How The Heck Do I Drop The Last 10 Pounds?

I am often asked about this dilemma: Why, after working out for months and months, altering their lifestyles and changing their diets, do many people get stuck on a “weight loss plateau.” Bringing us the question, “How the heck DO I lose those last ten pounds?”

Most people become locked in to their everyday routine, the one they used to lose weight and improve their cardiovascular health. But as their bodies have changed they’ve become more efficient, so the routine that once seemed like a killer now burns fewer calories. At best, this level of activity helps to maintain current weight and fitness levels, but does nothing to move us off the “ten-pounds-to-go” plateau.

Losing those last stubborn pounds simply requires an increase in your exercise intensity a couple days a week—one that enables you to reach and maintain 80-85 percent of your maximum heart rate. When you reach that level, your metabolism gets an additional boost; moreover, the benefits of that boost last longer, so you burn more calories and fat at rest, not just during the workout. While the idea of working out harder, faster or longer than you’ve become used to may be daunting, the process itself can actually be pleasurable if you approach it correctly.

Here are some tips to help keep you active:

• Incorporate “metabolic acceleration”: picking up the intensity of the workout in short bursts. This can be applied to any aerobic activity.
• If you’re working out alone, get into a group situation where you may be inspired to work harder by the others around you.
• Find some motivating music – change it up. You body will most likely want to keep pace with the rhythm of your new tunes.
• Add other simple ways to burn more calories to your daily routine, like using  ankle cuff resistance bands at your desk, parking your car farther from work, taking the stairs instead of the elevator or, stand and stretch while you’re talking on the phone. Yes, standing burns more calories than sitting, find any way at all to raise your caloric output.
• Track your day. Thanks to high-tech gadgets like Fitbit that have hit the market in recent years, there is no more guessing at your calorie burn. From smart phone apps to wristbands devices, and other handy interactive tools, tracking calorie burns as well as heart rate, distance, and pace is easy. I like trackers because they clearly show how effective an exercise is and often motivate you to take your workout to the next level.Also, there are apps that call up calorie counts (check out myfitnesspal.com) so you can gauge your food-fitness relationship, which is important if you are trying to drop pounds. In order to lose weight, your calorie burn has to exceed your calorie intake, and these tools do the math for you.

All in all, this is a sure-fire prescription for losing those last ten pounds. To get started, check out my Belly Boot Camp Kit. This innovative workout kit will work your entire body and provides essential training for giving your metabolism a boost and maximizing calorie burn. It includes a very hot NO-CRUNCH–ZONE abs routine in five 10 minute segments (Tummy Trimmers DVD); one belly dancing workout (Flex Appeal DVD), two yoga workouts to lengthen and rejuvenate your muscles (Yoga Sculpt DVD), one lower body workout (Yoga Sculpt DVD) and of course…kettlebells (3 lb, 5 lb and workout DVD) to to sculpt your entire body. Give it a try….what do you have to lose?