Fat loss.

I've been trying to shed some weight before swimsuit season, and so far I have been eating healty (eating breakfast, having small, non-fatty or sugary snacks every 2-3 hours, and having mostly protien and veggies for meals) and I have been working out (I walk to and from classes every day -about a 15 minute walk each way- and I go to to the gym at least every other day, usually more -I do 30 minutes of cardio on the eliptical, usually the weight loss program, and then do crunches for abs and lift dumbells for my arms). I don't drink much, and I don't eat fast food, so I don't understand why I am not losing any weight, or, more importantly, any fat. I know that muscle weighs more than fat, so i am not too worried about the numbers, but I really want a flat stomach for summer, and I am getting really discouraged that none of this is having an effect. I have been working out often for about 2 months, and eating especially well for about a month.. I feel like there should be SOME difference, but so far I've seen none. Does anyone have any suggestions, or see something I am missing?

Hey!

Losing weight takes time. It took time to pile it on and will take even more time to get rid of it. It wont happen over night and wont happen within weeks, you need to stick to your healthy life style. Make sure your eating small and healthy meals regularly and excercise for at least 45mins a day.

Be patient, you'l see results soon enough.

Drinking "a little" will kill your weight loss. There are SO MANY calories and carbs in alcohol that it is unreal. Aside from that, make sure you're watching your portions. There is a big difference between 1/3 to 1/2 rack of ribs and an entire side of pig. Make sure you eat lots of veggies (no peas, carrots, or corn... And potato is NOT a veggie)! Drink tons of water.

You can get keto sticks at a drug store to check that you're in low carb fat burning mode. As long as the strip turns colour, you're in good shape.

Oh and lastly, fat doesn't matter. I mean, don't eat lard as if it's ice cream or anything, but you are MUCH better off with a satisfying full-fat meat meal than some low fat pseduo-food that tries to be meat but isn't.

Edited to add: You are right to be concerned about not losing weight. Muscle does weigh more than fat, but it takes an INSANE amount of time and effort to put on a pound of muscle. Male bodybuilders who FOCUS on it and work hard only put on a couple pounds of muscle per week as a maximum, and that's WITH supplementation. So the whole "I must be gaining muscle" is a trap many women fall into. You are NOT gaining enough muscle to balance fat loss on a proper diet. If you're not losing, you're doing something wrong.

It also depends on how intense your workouts are. I used to work out on the eliptical machines but I find them to be pretty useless. If you're only doing only 30 minutes on those machines, you should make sure that you have the resistance level set on high so that you're doing intense cardio. I've seen people reading magazines while they are on the elipticals at a really slow pace, and that is not going to do anything for you! Also when you are lifting weights you want to make sure that you increase the weights little by little each time you do it, because once you're body gets used to the weights you normally do, you're not going to get much out of it. The most important thing is to challenge yourself.

It also depends on how intense your workouts are. I used to work out on the eliptical machines but I find them to be pretty useless. If you're only doing only 30 minutes on those machines, you should make sure that you have the resistance level set on high so that you're doing intense cardio. I've seen people reading magazines while they are on the elipticals at a really slow pace, and that is not going to do anything for you! Also when you are lifting weights you want to make sure that you increase the weights little by little each time you do it, because once you're body gets used to the weights you normally do, you're not going to get much out of it. The most important thing is to challenge yourself.

Ditto.

Go for at least 30 minutes on the elliptical at high intensity/resistance. I feel great afterwards, knowing that I put that much energy out (and as a result, I get gain more energ). That is what I try do a few times a week and I have lost a considerable amount of weight in only a month or so doing just that.

You should be sweating hard by the end. Same with lifting weights. You should barely be able to do 10 reps... and once you can get to 10, push for 15 reps. Don't go any higher, but instead, do multiple sets in rotation.

So far these are all good points, but I am already pretty much doing all of them... When I do the eliptical, I do high-intensity programs, and I get sweaty and whatnot, and with weights, I do high enough that it is tough for me. I also increase how much I lift every couple days.. once I am not straining.

In regards to drinking/eating, When i said that I dont drink much, I meant that I drink MAYBE 2-3 beers a week, which i dont think is really enough to mess me up too bad, there are less carbs/calories in a few light beers than in a milkshake from jack in the box, so I figure that isnt too much of a factor. Also, I don't eat psuedo-meals or whatever, if that what i made it out to be, I make an effort to eat enough protien (I like eggs) and veggies. I have decent portions (I usually have to make sure I am actually getting enough calories in a day.. I know 2000 is "average" I usually end up at about 1300-1500), and I drink a lot of water (its good for your skin too

I guess I will try to push out my workouts longer, maybe 45 minutes to an hour, and see if that helps. I tried to start running, but I developed shinsplints in highschool, and when i tried to start again, they flared up, so, for now, actual running is out of the picture.

Besides longer workouts (making sure to keep at high intensity), is there anything else I should be doing?

try to exercise with the the least carbs in your body, make sure you got enough proteins, try to eat just a LITTLE less than your calorie maintenance level (dont starve yourself) or youll lose muscle. Also don't be afraid of fats! good fats actualy help you to lose it, just avoid synth trans fat. Remember carbs are the first source of energy that the body uses while exercising, fat is the last one.

Sounds like you have all your bases covered; your running below your fat maintenance level. If your not making satisfactory progress you can do three things:

1. Decrease energy intake - cut more carbs from your diet or move your glycaemic load upwards. That is, get your carbs from more complex sources like brown rice/brown bread. Cut down on sugar and starchy foods.

2. Increase expenditure - more exercise or more intense exercise. It might be worth getting a personal trainer for a few sessions to give you some pointers one how to increase intensity.

3. Cheat. Its true that 99% of so called diet pills don't work, it might be worth doing some research into thermogenics and mitochondrial uncoupling. In short its the process that your body uses to keep warm - burning brown fat - which can be accelerated, feel hot after eating spicy food? Thats thermogenics in action. Once product I've used is called Hotrox (take a look at link removed)- which works for me - if you want to go to the dark side and try supplements always research things fully before taking anything.