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6 Workout Mistakes that Slow Down ResultsYou’re not losing weight. Is it your workout’s fault?

You huff and puff through cardio sessions, but that extra layer of flab just won’t budge. Surprise: Your workout might be to blame. We talked to trainers and exercise physiologists across the country and discovered six surprising ways that well-intentioned fitness routines can put the brakes on weight-loss goals. “Many women assume that 30 minutes of exercise will change their bodies, but it’s not automatic,” says Geralyn Coopersmith, the senior national manager of Equinox Fitness Training Research in New York City. “If you’re focused and smart about how you use that half hour, you will be amazed by your results.” Here is what to do—and not to do—to rev your metabolism and slim down for good.

Don’t: Sacrifice good form for speed

Do: Slow down and stand tall

The results: Burn 50 extra calories per sessionHigh-intensity exercise may burn loads of calories, but not if you’re hanging on to the handrails for dear life. It is important to focus on your form, even if that means lowering the intensity. “You recruit fewer muscles and burn fewer calories when you’re slouched over,” says Coopersmith. Same goes for strength-training, says James Levine, Ph.D., a scientist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., whose research has found that standing while lifting weights boosts calorie burn by about 50 calories per half hour. Best of all, one study shows that good posture allows you to take in more oxygen so your workout feels easier, even while you’re blasting more calories. Don’t: Exercise while parched

Do: Sip 15 ounces of water two hours before working out

The results: More energy to lift weights and firm up fasterExperts are constantly back and forth on the merits of the eight-glasses-a-day guideline. However, when it comes to working out, the importance of drinking up is clear. “Nearly every cell in the body is composed of water—without it, they don’t function efficiently during exercise,” says Dan Judelson, Ph.D., an assistant professor of kinesiology at California State University in Fullerton. Translation: You’ll fatigue faster and your workout will feel tougher than it should. In recent studies, he discovered that exercisers who were dehydrated completed three to five fewer reps per set while strength-training. Part of the problem is that dehydration decreases the body’s levels of anabolic hormone that are necessary for strong muscles. On workout days, drink an ounce of water for every 10 pounds of body weight (i.e., 15 ounces if you weigh 150) one to two hours prior to exercise. Then keep sipping during and after your session to replenish what you lose through sweat.

Don’t: Read a novel on the treadmill

Do: Listen to music

The results: Burn 15 percent more calories“If flipping through a magazine keeps you motivated, by all means do it,” says Coopersmith. “But reading while exercising is so distracting that you’re probably working at an intensity too low to burn a significant number of calories.” Magazines and books are just the tip of the iceberg—one in 10 of us reads texts or e-mail on a cell phone during workouts, reports a new survey by Standard Life, a health insurance company. Instead, turn on some tunes to increase the duration and intensity of your cardio session. Researchers at Brunel University in London discovered that runners who listened to motivational rock or pop music (think Queen or Madonna) exercised up to 15 percent longer—and felt better doing it. You don’t have to nix TV shows, cell phones, books, and magazines during every workout—just leave them behind a couple of times a week so you can focus on intensity.

Don’t: Run if you hate it

Do: Pick a cardio routine that’s fun

The results: Lose 4 pounds a yearNo matter how many calories an activity promises to burn, if you don’t enjoy it, you’ll be less likely to do it and won’t reap the benefits. Think of it this way: If you burn 300 calories every time you exercise, but you dread it so much that you skip one session a week, it adds up to 1,200 calories a month—or more than 4 pounds a year. Instead, find a workout you want to do, rather than one you feel like you have to do. When University of Nebraska-Omaha researchers polled women who’d been exercising regularly for longer than a year, they found that one of the top predictors of adherence was choosing enjoyable activities. Study author Jennifer Huberty, Ph.D., also suggests experimenting with ways to make exercise more appealing. For example, if walking is your workout of choice, try recruiting a friend to join you.

Don’t: Put all your time into cardio

Do: Swap aerobic exercise for weights three times a week

The results: Lose up to 12.5 pounds in a yearOver 80 percent of women forgo strength-training, says the latest survey by the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association. If you’re one of them, it may be the number-one reason your scale is stuck. You’ve probably heard that strength-training can boost metabolism, but here’s something you may not know: People who pair aerobic and resistance training eat less—517 fewer calories a day—than those who do only cardio, reports a new study in the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine. The combo workouts may increase satiety hormones more and boost the body’s ability to break down food and stabilize blood sugar, so you feel full longer, says study author Brandon S. Shaw, Ph.D.

