Weight Loss Help

Hi H.! Don't forget--muscle weighs more than fat. So if you are weight training and gaining muscle tone, then stepping on a scale isn't going to necesarily make you feel better--although it should. I am not saying not to lift weights, but just keep this in mind every time you step on the scale. DOn't get discouraged. My friend says she weighs 9 pounds more than she did a year ago, but her clothes still fit the same (also a Weight Watcher girl--size 4) and they said it is probably due to her building muscle. She works out 5 days a week--faithfully. Hope this helps and hang in there!

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First, do you track all of your calories (every bite) and if so, are you eating all of your points? If not, you're probably not eating enough and your body is in "starvation" mode and won't let go of the weight because of it. A lot of people who are desperate to lose weight automatically think less calories means they will lose weight faster. If you're WW recommended calories per day is 1600, you should be eating very close to 1600 calories per day. And if you are exercising as much as you say, you should probably eat most, if not all, of your activity points too. If you're doing weight training, remember you are replacing fat with muscle which weighs more, but you might be able to tell that your clothes are fitting looser if that's what's happening.

On the other hand, if you don't track all of your calories, you could be going over your recommended points which is sabotaging your workout efforts.

I've always heard if you hit a plateau, the best way to get out of it is change your food routine. Mix it up. Instead of eating at the low side of your points range, eat on the high side of your range, or vice versa. Or even alternate. Two days on the low side, two days on the high side.

Maybe give those things a try and see if you don't see a loss next week.

Good luck!

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My baby's father was a personal trainer... He trained me after I had our son. The trick is to do your weight training first. Then do your cardio for about 45-60 mins. While weight training, only work out specific areas of the body once a week. When you work out your muscles tear, hence the pain the next few days. In order to heal into longer lean muscle, they need 7 days to repair themselves.

Ex:
Monday:
Arms & Shoulders 30 mins
Cardio 45 mins

Wednesday:
Abs & Butt 30 mins
Cardio 45 mins

Friday:
Legs 30 mins
Cardio 45 mins

You are doing the right things, just back wards... Cardio burns all your fat and energy, there is nothing left for your muscles to feed themselfs off of when you are done.

Try it and let me know what you think :)

L.*

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Be patient with yourself and be sure to measure your inches every month; don't just use the scale as a measure of how you're doing. Remember, muscle weighs more than fat but it also takes up less room and burns more calories at rest than fat. So if you lose 10 pounds of fat in a month and gain 8 pounds of muscle, the net loss on the scale looks like only 2 pounds. That is not something a diet pill ad would tout as great results! However, it would equate to a smaller dress size.

ALso, it is physically impossible to lose more than 2-3 pounds of FAT (not weight) per week. Anything more than that is muscle loss and water weight. That's why many people who lose lots of weight quickly gain it all back plus some. They have slowed their metabolism and changed the ratio of fat to muscle in a negative way. So be patient and remember, slow and steady wins the race! Persistance = results. IMO, WW is the best program around for losing permanent weight because it is all about behavior modification.

Good luck!

____@____.com

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I 2nd Alli pills with the Weight Watchers. But WW should be working really well... but if it isn't just try mixing it up 1 day a week with a different food program... like a vegetable soup only day. And make sure you are drinking plenty of water, and if you don't like water try tea. You can get decaffeneited black tea. Or green tea or oolong. They are really good for you.

Also, watch the fake sugar. Sweet n Low and Equal were getting bad press this morning because some study said mice don't lose weight when they take in alot of those sweetners. It didn't say anything about Splenda.

Good luck.

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