Your Perfect Weight Week 2-5

Exercise goal: Walk five days, 11/2 miles per day

Now that you've completed a full week of your 52-week plan, it's time to weigh in! If you've started trimming fat from your diet and you exercised four or more days last week, then you're probably down by a couple of pounds. Good for you! Record that number at the end of this section, as you will once a week from now on.

Chances are you're feeling pretty great about yourself and the way you're looking and feeling, and rightfully so--you're forming wonderful new habits that will last for life. Keep in mind that the first week of any new weight-loss program usually produces top-notch results, especially if you start out with a good deal of weight to lose.

In future weeks, your weight loss will likely taper off to a pound or so a week. And some weeks, you won't lose anything and might even gain half a pound or so. If that happens, don't be alarmed--it's all perfectly normal.

What you want is a nice, slow and steady, permanent weight loss. Keep eating that healthy breakfast and stick to low-fat, fiber-packed foods and you'll do fine.

Walking for Calorie Burn and Fitness

On Day 2, you'll recall, we talked about the weight-loss value of exercise in general and walking in particular. And for the past seven days you've been given a walking goal to aim for, which started off very slowly and easily. In fact, you may even feel as though you haven't been getting much exercise at all. Over the next year, you'll be building on your weekly walking success and working your way up to a substantial level of fitness that will do your ever-slimming body a world of good.

"Walking is a great exercise," says Art Mollen, D.O., medical director of the Southwest Health Institute in Phoenix, Arizona. "It works for most people and burns as many calories as jogging. If you walk at a moderate pace, seven days a week, you'll lose weight."

Yes, daily activity is what the experts agree is ideal for weight loss and maintenance. You want to get to the point where exercise is as much a part of your life as brushing your teeth or reading the morning paper. However, as you'll notice, this week's recommendation from walking guru Casey Meyers is to do five days, 11/2 miles per day.

He wants you to start out slow and easy, gradually building you up to the ultimate goal of three miles a day, six or seven days a week, taking only 15 minutes to walk each mile, which is where you could well be by Week 41 of this program.

How was this program devised? "Most busy people can manage some exercise four days a week," says Meyers. "Gradually we increase the number of days of exercise by an additional day a week, till we get to six or seven. Then we fold in the distance, an extra half mile per week, until we're up to three miles each day. I like to use a base of at least a three-mile walk. Generally, you burn about 100 calories per mile, so to get a 300-calorie burn, that's a good distance to anchor the program on.

"Then you want to work on intensity," Meyers adds. "If you start off, say, doing a 20-minute mile--three miles in an hour, which is very conservative--you should slowly start to knock a minute per week off your walking time until you get down to a 15-minute mile, or three miles in 45 minutes. That's what the President's Council on Physical Fitness has determined will give you a good, moderate level of fitness and increase calorie burn."

It can't be emphasized enough that if at any point this walking program feels like it's too intense for you, simply adapt it to your own level of fitness. Add on time, distance and intensity as it feels right for your own body. If it takes longer for you to reach the goals laid out in this program, that's okay. The idea is to move your body regularly, day after day, and enjoy the changes that are taking place in your body.

Commit Yourself to Action

One way to ensure your commitment to your new exercise program is to sign an exercise contract with yourself. "We've used contracts in many different programs, from weight loss to cardiac rehabilitation," says Susan B. Johnson, Ed.D., director of continuing education at the Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research in Dallas. "And we find they really help people focus on what they want and help them stick with it."

Your contract should state that you'll attempt to reach the weekly walking goals given at the beginning of each week in your 52-week plan. (Or, if you prefer, substitute another type of exercise. But be sure to pace yourself similarly.)

You should also indicate in your contract the consequences of meeting, or not meeting, your goals. If you succeed, you might promise yourself a trip to the movies, or some new, brightly colored sweats. If you don't meet your goals, you might decide to forgo a treat you enjoy. Be creative. Your contract should be signed and dated. Make photocopies and give them to another family member or a friend--ideally, someone who's trying to lose weight, too, who can relate to your goals and help cheer you on.

"There is something about writing down goals and sharing them with others that seems to really help people stick to them," says Dr. Johnson. "You may be surprised at how well this works."

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Week 3: Be a super-shopper

Exercise goal: Walk five days, 11/2 miles per day

Grocery day! Yup, the time has come to replenish those refrigerator shelves and cabinets with the low-fat, high-fiber foods that will carry you (and your family) in good stead for the rest of your eating days. If you've had your healthy breakfast today, you can head off to market feeling satisfied and good about yourself, and therefore unlikely to do any impulse buying.

