I. Getting Started – Know What You Want
When a local fitness club invited a diet expert to speak to members about weight-loss programs, the question most people wanted answered was not about specific exercise routines or diet programs. It was just, ‘Why is it so hard to lose the last 10 pounds?’
Why Is It So Hard to Lose The Last 10 Pounds?
You could consider this the most famous dieting complaint ever recorded. Many people can lose tens of pounds when they first start dieting but find it difficult when it comes to losing the last ten. Before you dismiss this as a myth, let us assure you it is not. There are practical reasons why it is indeed difficult to lose the last 10 pounds.
When you first start on a diet, you have many pounds to lose. Your body burns calories depending on your weight – the less the weight, the less the calories being burnt. In order to make sure that your body does lose those final 10 pounds, you need to make sure that you are consistently burning more calories. The best way of doing this is to make sure that you reduce the number of calories from your diet and that you increase the intensity of your workouts.
Take Jill who weighs 200 pounds. With her workouts, she is able to burn up to 750 calories every hour. Take Jane who weighs only 140 pounds. With the same workout, Jane can only burn about 300 calories every hour. All this means is that while you will certainly lose weight by continuing with your weight-loss exercises, you will not lose it at the same rate as when you first started.
You now start to get the picture. At some point in your weight loss program, you will find that you are losing weight at a slower rate than before. This will mean making adjustments to both your diet and to your workout routines. For example, you may have to workout for longer periods or exercise more intensely. Anything that helps you burn more calories at that point.
If you were starting off when you were 300 pounds, by limiting yourself to around 1200 calories every day and exercising regularly, you could easily lose 5 pounds every week. After a few successful weeks of eating right and working out, you are down to 120 pounds. You will slowly notice that by continuing with the same kind of diet and workouts, you are not losing much weight at all. You then try to reduce your intake of calories. You keep reducing till you find some change in weight. However, you will be shocked to see that even if you are eating only 600-800 calories everyday you still do not manage to lose more than one pound per week. The other danger is that it is strongly recommended by medical experts that you do not eat less than 1200 calories every day.
It therefore essentially comes down to this – when you have very little body weight there is not much weight to lose and this makes losing the last 10 pounds difficult. But remember, we said difficult – not impossible!
With the right combination of a proper, well-balanced diet and more intense workouts, you should still be able to lose those last 10 pounds and we are here to tell you exactly how!
Knowing Why Before the How
Many people go through their weight-loss programs with great determination. They work on their diet and make sure they are eating right and in the required quantities. They diligently stick to their workout routines. And to their great happiness, they watch the pounds simply melting away. Then all of a sudden, the scale stops responding. They do not know what they did wrong. Their diet is the same and their workouts are the same but they seem unable to lose any more weight. And they are just 10 pounds away from that tantalizing goal they had set for themselves.
Many people give up at this point, thinking that they will never be able to lose those stubborn last pounds. However, the truth of the matter is that the last ten pounds are certainly more difficult to shed than say the first thirty.
Diet experts will explain that as you become slimmer, you will be burning lesser calories even while sticking with the same diet and exercises as before. In fact they claim that every time you lose a pound, your metabolism slows down and burns 20 calories less. That makes it difficult to burn away the remaining pounds by following the same diet and workouts. The good news is that you do not need to do anything drastic. All that is required is a slight tweaking of the weight loss program that you are already following and very soon you will be past your final weight loss goal.
It is however very important that one be motivated enough to want to stick to one’s plan and follow it till the final goal is reached. And a person can stay motivated only if they are doing this for the right reasons.
Many people quit their weight loss program halfway or sometimes do not even get started because of sheer lack of self-confidence. They are not sure if they can manage with the kind of diet they will be expected to eat or have the time to spend in intense workout sessions. Here are some typical reasons on why many people don’t get started on their fitness plans or quit when they reach a plateau.
Constraints At Work
The most often quoted excuse; after working all day in the office or at work, where does one find the energy or time to devote to a weight loss program?
It does not really matter whether you have a hotshot career that keeps you on your toes all day long or have a job where you spend every day counting the minutes till closing hour; you are spending most of your time at work. You may even have a job that involves constant physical work and you may be under the impression that this is an excellent way of making sure the calories never add up. To your surprise you will find that this is just an illusion and true weight control or weight loss requires a proper diet and regular workouts.
Let us see how one’s work can affect one’s fitness plans. No matter how much you love or hate your job, you will be spending most of the day or night or probably bit of both working on it. More time is lost in getting ready for work, commuting to and from work, maybe taking some work home. Further, have you ever thought of how much time you spend in thinking about work even if you are not actually in the office? You may be thinking of upcoming presentations and deadlines or worrying about your new boss. Some people try to relieve themselves of work-related stress by turning to food or alcohol, all contributing to more weight gain.
For most people, work is a major factor that prevents them from sticking to a regular workout routine and from having well-balanced meals three times a day. In fact work may even make matters worse with stress causing weight gain in many. Despite this, it is still possible to schedule workout plans and find recipes for nutritious meals that one can manage in whatever little time is available.
