Week 46 Weigh In

HEALTH TIP of THE WEEK

All right. You made the commitment months ago to lose the weight. Everything is going very well. You've taken action. The pounds are coming off; you are losing the inches and feeling good. You've really got the momentum going, are eating well and making conscious food choices. Exercise has become part of the deal and you are taking the stairs instead of the elevator, walking to lunch, sweating on the treadmill and the elliptical four times per week (sometimes 6). You're doing all the right things and the flow is amazing. The realistic goals that you have set for yourself are right around the corner. It's now just a matter of keeping focused and staying on track. Then you hit a plateau. That last 10-20 pounds just doesn't want to come off and you are wondering what your next move is going to be. You're a little frustrated. The number on the scale hasn't budged in a while and you are beginning to wonder: Is there something missing? Could you be doing more? You're on a mission to find that missing link that will kick your metabolism into high mode. One very important thing to remember is that if you are committed to an active way of life that includes exercise, eating right and taking responsibility for your good health, you are most definitely doing the right thing. This commitment will always keep you on track. A healthy lifestyle is a lifestyle. It's not the "12 weeks to a new you" or the "30-day miracle plan." Temporary efforts yield temporary results. This is a process. Plateaus can happen . However, if you've established exercise and healthy food choices as an integral part of your life, then all realistic goals can and will be attained. The missing component in your fitness regimen is strength training. You need to lift weights. This is a surefire way of truly changing your body composition (lowering your body fat percentage) and maintaining ultimate control of your weight for a lifetime. Lifting weights and doing resistance work is the key factor in promoting fat loss as well as weight loss. A comprehensive, full body weight training program will increase the amount of lean mass in your body, which in turn will increase your metabolism, and as a result, allow you to burn more calories and more fat all of the time, even at rest. Increasing your lean muscle mass will cause your body to mobilize and burn more fat as an energy source. Each additional pound of muscle gained from weight training can amount to as much as 50 to 100 calories per day by doing absolutely nothing. All of your activities of daily living and especially your workouts will yield a much higher calorie burn, a much higher loss of fat with weight training as a mainstay in your fitness program. Any kind of activity you do, whether it's walking in the park, taking a class at the gym or going for a swim, increases your body's metabolism, which means you'll burn more calories. But that's not the only perk of exercise. In fact, you can think of activity as the gift that keeps on giving, long after you've finished your workout. Check out all the benefits, beyond the initial calorie burn, that you'll reap from being active.

{After-burn effect} Exercise can raise your metabolism for hours after you've finished your workout. It's kind of like money in a savings account. If you put a nice chunk of change in the bank (a pretty great thing to begin with), you can earn interest on top of that without even lifting a finger. Likewise, you burn a good chunk of calories while exercising; then you get the bonus of burning more calories without any real effort.

{Reduced appetite} You may feel slightly hungrier if you exercise than if you don't (especially when you're just beginning an exercise program or are in the process of bumping it up), and eat a bit more as a result. But, you'll still end up taking in less energy than you expend. It may be a physiological effect of exercise (activity may help override the physical signals that cause some people to overeat), or it may be more psychological. For instance, when you get in shape, you'll feel motivated not to undo your hard work by overeating.

{Increased energy} People who exercise simply have more energy than those who don't. That means you'll be more likely to move more during the day. For example, you might pace while talking on the phone instead of sitting, or walk over to chat to a co-worker rather than e-mailing her. All of these little moves add up to a significant increase in energy expenditure. And over time, that can add up to a substantial weight loss.

Successes
Exercised 6 days this week. Starting a new exercise video (30 Day Shred-Thanks Jayna for the suggestion). The video is 20 minutes and has some strength training and cardio. The first day I did it, it kicked my butt, but I have noticed a difference in my endurance in just a few days. Amazing!

Splurges
A small Cheeseburger (I had not had one in sooo long), Hershey's Mint Chocolate Miniatures and Little Pumpkin Pie tarts.

I decided that the healthy tip of the week was were I am right now. I did splurge a bit this week, but I also worked hard too. I am noticing a change in my upper arms. They still need ALOT of work, but I know my body is changing, I just am not seeing the #'s on the scale.

This week I maintained. I am still at a 63 pound loss. I know I can work harder, but that dreaded plateau might have finally hit me. It doesn't help that this time of the year is killer on the diet. It makes me want to just give up and eat, but that is why I have had to do this in the first place, giving up and eating! I even toiled with the idea of forgetting the the weigh ins for the rest of the year, but I need to keep myself in check. I need to be accountable so that the holiday doesn't totally ruin me! If I can get through the next 43 or so days and maintain, that will be an accomplishment! So, I plan to bump up my weight training. I am going to continue my new video. I will just have to roll with the changes my body makes, whether it is reflected on the scale or not.