1)How Much You Weigh

2)Afraid To Lift Weights (Pink and Purple Dumbbells and tins of peas DO NOT Count)

3)Obsession with counting calories and WEIGHING Your Food

Now I understand that bodyfat percentages, lean body mass and all these terms are confusing but and scales weight is just a number and easy to follow and monitor but it is killing a lot of women's progress. Women are literally giving up their new athletic lifestyle after a mere 2 or 3 weeks because they may not have lost the desired amount of 'weight'. It also baffles me that when asked 'well, how do you feel?' they respond with an enthusiastic 'I feel great and my clothes all fit better'.

Whats the problem?

Case Sudy:

'Susan has been leading an inactive lifestyle for years, finds it hard to get out of bed, constantly suffers from lethargy and lacks motivation. After years of procrastinating she decides to take up a gym membership and gets a genuine, reputable trainer to set out a programme. The first week she lost 2 pounds, second week she lost 1.5 pounds and the third week she 'only' lost a pound and is ready to give up. She feels great, she is energetic has new-found enthusiasm for life and because she 'only' lost a pound she is ready to give up'.

There are a few things that need to be addressed here. 1-2 pounds of fat loss a week is GREAT! Any more than that and you can be sure its not all fat! if you were losing it faster you can be sure that most of it is broken down muscle tissue and water loss. 1-2 pounds per week. . that's over 8000kcals! That's amazing!

She feels great and her clothes fit her better. . and in time she will notice big changes in the mirror too. Truth is, you aren't going to have a scales with you on the beach, by the pool or in the night club when you are looking your best. The mentality that the weighing scales are the only indicator of fat loss or looking better has to change. You don't look better you 'weigh better' now doesn't that sound silly? If you look and feel better isn't it time the scales was put away? I work with boxers and Tae-Kwon-Do athletes who have to monitor their weight constantly, it is part of the sport they are in! You don't have to monitor your weight for anybody, so don't!

Lifting weights has gotten bad press lately. Bodybuilders lift weights and to most people the look of a female bodybuilder may not be desirable, power lifters lift weights and the majority of them are fat and 'appear' out of shape, spandex wearing lifters in the Olympics crushing themselves under enormous amounts of weight. I can see where the bad press comes from but you aren't any of the above and you will not be lifting like they do! To tell the truth, resistance training/training with weights is the most effective tool for fat loss in any trainee's repertoire. The metabolic effect is just far greater than any amounts of 'cardio' and the aesthetic effects are astounding too. Too much aerobic work will result in fat loss over time that is true. But the amount of time, boredom and dedication involved far outweighs the benefits. You are at risk of losing fat and muscle and the result is you are a smaller 'untoned' version of yourself and look exactly the same. Resistance exercise will serve to help you burn fat AND add small amounts of muscle. . i.e. 'tone up'. Because that's all toning up is! Fat loss and simultaneous muscle gain. There is no such thing as the magical toning fairies that go around turning fat into muscle. It just doesn't happen. You have to LOSE FAT and GAIN muscle and that's what tone is. Now if you want to lose 'weight' and look the same forever continue doing what you are doing now. If you want to change your body image and make real progress you have to lift it if you want to shift it!

There has been a massive obsession with calorie counting in recent years and for a while there I was even believing it! Truth is; it is very rare that someone gains fat eating too much of a good thing (except nuts and oils). Eating moderate amounts of nutrient rich food will fill you a lot more than eating excessive amounts of nutrient poor foods. Counting calories, weighing food and all in between can be completely avoided and an adequate level of satiety can be reached without stuffing yourself with nutrient poor foods. It is as simple as eating nutrient rich, natural, organic whole food types and the amount you consume will look after itself.

Copyright (c) 2009 Athleticbodysystem