Your Perfect Weight Week 18-20

Exercise goal: Walk six days, three miles per day

Week 18: You're over a third of the way through the 52-week plan, and you're stronger and more toned than you ever thought possible! Good work!

There was a time not long ago that you never dreamed you'd be pumping iron. Now, if a week goes by without some resistance training under your belt, you don't feel as vigorous or as energized. Like the other good-for-you habits you've been cultivating for the past four-plus months, once you start 'em, it's hard to kick 'em!

This week we offer you a new assortment of five exercises involving free weights and a chair. If you haven't purchased a set of free weights yet, remember you can always use five- or seven-pound weights you might have at home--large cans of food, bags of sugar or what have you. Plastic detergent jugs have convenient handles and can be filled with water or sand.

Repeat each of the movements 8 to 12 times to make up one set. If possible, do three sets of each exercise. And as always, remember to warm up, cool down and start off slowly, especially if you haven't been doing resistance training all along for the recommended two- or three-times-a-week sessions.

Lateral raises. Using a hand weight, raise one arm away from your side until it's parallel to the floor. Lower and repeat. Alternate arms.

Triceps presses. Hold a hand weight behind your head with both hands. Extend your arms up overhead, keeping your elbows close to your ears. Return. Repeat.

Biceps curls. Hold the weight in one hand. Start with your arm at your side, palm foreward. Slowly curl your fist up toward your shoulder. Lower, and repeat.

Crunches. You won't be using weights for the next two exercises. Lie flat on your back, with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Look up at the ceiling. Now lift your head, shoulders and upper back from the floor. Don't tuck your chin and keep the movement slow. (No jerky movements allowed.) Hold the position for two seconds, then return. Remember to breathe. Repeat.

Chair push-ups. Place a sturdy chair against the wall, with the front of the chair facing you. Kneel in front of it. Grip the chair seat and do a push-up against the chair. Remember to keep your back straight. Repeat.

Keeping up your motivation so you can keep up your resistance training isn't always easy, we admit. But before boredom can set in, try these ideas.

S-l-o-w down. To add a bit of variety and challenge to your workout routine, do your exercises twice as slowly as you normally do, suggests Wayne L. Westcott, Ph.D., strength-training consultant to the National Academy of Sports Medicine and the American Council on Exercise. Another way to make things more interesting is to strap on ankle or wrist weights.

Find a friend. "Do your training with someone else," urges Dr. Westcott. "It can be a friend or a spouse, or work with someone at your local Y or fitness center. Then you'll feel confident that you're doing the exercises properly, so that you can then do them on your own much better." What's more, having a pal to pump up with is just plain fun.

Spice it up. When you feel the tedium creeping in on you, change the workout around, or find new exercises to do that work a different set of muscles. Mix walking or jogging into the exercises. A little music with the muscle can't hurt either.

Keep track. "A logbook will help you see your improvement, and will motivate you to see greater success," says Dr. Westcott. You can use Your Perfect Weight Success Diary for this purpose. By keeping an accurate record, you'll know exactly how you're progressing in terms of the number of reps you do and the increased weight you can lift. "It's very helpful if you can be accountable to yourself through a logbook," says Dr. Wescott.

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Week 19: Do seven days of simple swaps

Exercise goal: Walk six days, three miles per day

As you've seen, week in and week out for nearly five months now, losing a pound or so a week is simply a matter of making small, daily changes in your eating and exercise routine. A bit less fat here, a bit more activity there and--presto!--you've chopped enough calories from your day to effect the nice, steady weight loss you want. If you've been following Your Perfect Weight 52-Week Plan you've probably without even realizing it been slashing around 200 calories (roughly 22 grams of fat) from your food and around 300 calories through exercise daily. What's more, while you're getting rid of your extra girth, you're also honing the good habits that will keep your weight off forever--without your ever having to diet again!

Here, we offer a week's worth of simple little tricks for shaving up to 500 calories each day. Some are activities we hope you've already built into your lifestyle, but chances are many of these things are new ones for you to try. The nice thing is, they're so painless you won't even know they're helping you lose weight.

Day 1--Sunday

* Walk one mile to church (save 100 calories).

* Mow the front lawn for one hour (save 240 calories).

* Quench your thirst with seltzer and a squeeze of lemon instead of soda (save 152 calories).

Total Calories Saved: 492

Day 2--Monday

* Revamp your breakfast: Grab a fat-free bran muffin and 1 percent milk instead of a cinnamon Danish and whole milk (save 305 calories).

