Can’t lose stubborn weight no matter what you do?
Don’t give up! If you haven’t been able to lose weight, don’t assume you’re meant to be fat.
This is not how the human body was designed to be.
If you’re unable to lose weight, the first thing you should consider is the strong possibility that you are not exercising in a way that maximizes weight loss.
You may think you are, but you’re not. Slowly plodding along on a treadmill, for instance, won’t blast off fat. Mistakes with exercise will make it very hard to lose weight.
It’s easy to assume that all fat people eat so much, that despite exercise, the pounds won’t come off.
But I’ve had clients who struggled with fat and losing weight, who were working very hard on not overeating. In other words, diet isn’t the only factor here.
One of the biggest mistakes that overweight men and women commit at the gym is to spend hours and hours on the cardio machines and hardly venture near the weight lifting area.
Sure, they may spend a little time on the strength training machines, but the bulk of their time is spent pedaling or walking.
Cardio is important, but the exercise regimen must be geared towards weight loss if that’s your goal.
All the major muscles must be worked against resistance.
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This will fire up resting metabolic rate, because new lean muscle tissue requires energy for sustenance.
The body will take that energy from stored fat. I can’t begin to tell you how many of my overweight clients have lost belly blubber by doing lifting routines with their legs, back, chest and arms.
The new lean muscle took fat from their bellies for sustenance.
Another mistake: Not lifting heavy enough. I do see some overweight people using resistance, but very light resistance.
For beginners, this is recommended, to avoid injury. But I’ve seen obese people continue to use very light weights for eons. Same light weights, same fat body.
Fat people are often strong with certain strength training routines, because their bodies have had to adapt to supporting all the extra poundage.
So it’s really odd when a fat person is doing a chest press on a machine set at super light weight, when I know they can do so much more.
Or, they’re leg-pressing peanuts or hardly pulling anything down on the lat pull-over.
1) Spend more time strength training, targeting the force production muscles.
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2) Cardio can be done three times a week on non-weightlifting days.
3) Lift weights three times a week for 45 minutes, and focus on the legs (not the hip machines, but the leg press, squat variations, leg extension and leg curl machines).
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4) Use heavy resistance (unless you’re a beginner at weight lifting, but focus on building up to increasing the resistance).
5) Use the muscle confusion technique. The best way to “confuse” muscles is to lift heavier weights!
With these approaches the fat will come off like never before, but weightlifting is NOT a license to gorge, either.
Can’t lose weight? Follow the guidelines in this article and you will soon see a difference.
Lorra Garrick is a former personal trainer certified through the American Council on Exercise. At Bally Total Fitness she trained women and men of all ages for fat loss, muscle building, fitness and improved health.
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