Constraints At Home
If you live alone, your time is entirely yours! You have great flexibility in deciding how you would like to spend your free time. You can decide what you would like to eat, when you would like to eat and when you would like to workout. With no constraints of any nature, you can devise an ideal weight control plan and make full use of your freedom!
On the other hand, for those with families and especially with little children, your time is seldom yours. You need to give consideration to everyone in the family. For example, forget about skipping a meal if you are not feeling hungry – almost everyone else will be ravenously hungry. If you are all stepping out for dinner, no one is in the mood to go to a health bar. And you will have a tougher time taking some time out for yourself if you have kids. In fact, most parents try to get up early, have more intense workouts and then get to work. The result is that they are short of sleep and the combined effect of less calories and more intense workouts leaves them very tired and with not enough energy to go through the day. This kind of schedule will certainly not lead to any true fitness and there are more chances that their health will suffer.
With these kinds of constraints it is never easy to stick to a regular schedule, be it for workouts or for planning meals. However, do not despair - there are some simple and straightforward solutions to the above dilemma.
Be Flexible
When you are first starting out, keep your plans fairly flexible. See what can be realistically achieved with your workouts or your meals. If you are preparing meals for your family, you cannot isolate yourself from what everyone is eating. Stay flexible. Try to stick to your schedule and try to have as many healthy meals as you can. At times, other work takes priority or your family eating needs come first. Do not let that get you down – get back to your schedule or your diet at the earliest available opportunity.
Keep It Simple
If your commitments do not allow you to make major changes in your eating pattern or take up longer workouts, start with simple plans. Do not take the car if you are just heading to the local grocery store or dropping kids to school – walk when you can. Similarly, start with small changes to your diet. Instead of white bread, try whole wheat bread. By just switching from drinking soda at mealtimes to water you can lose up to 5 pounds in a week! You have made a change that you can continue with no matter where you are and with whom you are having your meals.
Stay Focused
Your most important reason for losing weight should be the assurance of good health that it brings and not merely for fitting into a ten year old swimsuit or for making your neighbors jealous. You should be following a fitness plan for the benefits that it brings you. By losing weight, you are improving your health. With the help of a good healthy diet, you are reducing your risk for major diseases. Only when you work on a fitness plan for yourself, can you be motivated enough to lose weight and stay motivated enough to lose even those last ten pounds.
As you can see it is not easy to continue on a fitness plan especially when it takes time and efforts to lose even a little weight. However, we are hoping that through this ebook, we will be able to guide you to healthy and effective ways of losing even those stubborn, last 10 pounds.
II. Getting Ready for Lifestyle Changes
Whether you are just starting off on your weight loss program or you just need to lose those last ten pounds, you should know that none of the quick-fix solutions that can be found in plenty in the market today, can work over the long term. You will come across many fancy diet programs, exercise equipment and dietary supplements, all promising you one thing – a quick and easy way to lose weight. However, there is never a quick and easy way to lose weight!
To lose weight successfully and to reach the weight loss goals you had set for yourself, you need to start eating healthy, well-balanced meals and exercise regularly. This is the only way you can ensure that you maintain your weight at the optimum level so that you stay fit and healthy even in future. For this, you have to be prepared to make some changes in your lifestyle. In fact, you will be surprised how even small changes in your eating, exercising and health habits can bring about a significant weight loss as also an increase in your energy levels.
Of course, you now want to know what these changes are and how difficult they are to implement. Making these changes may not be easy at first, especially if you have never exercised regularly before or have become used to fast food eating. Start with small changes and as you see the kind of difference it is making in your life, you will find it easier to make more significant and healthy changes to your lifestyle.
1. Start With a Firm Commitment.
It is important to realize that losing those ten pounds and keeping them off requires time and effort. More importantly, it requires you to stay focused on your goal and show a lifelong commitment to achieve permanent weight loss. If you are losing weight for the right reasons you will be more committed to losing weight. You will also find it easier to find motivation during times when the going gets really tough.
To begin with, understand the reasons behind you wanting to lose weight. Is it external pressure, perhaps from people closest to you like your family or friends? Do you want to lose weight to fit into some gown for an upcoming party or to impress old friends? These are the wrong reasons for starting off on a weight-loss program. You may lose significant weight but will soon find yourself back to your old eating habits and sedentary lifestyle, if you are not making the changes for yourself.
Only when you understand the kind of long term benefits, healthy eating habits and regular exercise can bring you and then feel motivated to start off on a permanent fitness program will you be able to stay committed to it over a longer period. It is therefore very important that you be ready to make some permanent changes in your lifestyle and even more important that you do so for all the right reasons.
Also, before you start making any changes to your lifestyle, ensure that there are no other problems that may distract you or take your focus away from your weight-loss program. Many a times you start off by being strongly committed to your goals but find that problems like financial worries or marital disputes take away a lot of your energy, leaving you without any motivation to continue on a fitness program. If you are going through any emotional stress, wait till you are more settled and then get started on your weight loss program.
