help! in need of some workout/diet advice!

[Roxy725]

for the past 4 weeks i have been trying to lose weight and/or look better overall. i do cardio for 60 mins (30 mins on the elliptical and 30 mins on the treadmill walking 3.6-3.8 miles per hour at 10% incline) 4 times a week. i monitor my heart rate and keep it at a minimum of 130 (usually its at about 160 while i do the elliptical and 130 when walking) the whole time.

as for diet, i have drastically cut down my carb intake (although i dont sit there and count my carbs, i used to have a diet predominating in complex carbs and have changed that so that now i eat mostly vegetables and lean meats) and i make sure not to eat practically any carbs past 7pm. ive never really eaten fatty foods, so i have just kept that up. in addition, i make sure to contantly drink water all day long.

as for background on my body type, i am 5'2, currently weigh 118 (which is what i started at a month ago) and would describe my body as having well toned, thin arms and legs, but struggling in the mid section (extreme upper thighs, stomach, love handles, etc.). with clothes on, i have a great looking physique because you cant see my stomach, but i want to be able to look great everywhere. ive pretty much always had a thin, yet althetic look, and still do except for my midsection. that's me in my avitar if it helps any.

so basically i am very frustrated at my lack of weight loss (not just in regards to lbs, but i just dont look any different) and any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

 

[velvett]

for the past 4 weeks i have been trying to lose weight and/or look better overall. i do cardio for 60 mins (30 mins on the elliptical and 30 mins on the treadmill walking 3.6-3.8 miles per hour at 10% incline) 4 times a week. i monitor my heart rate and keep it at a minimum of 130 (usually its at about 160 while i do the elliptical and 130 when walking) the whole time.

as for diet, i have drastically cut down my carb intake (although i dont sit there and count my carbs, i used to have a diet predominating in complex carbs and have changed that so that now i eat mostly vegetables and lean meats) and i make sure not to eat practically any carbs past 7pm. ive never really eaten fatty foods, so i have just kept that up. in addition, i make sure to contantly drink water all day long.

as for background on my body type, i am 5'2, currently weigh 118 (which is what i started at a month ago) and would describe my body as having well toned, thin arms and legs, but struggling in the mid section (extreme upper thighs, stomach, love handles, etc.). with clothes on, i have a great looking physique because you cant see my stomach, but i want to be able to look great everywhere. ive pretty much always had a thin, yet althetic look, and still do except for my midsection. that's me in my avitar if it helps any.

so basically i am very frustrated at my lack of weight loss (not just in regards to lbs, but i just dont look any different) and any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Do you weight train?

Post up everything you eat - something is off if you have seen zero results.
What are you eating for good fats?

60 minutes of cardio - just reading that makes me want to cry.
How about some HIIT and if you don't lift - add lifting.

 

[Sassy69]

Hey roxy! Welcome to the boards. With the information you've given so far, I can say two things:
1)"mid section" is usually the hardest part for women to get rid of because it is where estrogen tends to encourage the greatest concentration of fat cells. Since you can't "spot reduce" in that area, e.g. with lots of ab work (NO, THOUSANDS OF SIT UPS WILL NOT REDUCE YOUR STOMACH -- just make your mid section thicker...). Instead it is all about the diet. If you've made good progress on the other parts of your body (where the concentration of fat cells is less), then just keep working on the diet & training to continue the overall fat loss. And as you continue, reduction in the mid section will start become more apparent.

2) Whatever you are doing now, if you've made progress but its started stalling out, its time to review your diet & optimize it , change it up a little because your body has become accustomed to it and won't respond as well any more.

The first thing I'd suggest is take a look at this stickie:
http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/showthread.php?t=388278

To start, put a typical day's (or just any one day's) menu into a food counts program like www.fitday.com to see exactly how much protein / carb / fat and total cals you are consuming. Then we can give you some more specific detail.

 

[musclemom]

for the past 4 weeks i have been trying to lose weight and/or look better overall. i do cardio for 60 mins (30 mins on the elliptical and 30 mins on the treadmill walking 3.6-3.8 miles per hour at 10% incline) 4 times a week. i monitor my heart rate and keep it at a minimum of 130 (usually its at about 160 while i do the elliptical and 130 when walking) the whole time.

as for diet, i have drastically cut down my carb intake (although i dont sit there and count my carbs, i used to have a diet predominating in complex carbs and have changed that so that now i eat mostly vegetables and lean meats) and i make sure not to eat practically any carbs past 7pm. ive never really eaten fatty foods, so i have just kept that up. in addition, i make sure to contantly drink water all day long.
. . .
so basically i am very frustrated at my lack of weight loss (not just in regards to lbs, but i just dont look any different) and any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Without seeing your macros it's really impossible to make any helpful suggestions, and knowing your body type isn't quite as useful as knowing your approximate age, really.

Logging your food intake is critical, honestly. It's dull, it's a drag, but you have to do it, because the numbers, once you write them down, can be really surprising. It's too easy to eat too little, particularly if you've cut back on your carbs (believe it or not), and that's something most women are MORE guilty of (as opposed to eating too much). Because most people (again, the general female populous in particular) if they're not keeping track of what they're really eating, have a tendency to cut carbs and not increase other foods.

Then the other thing, IMO, that's quite a bit of cardio. If you're not eating enough to begin with, in particular enough protein, you do all that cardio, you're going to spin your wheels because you're body is just going to burn it's muscle. Lower muscle, lower metabolism, vicious circle.

Just my $0.02 ...

Best, Harriet