You may think your local supermarket holds few mysteries for you by now; after all, you've logged enough hours there to be a pro. You know exactly where the produce aisles are, exactly where the meat case is, and exactly when they put out the free samples in the deli department. But you'll be surprised to find what goodies you uncover, because now you're going to become a supermarket sophisticate, reading labels and comparison shopping and exploring new possibilities as you've never done before.

First, it's a good idea to go back and reread "Shop Talk: Developing Your Supermarket Savvy," on page 41, to pick up a few helpful hints. Here are a few more things to start paying attention to as you shop.

Make a list and check it twice. Make sure you get all the healthy, low-fat foods you'll need for the week down on paper. That way you'll be prepared for all the challenges that face you (plus, you won't have any excuses for not eating right). If you've come across a new low-fat recipe you want to try, be sure you have all the ingredients either in your kitchen or on your list.

Buy something new. Make a point of selecting one healthy, never-
before-tried food--rhubarb, raisin-studded English muffins, raspberry tea--to give your taste buds a jolt. The more interesting you make your meals and snacks, the less you'll long for the fatty, sugary foods you used to eat.

Study nutrition labels. It may sound like a boring school assignment, but you'll be pleasantly surprised at how much simpler the government has made food-packaging information. The new Nutrition Facts boxes found on supermarket cans, cartons and bottles look and are much more user-friendly than their predecessors. Remember, you can keep fat out of your diet if you monitor the foods you buy and bring into your home--it's that easy.

Say yes to beef. Red meat need not be a no-no as long as you shop for the leanest cuts. If you keep in mind that meat marked "select" is the leanest (with "choice" your next best choice and "prime" the fattiest of the three), you can occasionally include steak and burgers on the menu with little harm to your diet.

Carry out the carbs. Remember the five "magic" foods we talked about last week, foods such as legumes, pasta and breads that keep you satisfied and slim? Review that list and make sure you fill your basket to the brim with them.

Scope out new sections. If you haven't visited the gourmet/imported food department lately, drop by! You're bound to find something intriguing to tantalize your palate. As always, read the labels carefully, and if you even suspect a lot of fat in that odd-looking container, keep on walking.

Check your calendar for the best buys. To everything, there is a season, and that includes fresh produce. Spring? Ask for asparagus and artichokes. In the summer, select juicy peaches, melons, berries and red, ripe tomatoes. Fall? Stock up on apples, pears and pumpkins. Come winter, gather parsnips and turnips to toss in a vegetable stew, not to mention sweet potatoes and butternut squash. If you choose produce when it's in peak season, you'll enjoy wonderful dishes bursting with flavor.

Don't forget that grocery shopping is exercise, particularly if you haul your groceries home by hand, and it's a nice supplement to your walking program. Perhaps you'll want to wait till this evening and walk off your dinner with a buddy, either a two-legged or four-legged kind.

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Week 4: Do some de-stressing exercises

Exercise goal: Walk five days, 11/2 miles per day

The month's winding to a close, and you've been doing great! But you've got to admit that there have been some stressful moments, moments when had you not been quite as strong and on top of things as you are right now, a diet cave-in might have occurred.

Well, the sooner you realize it, the better: Stress is going to rear its head every now and then. What you don't want to do is to let your moods get the best of you. With a few smart stress-busting strategies at the ready, you can cope foodlessly with any situation.

Below are a handful of tension-reducing, energy-releasing exercises. Try a couple of them out this week and see if they don't make you feel calmer instantly.

Feel the stress. "Stress produces real physiological symptoms, and your first step is to figure out what yours typically are," says James S. Gordon, M.D., director of the Center for Mind/Body Medicine in Washington, D.C. Is it a tightening of the gut? Sweatiness? Restlessness? Hunger pangs? This awareness will help you begin to recognize the early signals of your food cravings so you can deal with them sensibly.

Work on your tension spots. Most of us barely have an inkling of where our tension lies. If you've been sitting at the computer for three straight hours, you may feel anxious and unconsciously grab for something sugary or greasy, when what you're really feeling is a case of tense muscles in the neck and shoulders. Dr. Gordon suggests that you deliberately increase the tension in your muscles (for example, scrunch your shoulders or tighten your fists), breathe in and out a few times, then relax.

Ask yourself: How am I feeling? What's upsetting you? Review your notes in "Your Perfect Weight Success Diary," on page 275--your most recent feelings, the events and/or people that are bothering you. Get a handle on exactly what's making you tense. How do your feelings relate to your urges to eat?

