Good for you for working so hard! I agree that you don't need to exercise every day. If you've been working this hard and not seen any results, I'm assuming you may be like me.
I used to work out very hard and really had the "no pain, no gain" philosophy. If I wasn't about to collapse after a workout, I felt like I had wasted my time. About a year ago, my mother (very big into fitness over the last several years) bought the Winsor pilates dvds. I did it once and thought it was too easy, and told my mom she wasted her money. She swore to me she started looking better than ever after doing it, but I told her it was all in her head.
However, beginning a few months ago, quite a few completely unrelated people at various random times began raving about how these winsor pilates tapes made them look amazing. I was stunned. So, I stole my mom's tapes, did the advanced workout for two weeks, and my pants were too big! Swear to god, it was that quick. Again, I'm the type of person who really puts as much into the workout as possible, so someone who just goes through the motions may not have as good of results. I also cut out almost all refined sugars (carbs). However, I'd done the dieting many times before and never had these results.
I've wondered if the hard workouts caused me to have stress and increase my cortisol levels? I don't know enough about this to say for sure, but the lower intensity workouts work much better for me. Also, I think they are more fun (I'm a former dancer and I love the gracefulness of them!) so it's easier for me to stick with my workout. I'm a firm believer that enjoying what you do is crucial to success.
I recommend the winsor for beginners to pilates because she really explains all the moves, but these days i mostly go to classes at my gym. I just found the "Classical Pilates Technique" dvd and love it! Also try some power yoga - i recommend rodney yee. (Power Yoga is more of a workout than other types)
In a nutshell: pilates, no bad carbs (whole wheat is fine), lots of fiber and water, and some jogging (or other cardio) and you should be slim and trim in no time! do other types of exercise for variety, but this is what worked for me!
. I'm so gald you mention that....seeing as the nearest gym to me is like 10 miles away...how could i be so stupid.