So last year when I restarted dance, I danced all the time and I lost about 15 pounds within about 2 months. It's been a year since then I've lost absolutely nothing with dancing or going to the gym usually every day. And if that wasn't bad enough within the past two ore three months I've been injured a couple of times, so I've gained a little back. I've been trying to eat healthier and exercise, but nothing's working. I really hate my weight and really want to loose more. Am I doing something wrong that's preventing me from loosing weight? Is there anyone out there who has had this problem? Thanks.

Most of weight loss occurs in the kitchen, not the gym. You lost weight when you changed your workout routine, but your body is now pretty used to what you're doing with it. The rest of your weight loss is getting your diet down pat. Eating healthier helps, but "healthier" is relative to what you were doing before. There are a ton of elements to "ideal eating" for weight loss.

Water / Ditching Soda or other sugary drinks
What time of day are you eating
Are you getting enough protein / carbs / healthy fat
Are you getting enough fruit/veg/dairy
Small meals throughout the day
Are you varying your caloric intake every day so your body doesn't get used to a pattern?

I'd give yourself 8 weeks of really working on getting your food and drink intake as good as possible, and if you STILL see no progress, go to the doctor. Keep a food journal so that you (and your doctor) has an idea of how many calories and what kind of calories you are putting in your body over a longer period of time.

ALSO: Are you weighing/measuring yourself at the same time of day, infrequently? I prefer to weigh and measure in the morning right after I get up after using the bathroom, but before eating breakfast. I consider it measuring myself "empty."

Have you measured yourself instead of weighing, or as well as weighing?

If you start to gain muscle you won't loose weight, you will gain it, you can also gain fluid and that makes it appear that you gain weight.

What dance form were you taking? Do you have any aerobic forms of exercise because a lot of dance forms are not aerobic there's too much consideration of technique for them to be truly aerobic. I can see and ID shoe in your picture but there can still be slow times in an ID class as you learn combinations and choreography.

In addition to what the other people said...you can eat healthy all you want, but if you are eating more than you are burning off you can't lose weight.

To lose weight you really need to be hitting up some major cardio. For instance...walking on a treadmill for an hour at 3.5 is going to burn 240 - 300 calories (depending on your weight and physical shape.) That really isn't very much. Running will increase that greatly. Doing intervals with sprinting, or walking up hill and faster will bring that number up too.

Dance is anaerobic and not the best way to lose weight since your heart rate isn't up consistently for long periods of time (20 minutes or more without stopping.)

imadanseur wrote:

In addition to what the other people said...you can eat healthy all you want, but if you are eating more than you are burning off you can't lose weight.

^This.

However, I disagree about the cardio requirement. You can lose weight with or without cardio; you can gain weight with or without cardio. The most important determinate of weight loss success is the amount of food you are putting into your body. Cardio is good for heart health, but most people get the minimum recommended amount of heart-healthy activity from other aspects of their daily lives.

OP, start tracking exactly how much you are eating now and then aim to eat less than that. You can do this through portion control, calorie-counting, measuring, weighing, etc. but you simply need a way to insure that you are eating less than what your body needs to maintain your weight.

Thank you for all the advice! I guess I focused mostly on the exercise and less on the eating.
Hummingbird- I take Irish dance.

So far nearly all of the suggestions boil down to a tighter regimen:

The rest of your weight loss is getting your diet down pat.

OP, start tracking exactly how much you are eating now and then aim to eat less than that. You can do this through portion control, calorie-counting, measuring, weighing, etc. but you simply need a way to insure that you are eating less than what your body needs to maintain your weight.

you can eat healthy all you want, but if you are eating more than you are burning off you can't lose weight.

Do you have any aerobic forms of exercise because a lot of dance forms are not aerobic

Or, as an English teacher said, you lose weight by tightening up.

In reference to the cardio:

Photo Credit running image by Byron Moore from Fotolia.com

All forms of cardio, immediately boost your metabolism. It takes energy for your cells to catch up with the demands of working muscles. The number of calories you burn increases as you transition from a resting level of metabolism to an exercising rate of metabolism. Aerobic exercise can boost your metabolism for hours or even days after each session.
ise you
In fact, short-duration, high-intensity raise your metabolism more than any other type of aerobic exercise. The increase in enzymes and cell structures occurs at a greater magnitude than in long-duration, low-intensity training. These workouts burn plenty of calories during the session and even more calories after the workout, which you can read about in a 2009 article published in "Strength and Conditioning Journal."

Yes you can lose weight without cardio...when you pair cardio with eating correctly you'll do it faster and you'll be more fit. Weighing less is not your only goal. You want to have a lower body fat ratio and exercise is the best thing to help that...not just cutting calories. I have a client that is about 118 pounds and she's about 26% body fat. She is well within what she wants to weigh, but her muscle to fat ratio is way off.




