Food journal? Check. Regular workouts? Yes, indeed. Enough fiber to keep
an entire army regular? You got it. I know how to lose weight. I've
been writing about the topic for more than a decade. That's why it was
so frustrating when the pounds clung to me like a codependent boyfriend,
no matter how hard I tried. A lot of women have this problem, the
experts tell me. "Body weight can fluctuate by up to five pounds on any
given day, so the amount you shed can easily get lost," says Pamela
Wartian Smith, MD, the author of Why You Can't Lose Weight. I
combed through research and grilled diet gurus to pinpoint little-known
reasons that your efforts -- and mine -- haven't been showing up on the
scale. Who knew?
You Don't Drink Enough Water
We've
all heard how important H2O is when it comes to shedding pounds. It
helps to suppress appetite, so you're less likely to overeat. But that's
not all: When you're dehydrated, your kidneys can't function properly,
so the body turns to the liver for additional support. Because the liver
is working so hard, more of the fat you consume is stored rather than
burned off.
What surprised me most, though, is that if you're
upping your fiber intake but not also hitting the bottle hard, things
tend to get a wee bit, er, backed up. "It's important to add fiber
gradually and increase water intake at the same time. Otherwise, instead
of helping with digestion, fiber may actually lead to constipation,"
notes Anna-Lisa Finger, RD, a personal trainer for the Johns Hopkins
Weight Management Center in Baltimore. I often consume nearly double the
recommended 25 grams of fiber daily. Gulp.
Just how much water
should I be drinking? "About one-half your body weight in ounces every
day, especially if you're exercising," Dr. Smith says. So the
eight-cups-a-day rule applies only to sedentary women who weigh 128
pounds (sure as hell not me!). "If you consume an aggressive amount of
fiber, another eight to 16 ounces a day is a good idea," Dr. Smith adds.
H2OMG! That amount of liquid -- for me, 12 cups a day, minimum --
requires serious effort. I fill up with about a liter at each meal, and
I'm a peeing machine.
You Skimp on Protein
Several
studies show that high-protein diets result in more pounds shed, at
least initially. Protein enhances the feeling of satiety and prevents
your losing muscle as you lose fat. You also have dietary thermogenesis,
which is the energy you burn to process and use the food you eat, on
your side. "Your body expends more energy to metabolize protein than
carbs or fat," says Cari Coulter, RD, the program director for
Wellspring Weight Loss Camp in Kenosha, Wisconsin. "So higher-protein
diets make you burn slightly more calories."
So how much protein
do I need a day? "It depends on your weight, but most women should get
40 to 80 grams," Dr. Smith says. To accomplish that, I have Greek yogurt
(18 grams) or a couple of eggs (13 grams) for breakfast, and I eat a
few ounces of lean poultry (25 grams) or fish (22 grams) or a heaping
helping of black beans (15 grams) or lentils (18 grams) at lunch and
dinner. I snack on a handful of raw almonds (6 grams). As a result, I
feel fuller -- sometimes so full I don't even sneak a bite of my son's
ice cream (the way I used to whether I was hungry or not) -- so it's
easier to keep daily calories in check.
You Sit at a Desk All Day
I
log a solid hour of exercise almost every day, but outside of that, my
time is mostly spent sitting in front of a computer. Much to my dismay,
research finds that dedicated workouts simply can't compensate for being
sedentary the rest of the time. According to one University of
Missouri-Columbia study, sitting for just a few hours causes your body
to stop making a fat-inhibiting enzyme called lipase. Getting up and
walking for just two minutes during each of those hours burns an
additional 59 calories a day, according to recent research from the
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Experts recommend setting a
timer on the computer to remind you to move every hour, but what's
helped me is the Fitbit One ($100, fitbit.com). I keep this activity
tracker clipped to my bra 24-7, and I won't go to bed until I've logged
10,000 steps a day. To accomplish that, I heed some of those
recommendations we've all heard a million times ("Take the stairs
instead of the elevator," "Park far away from the mall"). I even jog in
place while brushing my teeth and watching TV. At first my husband and
son laughed their skinny little butts off at me, but now seeing me
hopping around the living room strikes them as normal. Walks are part of
my family's evening routine, and "How many steps do you have now?" has
become the new "Are we there yet?" I've even given Fitbits to friends
and family as gifts so we can see who takes the most steps. Move-more
mission: accomplished.