2. Take Help When You Can And From Whom You Can.
It is absolutely true that finally only you are responsible for the success or failure of your weight loss program. However, that does not mean you cannot take help or count on the support of your family and friends. In fact, they can play a major role in inspiring you, helping you stay motivated and guiding you through tough times.
Do not hesitate to share your goals with your partner, family or friends. By sharing your goals, you are not only ensuring that you have support when you need it but you will also feel a sense of motivation since you would much rather share news of your success than failure with them. They will also be willing to take the time out to listen to you and some may even join you in your program to help you keep moving forward. On the other hand, you have to be careful that you choose people who are positive and will encourage you to achieve your goal. If you share your desires with someone who is negative, you may only end up being discouraged by constant talk of failure or how you should give up when the going gets tough.
In fact, in the present age of the Internet you can find a lot of websites, online forums and blogs that are devoted to people following some or the other kind of weight loss program. You could join an online forum or online support group where you are bound to find hundreds of people who have either been in similar situations as you or are currently on their own weight loss program. Members of such forums or support groups will provide you with words of support and encouragement, take the time to listen to your concerns and provide you with advise as and when you need it.
3. Set Realistic Goals.
When you are setting weight loss goals, irrespective of whether you are just starting out or whether you are trying to lose those last 10 pounds, you should set realistic goals for yourself.
Most of the times, weight loss occurs slowly and steadily over a period of many weeks and months. In fact, once you have lost a substantial amount of weight, you may find that it gets harder and harder to lose significant amounts of weight.
If you set goals like having to lose a pound or two a week, when you do not manage to do so you may end up feeling frustrated. Therefore, instead of setting yourself goals for a certain outcome, set yourself certain process goals like exercising regularly or avoiding soft drinks with meals.
Another important point to note is that you should make your goals as specific and as measurable as possible. For example, instead of just stating that you will exercise regularly, restate it as follows – you will walk for 45 minutes everyday, four days a week. By making your goals specific and measurable, you can see the kind of progress you are making everyday.
4. Eat Healthy.
There are many who dread the thought of making drastic changes in their eating lifestyles. They believe that having to lose weight means eating only salads and soups.
It is true that in order to lose weight or to adopt a more healthy eating style, one has to reduce the number of calories in one’s diet. However, this certainly does not mean that you have to give up eating tasty food or even the occasional sweet or calorie heavy food. The key word here is moderation. By making even minor adjustments to your eating habits you can reduce your calorie intake. For example, by regularly drinking water instead of soft drinks at meal times, you can considerably cut down on the number of calories you are consuming. Try going in for more plant-based foods like fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Experiment with different menus which will substitute the meat ingredient with a healthier alternative and which are also easy to cook.
With just a little bit of effort, you can regularly have healthy, nutritious meals that are also fun to cook and can offer you great variety. A healthy diet would typically consist of the following –
• Fresh fruits and vegetables along with whole grains. You could have large servings of vegetables and some servings of a lean protein and either whole-grain rice or pasta on the side.
• Low-fat milk and low-fat milk products. You could also have some lean meats, beans, nuts and eggs. All these would be low in cholesterol, saturated fats, salt and added sugars.
• Learn to eat in moderation. Make sure you take adequate portions of every food group.
• Enough liquids, preferably water with only occasional drinks like sodas or juices.
In fact, meal times need not be the only time to eat healthy food. If you feel the urge to snack, say between lunch and dinner, it makes good sense to snack on something healthy. Even something as simple as a small apple provides enough nutrition along with healthy fat and proteins.
5. Exercise Regularly.
You may be surprised to hear that just by bringing about a change in diet and eating more healthy food, you can start losing weight with almost immediate effect. If you can cut about 500 calories from your diet, you can lose anywhere from a half a pound to a pound every week. However, what will surprise you even more is that if you add some sort of exercise to your weight loss program, you can more than double the rate of your weight loss.
Regular workouts offer you many other health benefits like reducing cardiovascular risk factors and improving the body composition. The main advantage of workouts is the fact that they make you burn more calories thereby causing you to lose significant weight. Of course, how many calories you actually manage to lose depends a lot on the regularity of your workouts, how intense they are and for how long you workout. In fact, one of the best ways of losing body fat is believed to be through just some steady aerobic activity like walking. Walking for about thirty-forty minutes, three to four times a week is considered an excellent way to get started.
If you are just starting out on a fitness routine, making some sudden changes to accommodate even brief aerobic exercises may not be possible. Start by making small changes in your life. Try to use the stairs in your office, even if that means several trips up and down, rather than using the elevator. If you need to run to the grocery store or just drop your kids at school, walk instead of pulling the car out every time. Though regular workouts are considered to be the most effective for significant weight loss, any extra physical movement that you can indulge in during the day will help you burn calories.
6. Lifestyle Changes are Key to Losing The Last Ten Pounds.
You may have noticed how new diet plans are being announced almost every week. Most assure you of significant weight loss in a very short period of time. In fact, some of them may even be successful in helping you achieve the kind of weight loss they promise, in the given time. Most of these diets however, help you lose weight by asking you to completely avoid particular food groups so that your intake of calories is severely reduced or by using dietary supplements. Such diets will not be able to ensure that the weight you have lost will stay off and will not develop healthy habits in you.
