Will I ever reach my goal weight?

“Why Can’t I Lose Weight?”

"I'm doing everything right and nothing's happening."

"I work so hard and can't lose a pound! What am I doing wrong?"

"Will I ever reach my goal weight?"

I seem to be asking these questions more and more after each workout. Just this past Thursday, I spoke with my trainer, Killer Kyle, about me not losing any weight and my frustrations. He claimed to be very happy with my success as I’ve gained strength, endurance, and flexibility all without moving the number on the scale. Also lots of people both inside and outside the gym have said they have noticed a difference, but in my body-dimorphic mind, I can’t see it, and therefore, get so annoyed with myself. When I decided to focus on my health and weight, I weighed 298 lbs. That was about 2 years after my car accident, subsequent surgeries, recoveries, and diagnosis of Fibromyalgia.  So far, I’ve lost a little more than 30 lbs. with about 76 or so lbs. to go.

This is the last full body shot I have. I was selected by Crowdtap to test Old Navy Active wear. These pieces I just so happen to have in my closet now :)

This may be the only time I will ever in a wedding vial, so I had to take a picture when I had the chance. 

I am happy to say that most people couldn’t guess my weight correctly if they tried (no one attempted to guess my “before” weight). It’s a pretty scary number to admit to anyone. If you do tell someone, they are most likely going to judge you whether good or bad. For example, I like to watch a lot of TLC and in the spring, they had a series on morbidly obese persons who underwent bariatric surgery to lose weight. Most of the patients weighed anywhere from 400 to 600 pounds, so they had a lot to lose. However, by most American standards of health and beauty (focused more on beauty), even if these patients were successful in losing 200, 300, 400 pounds, they would still be considered fat. Being medical researcher who specialized in endocrinology disorders, my colleagues and I have some heated discussions about BMI, weight and other measurements considering many elite athletes (football players,  basketball players,  Olympians, etc.) would be classified as obese given their height and weight on a BMI chart. On a personal note, my trainer calculated that my fit factor (a measurement of your fitness level and recovery time) when I started and it was a 4.5 out of 5. He is a professional track star and his fit factor isn’t that high. Moreover, I outweigh him by over 100 pounds and am about a head taller and therefore my BMI is like 40 or something close (I’m pretty sure that classifies me as super morbidly obese).

If you can relate to the questions posed in the beginning, I should start with the great news that we are all doing many things right by being active and hopefully, making better choices with regards to foods and fitness. Given my frustrations, I was given some advice and tips that I will share with you, and hopefully, start implementing them in my own life and workout regime! According to all the experts (including myself), both diet and exercise are the keys to weight loss success, so there's not a lot to change. However, if you've been trying to lose weight and are like me, the pounds aren't coming off as quickly as you would like, then these are some (so-called) simple changes you can make that will lead you closer to your goals.

Top 5 Advice/Tips from Trainers

1. Your exercise program isn't balanced or intense enough

Research shows that endurance activities (running, biking, etc. at a moderate pace) burn lots of calories during the workout and continues to do so 24 to 48 hours after the session has ended. Additionally, the only way to reshape your body is through strength and resistance training. Combining the all these 3 should result in optimal weight loss and body transformation! I can’t stand to run or bike, so swimming is my endurance activity. Any other suggestions?

2. Your resistance training isn't challenging enough

Women, don’t be afraid to do strength and resistance training. It is a medical fact that female hormones aren't structured to create big biceps.  The truth is, to ramp up your metabolism, you need to lift heavy weights.  I often argue with Killer Kyle about lifting too much weight, but experts suggest choosing weights that are at least 70% of your "maximum" (i.e. the maximum amount of weight you could lift one time). In my case, I started lifting 5 pound hand weights and 6 months later, I use 35 pound hand weights during my workouts. My arms have never looked better!

3. You're eating more than you think

You gotta love the irony of wanting to eat more the more you work out. Think athletes who train all day and night and eat thousands of calories.  This seems to be my problem as I’m always hungry. Recent studies from the University of Texas and Oklahoma University showed that 16 weeks of exercise alone produced a disappointing one-pound reduction in body fat! Why? Well, exercise ramps up our appetite and metabolism. We are also a reward driven culture and what’s better than a treat after a workout? To solve this problem, it has been recommended to me to eat at least four small meals each day. By fueling the body often with nutritious foods, you'll prevent unhealthy snacking or overeating. Also, slow down and don’t be distracted while you eat. If you are like me and can’t go cold turkey on your favorite treats, indulge once a week rather than every day.

4. You're drinking too much sugar

Ladies, don’t you just love it when a man tells you he just gave up cokes and lost 20 pounds?  Well, soda, juice and sugar-heavy sports drinks can spell weight-loss sabotage as you can consume a meal's worth of calories within minutes. Choose plain water during shorter workouts (less than 90 minutes), and save sports beverages for very hot days (today it was 105 degrees here) or during longer training sessions (longer than 90 minutes).  I happened to like Vitamin Water Zero, which is a good balance between the two.

5. You're eating too many processed carbs

There are very few carbs that I don’t like. I even have a workout top emblazoned with the words “Carb Addict”, so this subject is serious for me.  Now, while carbohydrates are necessary for filling up our glycogen stores, eating too many (and the wrong types) can lead to problems managing the hormone insulin. If your insulin is out of control, it's very difficult to lose fat.  Processed carbs, such as sweets and white breads, pastas and rice, typically lead to insulin surges and body-composition problems. On the other hand, unprocessed whole grains like quinoa, wild rice and barley are part of a healthy diet.  Yippee for whole grains!

These all seem very hard to do at one time, so if you have several habits that need changing, don't rush things along.  I like to think of changing a bad habit with a good habit. Choose one thing to improve and work on that for the next three to four weeks. Only once you've mastered one change, should you introduce another. Treat weight loss as a marathon, not a sprint—slow and steady wins the race. Go tortoises! At least we move faster than those on the couch!