Weight Loss = What Are You Eating???

If you want to lose weight... SERIOUSLY... then your success will largely depend on your diet. Not enough exercise in the world is going to help you if you can't master the principles of calories out vs calories in.

How do I know? Personal experience. I am an aerobics instructor. I teach at least 10 classes per week but currently average at about 13-14. And over the last 3 months I've put on about 3kgs.

Most people's first response is "well, that's because you're putting on muscle!". Trust me, honey... it ain't muscle! Muscle doesn't bulge at the tummy or under the arms or around the tights. Okay well maybe a tiny bit of it is, but if only you knew how difficult it is to gain muscle mass - especially for females - then you would understand.

So why did I put on weight? Same reason a lot of other people do - I thought I could get away with the bad eating. The yummy extras. I figured, hey, what the heck, I've done 16 classes this week, I can have that second piece of cake! Not only can I have it, I deserve it! Never mind that one piece of cake probably requires 1.5, maybe even 2 classes to burn off. I mean, the average gym-goer probably does 3 classes per week, maybe 4 or 5 if they're hardcore. At 16, I've got at least 10 classes worth of eating on them! Probably more than 10 classes, because I also work harder than most of them trying to set the example on that stage!

It is this sort of self-justification that will greatly slow down if not ruin your chances of success.

I didn't put the 3kg on overnight, it was a gradual process. Chances are your weight gain was also a gradual process. You didn't suddenly wake up one morning 3 dress sizes larger than you used to be and feeling overwhelmed, wondering how you're ever going to lose it all without the help of the people at the Fat-zap clinic.

Some tips? Little, baby steps. One decision at a time. One little 'no' here and there. Deciding before you head out to a social function what your limits are and stick to them. Don't treat every meal and every dessert and every opportunity to eat chocolate like it's the last opportunity you'll ever have, because it ISN'T. Allow every good decision, no matter how small or big, to empower you towards making the next good decision.

And if you stuff up, don't beat yourself over the head like I like to do to myself. Pick yourself up and try again.