Move that body! Exercise is a terrific stress buster. The quickest remedy for frustration or a vile mood is to tie on your sneaks, grab that basketball or tennis racket, and go!

Try yoga or meditation. According to Dean Ornish, M.D., director of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, California, these techniques "bring you into the present moment rather than let you dwell on the past or worry about the future. You begin to live life fully, as though each moment matters, which, of course, it does. The present moment frees us to change and to explore new patterns, pleasures and possibilities."

If you're new to meditation and yoga, get the basics via a video (some should be available from your neighborhood library), or sign up for a course at your local Y or adult education center.

As always, record your stressful periods and how you handled them
in "Your Perfect Weight Success Diary," on page 275. Reviewing these pages each day will keep you and your diet on track. Chances are you're getting better and better with dealing with those tough times without immediately turning to food.

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Week 5: Get acquainted
with resistance training

Exercise goal: Walk five days, two miles per day

How are you doing? Have you been keeping an eagle-eye on your serving sizes to make sure you don't overdo it? Sticking to sensible snacks? Eating breakfast each morning, even if it's just a bowl of cold cereal and skim milk minutes before you you race out the door, half-peeled banana in hand? Good!

And now that you've gotten into the walking groove and are clocking around seven miles a week, how are you feeling? Healthier? More energized? And are you heading to the mall or some such place for your foul-weather workouts? Wonderful! Keep it up. We want you to continue the walking, but this is the week you'll officially start resistance training, too.

Remember, walking and other aerobic exercise are crucial for calorie burning, and while resistance training doesn't burn calories, it's got all kinds of other fabulous benefits for dieters. Such as? Turning body fat into muscle, firming your body as you shed pounds and boosting your metabolism whether you're up and about or taking a snooze. Resistance training on a regular basis, along with your low-fat diet and your walking workout, is going to send your body fat scurrying!

Here's your chance, then, to finally get the flab out and the muscle in! No matter how successfully you've been slimming over the past month, adding resistance training to your weight-loss repertoire will give you an extra boost, both psychologically and physically.

Time to Get Acquainted

How much resistance training is enough to reap these benefits? Aim for two to three 20-minute strength-training sessions per week, in addition to your walking or other aerobics, suggests Wayne L. Westcott, Ph.D., strength-training consultant to the National YMCA and to the National Academy of Sports Medicine. If you're not already a member of a health club or Y, today would be a good day to go over to your local center, check out the machines and ask a few questions. Wear your workout duds under your street clothes--some clubs might be willing to give you a free mini-
session on the spot. In future weeks we'll describe some of the best strength-training exercises using machines.

For today, though, you can do your first workout at home, and for that you'll need just one simple piece of equipment: a resistance band, which will be the key component of the following five simple routines. Before you begin, though, keep in mind a couple of points.

Take it easy. Don't hurry or jerk your body: Go slowly and concentrate on your form. And keep your back straight. Repeat the movements 8 to 12 times to make up one set. Do two to three sets per exercise.

S-t-r-e-t-c-h. To warm up, do about five minutes of slow, easy stretches. Don't neglect a five-minute cooldown period at the end, either.

Don't try to be Wonder Woman. Reread "Resistance Training: Pump Up Your Weight-Loss Power," on page 71, so you get a sense of what to expect in terms of results. Your workout should be progressively more challenging but should not cause you to exert yourself beyond reasonable limits.

Building a Beautiful Body

Now, on with the workout! Here are a few simple resistance-training exercises to help you get started.

Chest pull. Grab the band with your two hands and stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Extend your arms straight out in front of you. Slowly pull your arms apart, stretching the band until your hands are on either side of you and parallel to the floor. Bring your arms back slowly. Repeat.

Outer thigh lift. Lie on your side with the band around your ankles. Lift your top leg slowly, with your heel turned up toward the ceiling as much as possible. (This will keep your foot from pointing, which will in turn keep your thigh lined up correctly for getting the full benefit from this exercise.) Now, lower your leg slowly. Repeat the sets on the other side.

Outer thigh press. Lie on your back with the band around your ankles and your hands under your buttocks. Spread your legs apart, stretching the band. Then bring them slowly back together. Repeat.

Leg extensions. Sit in a sturdy chair with the band around your ankles. Hold one leg still and raise the other leg until it is parallel to the floor. Return to starting position and repeat. Alternate legs.

Standing arm row. Step on the center of the band with one foot. Grab the other end of the band in both fists. Now pull both fists up toward your underarms. Lower. Repeat.

Don't forget to start keeping track of your resistance-training sessions, right along with your daily walking and your eating. All these activities are working together to give you the slimmest, strongest body you've ever had.

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