h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

For the last three months I have been going to the gym twice a week for an hour, doing 30 minutes of cardio stuff, 10 minutes on the weight machines (those should be in the Tower), 15 minutes of Pilates then another 5 cooling down () on the treadmill.

For the last three years I have been going to a weekly Pilates class, which is more to benefit my joints and posture, but is still hard work.

Since I started going to the gym I have also been calorie counting with the aid of my trusty Palm, sticking to 1500 a day.

How much weight have I lost? One miserable kilo and I'm now in permanent sulk mode

One name for you my girl... Susan Powter and her book Stop the Insanity.

What's that all about then?

I hope it's about giving up the execerise and calorie counting and more about lying on a sofa all day and eating and , whilst still losing wait

It is about firing up your metabolic rate so you burn fat and build lean muscle.

You can find out the basics here - http://www.susanpowteronline.com/food.asp?ciid=29

Unfortunately the only way to medically boost your metabolism is exercising more and eating more(!) high quality, low fat food.

I shall have a go at cutting down on the fats then. Although I do eat low fat stuff as much as possible.

But I could cut down further, I spose.

Mind you, I'm convinced that under the flab I'm developing biceps and a six pack like Keith Hamilton Cobb!

well, i think exercising is the way to go. i've been walking *everywhere* ever since i started university (i wasn't allowed a car)... about 1-2 hours everyday. (i can't run because of my ankle, but i can speedwalk quite comfortably) taking stairs instead of elevators. lost about 14kg in the past couple of years that way.

(oh, and sit-ups are a good way of building abs. the thing about sit-ups is that you don't actually *have* to go from 0 to 90 degrees - it only hurts your back and takes up time. what you do is lie flat with your knees bent, then raise yourself until you feel your stomach muscles *burn*. alternatively - and i prefer this - lie completely flat, and use your stomach/abdominal muscles to pull your legs up 90 degrees... no bending at the knees!)

With Pilates I'm beyond sit ups, its waving your legs from flat on the floor to behind your head type stuff now! That's what I mean by the 6 pack under the flab

I have just got to the age where all the hormones are packing their bags and weight is harder to shift. Once upon a time I could just think of calorie counting and would lose a couple of lbs

Oh well, off down to the gym and another hour of torture!

Hi there Caerwynn

It sounds like you might be underestimating how fit you are, especially if you judge fitness level on weight. Because muscle is heavier than fat, this sometimes lies. What doesn't lie is getting a tape-measure round various bits and seeing how chubby they are. Unfortunately, this is normally severely deflating, and also madness lies down that route.

The other thing I'd say is that it's good to keep your body guessing, and vary your exercise. It sounds like you work hard enough; if you want to see better results you have to start working more effectively. You might find it useful to book a few sessions with a personal trainer to get some fresh ideas, or chat to people similar to you, who are in the sort of shape you want to be in. Books on sport nutrition, or ones like Abi has been recommending, can also be useful.

Cheers,

BB

The thought of a session with the trainer at the gym had crossed my mind and the next time I'm in Waterstone's I shall look out for the book Abi recommended.

It is lovely to get all this support though and I do appreciate you all taking the time to offer me advice

You know what? I was going to the gym and counting calories for a year and didn't see any weightloss, other than a little muscle gain (and I'm NOT a fit girl, I'm about 80-100 lbs overweight). Turns out I have a syndrome that can inhibit weight loss if not dealt with. So I dealt with it. THEN I found out I wasn't eating ENOUGH (go figure) and that my body was storing fat because it decided it was starving. Make sure your getting enough protein for the amount of working out you're doing, and a metabolic boost like Ms. Powter has is EXCELLENT. I've been seeing results, and I've only been doing this new routine for about a week and a half, I've lost like 4 lbs, which is a healthy amount for that amount of time! So, stick in there and check out your options!

Yankee-shoes