Better Body Blog

My older sister started a diet and exercise program a few weeks before I started mine. In total, she’s been at it for about a month now, and hasn’t lost a single pound. The other day, she asked me for some advice (if anyone out there has some advice, it would be much appreciated too!)

First of all, I have to hand it to my sis for sticking with it despite not losing any weight (yet). If that were me, I’d have quit already out of discouragement. Good Job Sis! I’m proud of you!

The following are a few things to help troubleshoot your diet:

Suspect Number One: You’re Eating Too Much

This is where the food and exercise log comes in handy. Look back at your journal – are you sure your entries are accurate? No fudging?

Also, think about your portion sizes – are you “charging” yourself for a cup of cereal, but in reality eating a cup-and-a-half? Start weighing and measuring everything just to be sure.

Start cutting calories. If you’re not losing at 1400 calories a day, then drop to 1300 for a week and see how it turns out.

Suspect Number Two: You’re Not Eating Enough

I know, I know, this is totally contradictory, but in rare cases it might be true. If you drop below 1200 calories a day, your body puts itself into starvation mode – meaning your body slows its metabolism out of fear of starvation.

Are you sure you’re eating at least 1200 a day? If so, are you eating enough throughout the day? If you don’t eat every few hours, your body will respond by slowing down – so be sure to space your meals and snacks throughout the day for an optimum metabolism.

Suspect Number Three: You’re Not Doing the Right Workout

Are you doing enough cardio to burn off extra calories and fat? For weight loss, at least 30 to 60 minutes of cardio a day is recommended.

Are you doing weight lifting and strength training? This is KEY!! You need muscle to raise your metabolism – muscle burns more calories, even at rest, than fat. To build muscle, do weight training exercises at least twice a week.

Are you changing up your workout routines every few weeks to avoid plateaus? The body is an amazing machine – it can easily adapt to almost anything, so you need to keep changing things up so your body stays challenged.

Have you said “yes” to all of the above? Then maybe it’s time to increase the intensity of your workouts. If your doing aerobics, try a higher intensity variation like step aerobics. Even adding 30 second “bursts” of high intensity exercise to your regular workouts (add 30 second jogging intervals to your walking routine, for example) will rev up the burn. Also, start using heavier weights in your weight lifting routines, and decrease the amount of rest between sets to keep your heart rate elevated and your body in “cardio” mode – you’ll burn more calories. (I love circuit training and cardio-sculpting workouts for this very reason!)

Suspect Number Four: You’re Not Getting Enough Water and Fiber

Dehydration halts weight loss – your body cannot burn fat without water, it is chemically impossible. Fiber – do I really need to say more?

Suspect Number Five: You’re Not Getting Enough Activity During The Day

Working out and activity are two completely different things. Working out is constant exercise performed within a specific period of time – a step aerobics class. Activity is what you do all day – do you sit at a desk all day? Are you driving in a car 2 hours a day? Do you chop wood all day? Whatever it may be. Doing step aerobics for 30 minutes is great – but if you spend the other 23.5 hours of the day at the computer, on the couch, driving a car, sleeping, and watching tv., you’re still not getting enough activity. Period. Try adding little things to your daily routine – taking the stairs, parking in the farthest parking space, an extra lap around Wal-Mart, whatever gets you moving. It all adds up.

Suspect Number Six: You’re Not Looking in the Right Place

Ok, so the scale won’t budge. But remember, muscle weighs more than fat – so if you’ve been weight lifting, you’re probably gaining muscle. From now on, instead of weighing yourself on the scale, take your measurements. Gauge your progress by how your clothes are fitting. Maybe even invest in one of those fancy fat-percentage and body mass scales. You may very well be losing fat, but because your gaining muscle too, the scale is deceiving you.

Suspect Number Seven: You’re Not Being Patient Enough

If you haven’t been working out or eating right for a long time, chances are it is going to take time for your body to adjust. Be patient! It takes time to increase a slow metabolism. And it takes about a month of regular weight training workouts to gain muscle mass. Just keep doing what you’re doing and it will eventually pay off!

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