I do still want to get at least 20 more pounds off, more if I can. I’m only 5′7 and still weigh in at 190, so even with building muscle, there’s plenty of space to drop some more fat and pounds. I don’t want to be “built” I want to be toned.

Would love to get your input on the weight training. I’ve been doing three sets of 10 reps on most of the weight machines. I’ve gotten to where I can do sets without feeling like I’m going to die, but I’m reluctant to add more weight too quickly. For now, I’ve added one extra set of reps on each machine. That has me doing four sets of ten. I also make the first set one weight level higher, then drop it back down for the next three sets.

Does that sound reasonable? I figure my next step when I feel like I’ve got this tackled is to do the first two sets at the higher rate, and continue on that until all four sets are at the higher rate?

As for my cardio, I changed it up this week. I’d been doing ellipitcal training three days a week for about two months. This week I switched to 15 minutes on a treadmill at an 8% incline, then weight training, then 25 minutes of cross training on the elliptical.

Are you still worried about your weight? It seems that you know you will not really loose to much because your are gaining muscle… but you are slimming down which is better than anything thing.

I was just curious and keep up the great work… remember to change up your routine frequently so you can avoid pattern overload.