10-05-17
Connie — an old friend with a new perspective
— lost 52 pounds over the last eight months, and
she's got 38 wiggly ones to go. Until now,
everything's been over-the-moon great. After a
lifetime of stupid gimmicky starvation diets
that never worked, Connie has seen the light,
and it's not spelled l-i-t-e.
This time, she used her b-r-a-i-n. Connie's
weight loss/healthy lifestyle plan is based on
eating modest portions of real food that tastes
good and makes her body happy — vegetables,
fruits, fish and poultry, whole grains, seeds
and nuts. Her secret weapon? Exercise! No pain,
no strain, but she tries to do something
physical and fun for 30 to 60 minutes every day.
Connie's been losing a pound or two a week,
and that's enough for her. The drama is gone,
the dieting is over, her new Oprah-approved
lifestyle is helping her become exactly who she
wants to be. Connie's never hungry, she's off
her high-blood-pressure meds, and her energy
level is back to what it was when she played
second base for her college softball team.
Bravo! Connie rocks. She is the American dream
come true — a big loser with benefits. So what's
the problem?
WLP. Weight Loss Plateau. Connie is stuck at
163, and she can't get the needle to budge.
She's eating the same smart way — no diet food,
no artificial sugars, fresh fruit for dessert.
And she's exercising with enthusiasm — walking,
dance class, a stationary bike first thing in
the morning. But suddenly, it's not working. WLP
is very common and extremely frustrating. A mild
depression is suggesting itself on weekends.
Connie is beginning to dream about frozen
Snickers.
What can WLP sufferers do to push through the
dreaded weight loss plateau? Plenty, according
to a man who has seen more pounds lost than the
British banking system: Dr. Nicholas Yphantides,
medical spokesman for TOPS (Take Off Pounds
Sensibly, www.tops.org). TOPS is a nonprofit
weight-loss and wellness support organization
based in Milwaukee. It's been around for more
than 60 years and takes a safe, sane approach to
slimming down while wising up.
"Some weight loss warriors make the mistake
of expecting different results with the same
routine," says Dr. Nick. "It's easy to get
discouraged, but it's more efficient to get
creative."
Here are some of Dr. Nick's creative
strategies should you ever butt up against the
WLP challenge:
Shift Your Body's Behavior. Weight
loss plateaus happen because at some point,
after x pounds lost, the body says "enough is
enough." It moves to achieve a state of
equilibrium known as homeostasis. It's up to you
to trick it into behaving differently. One way,
says Dr. Nick, is to feed your body a different
number of calories than it is expecting on any
given day. Keep your weekly caloric
intake steady, but eat a lot more one day and a
lot less the next. Once you've shown your body
who's boss — I'm speaking now in oversimplified
concepts — it should stop clinging to the status
quo and cooperate with further weight loss. If
it doesn't, resume your normal daily calorie
count, and try something else.
Add a New Activity to Your Routine.
This strategy sounds much more jolly than
fasting and feasting. Dr. Nick wants you to
activate more muscles, new muscles, in different
ways. If you're a swimmer, start some vigorous
walking. If you bike, jump in the pool. Also,
vary the intensity of your workouts.
Run/bike/swim at 80 percent effort, back off,
pick up the pace again. It's called interval
training, and it's a wonderful tool to make your
workouts more productive, and more interesting,
too.
* Strength Train. Switch one or two of
your weekly aerobic workouts to a
strength-training session. Learn proper form and
breathing, and have your best time. Increasing
your muscle mass will jump-start your metabolic
rate.
MORE MEALS. If you've been eating
three meals a day, Dr. Nick advises, switch to
five smaller ones so you fuel your metabolism
over a longer period of time. Also, be sure to
start your day with a solid breakfast. (No
skipping meals!). You'll have more focus and
more energy all day long.
ENERGY EXPRESS-O! PRACTICE BEING PATIENT
"There is no need to yearn, envy and grab.
You will get your rightful portion when it is
your time." — Epictetus
Marilynn Preston — fitness expert, personal
trainer and speaker on healthy lifestyle issues
— is the creator of Energy Express, the
longest-running syndicated fitness column in the
country. She has a website,
http://marilynnpreston.com and welcomes reader
questions, which can be sent to
MyEnergyExpress@aol.com. To find out more about
Preston and read features by other Creators
Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the
Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
COPYRIGHT 2010 ENERGY EXPRESS, LTD.
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