Your lifestyle changes should focus on your overall health, not just in the present but in the future as well. It should be a lifestyle that includes all the important aspects like good nutrition, regular exercises, good stress management and recognizing the priorities in life.
By making smart choices in your life, you can develop a healthy lifestyle that will pave the way for you to reach your weight loss goal. It will also enable you to maintain your weight at healthy levels for a long time to come.
III. Getting Ready for That Last Lap
Almost every person may feel that he or she would be happier if they were to lose a few pounds. In fact, if you were to stop and speak to ten people, you will probably find that eight out of them are either unhappy with their weight or are actually on some kind of weight-loss plan trying to lose weight. However, only with great difficulty will you find even one person who has successfully managed to reach the weight loss goal that they had set out for themselves. In fact, you will very likely hear this refrain again and again – It is very hard to lose the last ten pounds!
There is no doubt that it is hard to stay on a plan that allows you to lose weight consistently and harder yet to lose those last few pounds. As we had mentioned briefly, there are many reasons why this is so and in this section, we will try to get you ready for the task of losing even those last ten pounds.
Let us first try and understand why you may be having difficulty in losing the final ten pounds.
• You Are Not Being Realistic.
If you have set yourself a goal that is not realistic, like if you want to weigh what you were when in 11th grade, it is quite obvious that you are going to be in for a bit of struggle to reach that goal. Not only that, being unrealistic will also set you up for some severe disappointment and when you try going in for some drastic measures like starving yourself, the going may get even more tough. You may even quit your entire weight loss program in disgust. Instead, try and be very realistic about how much weight you would like to lose in perhaps the next six months. Keeping your goal realistic and achievable will also help you stay motivated.
• You Want to Lose Weight For The Wrong Reasons.
Wanting to lose weight to look good for a class reunion or for making others jealous or to want to fit in your swimsuit in two weeks time are certainly not the right reasons to lose weight. Think of the tremendous health benefits that losing weight provides you – it lowers your cholesterol, helps your heart and your muscles. By losing weight, you are well on your way to a healthier future.
• You Have Not Made Permanent Changes to Your Lifestyle.
When you decide to lose weight, you may be highly motivated and may make immediate changes in your eating habits and in your activity levels. However, once you start to lose weight, you may slowly start slipping up in your habits. You may go back to your old eating habits, you may start missing out on one or two workout routines and you slowly find that it is no longer easy to keep losing weight. When you take a decision to start on a weight loss plan, you have to be ready for some permanent changes in your lifestyle. The goal should not be to merely lose weight but to embark on a more long-term plan to keep the weight off permanently. Whatever changes you make in your eating, living or exercising habits have to be continued for you to maintain your weight.
Getting Ready to Lose Those Last 10 Pounds
You now know the main reasons why so many people find it difficult to keep losing weight and especially to lose those last few pounds. We will now provide you with an overview of what you need to do to lose those last 10 pounds.
1. Increase Your Level of Activity.
• You may be surprised to know that even if you mildly increase the level of your activities, it can do you a world of good. In fact, there is tremendous difference between the number of calories that are being burned by the body when you are sedentary and the number that are burned when you perform even mild activities. If you start on some form of exercise, you may be able to burn 500 calories more than what you would have without any exercise. It is therefore very important that you increase the level of your activities. Please remember that this is of course different from actually exercising. When you exercise, your heart rate increases and stays so for some time, as say while doing aerobic exercises or when you lift weights. When we suggest increasing your level of activity, it means you should keep stimulating your metabolism so that it burns more calories. Some suggestions to increase your levels of activity are as follows – instead of just sitting at your desk or chair when you are in your office, try getting up every hour or so and take a quick walk; if you need to go up and down, use the flight of stairs instead of the elevator; try parking your car at the far end of the parking lot so that you walk some distance to the office building; if you need to run to the nearby grocery store or drop kids to school, try walking instead of taking the car.
• Of course, the next step is to actually increase the amount of exercising you are doing every week. Perhaps you could consider adding an additional workout or better still two workouts to your regular schedule. For example, if you are already doing aerobic workouts three times a day, you may want to add one more aerobic workout and perhaps a weight workout on another day. This will also help you burn more calories.
• Alternately, you could increase the intensity of your workouts. As you keep working out your body gets used to the workouts and does not burn as many calories as before. Try pumping some extra weight, running for some more time or running instead of just walking.
• Another excellent way to start burning those calories again is to keep changing your exercise routines. If you have been jogging so far, try cycling a couple of times. If you have been taking walks, try an aerobic workout a few times. By changing your workouts you will keep your body unsettled and burn more calories that way. Also, you too will not feel bored following the same routine everyday.
2. Improve Your Diet.
• One of the quickest ways in which you can lose weight is by avoiding drinks that have a high calorie content. For example, switching over to skimmed milk is a good idea. Flavored coffees, alcohol and soft drinks all carry substantial calories. They only add to your weight without really filling you up. In fact, some of these drinks are so high in sugar content that you could consume almost a thousand calories in a day by having these drinks. Try to avoid as many of these drinks as you can. One of the simplest way to start is to have just water with meals instead of any other kind of drink.