Read more: www.livestrong.com . . .

imadanseur wrote:

IYes you can lose weight without cardio...when you pair cardio with eating correctly you'll do it faster and you'll be more fit. Weighing less is not your only goal. You want to have a lower body fat ratio and exercise is the best thing to help that...not just cutting calories. I have a client that is about 118 pounds and she's about 26% body fat. She is well within what she wants to weigh, but her muscle to fat ratio is way off.

I never mentioned that the OP should cut calories. In fact the best way to lose weight is to eat at a caloric deficit and engage in resistance training at least 3x a week. Cardio can be added to increase the deficit, but cardio is less discriminate in that without the addition of resistance training and an adequate amount of protein, one can find themselves "burning" both muscle and fat. This is why some people can lose as much as 30 or 40lbs but don't look any fitter, just smaller with the same flabby areas (much like your client).

Also, anecdotally, cardio turns me into a ravenous beast. So much so that my hunger overrides whatever extra deficit the activity created.

In addition, most people make the mistake of expecting to out-cardio poor nutrition and "make up" for a lack of tracking with diet. If the OP wants to do LISS/MISS/HIIT I'd recommend no more than 2x a week. Depending on one's size there does reach a point where cardio must be added to maintain a deficit, else the person would be eating far too little to meet their needs. But then again I've read about natural female bodybuilders (who must get down to as low as 10% bf which is SUPER low for a female) who prep for shows without adding cardio until the last final weeks (sub-13% bf).

OP, I had the same problem. Went to the doctor. Apparently, it does not matter how hard you work or how much less you eat or switching out this food for that. If you are under a large amount of stress, your body will for some reason either hold onto weight or dump weight in huge excess chunks.

I was told to do something that reduces the stress and then the weight will come off, since I'm already working out and dieting. The only thing that has ever made me feel remotely 'wow, I feel less stressed out now' was when I did yoga for a couple of weeks. So I'm going back to doing yoga.

I'll let you know how it works out in a couple of weeks.

I never mentioned that the OP should cut calories. In fact the best way to lose weight is to eat at a caloric deficit and engage in resistance training at least 3x a week.

Um, I never said you mentioned the OP should cut calories...nor did I?!? Where is a source that says the BEST way to lose weight is with resistance training only? I agree the best way to minimize muscle loss while losing weight is through resistance training, but actually losing weight is what the OP has asked about and it's hard to argue that increasing cardio will help her lose weight especially when paired with a resistance training program. I don't know...I am NASM certified and the fitness studio I trained in and the physical therapy/weight loss clinic I contract out of now puts ALL our clients on some kind of cardio plan if it is walking, walking in a pool etc.

A lot of people think any form of exercise will counter poor nutrition. I think that is why I mentioned something about eating correctly and not eating more calories than you are burning. If someone is dedicated and disciplined they would

I can't talk about percentages and the true science behind it all because I'm not properly trained to, so I won't pretend like I am. However, I have done my fair share of dieting over the years thanks to being blessed with a garbage metabolism and a love for carbohydrates. That being said, I wanted to make mention that there is a lot of false advertising out there in regards to so-called "diet" food. Items that claim to be low-fat or healthy a lot of times really aren't. Things that come to mind are chips, Lean Pockets, bread, cookies, etc. Products that are still chock full of carbs and often times sodium. It's really beneficial to read the back of the box of everything you buy.

My old nutritionist was and still is big into protein. She said that one must consume at the very least, 30g of protein daily in order for protein synthesis to occur and weight loss to happen. She's big into poultry, fish, no/low fat cheeses (like cottage cheese and mozzerella), as well as extra lean red meats like buffalo, nuts, and veggies. Fruit in moderation, and carbs in moderation. Try to cut out the carbs that you just don't need, like bread and desserts. My carbs mostly consist of a dish like rice, sweet potatoe, etc.

Another place that's probably getting you without you even realizing is your drinks. So many people drink their calories away. Say goodbye to sodas - they're not healthy at all, even the diet ones. Most juices have a lot of calories and sugars, but not all, so do your reading. Tea is mostly water but has a lot of caffeine in it which dehydrates you, so be mindful of that. Sugary coffee drinks from Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, PJs, CCs, wherever you go, can zap 1/3 of your daily caloric intake one just one drink! All of their nutritional values can now be found online for a more educated decision. Substituting regular milk with skim milk and nixing the whipped cream will really cut down the calories if you must have it. The best is to just drink water. They make so many single serve mix ins now that water really doesn't have to be plain water anymore. Crystal Lite makes like 50 flavors!

And lastly, eating smaller meals more often really does help. I was very skeptical at first, but am now a believer based on personal success.

Good luck!