Weight Loss - Those Last Ten Pounds
by Michael
Lewis
zone3
Weight Loss - Fighting off those last 10 pounds can bring up mixed
feelings. On one hand, you're happy and proud to be just a step away from
the weight you'd wanted to reach. On the other hand, you face the
potentially depressing prospect of having to unload yet another 35,000
calories (otherwise known as 10 pounds).
Weight loss is all about changing behavior, and that is most true when
you're fighting off those last 10 pounds.
"There is evidence that the individual has to have a great desire to
get to their goal weight, and that desire has to be backed up with real
changes in behavior to maintain a healthy weight over time," says
Catherine Fitzgerald, RD, a dietitian in the weight-loss program at the
University of Michigan Health System.
Here are seven tips to help you through the home stretch of your diet.
And get support year-round when you sign up for the Weight Control
Newsletter.
Lift weights
You can't beat muscle mass when it comes to losing weight and keeping
it off, says Nancy Spaulding-Albright, RD, a nutritionist and dietitian at
the Sunrise Outpatient Center of the HealthSouth hospital group. "Everyone
knows muscle burns more calories, even at rest, than fat or other
tissues," she says. If weight lifting isn't for you, try swimming, yoga,
or Pilates. It's true that muscle weighs a bit more than fat, but it also
burns more calories. In the long run, you'll stay trimmer with muscle than
without it.
Focus on better health, not fewer pounds
Sure, dropping weight will, by itself, improve your health. But if you
want to stay motivated while you're losing weight and beyond, think long
term. "Tell yourself, 'I want to live to see my grandchildren,' rather
than 'I want to look good at my class reunion,'" says Spaulding-Albright.
The approaching class reunion may motivate you to lose weight today, but
it may also set you up to fail later. "Patients who can stay focused on
better health tend to reach their weight goals and keep weight off over
time," she says.
See a dietitian
When you sit down with a trained dietitian or nutritionist to look at
your diet, "you may be amazed how many hidden calories you eat," says
Fitzgerald. "I see patients who forget to add those half dozen tablespoons
of sugar they put into their coffee each morning or don't realize how many
calories their three-sodas-a-day habit adds up to. And those are the kinds
of calories, the ones you don't even think about, that make weight loss
harder." Contact your doctor or local hospital to get a list of dietitians
or nutritionists in your area.
Know your metabolic rate
Do you know how many calories you need to eat each day for your body to
function? The government-mandated food content labels you see in stores
assume you have a need for 2,000 calories a day. But that's an average,
and it's not specific enough for someone working to lose weight or keep
weight off. "Your size and gender have a lot to do with your calorie
needs," says Spaulding-Albright. "Dieters don't want to be eating 2,000
calories when they only need 1,800." Your resting metabolic rate (RMR) is
simply the minimum number of calories you need each day to support your
body's functions. If you get a lot of exercise, your calorie needs may be
much higher than your RMR. So how do you estimate your RMR and your
real-world calorie needs? The best way, says Spaulding-Albright, is to
contact hospitals or clinics in your area; they have sophisticated
equipment that can give a good assessment. You can also sit down with a
dietitian or personal trainer, who know how to make reliable estimates by
calculating your age, height, gender, and other measures. You'll also find
many free RMR calculators on the Internet. These are helpful, but not the
most accurate. If you chose this route, try several RMR calculators to get
a good approximation.
Eat a bigger breakfast
The idea here is to get your major calorie load in earlier in the day
rather than later," says Spaulding-Albright. "There's that old saying,
'Eat breakfast like a king, eat lunch like a prince, and eat dinner like a
pauper,'" she says. "That's actually a help for dieters." When you eat
more of your daily calories earlier, it gives your body a better chance of
burning those calories over the course of a day. Eating a really heavy
dinner is a bad idea, she says, because those calories have little chance
of being used.
Eat five small meals a day
Eat small, eat often. You may have heard this bit of advice before, but
it is one of the dieting maxims most easily brushed aside in the course of
a busy day, says Spaulding-Albright. "When weight loss plateaus, which is
not unusual when you've lost a significant amount of weight, this can
sometimes help kick in some additional weight loss," she says. "It makes
you feel more satisfied and helps deal with cravings."
Think positive thoughts
"Always go with the dieting positives, rather than the negatives," says
Fitzgerald. "You're actively adding good things to your life. You're
eating more good foods, which improves your overall health. You're getting
daily exercise, which improves your mood, burns calories, and makes you
stronger."
Source: WebMD
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael Lewis has been collecting articles and information on
Weight Loss and HGH (Human Growth Hormone) and related health
benefits. He has created and edits numerous web sites about this
subject. Michael is a staff writer for http://www.ageforce.com/
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