When you work out and the pounds still don't come off, it can be incredibly frustrating. But what you may not know is that certain habits and physical changes can undermine even the most scientifically proven weight loss strategies, especially after you reach age 40. When Australian and UK researchers reviewed nearly 100 studies on exercise and weight loss, they discovered why those extra pounds won't budge despite your best efforts. These four targeted fat-fighting tips are the key to turning the tide—so your body will finally shed the weight.
1. Make Some Extra Muscle
Simple Strategies
Lift weights three times a week
It's the fastest way to build muscle and get results when the scale is stuck. "Research shows that regular strength-training can increase your resting metabolic rate by up to 8 percent," says Wayne Westcott, Ph.D., fitness researcher in Quincy, Massachusetts, and author of Get Stronger, Feel Younger. In an eight-week study, women and men who did only cardio exercise lost 4 pounds but gained no muscle, while those who did half the amount of cardio and an equal amount of strength-training shed 10 pounds of fat and added 2 pounds of muscle.
Rest lessIf you already strength-train, shorten the time you linger between sets. "Taking a brief, 20-second break after each set burns extra calories and accelerates metabolism more than waiting the standard 60 to 90 seconds, studies show," says Westcott.
Do double-duty movesTrade exercises that isolate a single muscle, such as biceps curls, for multijoint, multimuscle moves like chest presses and squats. "The more muscles you engage at once, the more calories you'll burn," he says.
Break up your mealsIf you're losing weight (and therefore muscle) by cutting calories, eating five small meals instead of three large ones helps keep metabolism high. Spreading calories throughout the day "keeps blood sugar levels even and controls the release of insulin that can cause your body to store more calories as fat," says Leslie Bonci, RD, MPH, director of sports medicine nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. "And every time you eat, your metabolism speeds up to digest the food."
Lift weights three times a week
It's the fastest way to build muscle and get results when the scale is stuck. "Research shows that regular strength-training can increase your resting metabolic rate by up to 8 percent," says Wayne Westcott, Ph.D., fitness researcher in Quincy, Massachusetts, and author of Get Stronger, Feel Younger. In an eight-week study, women and men who did only cardio exercise lost 4 pounds but gained no muscle, while those who did half the amount of cardio and an equal amount of strength-training shed 10 pounds of fat and added 2 pounds of muscle.
Rest lessIf you already strength-train, shorten the time you linger between sets. "Taking a brief, 20-second break after each set burns extra calories and accelerates metabolism more than waiting the standard 60 to 90 seconds, studies show," says Westcott.
Do double-duty movesTrade exercises that isolate a single muscle, such as biceps curls, for multijoint, multimuscle moves like chest presses and squats. "The more muscles you engage at once, the more calories you'll burn," he says.
Break up your mealsIf you're losing weight (and therefore muscle) by cutting calories, eating five small meals instead of three large ones helps keep metabolism high. Spreading calories throughout the day "keeps blood sugar levels even and controls the release of insulin that can cause your body to store more calories as fat," says Leslie Bonci, RD, MPH, director of sports medicine nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. "And every time you eat, your metabolism speeds up to digest the food."
2. Outsmart a Plateau
It's a common scenario: The first 10 or 20 pounds come off easily, but then the scale won't budge. Plateaus can happen in as little as 3 weeks, according to Drexel University researchers. As you drop weight, your body doesn't have to work as hard simply because there's less of you to move around, says Michele Kettles, MD, medical director of the Cooper Clinic in Dallas. That means your workouts produce a smaller calorie burn. For example, if you weigh 180 pounds and lose 35, you'll melt about 100 fewer calories in an hour-long cardio class—which can slow down further weight loss. And as you get older, injuries or arthritis can make it difficult to do vigorous, high-impact activities that help compensate for this calorie deficit.
Simple Strategies
Get your heart rate upWatching TV or reading while you exercise can lower your workout intensity—and your calorie burn. Instead, pay attention to your pulse, suggests Kettles. For best results, stay between 60 to 80 percent of your maximum heart rate. To estimate your MHR, subtract your age from 220. Then multiply your MHR by 0.6 for the lower end of your target heart rate zone and by 0.8 for the upper end. For example, if you're 40, aim for 108 to 144 beats per minute. (For easier tracking, invest in a heart rate monitor.)
