Losing Those Last Few Pounds

If you exercise long enough, it'll happen to you. You get close to your goal, just a few pounds away, and you hit the wall. The scale doesn't budge so much as a half a pound. There is a way to get rid of those last stubborn pounds without starving yourself or training like a maniac. By making small changes in your routine you can easily kick your body into gear.

Change Your Eating Habits

Tweaking your diet can help get rid of those last stubborn pounds. Rather than cutting foods out, think of substituting one thing for another. Some examples are:

• Switch from 1% milk to Skim milk.
• Use light or fat free mayo instead of the full fat version.
• Check the labels on the foods you eat each day and find lighter versions to cut calories.
• Add more fiber to your diet to help you feel full and eat less calories.
• Eat reasonable portion sizes. The USDA's website provides info about portion control.

Kick Up Your Cardio

Changing your cardio routine is a great way to burn more calories. Try these ideas:

• Add a new activity. Try a new machine at the gym or a new exercise video at home.
• Change your intensity. If you usually walk at 3.5 mph, kick it up to 4.0 and raise your incline to burn more calories.
• Change the duration. Add 10 minutes of jump roping or kickboxing to one or two workouts each week.
• Try interval training or circuit training. When outside, sprinkle short sprints throughout your workout. Or, do 8-10 different exercises (mixing both cardio and strength training) one right after the other with no rest in between.

Pump Some Iron

If you're not lifting weights, beginning a program now can help you jumpstart your weight loss and burn more calories. If you're already lifting and you've reached a plateau, it's time to change your routine. Every six weeks, do one or more of the following:

• Change the exercises. If you're doing a barbell bicep curl switch to dumbbells or the cable machines. If you're doing pushups, try doing them on a decline to make it more difficult.
• Change your training method. For example, if you're doing straight sets (i.e., 3 sets of 6 reps) switch to pyramids or super sets.
• Change the weight/reps. If you've been doing 12 reps of each exercise, increase your weight so that you can only complete 8 reps. Add a rep each week until you can do 16 reps then increase the weight again.
• Try adding yoga or pilates to increase your flexibility, stability and endurance.