads of water too! I drink 3L a day usually! instead of anything with unatural sweetners in it, which also cuts down how hungry you are :)



oh and if you want to loose weight and see the world, go through africa, I lost 10kg in 3 months of travelling through around 30 countries...
remember that muccle weighs more than fat so when you work out at the gym you are burning fat and gaining muccle so your weight may not look like its falling.