I've received a few emails and private messages lately from people who are concerned that they aren't losing enough weight. I'd like to take a couple of minutes to address those concerns in case it will help others of you as well.
First of all, let me remind everyone that losing 1-2 pounds per week is excellent. Some will lose larger amounts but that weight loss is usually water weight (in the early weeks) and muscle loss (after the first few weeks.)
For some it's okay to lose muscle along with the fat. This may sometimes be the case for people who have hundreds of pounds to lose, and for a couple of reasons: 1. weight loss is critical because the person's health is in immediate danger. In this case there is no time to worry about maintaining muscle because we're just trying to save a life. In this case, the person may struggle to keep the weight off in the future because of the muscle loss, but this is worth it. 2. Some may not desire to maintain their current lean body mass. They should be warned, however, that any time you lose muscle your metabolism loses some of its power.
So, for the majority of you, 1-2 pounds per week should be the goal. If you are losing inches but not losing weight, you are probably losing fat and gaining muscle. This is also good and will make you look and feel better. However, if you're significantly overweight, you still will need to lose total weight.
So, what if you're not losing total weight? It's not because the universe is against you. On the contrary, there are some very simple scientific facts that you can depend on to assure your success.
1. Calories in minus calories out determines weight loss. If you eat fewer calories than you burn, your weight will go down. Depending on how many fewer calories you eat, you may lose larger or smaller amounts of weight. People who do not track their calorie intake are at a severe disadvantage because they are using the "guess and check" technique instead of letting science work for them. (This is one problem with the "free day" approach as well.)
2. Metabolism does not stay constant. Many people focus simply on eating a certain number of calories and expect the rest to work out, but it's important to remember that our metabolisms change. For example, if you eat poor-quality food (brownies, doughnuts, etc) your body will actually burn fewer calories as a result. Other ways to boost your metabolism are to drink plenty of water, get enough sleep, and even fidget and move around more.
3. The more you exercise, the better your results will be. There are rare instances when this rule is taken too far, but chances are not good that you'll have a problem with exercising too much. It is very important to do three types of exercise: cardio (working your heart,) strength training (working your other muscles,) and stretching/core (protecting your body from injury and increasing range of motion.) Strength training should be done to the point of fatiguing each muscle at least once a week. The MyFitnessTrainer.com program can get you on a schedule to get this done. Cardio should be done as often as possible, even multiple times a day when possible. Cardio should be done at an intensity that makes it so you are short of breath but can speak in full sentences. (Known as the talk test.) Stretching should be done during each workout.
4. Sometimes someone can "plateau" in their fat loss because the body has gone to survival mode. It has become very efficient in doing the exercises that are required of it, and it is worried that it won't get enough nutrition so it starts to burn fewer calories and store more as fat. In severe cases, this is called "overtraining." Overtraining makes you feel fatigued, lethargic, with sore muscles that don't heal, and sometimes sad. Food (except sweets,) can look unappealing, and workouts look impossible. In the case of overtraining, the best thing to do is eat the highest quality food and only do cardio for a week or more. Get tons of extra sleep and even up your calories by a small amount without reducing the quality of your food.
