Getting Stuck?

A friend recently commented that she thought she was stuck--hadn't lost enough weight quickly enough.

She'd lost 15 pounds in three months. That's a lot! Congratulate yourself! Get a calorie-free treat, like a pedicure!

She exercises for an hour or more every day and eats well.

The only suggestions I had were these.

1. Recover. Some say that not recovering from exercise isn't healthy. Try taking a day off every other or every third day. In general, I only exercise every other day.

2. Count your calories. Even just estimate. Get a book. Or go online. Just keep a log of what you eat with approximate quantities, then later look up the calories--maybe also the protein and fat.

The best way to know what's going on is to know how many calories you eat and how much exercise you do. At any given ratio, your weight will tend towards one number--over the long-term.

Once you get an average of what you eat, you can decide if you need to trim it down by reducing fat or portion size--the best way, I think. I'm against excessive use of artificial sweeteners, protein bars and other 'fake foods,' but I don't believe in being dogmatic.

3. Mix it up. Break up your exercise routine with strength training. Lift some weights. Do pushups or situps. Work on the major muscle groups. By an exercise book or magazine with a program you can try out.

Especially helpful, I've found, is to alternate between longer, lower-intensity workouts and shorter, higher-intensity workouts. I do things in halves or doubles: 60 minutes at a lower heart rate, then 30 minutes at a higher one; or 45 minutes at one heart rate, and 1 1/2 hours at a much lower one.

4. Get a scale that measures fat. You may well be losing fat but gaining muscle and thus 'weighing' the same amount but burning lots of fat. Often in the first six months of diet and exercise, my weight stayed the same, but my percentage of body fat dropped. Now those scales aren't magic. They'll move around from day to day. But over the long haul, they do show you something.

5. Dare I say it? Have patience. Forgive yourself for not becoming perfect overnight. Enjoy your progress. Feel free to re-evaluate what your goals are.

--E. R. O'Neill