I finally started exercising 2 weeks ago. I've gone to the gym for 60 minutes 3 times / week. So far, I've been walking on the treadmill (3.5 - 4.0 mph) for 20 minutes and doing the elliptical for 20 minutes (4.0 mph). Then I have added some ab and arm exercises.

I feel great after each workout and really wish I would have started this sooner. How long will it be before I start seeing a difference?

Does anyone have planter faciatis? I have this condition and it makes it hard to exercise, any ideas? I was banded 9/23/10 and have lost 20 but now I'm at a standstill so I know I need more exercise.

OK - I have been going to they gym 3x/wk and working out at least 45 minutes of cardio and adding in some strength training with it and have not lost 1 pound! I don't get it. I am keeping my calories anywhere between 900 - 1200 / day. Any ideas?

You are likely gaining muscle and by volume, muscle weighs more than fat. The good things are: Muscle looks a whole lot better than fat. Muscle is easier on the heart than fat.

Muscle also burns more calories than fat.

Keep on with your exercise, you will see results.

I got really discouraged back in May of this year. So I started taking my measurements every month. Even when the scale doesn't move, I can see the inches come off. You might try that.

Regarding Kettle Bells: I have a small one (7 lbs) that I bought last summer. With one thing and another I didn't get it out of it's box until a month or two ago. I think it's too light now!! You don't have to have a trainer to use one. The one I got came with a DVD with a few basic exercises.

You might see what trainers cost in your area. I know some are quite expensive, but ones here aren't that much. You might hire one just long enough to learn good technique and then have them check you every few months.

Congrats on your new healthy lifestyle. :eek:

Thanks for the advise. I'm going to just keep going and hope eventually things work out. I agree - muscle looks better than fat!

OK - I have been working out for 4 weeks now, doing cardio 30-60 minutes 3x / week and some strength training but still have not lost a single pound! I have been tracking my food and exercise on myfitnesspal.com and keeping between 1,000 - 1,200 calories / day. According to that program I should be losing 2 lbs a week.

Really? I don't understand this, but I'm not giving up.

I am the same way I was down to 139 now back to 140 and seem to be sitting there and not moving and my calories are about 1000 a day with cardio 5 times a week for about an hour and sometimes a little longer each day. At this point I only have 20lbs left to hit goal weight so I am just going to continue doing what I have been and not stressing over it anymore and when it comes off it comes off!!!!!!! It seems like I prob lose about 7lbs a month and that seems to happen only about 2wks out of the month sometimes I lose less then that. It is frustrating at times especially when your doing what your supposed to and that scale doesn't move... We just have to keep at it, its a constant battle...

Increase your intake to about 1500 per day. What is your current Protein intake per day? If you are working out hard, you need to be consuming 1 Gram of protein per pound of body weight (or at least shoot for that number.)

I would suspect your lack of weight loss is tied to your calorie intake being to low, and your metabolism slowing down as a result.

Also look into Interval training as a method of shocking your body into responding. You can do Intervals on the elliptical, treadmill, or by running sprints.

Does anyone have planter faciatis? I have this condition and it makes it hard to exercise, any ideas? I was banded 9/23/10 and have lost 20 but now I'm at a standstill so I know I need more exercise.

I have this condition and it is a pain in the butt!!! The only relief is to go get shots in my foot which are very expensive and of course to keep losing weight to relieve some of the pressure. I found some Dr. Sholls called Trails I think and they are great! They come with extra padding and they were on sale for 20.00!!! These are the best ones I have found so far even better than my 100.00 Nikes. I still have minor pain but it's not so bad to stop my workouts. The elliptical and stationary bike was recommended for people with my condition. The treadmill is constant pounding and makes the condition worse. If I just have to get on the treadmill I limit it to 10 mins. Good luck!

Thanks, Noturningback10. I saw a podiatrist yesterday and he gave me some nice insoles. He also told me to ice (bowl of ice water) my heel twice a day and wear a splint at night. I feel better today already;)

I am with you here. I exercise five to six times a week for 40 minutes. I count every calorie i eat but i eat up to 1500 calories a day. I can say that I have lost lots of inches though. My clothes fit a lot looser than before and I am thrilled about that. So any advice anyone can give I would be more than happy to listen.

My doctor and nutritionist said not to focus too much on the weight because sometimes you may lose inches instead of weight because of our muscles because muscle tissue is heavier than fat so you may b gaining or toning your muscle and losing the fat its just not showing on the scale yet but that's not a bad thing congrats on the inches lost keep it up you seem to be on the right track

Hello Everyone,

I am in the beginning stages of the Lap Band process. I will be going for my consult on Tues, 12.07.10

I just want to give you some tips on the exercise. I actually lost 40 lbs within a few months all on my own before I even thought about WLS. I started out going to the gym and wasn't losing any weight at all so I remembered that I used to workout at home on my own and that I lost weight that way so I began working out at home again. After a while I hit a plateau and was devistated. Suddenly I remembered that I had some DVD's of Billy Blanks known for Taebo. Well I started doing Billy and the weight just fell off. I was doing his Bootcamp DVD and another high Cardio DVD and the pounds just seemed to melt away. Also, a trainer friend of mine told me not to exercise 5 days per week because I was overtraining at some point causing myself to plateau. Also, sometimes 3 days per week isn't enough depending on the intesity of the exercise. Step it up to 4 days per week and switch up your calories throughout the week. One day eat 1500 calories and the next day eat 1000....this is just an example. Also, if you don't get at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night you can hender your weight loss. Another thing is that I was always hungry after working out so I would have my dinner right after, take my shower and wind down for about 30 mins to an hour and go to bed because the longer you stay up, the more you will become hungry again.

Hello Everyone,

I am in the beginning stages of the Lap Band process. I will be going for my consult on Tues, 12.07.10

I just want to give you some tips on the exercise. I actually lost 40 lbs within a few months all on my own before I even thought about WLS. I started out going to the gym and wasn't losing any weight at all so I remembered that I used to workout at home on my own and that I lost weight that way so I began working out at home again. After a while I hit a plateau and was devistated. Suddenly I remembered that I had some DVD's of Billy Blanks known for Taebo. Well I started doing Billy and the weight just fell off. I was doing his Bootcamp DVD and another high Cardio DVD and the pounds just seemed to melt away. Also, a trainer friend of mine told me not to exercise 5 days per week because I was overtraining at some point causing myself to plateau. Also, sometimes 3 days per week isn't enough depending on the intesity of the exercise. Step it up to 4 days per week and switch up your calories throughout the week. One day eat 1500 calories and the next day eat 1000....this is just an example. Also, if you don't get at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night you can hender your weight loss. Another thing is that I was always hungry after working out so I would have my dinner right after, take my shower and wind down for about 30 mins to an hour and go to bed because the longer you stay up, the more you will become hungry again.

As far as the Plantar Francitis goes (I can't even spell it anymore...LOL), I had it and was going to a Dr. that kept giving me cortizone shots that only worked once and he kept wrapping my foot in gauze. I finally went to another Dr. and he turned me onto Crocs. After wearing them for a week my foot felt much bettter. After 2 months, the pain was gone.

Hope this tidbit of info helps.