Your goal, to lose weight. Your solution, reading while on a treadmill or reading while doing the elliptical and reading while riding the bike on the lowest level. Let me give you a scenario:

The other day, I walked in on my roommate who happened to be on my exercise bike. He was playing the playstation while, slowwwly pedaling away. Later that day, he came to me and asked why he hadn't lost any weight? My reaction,"Ummm...??" Exactly, I didn't know what to say. Earlier that day, I'd saw him playing a video game while doing cardio. "What's wrong with this picture?" His heart rate couldn't have been 10 points above resting!

Are you one of those people that do something I mentioned in the above? Are you curious as to why you're not losing weight? Well, I have 3 possible solutions for you!

1) Caloric deficit and diet

Here's the obvious, you need to burn more calories than you take in. There are a 100 methods you can use to calculate this. Personally, I'm not a calorie counter but, I'm not going to give you some method to calculate the "PERFECT" caloric requirements for you. What I will say is this, "Your diet must change!" It's really that simple and you need to eat WHOLE FOOD. Now, I'm also not going to tackle a precise diet here but, I will say one thing though, It should consist mostly of whole foods. Example: lean meats, complex carbohydrates, and vegetables and some fruit. Remember you should be eating around every 3 hours (INCLUDING BREAKFAST). You're meals should be slightly smaller than normal. This means you could very well be consuming the same amount of calories, but more spread out during the day. That means you get a constant flow of nutrients for your body throughout the day.

2) Cardio

Say you do one of the types of cardio I mentioned above. If you are one of those people that pace themselves for 30, 45 or even 60 minutes on a machine and wonder why you're not losing weight, here's your answer:

If you're morbidly obese and get tired after walking for 10 minutes you will be doing yourself a great deal of good by pacing yourself, but why? Think about this, you're doing cardiovascular exercises and you're trying to elevate your heart rate. If you aren't sweating or breathing a little hard, you are NOT elevating your heart rate enough to do jack. Instead of spending an hour doing cardio, "UP YOUR INTENSITY!" Do sprinting paces mixed with jogging paces and if you can read while you're doing cardio, "YOU ARE NOT DOING CARDIO." Now I will say this, at first you can go a little slower, but when things seem a little easier, "UP THE INTENSITY!" You have to push yourself to see results! When you're done with cardio, you should be breathing hard (pre cool down) and sweating. I don't care if you don't sweat, "YOU BETTER BE SWEATING YOUR ASS OFF!"

Have you ever tried solving a puzzle? Once you solve a puzzle, it gets a little easier the next time. The more practice it takes, the less time you'll spend doing the puzzle. This is kind of like when you do any type of exercise (CARDIO included). Your body gets used to the stimulus and it doesn't feel like it has to adapt, so it doesn't. Hence that results in you burning less calories because your body knows what to expect. Change things up and it doesn't matter how.

One day use a bike, one day run around the track, one day walk at an incline, one day use the eliptical. I'm not saying you have to do something different every day, but at the minimum changes the speeds, times, and types of exercises every couple of weeks.

3) Weight training

When overweight people only do cardio to drop fat, it is very possible for them to lose the weight. Usually when this happens, they get what a lot of us like to call the "skinny fat". Sure, you've lost the weight but, you're still worried because there is no definition. You've still got fat and no muscle underneath to give you some shape. That's one of the MANY reasons I always recommend weight training in addition to cardio and a proper diet.

Another major reason you should weight train if you are trying to better your physique is that more lean muscle means a higher metabolism. That in turn, means you'll be burning more calories while you're sitting on your butt. That's a good thing! No, you don't get bulky just from lifting weights. People that look "jacked," spend a lot of time on their diet and weight training regime. It's not easy and doesn't happen just because you work out and eat moderately healthy. It is typically a carefully planned endeavor, so in the end you're burning calories while lifting weights and more so even after your done. Because at the end of the day (figuratively speaking) you'll have more muscle and a higher metabolism. You'll be skyrocketing your fat burning potential.

When it comes to choosing the correct weight lifting belt, there are a number of factors to consider. The most important thing to first determine is what reasons you have for using a weight lifting belt. There are three main reasons you would wear a weight lifting belt; you either have injured your lower back; you are engaging in heavy weight training and want to lift heavier whilst protecting your back; or you want to show your involvement in bodybuilding to all the other less serious, non-weightlifting belt wearing trainers in the gym.

If you have already injured your lower back and received advise from a professional to support your back whilst lifting, they may have suggested a product for you. Otherwise a light and relatively flexible weight lifting belt will most likely be suitable, and considering it's not something you will be investing in long-term once you recover, a Nike weightlifting belt that retails for around $30 might be what you're after.
Http://www.nike.com

If you are looking for a weightlifting belt for very heavy weight training, or for competitive power lifting, there are a few things to consider. What level of support do you need? Most power belts are 4"-6" wide in the back, and which size you choose should relate to how tall you are (a 6" back can be very restrictive for a shorter person) and what your power lifting organization allows in its rules. It should fit around your waist, sitting on top of your hips, and only cause discomfort when it puts pressure on your hips and only during a heavy lift. What kind of locking mechanism do you require? If you are just a heavy gym lifter, a one or two-pronged buckle will be fine, giving you the peace of mind that it's secure and generally looks a lot nicer than a quick release lever belt, like those a power lifter will probably prefer to use. A power lifter will usually prefer a lever belt because of the discomfort involved in a heavily supported one rep attempt, as well as it being easy for a training partner to tighten for them, and being able to get it much tighter than a buckle. Again, you should consult your organization's rule book before deciding. Inzer makes the most reputable power belts and they are usually under $100. http://www.inzernet.com

If wearing a weightlifting belt is part of your gym attire and needs to look good whilst standing up to daily moderate to heavy workouts, almost any belt that has a secure buckle and a good level of support (approx. 4") will be suitable for you, as all are developed with this function in mind.

Choose something that is comfortable and looks good, because that's what you are in the gym for after all. Some companies offer basic black, tan, and red leather weight lifting belts from about $30, or you can get mid ranged priced belts from $110.

The most fashion-focused weightlifting belt company is Katana weight lifting belts, with every fashion from pink croc-print to yellow and black snake print, their luxury weight lifting belts start at around $175.
http://www.katanaweightliftingbelts.com

With all of these considerations in mind, have fun choosing a new weightlifting belt from the many out there, for continued safe and strong lifting.
-END-