DiversifyThe more comfortable you become with a routine, exercise class, or fitness DVD, the less effective it gets. To continue to lose weight, you need to challenge your body in new ways. "Even replacing one exercise can create enough of a surprise to keep results coming," says Kettles. Try this: The first week of every month, do a new upper-body exercise; the second week, a new lower-body one; the third, a new abs move; and the fourth, a different type of cardio (cycling instead of walking, for example).
Simple Strategies
Get your heart rate upWatching TV or reading while you exercise can lower your workout intensity—and your calorie burn. Instead, pay attention to your pulse, suggests Kettles. For best results, stay between 60 to 80 percent of your maximum heart rate. To estimate your MHR, subtract your age from 220. Then multiply your MHR by 0.6 for the lower end of your target heart rate zone and by 0.8 for the upper end. For example, if you're 40, aim for 108 to 144 beats per minute. (For easier tracking, invest in a heart rate monitor.)
DiversifyThe more comfortable you become with a routine, exercise class, or fitness DVD, the less effective it gets. To continue to lose weight, you need to challenge your body in new ways. "Even replacing one exercise can create enough of a surprise to keep results coming," says Kettles. Try this: The first week of every month, do a new upper-body exercise; the second week, a new lower-body one; the third, a new abs move; and the fourth, a different type of cardio (cycling instead of walking, for example).
3. Be a Stealth Calorie Burner
It may happen subconsciously, but studies show that some people move less after they begin an exercise regimen. When women and men (average age 59), started to work out twice a week, their everyday activity decreased by 22 percent, according to research from the Netherlands. The reason for the slowdown, experts speculate, may be postworkout fatigue or the perception that if you exercise, you can afford to skimp on the small stuff. Wrong! Little activities such as standing instead of sitting, fidgeting, and walking more throughout the day can add up to an extra 350 calories burned per day, according to Mayo Clinic studies. Other research shows that a decrease in these everyday actions may shut down an enzyme that controls fat metabolism, making weight loss tougher. And even daily half-hour to hour-long workouts aren't enough to turn it back on.
Simple StrategiesTrack nonexercise activityRecord your daily step counts with a pedometer on a couple of days when you don't work out. Then calculate your average (add up your daily totals and divide by the number of days tracked). If you don't maintain at least this level of activity every day, your fat-burning ability will decline. For instance, if you normally log 5,000 steps a day but skip half of them on days you work out, it could slow weight loss by up to 50 percent—even though you're exercising.
Post remindersOne study showed that signs encouraging people to take the stairs increased usage by 200 percent. To motivate yourself, stick notes on your bathroom mirror, microwave, TV remote, steering wheel, and computer that simply say: Move more!
Set up weekly physical outingsYou'll be less likely to blow it off if you make a commitment to someone else. Plan a hike or bike ride with your family, help clean out a friend's garage, or volunteer to walk your neighbor's dog.
Simple StrategiesTrack nonexercise activityRecord your daily step counts with a pedometer on a couple of days when you don't work out. Then calculate your average (add up your daily totals and divide by the number of days tracked). If you don't maintain at least this level of activity every day, your fat-burning ability will decline. For instance, if you normally log 5,000 steps a day but skip half of them on days you work out, it could slow weight loss by up to 50 percent—even though you're exercising.
Post remindersOne study showed that signs encouraging people to take the stairs increased usage by 200 percent. To motivate yourself, stick notes on your bathroom mirror, microwave, TV remote, steering wheel, and computer that simply say: Move more!
Set up weekly physical outingsYou'll be less likely to blow it off if you make a commitment to someone else. Plan a hike or bike ride with your family, help clean out a friend's garage, or volunteer to walk your neighbor's dog.
4. Halt Hunger Hormones
When 35 overweight women and men started exercising, researchers found that some of them compensated for their workouts by eating as much as 270 extra calories a day—negating more than half of the calories they burned, according to a study published in the International Journal of Obesity. "Some research shows that exercising regularly can trigger the release of ghrelin, an appetite-stimulating hormone meant to protect the body from losing weight too quickly," says Bonci. To make matters worse, appetite also appears to increase as you approach menopause because of declining estrogen levels, according to animal studies.