Don’t: Trust gym-machine calorie-burn estimates

Do: Track your burn with a heart rate monitor

The results: Lose 3 pounds this yearOh, how sweet it would be if 20 minutes on a cardio machine really did blast 400 calories. But like most things in life that sound too good to be true, those digital displays broadcasting mega calorie burn are often bogus. Recent research presented at the National Strength and Conditioning Conference found that elliptical trainers over-estimate calorie burn by an average of 30 percent. If you’re trying to create a calorie deficit to lose weight, those thought-you-burned-’em calories can add up over time and thwart your success. To ensure you’re burning the number of calories you want, consider investing in a heart rate monitor. We love the FT40 by Polar because it’s a cinch to set up and use ($180; polarusa.com). Input some basic info (weight, height, age, activity level, and so on) and the gadget will accurately track your heart rate to compute the number of calories you torched. Or, for a free check of your cardio machine’s readout, cross-reference your calorie burn by logging your session at prevention.com/fitnesstracker.   By Liz Plosser, Prevention 

I read this article today and thought it may help some people out, even with their calorie counts.

 Type 2 diabetes is one of the most common “silent” cardiovascular diseases: More than 24 million Americans are affected by it. It’s called a silent disease because you can live with it for years before you begin to experience problems. It can have a number of dangerous complications, including heart and kidney failure, atherosclerosis, blindness and problems with your feet, hands and extremities that can lead to amputation.

Research has shown that although there isn’t any way to “cure” or “reverse” diabetes, there are a number of ways to mitigate its symptoms so that you can lead a normal, healthy life. Most of these steps include things that are already considered ways to prevent diabetes.

Just as everyone should be initially screened for diabetes (especially if you have a family history of the disease), you should determine with the help of your physician or health care provider your relative risk. A simple blood test will confirm whether or not you have diabetes and how far it’s advanced. There are two tests that are frequently administered: the “impaired glucose tolerance” (IGT) and “impaired fasting glucose” (IFG) tests.

Once you’ve determined how serious your diabetes is, your physician will help you to develop a plan for reducing its severity. For some, significant improvement is as simple as watching what you eat and getting more exercise. Almost all diabetics are told that losing weight is the easiest and most cost-effective way to reduce the severity of their diabetes.

The American College of Sports Medicine’s position statement on exercise indicates that all adults (whether they have diabetes or not) should get at least 20 minutes of daily aerobic exercise within their target heart rate range. The 20 minutes can be done either in one bout or broken up into several, shorter periods. If obesity is complicating your diabetes, chances are you’ll need to exercise more than 20 minutes a day. Count on adding physical activity to your DAILY schedule. Aerobic exercise has been proven to not only reduce your percentage of body fat, but it will also keep your insulin receptors from becoming so resistant to insulin, a primary problem with diabetes. Exercise will also help to raise your HDL cholesterol and lower your LDL cholesterol to mitigate your risk for heart disease.

In addition to regular exercise, making sound changes to your diet will help reverse the severity of your diabetes. The first step is to limit the total number of calories you consume on a daily basis. The average adult male should consume between 2400 and 2600 calories a day. Adult women should consume between 2000 and 2200 calories a day. If your goal is to lose weight, these will be conservative estimates, and you should try to consume even fewer calories. Talk to your health care provider about a calorie goal that is healthy for your situation.

Other changes you can make to reverse the severity of your diabetes are to include more fresh fruit and vegetables in your diet. Replace fast and processed food with whole grains, fish and lean meats. The goal should be to reduce your total dietary intake of fat to less than 20 percent. Visit the American Diabetes Association (www.diabetes.org) for information about how to use the “Glycemic index” and the revised “food pyramid” to manage your diabetes.

If you’ve been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, it’s not all bad news. By working with your health care professionals and making positive changes to your activity and diet regimens, you should be able to live a happy, symptom-free life.