* Swear off the office elevator: Use the stairs instead (save 100 calories).

Total Calories Saved: 405

Day 3--Tuesday

* Catch the bus at a different stop a mile away, and get off at that stop after work, too (save 200 calories).

* Dress down your lunchtime salad with nonfat Italian dressing (save 129 calories).

* Forgo an afternoon candy bar--have a crisp apple instead (save 169 calories).

Total Calories Saved: 498

Day 4--Wednesday

* Take the dog for a two-mile stroll (save 200 calories).

* Instead of two slices of pepperoni pizza for lunch, have one slice of cheese pizza and nonfat frozen yogurt (save 122 calories).

* For dinner, have vegetarian fat-free chili and fat-free whole-wheat crackers instead of beef chili and tortilla chips (save 84 calories).

Total Calories Saved: 406

Day 5--Thursday

* Use nonfat cream cheese on your breakfast bagel instead of regular cream cheese (save 68 calories).

* Snack on light microwave popcorn instead of potato chips (save 140 calories).

* Play Ping-Pong with the kids for 20 minutes (save 90 calories).

* Jitterbug your way through an hourlong dance class (save 180 calories).

Total Calories Saved: 478

Day 6--Friday

* Sweat it out during a low-impact aerobics class (save 395 calories).

* Switch to light beer during happy hour--two beers (save 98 calories).

Total Calories Saved: 493

Day 7--Saturday

* Take a family bike ride for an hour at ten miles per hour (save 370 calories).

* Lunch on tuna sandwiches with nonfat instead of regular mayo (save 87 calories).

* Drive past the drive-through car wash--bathe the Chevy yourself (save 70 calories).

Total Calories Saved: 527

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Week 20: Dealing with
a weight-loss plateau

Exercise goal: Walk six days, three miles per day

You've been doing your diet thing wonderfully well for the past five months. The compliments are still trickling in, your stretch pants don't have to stretch quite as much as they once did, and you're generally feeling pretty terrific.

Then it happens: The weight that was dropping off at a nice one- to two-pound-a-week clip stays on like glue, day after day, week after week.

This is exactly what makes a dieter want to head for the cold cuts (lots of mayo, thank you). What's going on?

It's a pretty basic phenomenon: You've hit a weight-loss plateau, and the first thing to understand about it is that it's perfectly normal. If you haven't deviated from your basic low-fat, high-exercise program (and that's a big if--more on that in a minute), then your body is simply taking a rest. You may be losing weight in a completely healthful way, but your body is still going through a lot of changes and the plateau is just its way of saying, "Hey, pal, give me a week or two to catch my breath!"

Remember that your weight is going to level off from time to time and that the situation isn't permanent. "When people hit a plateau, they often fall into a thinking trap of 'I can't lose weight! It's all over!' But your body has an internal wisdom," explains Ronna Kabatznick, Ph.D., psychological consultant to Weight Watchers International. "Just keep following your food and exercise plan, and you'll eventually lose the rest of the weight."

Make certain, she adds, that you're not contributing, consciously or unconsciously, to the plateau. How?

"Take an inventory to see if there's been any change," urges Dr. Kabatznick. "Have you been eating a lot of salty or fatty Chinese food lately, or consuming more alcohol or other high-calorie foods that might account for the plateau? It's also important to take an inventory of exercise. Have you been doing less, or reduced the intensity? Usually that inventory will give you some clues as to where to clean up your efforts."

Now's the Time to Fight

On the other hand, you may well be experiencing a different kind of plateau--a psychological plateau, where you just don't feel like making the effort and pushing forward, says Dr. Kabatznick.

"It usually happens when a person has lost enough weight where she feels different but hasn't yet reached her goal--for example, she wants to lose 30 pounds and after a 20-pound loss, her motivation may begin to wobble," she explains. This is the phase in your diet when your desire to continue to lose weight and your desire to eat more fattening food are about equal. "That's a vulnerable time for many people," says Dr. Kabatznick.

Her advice: Change something. "A lot of times, plateaus come from being bored. Do something new and exciting so you can renew your commitment. If you haven't had Indian or Italian food for a while, have some. Find a new cookbook or a new spice. Don't bring the same brown-bag lunch every day. Get out of your rut."

Last week's suggestions for simple food and activity swaps should give you some additional ideas for perking up your routine.

Pretty soon now, your newfound motivation to keep going will kick in. We promise.

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