Losing Weight: Lift to Lose

For years, I viewed the "right" exercise for weight loss as anything aerobic. I tried classes (from Jazzercise to step class to spinning class). I used equipment (ranging from the Stairmaster to the treadmill to the recumbent bike). I jogged. I walked.

And while all this activity did help me to lose and/or maintain my weight (which varied, I confess, depending on whether it was winter or summer), it never got me that toned body that I dreamed of.

To compound my problems, as I got older, I discovered that eating the same amount of food didn't necessarily mean that I'd maintain my weight. Every year, I gained
a pound...or two....or three.

Then I noticed many of the sleek women in the health club that I joined were lifting weights. I'd always assumed that weight lifting was for men only, something that they did to gain weight and "bulk up."

Wrong.

The reality is that lean muscle will help your body burn calories much more efficiently and effectively as compared to body fat. When I asked those slim and trim women at the gym about their fitness programs, they all credited their weight lifting efforts (also referred to as "strength training" or "resistance training") as a key factor in losing weight and staying toned.

I invested in some training sessions with a certified personal fitness trainer to start my strengthening program. My trainer guided me through the use of different machines and small weights, encouraged me to lift more than I thought I could (a pleasant surprise!), and showed me ways to test my improvement.

Since that initial investment, I've continued on my own. Results: without changing my diet and/or increasing my aerobic activity, I have lost several pounds. I notice that my clothes fit better, too.

An excellent book on this subject is Strong Women Stay Slim. This guide supplies you with tools, including exercises, recipes, and tips that will help you start and continue a strength-training program of your own.

Authors Miriam E. Nelson, Ph.D. and Sarah Wernick, Ph.D. are experts in the areas of nutrition, diet, and exercise. Included in the book are motivational success stories from "real women" who have incorporated weight training in their lives with great results.

You'll also learn exactly how weight lifting can help you lose weight, and you'll understand just how replacing fat with muscle can increase your metabolism. Remember: by increasing your metabolism, you'll burn more calories even when you're sitting in a chair watching television.

So, whether you want to have personal instruction from a fitness trainer at a gym, study the diagrams and instructions in a book, or purchase a weight-lifting fitness video, make your new weight loss mantra: lift to lose!

by Joanne