• When you first start off on your diet, you are very careful with the amount of food you eat. In fact, you may weigh and measure your portions making sure that you are eating just the right amount. However, as you start becoming successful in your weight loss, you are no longer so diligent. You may start making approximations and this may actually lead to increasing serving sizes without you even realizing it. In fact, one of the best ways to keep track of what you eat and how much you eat is to write it down. Consistently note down whatever you are eating, whether the portions are the right amount and if you need to make any changes.
• Another way of reducing weight is to reduce the starchy carbohydrates. This is not to say that you should avoid them but given a choice between mashed potatoes, French fries, pasta and fresh fruit or vegetables, always choose the vegetables and fruits.
As you slowly understand why you are finding it so difficult to lose those last few pounds, you will start taking steps to be more focused and consistent with your weight loss plan. In the next section, we will look at some practical steps that you could take to get rid of those last 10 pounds.
IV. How to Lose Those Last 10 Pounds
When you have reached the stage where you are set to lose only the last few pounds, you are bound to have mixed feelings. You may be feeling very happy and proud of yourself for having made it this far. On the other hand, you may also be sensing some frustration because actually reaching your weight loss goal is proving harder than you thought. In these last stages of your weight loss plan, it is very important that you stay motivated and take some extra steps to lose those final few pounds. Just as you would have realized when you first started on your weight loss plan, losing weight is essentially about making changes in your behavior and this is true even when it comes to losing those last 10 pounds.
In fact, even if you are highly committed to your plan and have been following healthy eating habits and regular workout routines, you may find that you are no longer losing weight at a consistent rate. Most fitness and weight loss experts will tell you that this is the unfortunate truth of weight loss. It is always more difficult to lose the last 10 pounds than say the first 30 pounds. This is because as you lose weight and get slimmer, your body burns fewer calories. In fact, for every pound of weight that you lose, your body burns up to 20 calories less every day. Obviously, even if you are following the same eating and exercising habits, the changes in the metabolism of the body will make it harder for you to burn more calories and hence lose more weight.
Many people simply give up once they have reached this stage. Though they understand the reason behind the slowing down of their metabolism, they are not very sure what more they can do at this point since they have been following the same weight loss plan for weeks, probably months now. Well, there is good news for all those people. In this section we will provide you with some practical solutions, solutions that just tweak the good habits that you have already established. This will push your body past the plateau and enable you to reach your weight loss goal successfully.
Increase the Intensity of Workouts.
Most workouts will help you lose weight. However, if you would like to keep burning those calories and losing weight, you also need to increase the intensity of these workouts and moreover concentrate on interval training. For example, researchers have found that instead of steady cycling for six to seven minutes, if you have a four minute session of intense cycling followed by about two minutes of easy pedaling then you tend to burn almost 60-70% more calories. This kind of workouts with highly intense sessions followed by more moderate ones is called interval training. This kind of training causes the metabolism rate to increase helping the body burn more calories both during moderate and low intensity activities. In fact, the body keeps burning calories even when at rest.
You could apply the principle of interval training to any workout routine that you normally follow. For example, you could use this when you are walking, jogging or even when you are using an elliptical machine. The principle of interval training is simple. You need to alternate between a vigorous pace maintained for a few minutes and a moderate pace maintained for longer. You will easily burn 20-30% more calories than if you were working out at a steady pace throughout your workout.
Be Active When You Can.
Regular workouts should form an essential part of your weight loss program. However, that is not the only way you can burn those extra calories. Studies have shown that by just standing for a couple of hours more than what you normally do, you could be losing 100 more calories a day. This essentially means that you have to find opportunities of being active throughout the day no matter where you are and no matter what you are doing.
This is not so difficult as it sounds. In fact, once you are aware of the potential benefits that increasing your activity levels even slightly will bring you, you will be able to find opportunities everywhere. For example, instead of just sitting at your desk the whole day, try standing up occasionally or even take a brisk walk in the office corridor. If you are waiting in a doctor’s waiting room, stand up instead of sitting down. Similarly if you are in the stands watching your kid’s baseball game, try standing up for some time. By merely standing up, you could be burning 100 calories or more everyday than if you had just been sitting. Similarly, if your office work involves you having to go up and down a few floors everyday, try taking the flight of stairs instead of the elevator every time. If you need to run errands, like heading to the nearby grocery store or picking up your kids from the park nearby, do not immediately rush to pull your car out. Just walk or cycle down. You will burn far more calories that way.
Reset Goals and Track Your Progress.
When you first started on your weight loss program, you would have set some goals for yourself. Not just in terms of how much weight you would like to lose, but also in terms of your diet and how much exercise you would need. If you have consistently lost weight, you may not have felt the need to make any changes in these goals. However, if now you have hit a plateau as far as weight loss is concerned it may be time to reset some of those goals. Try to increase the number of workouts or increase the amount of time you workout or increase the intensity levels of your workouts.
