I need advise.

I am trying to lose a last lousy 11 pounds.
I was running on my treadmill during most of my losing phase averaging about 2-3.5 miles at about 4.7 miles per hour.
This seemed to work, as I did lose weight and my legs/butt developed muscle.

At some point, I think in January, I added weight lifting which developed muscle.

Then my weight loss slowed down, but my shape started changing.

I read a bit about getting the most fat burning out of your exersize and decided to try interval training on the treadmill instead of just running.

My heartrate while running would go from 150 bpm up to 177 bpm (that's my limit then I gotta slow down to a walk for a while)

While doing the interval, I walk at 3.7 mph for 2-3 min and then on incline for 2-3 min. I keep my heart rate at 120 bpm to 150 bpm.

Now the question.
I've been doing the interval for a couple weeks now and have found no improvement in fat burning that I can see. I even increased the distance from 4-5 miles every other day to 8 miles one day and 4 miles the next with one day  off.

What is the best fat burning workout on the treadmill? Running/Jogging or Interval walking?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
donna

 Donna, I'm just going to share what I've found (I'm an outside runner-35-40 miles a week) and even with your mileage and no weight loss...you're not eating enough that is why you're not losing.  Can you get into a nutritionist?  They will give you a better idea of how many more calories you need to be consuming to be running/doing interval training like that.  I am NOT telling you to stop or slow down on the workouts because I would never do it but you're going to need to up your calories.  Never thought you'd be told that, huh?

hey donna,

going to have to agree with carol.  i was at a stall doing the C25K program alternating with B210K.  i had foot surgery four weeks ago and have been unable to exercise due to non-weight bearing on the foot.  have been eating same amount of protein but lack the intense exercise, weight is on the move again!  that tells me that when i start exercising again, i will need to increase my protein and calories to continue the weightloss.

good luck!

BIG dee

 Yes!  I took this week off to let some nagging foot and thigh strain heal up and I lost 3 lbs eating the same amount.  I need to reevalute my eating plan too.  It's not easy with the tiny pouch.

Ok, get the HELL outta Here!
EAT MORE???!!!

Oh that is toooooo scary!

I'm gonna have to think on that for a bit.

I have absolutely no idea what "more" I should be eating.
Carbs? what kind and how much?
More protein? I eat enough meat to make a carnivore worry for it's life around me.
What else is there?

I have to keep running...it's what makes me feel like I'm going somewhere with this, my life

oh hell (sigh)(thinking)

donna

And here I've been doing everything possible to lower my calories daily...(thinking again)

edit: I'm calling my doc tomorrow and getting a referral to a nutritionist (thinking)

 Okay, I looked at calories I need to be eating to run 40 miles a week.  I think it was in the 2500 range to stay at 150lbs (I'm ok with 145 ish as you can see in my ticker).  

I use Gu packets (you can get them in Big 5) and Gatorade (I get the ones in the pouches in the supplement aisle in Walmart).  I'm using them when I run over 5 miles (at a time) and I figured out when I need to use them by trial and error.

If I run 40+ miles in a week I can eat anything (and I mean anything) I want, fewer miles means I need to pay more attention but not much as my metabolism has really sped up with all the running.

Typical week Run 7 days a week and on the three days a week I do weight training I only run 5 or so miles those days.  I run approx 5mph.  

I play around with it every week and take a look at the scale at the end of the week.  I'm up some weeks and know I need to watch it a little more closely the following week.  I'm never up more than a  pound or so so it's not a big worry.  If I'm down too far and not training for a half marathon or something serious I double up on my protein shakes.

You can take a look at the Running forums for Runners World too.  All sorts of information.

I am amused by the notion that you aren't eating enough when you never said how much you are eating. For all they know, you are eating 2000 calories a day.

The thing is, f you burn 3500 calories less than you eat, you lose a pound. Otherwise, you've defied the laws of physics. Now maybe that loss won't show up right away on your scale due to water retention. But you have to lose if you are eating at a deficit.

So my question is: why do you think you aren't burning fat? Is it because the scale isn't moving? But you said your shape started changing. So that means you are still losing something. Maybe you are losing fat and but gaining muscle. Are your inches still going down? That's the number that counts, not the weight on the scale.

Is it because you look in the mirror and see 'fat'? This happens to a lot of people when they get new the end and have a lot of loose skin. The loose skin makes you look fatter than you are. The way to tell if this is going on, is to pull up on the skin as if you'd have PS. Do you look skinny now? A lot of people do.

Or have you started to eat more and now you aren't eating at a deficit any more? If so, you have decide if you are okay with where you are now or if you are going to go back to eating at a deficit.

But don't forget, if you lost 100 pounds, you have 8-12 pounds of loose skin. And you need to take that into account when setting a goal weight.

Thanks for the input.
I know I'm still eating at a deficit albeit, only 500-700 less than what I burn a day. But less is less, physics as you say.
I log my food enough to keep track.

I am losing a 1/2 inch here, 1/4 inch there and gaining the same in other places. I know it could be muscle gain etc.

I tried the pull up the skin trick and yeah I do look skinny. All the bulges I'm trying to get gone with the 10 lbs dissipear with some stretching.

I was unaware that this could add up to 8-10 lbs. Really? That seems like a lot.
I am planning on a tummy tuck in Dec but now I think I may have to go with the LBL. Not thrilled with the idea due to the long term recovery and pain but it's something I'll have to think about.

Thanks again,
donna

Wel if you are eating around 500-700 less, that' s about a pound a week so that could easily be overwritten on the scale here and there by water retention. Also, it's easy to overestimate the calories burned and the amount eaten (even with tracking). I have a BodyMedia FIT and according to it, when I record 50 calories in deficit on average, I maintain. So somewhere I'm losing 50 calories in my logging. And that was when I was being really OCD about tracking.

The amount of skin is tricky. From your profile pic, you seem to be about my age. So we have time against us. However, it really depends on where skin as to how much plastic surgery will take off. For example, I have a pani and it hangs, but it's not as monsterous as some. But I also have loose skin on my CALVES. Well, PS isn't going to get rid of that.

So I might have 10 pound of loose skin, but I bet PS only gets rid of 5 of it. Assuming I have PS, that is. I may just live with it.