In years of working with people
who were interested in losing weight,
I've seen five common weight
loss trigger mistakes that many of them
make. These mistakes often prevent women
from being successful in their weight loss
efforts. If you can avoid these, you'll greatly
increase your chances of success at weight
loss.
Mistake #1
- Not taking the time to plan and prepare
your meals and snacks, and your exercise
time. This is a critical mistake and
one that the vast majority of people make.
Mistake #2
- Not exercising everyday. Do
some type of aerobic exercise (walking,
jogging, swimming, stationary cycling,
aerobic dancing, etc.) on a DAILY basis
(preferably in the morning) for 30 to
60 minutes!
Mistake #3
- Not weight training consistently. Tone
your muscles with weight training three
days per week. Toned muscles look great and
they *supercharge* your metabolism causing
you to burn more calories 24 hours a
day! This should be done just after your aerobic
exercise session so that your muscles are
warm and supple and less prone to injury.
Mistake #4
- Expecting the scale to drop quickly,
and thus becoming discouraged when it
doesn't. You have to commit to consistently
doing the right things and it will
happen. So many people give-up
in frustration after just a
few weeks, when they may have been on
the brink of seeing some real progress. Progress
is very motivating - don't quit!
Mistake #5
- Believing that they should exercise
in the "fat-burning zone." You've
probably heard it, "you have to exercise
at a lower intensity to burn more fat..
to get in the fat-burning zone."
guess what, it's a myth!
Here's how it got started. Your body
is always "burning"
a mixture of carbohydrates and fat for
fuel. This mixture tends to contain a little
more fat during lower intensity exercise. Somebody
took this to mean that a lower intensity
workout was best for losing weight.. not
so! It all comes from the same
"pot". It doesn't matter
if you're burning a little more fat or a little
more carbohydrate at any particular time in
your fuel mix. It all comes from the same calorie
pool. The bottom line is, how many calories
are you burning.
Moderate
intensity exercise actually burns more
calories in a given time period. For example,
you may burn 200 calories during a 30
minute low intensity exercise session and 300
calories during a 30 minute moderate intensity
exercise session. Bottom line.. burning
more calories is better for weight loss.
Moderate intensity exercise increases
your basal metabolic rate (BMR)
more than lower intensity exercise.
This means that you'll burn more
calories 24 hours-a-day. Here's
the one I like! Moderate intensity exercise
gives you a better "high"! You know,
the "exercise high" you get
when your body releases endorphins
and adrenaline. This can really
elevate your mood and is great for people
who are depressed.
Avoid these
five mistakes and you'll be on your
way to weight loss and fitness success!