By keeping track of your progress and making changes accordingly, you will reach your given goal faster than those who do not set any target for themselves. For example, you could just increase your walking by a mile everyday and see for yourself what difference it starts to make to your metabolism.
Add Some Weight Training.
To help lose weight, you could also try building some muscles and toning your body. Muscles help burn more calories than fat or other tissue, even if you are at rest and not working out. Of course, muscles may weigh more than fat but they certainly help the body burn more calories, helping you to stay fit.
Try including some weight training sessions in your workout routines. However, if weight lifting is not for you, you could try other activities like yoga, swimming or even Pilates. Another excellent way of burning more calories is by combining strength training and cardio workouts in one routine. This will not only save you some time but also provide you with benefits of both. Strength training helps increase the rate of metabolism of your body while cardio exercises start burning calories right away. For example, if you combine some weight lifting with say, cycling and perform this routine for twenty to thirty minutes, three times a week, you could easily lose more weight than by sticking to one steady form of workout. If you are working out at home, you could alternate between easy rope jumping for some time and a strength exercise.
Eat As Healthy As You Can.
To lose weight, you would have made changes to your eating habit, trying to eat more balanced, healthy and regular meals throughout the day. However, if you have now reached a plateau in your weight loss program, you need to make some more changes so that you can reach that final goal. Review your diet plan carefully and see what other changes you can make. For example, you can reduce your intake of calories by just reducing the amount of meat that you eat. Research has proven that on an average, vegetarians weigh about 20% less than non-vegetarians. In fact, one recent study showed that people who simply followed a vegan diet lost nearly two to three times more weight than those who had simply reduced their intake of calories.
Of course, if you have always enjoyed your hamburgers or your steak dinners, it is not going to be easy to suddenly stop eating meat. And the truth of the matter is you do not need to completely stop eating meat; by merely reducing the amount you eat you can make a great difference in the number of calories you take in. You could start by just having one or two vegetarian dinners a month. This will help you get adjusted to the tastes and you can still have non-vegetarian meals when you really feel like it. Trust us when we tell you this - as you eat more and more vegetarian foods, you will enjoy the taste and the sense of well being that you get after the meal. And you will not have the usual uncomfortable sense of being too full. In fact, studies have also shown that more than a third of people who turned vegetarian had no difficulty in sticking to their diets for more than a year while compared to those who just had a low-fat diet.
Fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts and whole grains are naturally very high in nutrients as well as in satiating fiber and at the same time fairly low in calories. You can thus feel full without having to eat too much. For example, just a handful of nuts or a small cup of chickpeas with whole-wheat pasta and some veggies thrown in or even just a cup of lentil soup are extremely protein rich.
Make Breakfast Your Main Meal.
By having a big breakfast, you are able to get a lot of calories first thing in the morning rather than later during the day. It is very rightly said that one should have breakfast like a king, have lunch like a queen and have dinner like a beggar. By having most of the calories first thing in the morning you not only have more energy to last you through the day but you are also giving your body more time to burn up those calories. In fact, it is a very bad idea to have a heavy dinner since your body has very little chance of burning the calories during the night.
Once you have had a good breakfast, you can make some changes in the number of meals you eat and the amount you eat. It is recommended that you eat more frequently but in lesser quantities. Rather than just have three big meals in a day, try and eat five small ones spread throughout the day. This is particularly true when you have reached your weight loss plateau. By increasing the number of meals, you can reduce the amount of food taken in each meal and this can actually bring about additional weight loss. Further, you will feel satisfied after every meal and help prevent food cravings.
For example, snacking on just one apple before dinner will help you eat less at dinnertime. Further, since you are starting your meal with a low-calorie food there is going to be less room for food with very high calorie content. Naturally you eat less and consume fewer calories. Instead of an apple, you could try starting with just some salad or veggies with some hummus to achieve a similar effect.
Plan Your Meals.
While it is easy saying that you should be eating five well-balanced, healthy meals a day, it is not so easy preparing them especially when you are busy working and when you come home after a long day. Look at recipe books that will give you some great ideas on how you can quickly whip up a nutritious dinner in no time at all or how you can use what you have in the house to have a sumptuous breakfast. Along with books, you may also find many websites that will guide you on how you can shop smartly and be prepared with meal ideas for busy times or for holiday times or when you have unexpected guests. By planning ahead and being prepared, you can continue on your weight loss program without any major hiccups.
Be Careful of How Much You Eat.
One of the side effects of losing significant amounts of weight is the sense of complacency that sets in. For example, when you first started on your weight loss program you would have been very diligent regarding the portions you take in every meal. However, when you start to lose weight regularly you may get a little complacent and not watch the portions as diligently as you may have done at the beginning. This becomes particularly true at parties or over weekends. In fact, it has been noticed that even very diligent dieters who watch their calories during the week, take in an extra 400 calories or so during the weekend, thereby undoing all the good work put in during the week. Naturally, this stalls weight loss and one is unable to lose any more weight.
