Here’s why: everybody adapts eventually to a workout routine and stops losing weight. I am giving you No. 2 now because it seems that some of you are already there. You’ve been walking, you have exercised for years, and your body is stuck.
Trust this: if you are new to exercise or have been away for a long time, Walk off weight No. 1 is for you. Make room in your schedule and do it. You will not only lose weight but also improve your cardiovascular endurance and your ability to “stay on the road.”
So, you say you have tried No. 1, or your version of it – you have lost weight by exercising, and then it stopped. Or, you say, you are pretty fit – you already DO exercise a lot – but you are stuck at x pounds, and can’t move the scale at all. Fitness, like life, is a living puzzle. We are always seeking to fit the puzzle pieces together easily and comfortably, and when we do, it’s great.
But even when we have found a fit, the palette changes and the puzzle that worked before – no longer fits. Either your schedule has changed, your body has adapted to the exercises, or you are just tired of the same old routine. And let’s not forget that the puzzle contains elements that are physical as well as mental.
We’ll find your fit; maybe this is the piece that completes your weight loss puzzle for now:
Work out intensely for 20 minutes a day, two times a day, and twice a week. I want you to start some professionally designed training practices. These practices, used by athletes to increase their fitness level and performance quickly, will also change YOUR body – fast.
Get on your bike (stationary or regular) or put on your running/walking shoes, and hit it hard for 20 solid minutes. That’s right – walk, ride or run, very intensely for a short (20-minute) period of time, two times in one day, twice a week.
If you prefer, go for 50 minutes with 30 dedicated to intervals. Again, on a bike, walking or running, I’d like you to bookend a 50-minute interval training session with 10 minutes of warm up/moderately paced exercise, and 10 minutes of moderately paced exercise/cool down. In between you’ll do 30 minutes of intervals – two minutes of intensity followed by one minute of recovery. Do 10 sets, and do this work out twice a week.
Or, take one long day. Whether you take a yoga class, hike for an hour or go out for a long easy run/walk with friends, train at a moderate to moderately high intensity level – not an easy stroll, but not at interval intensity either. You should feel the effects of this workout for sure, but it shouldn’t feel like a “hard day.” That’s five days a week of super-effective training.
Give it a try and let me know – do this through Thanksgiving and you will surely see dramatic effects. And remember, fitness isn’t just physical. You can, and must, train your mind for change as well as your body. Sometimes when change has been difficult for a long time, we start to believe, and even unconsciously reinforce, that we (and our bodies) are incapable of changing.
It’s like reinforcing weight gain by eating too much. So get on a mental conditioning program, too. While exercising as written above, repeat a mantra that says you ARE changing now. “I am changing.” “Change is what I do well.” “Yeah change, you’re here!” Repeat it, say it with conviction throughout your training sessions and throughout your day and change will occur in mind and body. Oh, one more thing, physical change is largely diet related, as well, (another very important piece of the weight loss puzzle), so changes need to show up there, too.
I’m going to address the diet piece more and more, but for I have three little suggestions:
1. Cut out all fried foods. For obvious reasons – too much fat, too many calories, too much cholesterol.
2. Stop eating snack/protein/energy bars. Most have tons of sugar and are packed with calories that are quickly eaten and forgotten. No more. They are cleverly packaged to make you feel like you are eating healthy and low cal, but not so most of the time. I will soon be asking you to eliminate as much processed food as possible, but for now – stop with the bars.
3. No more soda – diet or regular. Diet soda is full of chemicals and unnatural sweeteners that make you want to consume more and more and never really hydrate you. Regular soda is like drinking a can of sugar. The suggestions above are not just suggestions – I implore you to follow them all – your weight and your health depend on it.
Peace and Happy Trails – Debbie Rocker