Your Numbers Are Off
I've
always considered myself a math whiz, so I assumed that I had the whole
calories-in, calories-out formula down pat. Here's how I determined how
many I should eat a day: I got my basal metabolic rate (BMR, or the
amount of calories I need to maintain my weight) using the online
calculator at fitnessmagazine.com/weight-loss/bmr, and I entered
"moderate" for my activity level, because I exercise regularly. That
gave me about 2,400 calories a day. Then I added whatever calories I
burn during my workouts (usually about 500), according to my heart-rate
monitor. That meant I could eat almost 3,000 calories a day without
gaining a pound (or nearly 2,500 a day to lose a pound a week). Sure, it
seemed high, but I had used a calculator. It had to be right!
Not
so fast, Coulter says. "The BMR calculator already factors in the
calories you burn with your workouts, so you shouldn't add them in
again," she explains. Math club membership revoked! All this time I had
thought my daily needs were 500 calories higher than they really were.
No wonder I'd been maintaining instead of losing.
You Work Out Regularly
I
know, I know. How can an exercise routine make you gain? For starters,
people tend to eat more when they work out, either because they feel
they've earned it or because they're overestimating how much they've
burned -- or both. "This is especially true in the early stages of a
fitness program, when your body is getting used to the decrease in
calories consumed and the increase in calories burned," Finger says.
(Read: You're freaking hungry.)
But here's the real shocker:
Working out can make you retain water. "To ensure that you don't get
dehydrated, the plasma in your bloodstream will store an extra two to
four pounds of water," explains Michele S. Olson, PhD, a FITNESS
advisory board member and professor of exercise science at Auburn
University at Montgomery in Alabama. "You'll always carry that extra
water unless you become inactive; it's not fat or muscle, but simply
superhydration. It's a good thing." It's also a good thing to keep
chugging H2O, which can, counterintuitively, help minimize additional
water retention. So I'll take Olson's advice and stay active,
well-hydrated...and off the scale.
You're a Stress Case
I'm
a lot like the lab rats -- and humans -- who turn to comfort food and
pack on pounds when they're under duress. "The stress hormone cortisol
triggers the fight-or-flight response, which is an appetite stimulant,"
Dr. Smith says. "In addition, it steps up the production of a certain
brain chemical, neuropeptide Y, which increases cravings for
carbohydrates."
Even when I don't give in to cravings, stress can
stall my slim-down. "Too much cortisol slows metabolism," Dr. Smith
says. "Even worse, excessive stress causes fat to be stored in the
abdominal area, where weight is harder to lose." Ugh! I can practically
feel my belly expanding every time I have a meltdown over something,
including my weight-loss efforts.
Luckily, a lot of the things
I'm doing to whittle my middle should also ease my angst. "Exercise
reduces stress," Dr. Smith notes. "Balanced, nutritious meals can repair
the damage that stress does to the body, and a social support network
also helps." So my team of Fitbit-wearing friends and fam is helping me
beat belly bloat in more ways than one.
Here at Medgadget, we're obviously huge fans of portable, phone-connected devices that help you live healthier lives. But we're also fans of innovative apps that harness the features and powers of the smartphone that you already own. That's why we were excited to receive an advance version of Argus, a free iOS app released today from Azumio that uses the sensors and technology in your own iPhone to turn it into a sophisticated health and fitness device. How well does it work? Read on for our review.
Life Tracking 
Goal Settings and Progress Charting
Bangalore: Parveez Rasool, who became the first cricketer from Jammu and Kashmir to be included in the Indian team, spent his first day at the National Cricket Academy preparing for the upcoming tour to Zimbabwe beginning July 24.Hailing from Beijbehara, a small town in Kashmir, the off-spinner arrived at the NCA here on Monday around 10am as advised by legendary spinner Bishan Singh Bedi.