Success Stories: Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Meet Debbie, a woman who's lost 20 pounds over the last four months by sticking to a regular walking program and by making sensible dietary changes (substituting fruits and veggies for starchy carbs).  At a weight loss of 5 pounds a month, Debbie is losing a little more than a pound a week, which is what we consider healthy weight loss because it indicates real behavior modification as opposed to a quick fix. How did she do it?

Debbie walks six days a week.  She used a pedometer to measure a mile in the neighborhood where she lives.  Every month she increases her distance by 1/10 of a mile and is now up to a mile and a half.

The route is hilly and going up the inclines increases calorie burn, cardio benefits, bone health and leg strength.

On the straight-aways, Debbie now has added some intervals of jogging, with care to preserve her joints – hips, knees and ankles – which are a bit touchy after years of golf. She's using my strength training techniques to reinforce her joints and firm up.  Building muscle also helps increase your resting metabolic rate to burn more calories all day long, even when you aren't exercising. Use this tip yourself:  It's best to approach body fat loss in a slow, steady fashion.  Each day you should eat and exercise in such a way that you can face doing it again tomorrow.