Simple Strategies
Snack before you sweat"Exercising on an empty stomach lowers blood sugar, which can increase your appetite and set you up to overeat afterward," says Bonci. To ward off post-exercise hunger, have a light (about 100 calories), carbohydrate-rich snack, such as 4 oz. of yogurt or a banana, 20 to 30 minutes before you work out.
Write before you eatKeeping a food diary is a proven weight loss tool, but don't wait until after your meal. "When my clients record what they're going to eat, it puts their dietary habits on pause long enough to decide if their food choices are really worth it," says Bonci. Time your meals If possible, schedule your workouts before a meal. In studies where meals were served 15 to 30 minutes after exercise, participants ate less than those who had to wait an hour or more to eat.
Sip oftenPeople who drink water regularly eat nearly 200 fewer calories daily than those who only consume tea, coffee, or soda, reports a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study. Bonus: Make it ice-cold water. German researchers found that drinking 6 cups of cold water a day raised metabolism by about 50 calories daily—possibly because of the work it takes to warm the fluid up to body temperature. And every little bit helps!
Simple Strategies
Snack before you sweat"Exercising on an empty stomach lowers blood sugar, which can increase your appetite and set you up to overeat afterward," says Bonci. To ward off post-exercise hunger, have a light (about 100 calories), carbohydrate-rich snack, such as 4 oz. of yogurt or a banana, 20 to 30 minutes before you work out.
Write before you eatKeeping a food diary is a proven weight loss tool, but don't wait until after your meal. "When my clients record what they're going to eat, it puts their dietary habits on pause long enough to decide if their food choices are really worth it," says Bonci. Time your meals If possible, schedule your workouts before a meal. In studies where meals were served 15 to 30 minutes after exercise, participants ate less than those who had to wait an hour or more to eat.
Sip oftenPeople who drink water regularly eat nearly 200 fewer calories daily than those who only consume tea, coffee, or soda, reports a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study. Bonus: Make it ice-cold water. German researchers found that drinking 6 cups of cold water a day raised metabolism by about 50 calories daily—possibly because of the work it takes to warm the fluid up to body temperature. And every little bit helps!
Your Fat-burning Game Plan
Every day:
- Wear a pedometer.
- Eat five mini-meals (300 calories each).
- Log your food choices before you eat.
- Drink at least six 8-ounce glasses of cold water.
Three times a week:
- Lift weights, doing multi-muscle moves such as chest presses. (For free routines, go to prevention.com/dumbbellworkout.)
- Rest no more than 20 seconds between sets while strength-training.
Whenever you exercise:
- Snack before your workout (see Step 4 for suggestions).
- Schedule exercise before a meal so you eat within a half hour of finishing your workout. Track your heart rate during cardio.
Weekly:
- Change one move in your workout routine every Monday. For example, swap push-ups for chest presses one week, lunges for squats the next, and so on.
- Plan an active outing such as hiking.
Comments:
Shorter more intense workouts force the body to burn calories for an accelerated rate. If you can manage 2 or 3 bursts of exercise in a day that are well spaced apart - so you get the highest calorie burn and plenty of rest between workouts you can help break a plateau. (About 10 minutes would be quite effective for each short workout because the rate at which you work is so much beyond what you would normally exert yourself. Such intensity requires longer resting periods.)
You can increase muscle development by training for it. Heavy lifting and lowering very slowly can increase muscle more than just doing more reps. To an extent muscle is very good at absorbing glucose. The more muscle you have the more glucose you can absorb. The less excess glucose in the the blood the less that can be converted into fat. (You will find that muscle, after a certain point, is very difficult to build more of. For women the natural limit is usually much lower. If you get past that point then it becomes easy to lose that excess muscle. We do not seem to be genetically to be keep building muscle. So unfortunately, you will reach a natural plateau with muscle building).
A diet that is high in nutrients is likely to be the best way to provide your body with what it requires to burn calories fast. For instance if a diet is short of the minerals to efficiently liberate the calories from food the likelihood is it becomes much easier to store fat than burn it.
Breaking a plateau with fat loss requires a combination of factors. Some are more relevant to you. Start somewhere and do the highest priority things first if it is suitable for you.
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