Monday, August 10, 2009

Lose Weight for Life

Stockton split his ear in two last night. It was so sad. Stitches and Momma up holding him all night. This morning he peed in one of my heater vents. I guess he was sick of all the positive attention!

Today, I'm posting an article about the best weight loss secret around.

97% of dieters gain back their weight within five years. (i) Obviously Atkins, The South Beach Diet, the cabbage diet, etc. are not lifelong solutions to maintaining a healthy weight. There is a better way. A magic formula that I like to call - Strength Training.

Doesn't that just sound miraculous? Too many women are afraid of weights. I’ve heard numerous excuses, but the most frequent are: I don’t know how to lift weights and I don’t want to bulk up. The fact of the matter is: Most women couldn’t bulk up even if they wanted to (we lack the testosterone levels) and if you are one of those rare women who does bulk up: watch your calorie intake and don’t do max-outs or lift heavy weights and then drop them and you’ll be fine.

The excuse that you don’t know how to lift weights is valid, but easily fixed. Buy a book on weight-lifting, look online for advice, hire a personal trainer or follow my blog and save yourself the cash!



Lifting weights increases your metabolism more than anything else you can do. If you diet you will probably lose weight, but then your metabolism will drop because there's less of you to maintain. Then you must keep decreasing food intake to maintain your new weight. It's a vicious, unhappy circle. Not that you shouldn't eat right to lose weight, but if you diet alone it will be really hard to keep losing/maintain.



Cardiovascular exercise is a great thing, but it will also make you more efficient and decrease your metabolism slightly because all your body systems are working better. So, you can lose weight with cardio, but then you will probably plateau and have to increase the duration/intensity of your cardio to keep losing. This is why you see women who walk or do aerobics for years and never reach their ideal weight. Just like diet, cardio is an important factor in losing weight, but done alone it is a tough way to lose weight.

Which brings us to my favorite solution - weight lifting. As you lift you increase your muscle size and density and voila - your metabolism increases because muscle is hard to maintain. So then you're burning calories even when you're sitting. The keys are to lift regularly (at least twice a week), lift slowly (especially on the lengthening or eccentric phase of the lift) and lift heavy enough weights (8-20 pound dumbbells).

One warning - you will probably gain weight as you start lifting. You're increasing the muscle mass and density, but it takes longer to start burning off the fat. Please give it at least three months. 


Also, you have to eat small, healthy meals (lots of veggies, fruit, high-fiber carbs, lean meats, and low-fat dairy) and do cardio (preferably intervals, the best cardio around for burning fat). If you incorporate all three aspects and stick with it, you'll see results.

Please let me know if you have any questions about strength training?

Hope you all have a great day,

Cami

(i) Obesity and Weight Loss Maintaining a Healthy Weight by Dr. Deborah Wilson - http://www.goveg.com/obesity.asp

7 comments:

  1. agree strength training is a GREAT thing! That's why I love BODYPUMP...total body workout with awesome music, and other people all burning at the same time!
    I've seen a HUGE difference in my body over the last year since teaching it...but the cardio is also a must for total caloric burn to help with the weight loss.
    Another plus for strength training is to help hinder or slow osteoporosis!
    I'll post soon

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  2. Thanks, Roxy. Wonderful comments, as always. I also love being strong because I can win wrestling matches with my sons!

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  3. I agree 100%! I didn't start seeing any results until I started strength training. I don't see what all the worry is about it, yes, you will gain so muscles, but it will on give you a toned look, not make you look like a professional weight lifter. A little muscle looks so much better than a little, or a lot, of flab.

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  4. I completely agree. Whenever I speak to women groups I always shock them by having them guess my weight. They're usually 30-40 pounds light. I'd much rather way more and have muscle.
    Thanks for stopping by,
    Cami

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  5. Quite obvious. That's very informative post Cami for those who are very health cautious. I love to read all types of health related articles anywhere either it's online or off line. I'd also recommend one link to you that I've got through search engines. Its full of heath update news. You can also get more information here at health news. Check this & express your opinion on this.

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  6. Thanks for stopping by, Allvira. I'll check out that link!

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  7. A very awesome blog indeed. I really like it. It has all the things that a best post has. Legit Information. Best Use of Words etc. Keep working good like this. Cholesterol Lowering Foods || Diet for Glowing Skin || Diabetic Diet

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