In order to make sure that you are consistently losing weight and are heading towards your final weight loss goal, try to avoid temptations both at home and when you are away. Keep an eye on the portions you eat at all times. In fact, having smaller plates to eat at home can remind you that you have to eat less. When you have to be away from home during weekends, try and carry some healthy snacks like raw vegetables and stay away from food courts.
Consult A Dietitian.
If despite taking all the above measures, you find yourself stuck at a plateau, unable to lose any more weight, you may find it helpful to speak to a dietitian. When you look at what you are eating, you may be unable to decide where else you could cut down on your calories. A dietitian will sit down with you and carefully look at your diet. In fact, at the end of the session, you may be surprised at the number of hidden calories your dietitian is able to discover in what you think is a well-balanced meal plan. That is because most of us forget to take into account the amount of sugar we take in our coffee every morning and afternoon or the number of sodas that we take during the day. Unfortunately all these have a way of adding up and you may find that you are taking in far more calories than what you thought. Naturally, this is what is making it more difficult for you to lose weight. In consultation with your dietitian identify areas where you are still taking in those extra calories and work out ways in which you can avoid them.
Understand Your Metabolic Rate.
If you have been successful in losing a significant amount of weight but are now finding it difficult to lose those last 10 pounds, you may have to fine-tune every aspect of your weight loss program. To begin with, you need to know exactly how many calories your body needs for you to be able to function well throughout the day. Of course, the government recommends that you need about 2000 calories on average. But it is possible that based on your size and gender, you do not need these many calories. The minimum number of calories that your body needs to support you well throughout the day is called the resting metabolic rate or RMR. On the other hand, if you are able to put in a lot of exercise, eat properly and are able to burn more calories, you may need more calories.
Try contacting clinics or hospitals that may have experts who will help you decide what exactly is your calorie need. Many have sophisticated equipment that helps them in their assessment. Alternatively, you could sit down with a dietitian or weight loss expert who may help you estimate your calorie need by taking into account various factors like your age, size, background and other measures.
Keep Yourself Motivated.
When you are at a stage in your weight loss program where you are struggling to lose those last 10 pounds, it may get frustrating and even bring you down a little. However, you have to look at the positives of what you have achieved so far and use them to stay motivated. You should realize that through your weight loss program you are now eating healthier food, exercising regularly, burning more calories, that your body is a lot stronger and you are enjoying better health overall. Carry these positive thoughts with you as you push yourself beyond this plateau and try to reach that final weight loss goal.
Your Goal is Better Health, Not Just Fewer Pounds.
Losing weight has some very obvious and very immediate benefits. If you are hoping to lose weight to look good for an upcoming class reunion, that could provide you with motivation to lose a few pounds. However, to stay on course of a regular weight loss program, you need to have more long-term goals. You need to think beyond the immediate reasons and think of the long-term health benefits that losing weight can provide. For example, think of how longer and in what better ways you can enjoy the company of your children and grandchildren were you to be fit and healthy. If you can stay focused on a goal of long term better health, you will not only find it easier to reach your final weight loss goal but you will also be motivated to keep those lost pounds off.
V. Keeping Those Extra Pounds Off
We believe that if you follow the guidelines mentioned in the sections above, you will find enough motivation and be able to change your diet and workouts to be able to get rid of those last ten pounds as well. However, the bigger challenge is yet to come. You have achieved your weight loss goal but now how do you maintain your weight? How do you stay motivated and keep those extra pounds you have lost off you forever?
We will first provide you with some general suggestions that will go a long way in helping you maintain your weight. We will follow this up with some very specific tips that you can follow at home, when you are at parties or on a weekend holiday or traveling away from home.
• Maintain Your Dietary Plan.
Once you have achieved your weight loss goal a sense of complacency may start creeping inside you. Of course, you may not go the whole hog but you may not be so careful about the sugar that you now add to your coffee nor about the number of sodas that you have in a day. Slowly but surely, the calories start to add up and before you know it, you have gained a couple of pounds. It is very important to ensure that you continue on the same diet that had brought you so much success in the first place. Remember while losing weight is an important goal, it is not the ultimate goal. Striving constantly for your long-term health is more important. Try and make the changes in your meals and in your eating habits permanent so that you are never tempted to go back to your old eating habits.
• Maintain Your Workout Routines.
Just as may happen with your eating habits, it is possible that you may become a little complacent with your workouts as well. You may slacken a little in the intensity or in how long you workout or you may not even mind skipping the occasional workout. All these will inevitably lead to your body burning lesser calories and the weight coming back. It is very important that you continue on the same fitness plan and with the workout routines that helped you lose weight. If you are having trouble motivating yourself to do the same routines, add some variety to your workouts. You can speak to a fitness experts who can help you come up with a number of combinations so that you can have fun while you are working out.
• Take Help.