 So if you go, based on the above calorie count where the ‘average’ woman needs 2000-2200 calories a day..  to lose weight if you drop your calories any lower than 1200, you definitely are running the risk of putting your body into starvation mode. 

I hope this article was helpful for some of you!!  Have a great Wednesday!

So last week I had a 2 pound gain.  Not sure where it came from, but oh welll, time to move on, right?  I think it was just water, but who knows.  Anyway, so I’ve admitted to my tribe my personal problem with logging my food.  Sorry, just not quite ready to share it with everyone yet..  these ladies know me inside and out, backwards and forwards, so it only felt right telling them…  which to be perfectly honest, was extremely hard to admit to…

 So anyway, this week they are watching me very closely and are there with me to help me push my way thru my personal obsticle.  Here’s hoping it works, and that I can do what I need to.

I want those 2 pounds gone, plus 1 extra just so I can finally make it into onederland.  I’m sick of these 200’s!  I got way down to 194 while I was breast feeding, then as soon as I stopped I forgot to change my eating back..  and shot all the way back to 204..  so since January, I’ve only managed to lose 2 pounds.  It’s pretty annoying..  but the good thing is I know I need to push myself harder and I need to lean very, very heavily on my tribe to help me thru my problem. 

So here’s hoping that every single Wildcat member out there will lose at LEAST 2 lbs this week, just so we can all feel better for even a day!

Love you all, and I’m sure it won’t be long before I’m able to reveal my personal issue to you all.  (((((((((Hugs to all)))))))))

 Yeah!!  I got it to work!!  So here she is..   my little Missy Moo!!   Mikayla!!  She is now 5 1/2 months old!  Hope the pictures make you smile!   Have a great Sunday evening and Monday morning!!

I’ve noticed a lot of these virtual pictures and spotted the link…  soo I thought I’d give it a try…

This is the virtual me now..  200 lbs

and the virtual me at maybe goal of 130lbs

If I look anthing like this picture at 130, I will be happy!  This looks like a very good, healthy weight.

Well I was going to try and put some pictures of Mikayla in here, but it’s not letting me paste them in.  I got the virtual model pictures to copy and paste no problem, but can’t seem to get pictures of Mikayla… andI don’t know why!  It’s really pissing me off!!   Can anyone help me figure it out?  If I click on the insert image icon, it asks for a URL, but they aren’t on a URL and I don’t want it to be.  If I figure it out I will come backand post them in.

Everyone see Nancy’s blog about diet pills?  If not take a look:  http://khmerbeauty.buddyslim.com/2009/03/09/diet-pills-diet-pills-why-is-it-on-buddyslim-say-no-to-pills/

 Nancy is right on the mark here as everyone seems to agree, yet there is a forum thread dedicated to diet pills What??!?!?   We definitely don’t need anyone on here pushing their lose weight quick schemes, we are all here for real, to really lose weight the healthy way, permanently.  We are here to support each other and get support.  Have I tried diet pills?  You bet!  Did they work?  Nope.  They only made me very sick.  Would I recommend any?  Hell no!!!  So basically, ask for help, or support but please don’t use any of those diet pills!!

 On another note…

I’ve been seeing these lack of motivation posts and heard of some people leaving the site because they need to re-group.  I’m with others here..  there is no way on Earth I could do this without all of you!  No way at all!  If I’m feeling like blowing off workouts or diving into a Sticky Chewy Chocolate Sundae from Swenson’s then I come on here and am reminded I’m doing this for me, to be healthy and to change my life.  So this morning I didn’t get my workout on..  why?  The baby’s has bad timing.  Luckily I don’t let that stop me all the time..  just today I was exhausted.   At work today they sent an email around about starting up a cardio kickboxing class..  but offered it at a time I couldn’t go.  One of my ladies turned to me and said, “Hey, if we get one in the mornings on Tuesday and Thursdays, would you go?”  My answer?  Hell ya!!  So she emailed HR and we’re waiting to hear back!  When I’ve signed up and commited to a class, I go.  So this would be a good thing, 5 days of workouts in a row each and every week!!  AWESOME!!  Let’s hope they can do it!!    I think that was what was on my mind…  if I realize I forgot something I’ll come back and edit this. 

Thanks everyone!!