Lose 10 lbs in 10 weeks

Sounds like a cheesy infomercial, doesn’t it? I promise you, I’m not trying to sell you anything.


RWA Nationals is just 10 weeks away, and I don’t know about you, but I’d really like to be a few pounds thinner by the time the conference arrives—ten pounds to be exact.


When I’m not busy being a writer, I work as a personal fitness trainer. It’s my job to help people drop excess pounds and get fitter. Losing weight isn’t difficult, but it does take commitment and dedication.


You might think that as a trainer, my eating habits would be perfect. Well, you’d be wrong. LOL. I’ve had a lifetime struggle with my weight. I always will. Teaching a bunch of fitness classes keeps me from gaining weight, but my slack eating habits keep me from being at my best weight right now. I’ve gotten a bit off track and need to tweak my diet. Thus this blog post.


I know there are probably many of you who would like to be one size smaller by Conference, so I thought I’d blog about my journey and offer you tips and suggestions to meet your own weight loss goals. Every Sunday for the next 10 weeks, I will give you another step (the ones I’m taking myself, and the ones I give my clients) to losing weight in a healthy, safe way.


Week One


Step 1: Weigh yourself. Naked. First thing in the morning after doing your bathroom business. Write that number down.


Step 2: Measure yourself. At belly button level. Every inch you lose here is approximately 5-8 lbs of bodyfat. Write that number down.


Step 3: Take a “before” photo of yourself. This is optional, and for your eyes only. Then, after 10 weeks you'll be able to see how far you've come.

Step 4: Keep a food journal. This is not optional. “They’ve” done studies proving that dieters who kept a food diary lost far more weight than those who didn’t.


For right now, I want you to do this the old fashioned way: with pen to paper. This week, we won’t focus on calories or what kind of foods we’re eating. You just need to promise me you’ll write down everything you eat, down to the last bite, lick and taste (referred to as BLTs to the pros). You can also write down the time you ate, and if you were hungry or not.


Example:


Noon: ½ tuna sandwich on whole wheat bread, made with light mayo
Small apple
Latte with skim milk, splash of vanilla syrup
(pretty hungry. Hadn’t eaten since 8 a.m.)


1:30 p.m. – Small handful of chocolate chips (not hungry, but I saw them in the pantry so I wanted them)


The act of writing down every single thing you eat might be all you need to do to start losing weight. This is usually all I have to do. It keeps me honest. I’ll be reaching for a cookie or second helping of dinner, then I’ll remember I have to record it in my food journal. No, thank you.

Step 5: Drink 8-10 glasses of plain water a day. Add 8 oz for every 30 minutes you exercise each day. This will keep you hydrated, help you feel more satiated, and will keep your liver happy. A happy liver is much more efficient at burning fat.

Step 6: Get moving. Yes, this means exercise. No, it’s not optional. I want you to break a sweat 6 days a week for at least 20 minutes. This doesn’t have to be formal exercise. You can dance around your house. You can walk the dog. You can play tag with your kids. But do something for at least 20 minutes that makes you breathe a bit harder than normal.

If you already exercise regularly, take it up a notch. Add another day of cardio. Add 10 minutes to your current cardio days. Something.

Next week: We’ll add another step in your diet, and another step to your workout plan.

Good luck. Let me know how you’re doing. And let’s all be down a pound by next Sunday. We can do it.