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How To Lose The Last Ten pounds
I can't tell you how many times a day I've seen goals in the logs on PEERtrainer that say I'm here to lose the last 10 pounds. It's a popular goal and why wouldn't it be? The last ten pounds are the almost attainable dream - you'll fit into that magical number dress or jeans size you've always wanted or one of your "problem" areas will finally be minimized. Maybe you know when you lose the last 10 pounds, your arms will look amazing in a hot little tank top. Maybe it's the last push you need to wear a wrap around dress and actually have your waist look the way you want. Maybe it's the number that will put the "saddle bags" in proportion. Or maybe it's a psychological thing - somewhere along the way you've had a number in your head that you believe is your optimal number and when you see it on the scale you'll feel like you're exactly where you want to be.
Whatever reason you want to, congratulations on wanting to....it's not a trivial goal. When you end up losing those last ten pounds, you know you have what it takes to do the last push in anything in your life. They're hard to lose and and just as hard to maintain so you'll work for it but it will be extremely rewarding.
So.....how do you do it? Here are 6 easy steps to help you lose the last 10 pounds.
1. Take a self assessment inventory. Spend the first week logging your food. Get a PEERtrainer group and start filling out your log. For the first week, just simply make the commitment to be aware of what your habits are, what you're eating and how much you're exercising. Join a group where at least 2 of the members are at your goal weight. Click through their logs and check out their habits. What kinds of foods are they eating? How much do they workout? Even though everyone is an individual, you can get a great sense of what kinds of foods, portions, and how many workouts it takes to maintain your estimated goal weight.
2. Once you've gotten a sense of what other people are doing to maintain that weight, start to look at your own logs and find the catalyst. What is the one main habit that you could honestly consider your downfall? Are you drinking one cup of coffee with heaping tablespoons of sugar, or are you "forgetting" to write the yummy Starbucks concoction you had in the late afternoon? Are you having a glass of wine or a beer at happy hour, or is it really 3 beers and 1/2 a plate of nachos that you had to have because they were right in front of you? Are you having one roll with your salad at a restaurant, or does the whole bread basket seem to be devoured with the justification of "well, at least I'm having a salad and not pasta". What could you make as the catalyst for your last 10 pound effort? What is the one main thing that you could change right now that you believe would make a big difference? Once you've defined that habit, make the commitment to change it right now. Write it down in your log in your goal section - and your notes section - and tell your groups about it. Encourage them to make a challenge to so everyone can encourage everyone towards their goals.
3. Once you've mastered that "downfall" and turned it on it's head, look through your logs and see where could you make different choices. Small changes can go a long way to losing the last ten pounds and those small changes will add up quickly. Are you eating a large roll with your sandwich? Have the sandwich but instead, pick one slice of bread and have it open faced. Are you having eggs with cheese in the morning? Substitute one of the eggs for egg whites and take a pass on the cheese....try cauliflower or spinach, make it a vegetable. You'll be surprised how much you crave the vegetables and soon you will forget about the cheese (I promise!). Are you having your lunch inside? If you bring your lunch, take a walk, anywhere, at least 10 minutes away and take the much needed break to enjoy your food. If you walk ten minutes away, it's also 10 minutes back and you've gotten in 20 minutes of walking without even really trying! Do you love your "ice cream" and think, "I"m sorry but I"ll never give that up". Have a kiddie scoop instead. Go through your PEERtrainer logs and see what you can "trim" down and soon the rest of you will "trim" down too.
4. Make working out a priority. This is a necessary component of losing the last 10 pounds. Maybe you've said to yourself in the past that you're too busy to workout, or you're intimidated by the gym, or you can't afford the monthly fees. Whatever the excuse, it's time to throw them away. Don't even bother analyzing why you've made the excuse. It doesn't matter. The most important thing is to recognize that they are all excuses set to make sure you don't do it! Set an exercise challenge with your groupmates, or find a local PEERtrainer group where you can meet and workout together. As NIKE so brilliantly said, JUST DO IT! Start off small and find something you like. Maybe you used to run 3 miles but your body isn't at that physical place anymore. Start by walking and build up to a run slowly, or maybe try something different, like the recumbent bike. If you can't afford the gym, start by doing videos at home. Take your little ones for a walk in the stroller. Whatever you do, just start doing it and you'll soon ramp to full fledged workouts.
5. Measure your progress and be accountable. Get on the scale every week to weigh yourself to see the progress you've made towards your goal. Have a set day that you and your PEERtrainer buddies weigh in and don't miss that day until you are at your goal. Pull out the old pair of jeans or the dress you really want to wear and try it on every week to notice the changes and keep yourself motivated. Take a "before" picture of yourself and upload it to your profile. You will be so happy you did when you finally see the after picture. It is truly a phenomenal experience.
6. Reward yourself! Go get a new workout wardrobe or a much needed spa day. It is very hard work losing the last ten and you deserve a lot of credit for doing the work. If you can't think of something you really want, it's time to think about it and do it. The most important part of "doing the work" is "having the reward". That way, when you set your sights on another goal, whether it be a health goal, a career challenge or financial win, you'll remember the entire process, with the reward at the end and you'll be motivated to "do the work" again.
The Importance of Social Support and Self-Monitoring
Group and peer support is a highly proven method for losing weight and getting healthy. It is one thing to learn how to lose weight and eat more healthy, it is another thing to put this into practice on a consistent basis. Friends and family are of limited use because there is only so much burden they can bear. Getting the support of an anonymous group of people each day can make the critical difference. Self-monitoring is the other method, backed by volumes of research, that is highly correlated with weight loss success. You keep a log of your food, exercise, goals and thoughts. When you do this each day it keeps you accountable to yourself, and brings this aspect of your life to the top of your mental agenda. When you are writing each day, you are thinking about the things you write about. This begins to change how you think and facilitates better decision making. When you make better decisions, and have a broad support network, you are very likely to lose weight for the long term. When you do both these things, the odds of success increase dramatically.
A free, online resource that facilities both social support and self-monitoring in an easy to use (and anonymous format) is PEERtrainer. You sign up, start or join small groups and teams. You log your food each day, and the others in your group see your log and provide support, motivation and accountability each day. It is like a virtual support group available on the internet whenever you need it. It is highly effective and has been featured in The New York Times, Fitness Magazine, Women's World, Business Week, ABC News, CNET, Fast Company...
Diets That Work
You have heard over and over that diets don't work. The traditional American idea of dieting is "portion control" or reducing your caloric intake. These approaches fail because you are only reducing portions of unhealthy and fatty foods. There are new diet approaches out there that seek to fundamentally change what you eat. These diets slash the amounts of saturated fats and sugar that you eat and radically increase the amount of plant-based foods. The Fat Smash Diet (by Dr Ian Smith) is one such popular approach, and Eat to Live by Dr Joel Fuhrman is another. These approaches are not about lowering carbs, or getting more protein or counting Weight Watcher points. They about fundamentally restructuring your eating habits. When you reorder your diet to eliminate processed foods, slash dairy and meat consumption and increase your intake of fruit, vegetables, beans, rice- you will lose weight and reduce your risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes and a host of other diseases. Improper nutrition is at the root of most diseases. Animal based foods contain cholesterol and boost the levels in your body. Plants do not contain any, and help reduce levels in your body. As blood cholesterol levels decrease, cancers of the liver, rectum, colon, male lung, female lung, breast, childhood leukemia, adult leukemia, childhood brain, stomach and esophagus levels will decrease. The more you reduce meat, dairy and processed foods in your diets, the healthier you will be.
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