weightloss wednesdays: the trick to losing weight

*i had this scheduled and incorrectly switched this with another post- sorry!* have you ever tried a fad diet? atkins, detox drinks, or hcg? gosh how i hate them. i've had several people, strangers, families and friends, who have tried to reason with me why their fad diet will be the one that gets them skinny. and you know what? they do. temporarily. of course starving yourself will make you lose weight- but it's not sustainable. what kind of person wants to give up potatoes for life? po-tat-toes people!! whenever they go on and on about how this is actually the secret to weightloss and they're so glad dr. phil had the courage to reveal the secret to the stars- i just sit there and smile, nod occasionally and change subjects. people are going to do what they want to do- and if the have faith in it, they're gonna do it- until it fails them.

so i'm gonna tell you the secret to weight loss- the thing people never tell you [but chris powell- chris powell would tell you. that man is amazing].

what you eat < physical output

basically, exercise or expel more calories then you eat. or eat less and exercise more. you will lose weight if you have a caloric deficit, from less calories or more exercise. one pound of at is 3500 calories. so to say 'i just lost one pound this week' is pretty amazing! i have a good friend or family or acquaintance or whatever who was so amazing and lots lots of weight- just by changing her eating habits. she looked great! i told her she now needed to incorporate exercise into that and she was flabbergasted. she couldn't understand why, especially when limiting her food did so well. well she gained it back. and still has that weight around her hips. why did i tell her to exercise? because changing your diet drastically is not sustainable- at least for most people. if you can change your routine to eating so many points a day or so many kcals, you can also add some exercise to that. and for some, exercise is the easy part [me]- eating isn't. that's my weakness.

the CDC & AHA recommend at LEAST 30 minutes of moderate exercise a DAY to keep your HEART and body healthy. notice, no one said to lose weight. to lose weight, 60 minutes is recommend. notice i didn't say anything about resistance training? those are recommended 2 or more days a week [for all muscle groups]. that's to keep your bones and muscles strong enough to keep carting you and your happy meals around for the next 30-odd years.

so what is moderate exercise? working hard enough where you can talk but not sing. two more of my favorite tips in regards to diets & exercise- people who know anything about chemistry and the kreb's cycle know that FAT BURNS IN A CARBOHYDRATE FLAME. meaning, in order to burn fat, you have to have carbs [hence my hatred of atkins]. so cutting all carbs is a terrible idea to lose weight. and while we're talking about that kreb's cycle, you'd also know that in order to burn fat, you need oxygen. so sprinting or high intensity exercise is great and has a purpose, the better choice of exercises for fat burning are long, more moderate aerobic activities. so a jog, not a sprint. it's about quantity of time, not intensity.

so make a goal [remember goals from 2 weeks ago?] to park at the back of the parking lot, lift those groceries up and down a few times before throwing them on the counter, load up on veggies not potatoes at dinner, or vow to eat dessert just one night this week.

my 2 mile run, spark people's free app- keeps track of your kcals and exercise. and you can't tell but this is a pic of my shadow in the moonlight. 

oh and don't give up. remember, it's a lifestyle change- not a diet. here's my update: weight still the same- i've kinda lost steam this week for working out in the morning but i've gotten some runs in. i went 2 miles one night [running with landon's stroller] and then went a full mile without stopping [a feat for me! again with the stroller- i think an 11 min mile]. i've also been trying spark people's free app- it's not too bad!