 Weight loss stalled? Exercise more
There are only two components to weight loss: eating less and exercising more. But what if you’ve been doing both and losing weight but suddenly the scale just isn’t moving anymore? Well, it could be that your body has settled into a new routine and established a new baseline metabolism that matches your current intake and exertion level. Now what? You don’t feel you can eat any less – and perhaps you shouldn’t – you don’t want to let your metabolism become sluggish. And you just don’t have any more time to devote to exercise. What to do?
First, you can increase the intensity of the exercise you are already doing, particularly your cardio routine. Are you just plodding along for half an hour on the treadmill at the same speed and incline as when you first started? Why not try some of those other program buttons on the machine? I like doing the up-and-down-hill programs; they give me bursts of intensity with a little rest in between. Also, I see many people on treadmills running at four miles per hour at the highest incline setting while holding on to the top of the machine for dear life! If you are doing this, please stop! Many people do this because they see the calorie count on the machine increase, but this reading will not be accurate. The proper way to walk on a treadmill is the same way you would walk on the ground. You can let your arms dangle or pump them at your side, whatever is comfortable, but let go of the machine. If you have to hold on, you are running too fast or at too high of an incline. Put the machine at a setting where you can walk normally and you will get a much better and more intense workout.
Maybe it’s time to try a new machine? Try spending five minutes on something that was too difficult in the past. Perhaps you’ve tried an elliptical machine in the past and it was a bit much for you? Now might just be the time to give it another try. What about the stair mill? These are machines that look like a short escalator to nowhere. They are intense but try one for a couple of minutes and work your way up. It’s not as scary as it seems, I promise.
Another thing to try is to add some group fitness to your routine. Sometimes having the instructor encouraging you will get you to push yourself a bit harder than you would on your own. A good place to start might be a cycling class. There is no choreography to follow (like you would find in a step class) and you can go at your own pace. No one will know what resistance you have your bike set to and you can peddle at whatever speed you need to.
So look around, watch what other people are doing and check out the class schedule, try out something that seems interesting or challenging and try to have fun with it.
Until next time, stay healthy and be happy. |
