Question: I've been trying to lose weight for a few months now. I'm losing inches but no weight. I'm not doing weights. I'm only doing cardio and a balanced nutrition. I want to get into weights after I've lost a considerable amount of weight...I don't want to look bulky.
Answer: Ok, this is a wonderful question and I hear it very often. Don't worry, you're not alone! You would be surprised how many people are in the same or similar situation as you. It sounds like you are remaining persuasive, positive, and persistent - this is good! There is a tricky part to this whole "loosing weight" and "image" thing, and I think that many individuals such as yourself lose a bit of focus on how to execute the proper approach.
You're already on a very good and solid path; as you mentioned you are already losing inches. If this is the case, trust me - you're ahead of the game. One thing that is really difficult to understand about being in shape is that the concept is not and should not always be based on "weight" progress. As a matter of fact, focusing on weight will more than often get you caught up on the wrong path, leading you to failure in the end. Yes, weight is a baseline of our overall appearance and condition, but only from a basic perspective. Remember that muscle weighs much more than fat, so when we hurry and rush into losing weight, we frequently end up burning up muscle tissue. In the long run, this ends up slowing your metabolic and fat burning rate. Just imagine if you looked at yourself in the mirror and you saw the perfect body that you've always dreamed of. Would you really care if you weighed 300 lbs.? A bit extreme, but think about it! Although these two factors (weight & size) play hand-to-hand, they don't share such a critical relationship in accordance with your overall goal here.
Realistically speaking, I believe you are very lucky. Why? You are losing size and aren't losing a lot of weight, which probably means that you are somewhat maintaining your muscular density and mass - this is a good thing! If you develop, condition, and maintain your muscles you will continue to burn fat at an optimal rate. I'm assuming that although you're doing cardio, you are probably stimulating your muscles just enough to keep them from burning out.
Here are some basic recommendations that will help you continue to succeed and achieve your overall goals faster and more efficiently:
1) Continue a balanced nutrition that includes a significant amount of proteins. In your case; always keep your carbohydrate count lower than the amount of proteins you consume. I will provide you detailed amounts and percentages throughout your progress as the numbers may change.
2) Focus on a new mental approach in regards to "Weight" vs. "Appearance". This will completely change the outlook on your approach to nutrition, fitness, and most importantly your physical confidence. This is a day to day mental process that only YOU can overcome, but I guarantee that it will allow you to achieve the physical condition and appearance you've always wanted.
3) I would like you to incorporate a weight-lifting program into your routine. I understand your concern of getting bulky, but if done properly, it will only enhance your lean definition and allow you to burn fat much faster. For the average person to get "bulky", they would have to actually put an effort into consuming a high amount of calories and fats, and you would have to lift considerably heavy amounts of weight at low repetitions and at lower levels of cardiovascular activity. So it's actually harder to achieve this than most people think. I recommend incorporating a weight-training routine that involves medium to high repetitions, and short rests between sets and exercises. Cardiovascular activity is important, but it is far more important to properly stimulate all muscle groups in order to increase the rate at which your body burns fat. This will create that furnace effect, allowing you to burn excess fat and build leaner, yet denser muscles.
Key Pointer: Remember and focus on using an amount of weight that is challenging for you to execute high repetitions with. It is easy to simply do high repetitions - next thing you know, you're not challenging your body hard enough. As a you reach a more advanced conditioning level, you may then cross-train into higher weights and different percent variations that will take you to a new peak.
So remember, "don't focus so much on your weight". Focus on your image, your appearance, and the way you feel when you look at yourself in the mirror. If you do this, I guarantee you that you will continue to make solid improvements and achieve the most important goal - good cardiovascular/muscular condition, overall health, and the way you like to fit into those jeans.
Good luck on your journey and I look forward to monitoring your future progress.
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