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Women and Weight-Loss: Common Mistakes You Are Making

By Brian T. Rurak

The majority of active adult women participate in activities like walking, jogging or group exercise. Very small percentages participate in a regularly scheduled resistance-training program, which is one of the best things they could do for themselves says Rurak.

What are women lacking most when they come to T3 Fitness? Two definite female issues are muscular strength and endurance. But most importantly, many of them have a misconception on the proper way to lose weight. Women eliminate calories from their diet and start doing a bunch of cardio which is the worst thing they could do for themselves. They will lose weight for a period of time but they are setting themselves up for long-term failure by slowing down their metabolism.

What is the proper way to lose weight? Slowly!!!! Everyone is looking for the quick fix and it isn't out there. The major component that goes into a weight loss program is by far nutrition. Eating the right kinds of foods in the right amounts at the right times. After that comes resistance training, sleep, stress reduction, water and cardio programs. Ultimately it is a balance of energy in and energy out but you also need to increase your 'furnaces' so you will burn fat even while you are not exercising. Weight loss requires patience, which very few people have. That is why all the diet books and quick-fix weight loss supplements are a multi-billion dollar business; because we want it NOW.

So why nutrition first and cardio last?

Nutrition is KEY to weight loss. Women too often will not eat enough good calories/fuel, which ends up putting the body into starvation mode. This in turn will make the body hold on to a long-term fuel source, fat, so it can survive. So when women don't have enough food/energy and they jump on a treadmill, elliptical machine or engage in other cardio activity, what they are actually doing is making their body devour their muscle energy. This in turn slows their metabolism and doesn't allow them to burn the fat, which is their goal. This is a classic occurrence for women and it kills me every time I hear a woman explain to me that the 'correct way of losing weight is cardio' or 'it worked for me before.' And therein lies the problem: the 'before'!

Engaging in a well rounded exercise program which involves supportive nutrition, moderate cardio and respect for muscle, would have brought them to their weight loss goals quicker and created a lifestyle they could maintain thereby eliminating the 'before' and having it always.

How much and how often should a woman eat?

As far as how much, that can be tricky and that goes beyond the scope of this article. It can really depend on what their activity level is, what their goals are or even how much muscle mass they may need to feed.

However if an overweight person wants to achieve a certain weight a general rule of thumb is to eat around 10-12 calories per pound of desired body weight of GOOD food. If they maintain that, without going below a 1200-calorie per day diet they should eventually achieve that desired weight. I say eventually because again weight loss takes time. It took a while to get the weight on; it takes a while to get it off.

With regards to how often women should be eating, everyone should eat small meals every 3-4 hours so their body does not go into starvation and hold onto fat.

Skipping meals actually makes a person store fat more easily when they do eat again. So 4-5 regular feedings of mindful, supportive food choices helps control blood sugar, hormone levels and hunger, all which lead to weight loss. A note here is that the meals are small, portion controlled, NOT our typical over-indulgent sit-down meal.

You emphasized good or mindful food; care to explain?

I would love to. Good food is essentially non-processed whole foods. When you eat it, it should look just like it did when it came out of the ground, off the tree or from the animal or fish. There are no frozen dinner trees out there.

A big issue here for people is the 'carbs'. This is actually easy because carbs really are our friend and they have been getting a bad rap. If you are going to eat bread, which I totally support, eat WHOLE GRAIN bread. That means that the first two words on the ingredient label should read whole grain. Just because it states it on the bag doesn't mean it's whole grain. Other good items here are brown rice, steel cut oatmeal, and bulgur to name a few.

Why is resistance training so high on the list for weight loss?

Resistance training is important for building those 'furnaces' I mentioned but the other major benefits are:

But what women need to realize is that resistance training is not necessarily just moving a bunch of cast iron weights or sitting at machines. With all the equipment we have at my studio, resistance training becomes much more than that. We make it fun and beneficial and functional to your needs. We are so far outside the box of resistance training that you won't even realize that you are doing resistance training and still reap the benefits. Putting it all together is sometimes the most confusing part of trying to take charge of your weight loss goals. This is where a fitness professional can be worth your weight in gold. If you are ready for serious results and you need guidance anywhere in the country or world contact us at http://www.t3fitness.com/contactus.html or call .

Final Note: Let me just state here Ladies, you WILL NOT get huge muscles from resistance training. You are not men and do not have the levels of testosterone in your body that men do which helps them achieve their muscular physique. Resistance training prepares your body to burn fat and become more efficient for you during your daily routines. It is a significant component to weight loss.

About the Author:

Brian Rurak holds a Masters Degree in Exercise Science and a Bachelors Degree in Physical Education and Health. He is a certified fitness professional thru National Strength and Conditioning Association. He is a published author for a local Women's Health Newspaper and regularly presents health and nutrition seminars to the local university freshman orientation classes. His website is http://www.t3fitness.com