Question of the Day

Actually, a pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat (ever heard the riddle, what weighs more: a pound of feathers or a pound of bricks?) Muscle is denser than fat so you can stay the same weight and lose inches. But I know those last few pounds are difficult. Here's how to tackle them.
I lost 65 pounds (30 kilograms) of fat.

The first forty pounds were tough. They required lots of changes in my life. However, I was able to get into a routine that I would follow and the weight would melt off.

The last 25 pounds were different. I found that I hit the wall more often and was stuck in plateaus. In fact, the last 20 pounds were so difficult for me to shed that I finally decided "Enough" and hired my own fat loss coach to help me get there. The coach was a great coach and I succeeded, but I learned that the game changes when you are down to the last few pounds.

There are probably two key aspects. First, the mental aspect. We create our own mind blocks to breaking through certain barriers. Haven't you noticed if you've lost a lot of weight that the "10s" always seem to be tougher to break than the pounds in between? It's our mind working against us, trying to force us back into the old routine so things stay the same. This is why in Lose Fat, Not Faith I focus on that key decision as the primary step.

Then, let's face it. The body adapts. There are reasons why it selfishly refuses to let go of those last few pounds. After all, it isn't your health or your best interest or evolution or God who is asking you to get rid of that last bit. It's vanity. Now before you get upset like so many people do when I say that, I'm not bashing vanity. After all, I jumped down to low body fat and I'll be the first to admit ... it was fun. I felt great. I looked good, especially with my shirt off. So I'm not judging, but just explaining that it is society and our self-image that wants us to have be low body fat and shredded, not necessarily nature. So our body's put up some defenses. Fortunately, there is a way through them.

I've covered this topic in two places.

First, I have an article called Burning Fat: A Technical Guide. Second, and I apologize in advance for the poor audio quality, but I taped a teleseminar specifically about losing those last few pounds and it is available online at Achieving Low Body Fat.

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