Tuesday, July 1, 2008

This Past Month

I recently spoke about plateaus in weight loss. Right now I seem to be traversing quite a long plateau. For the past month I have not lost any weight at all. From day to day I will fluctuate up or down a pound or two but this is mostly water weight.

One possible source for this stagnation is exercise. Until recently I did not exercise much at all. Honestly, only about once a week or two did I even go out for a walk. I find the humidity and heat here in Houston to be absurd. But my brother-in-law has an exercise machine in the garage I decided to try.

The machine is a running machine where your feet never leave the pads so that there is no impact on your legs. I have been using this thing about three times a week for twenty minutes or so each time. It took some getting used to and I did go through some serious pains getting used to exercising (muscle soreness).

It was my original impression that if I increase the amount of calories I burned in a day and I ate roughly the same amount that the weight would just fall off. But this doesn't seem to be the case. Muscle weighs more than fat and I can imagine that I am building up my leg muscles, I can certainly feel it.

I appear to be a little slimmer compared to when I started, which is the goal. Somehow it just doesn't feel as satisfying as seeing the weight drop on the scale. This is the longest plateau I have dealt with, but I think the end is in sight. By consuming less than what I need to maintain this weight I will eventually lose again. More than likely my body needs to reach a new state of equilibrium now that I have changed my calorie expenditure.

Getting Started

Any time we wish to change our habits or behavior there is always a bit of rough spot when starting out. It always seems like there are so many things to do at once that we aren't sure where to start. Counting calories is the same way.

I urge you to start slowly. Begin by purchasing or finding a journal to track you calories in. Also, pick up a scale if you don't have one. Then just start recording the calories you consume.

As you go along swap out foods that aren't too healthy for healthier options. One or two items at a time is a good pace to make over your diet. If you change too much too quickly it will be much harder to maintain.

Your taste buds also need some time to adjust to different foods. As time goes by you may notice that the healthy foods that didn't taste so good at first are now tasting much better. So work in fruits and vegetables to replace snacks from the vending machine.

One week swap white bread for whole wheat bread. After a while you won't notice the difference between your healthier choice and the less healthy food of the past. It is these small changes that will make great big differences in the long run. A month or two into it you will be able to reach your calorie goals while eating healthier foods.