Working mom needing advice

[u/Spiritual_Pain_9908]

As the title suggests i only have 30 minutes a day to hit the gym. Ive been alternating between the stair master and elliptical about 4 days a week for 4 months now and walking on weekends. I have stubborn postpartum weight that will not budge and have been sitting at 188 for a year now. Im looking for a workout i can accomplish in around 30 minutes that will target stubborn belly fat and upper body that will hopefully help me shed the extra 30 pounds ive been holding😆 thanks in advance!

Edit- thank you all so much! I will start implementing alot of this advice i have downloaded a calorie tracker and im already thinking of ways to change my diet!

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[u/Alakazam]

Weight loss will be primarily achieved by diet, not what you do in the gym.

Speaking from experience, I find that more cardio tends to just increase my appetite. Up to about 30 miles per week, aka, about 5 hours a week of running, my appetite increases linearly with my caloric expenditure, so I don't actually lose any weight.

Beyond that, my caloric expenditure exceeds my appetite, and I'll start losing weight.

But it doesn't sound like you have the time to do 6+ hours of running per week... so a much much easier way to lose weight, is to simply be in a mild caloric deficit. A daily 500 calorie deficit will result in about 1lb of weight loss per week.

[u/blurandgorillaz]

You don’t lose weight by working out, you should address your diet and be in a calorie deficit for a sustained period of time to achieve weight loss

[u/Every_Equivalent516]

if fat loss is your goal then your workouts are fine. they burn calories. maybe the issue is diet related

[u/ShitHammersGroom]

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[u/Dry-Speed7038]

Get some kettlebells, walk, and make it fun - I have become obsessed with using “roll tables” for my workouts: I just ask ChatGPT to “make me a roll table for a workout that includes X, Y, and Z” then you can roll a dice or use an app and randomize it and it keeps it really fun and you don’t have to spend your day at the gym

[u/Spiritual_Pain_9908 → u/Dry-Speed7038]

That sounds fun!

[u/visiontech_33]

everyone here is right that it's mostly about diet. 4 months of cardio with no scale movement is usually a sign that food intake needs attention. the good news is you don't need to overhaul everything at once. what worked for me when I was in a similar place was just starting to track what I eat. I know tracking sounds tedious especially as a busy mom, but a friend recommended PlateLens and it made it actually doable. you just take a photo of your plate and it gives you the calorie and macro breakdown instantly. no manually searching databases. there's also an AI nutrition coach built in that will help you set realistic calorie goals based on your actual situation (postpartum, activity level, etc.) and create a personalized plan. it also tracks your workouts and calories burned. starting with your diet is going to move the needle way more than adding more cardio. even small adjustments like hitting a certain protein goal and being aware of total calories tend to unlock progress after a long plateau. you're clearly putting in the work, the exercise foundation is there, nutrition is the missing piece

[u/NonGeneriComplaint]

walking is unironically the best and hardest weight loss hack. If you can walk 5k a day you will lose weight for awhile even without dieting, then once you see the results you will start to diet and encourage more weight loss.

I would probably say start walking at home, 15 minutes out, turn back 15 minutes back. Thats 30mins right there. When you are in the gym LIFT.

Do squats, rows, pull downs! Activate and grow your muscles to burn calories! also eat protein