It is true that it is a lot more difficult to lose the last 10 pounds than the first 30 pounds – it is also true that it is even more difficult to maintain your weight than just losing it. With no specific goal in mind, you may feel yourself less motivated to keep going. During such times, it may help to share your goals and your fears with your friends or family members. By sharing your goals with them you are in some sense putting your pride at stake and you may feel motivated to do all that you can just so you can avoid looking like a failure before them. Be careful whom you choose to speak to since speaking to a person with negative attitudes may only make you less enthusiastic about your goals. One excellent place where you are certain to find plenty of support are online forums, blogs or support groups with members who are on similar weight loss programs and completely understand your situation. You are sure to find plenty of support, advice and guidance on how to keep yourself motivated and maintain your weight.
• Stay Positive.
Maintaining weight is not always about doing the right things but also thinking in the right way. You need to believe in yourself and in your ability to not just lose weight but also to successfully maintain it. You need to work on your thought process so that you are always thinking positive thoughts. These thoughts will help you stay focused and determined in developing healthy eating habits as well as having regular workouts. There are many ways in which you can modify your thought process – visualization techniques, meditation and self-affirmation are just some ways in which you can help yourself stay in a positive frame of mind.
It can be a highly rewarding experience to lose weight, especially the last 10 pounds. However, the greatest rewards can be had when you stay on track and keep those pounds off.
Tips To Help You Keep Those Extra Pounds Off
1. Parties or weekends are times when you may end up indulging yourself. Before you know it, you have taken in more calories than what you have managed to burn during the whole week. One way of preempting this is to have a glass of juice, preferably tomato juice or even plain water with some lemon juice squeezed in. This will help you reduce the pangs of hunger and eat in moderation, even when faced with a table full of absolute goodies.
2. Whenever possible, try to start your meal by eating salads made with fresh vegetables or just some veggies with hummus. This will reduce the amount of high-calorie food that you take in. Similarly, if you are at a buffet style restaurant, you will find that the salad bar is usually placed at the start of the table. Their interest lies in making you fill up on food that is least expensive. However, this should also work for you since salads contain fewer calories. By filling yourself up with food that has lesser calories, you are leaving little space for food that has more calories.
3. If you are invited to a party and asked to bring a dish with you, you can certainly make sure that is a healthy dish and one that you can enjoy without having to go in for any other fatty food. Try getting something that contains lots of fresh veggies with say low-fat dip.
4. If there is a choice of plates, try and take the smaller ones. You can fill it up with food, think that you have sufficient on your plate and yet eat less. In fact, you could even try this trick at home. Keep a few smaller plates to have meals in when you have consumed extra calories during the weekend.
5. Another very effective idea is to not carry any plate to the appetizer table. Just take a napkin, put a few appetizers on it and walk away. You will not dare take more for fear of embarrassing yourself and as a result you manage to avoid the extra calories.
6. Holidays and weekends are the worst times for workouts. You are too busy or too tired or just plain lazy to feel like getting up and working out. If you do not have time to work out because you are not able to fit in your regular workouts in your busy schedule, commit to spending at least some time on exercising. You could just walk for ten minutes or you could forget going to the gym and just do a few quick workouts at home. You can find several easy exercises that you can very well manage at home and that provide you with complete body workouts without you having to go the gym. Another important point to note is that holidays and weekends are also times when you tend to increase your eating a little. Make sure that at the first available opportunity, you increase the intensity of your workouts so that you can burn up all the extra calories that you have gained. You can do so by either increasing the weight you lift or by going in for some resistance training. Both methods increase the rate of metabolism in your body helping you burn calories much quicker.
7. Drinking lots of water is very important – in fact, it is recommended that you take in at least six to eight glasses of water everyday. This becomes even more important if you are consuming extra fatty and salty food. Drinking more water will help your body get rid of the extra fat and salt more quickly, helping you to get rid of those extra calories and maintain your weight.
8. Try avoiding alcohol whenever possible. If you are afraid you may appear rude asking for water, tell your hostess that you would simply love to have a glass of ice water. You will not appear rude or stuffy and instead your hostess will be more than happy to get you some water when asked so nicely. If you cannot avoid alcohol all together, try reducing your intake of it. For example, instead of asking for a glass of wine, you could ask for a wine spritzer. This contains only half wine, the other half being soda. This is helpful since it not only reduces the number of calories you are consuming but also the effect of alcohol. Similarly, try having gin and tonic, which has one-third the number of calories than say that of a strawberry daiquiri.
9. Try not to give in to your indulgences throughout the year. If you are fond of chocolates or cookies or some special pastries, save them for special occasions. Be imaginative about what you can have when you feel the urge to have something sweet and do not reach for the nearest candy bar. You will find that when you have been holding out for these special occasions to enjoy your cakes or cookies, you will savor them even more.
10. The trick to continue maintaining weight is to keep tracking what you eat, even when you have reached your weight loss goal. Only by tracking what you are eating will you start noticing the consequences. You will quickly realize what changes are happening in your diet and how your workouts are being affected. You will no doubt also sense the extra calories slowly building up and will be forced to take immediate action so that you do not gain those extra pounds you lost after such a lot of effort.
As you can see, a good weight loss program will help you in not just losing all those extra pounds but also to keep them off. If you have understood how important maintaining your weight is to your overall fitness, you will be motivated enough to not just lose those last 10 pounds but in continuing on the course to a healthier future.