Please critique my SBD/exercise plan

[MissCici]

Hi everyone -

I thought about starting SBD a few weeks ago, but never did. So my best friend and I agreed to start together on Tuesday.

My goal is to lose about 10 pounds and develop healthier habits. I also haven't workout consistently in several months, so I want to get back to exercising being a habit, too.

When I workout, I tend to gain a few pounds and/or have a very hard time losing. I was going to start a more intense workout program, but maybe that isn't the right idea. I've been thinking about doing something more moderate, exercise wise, while I'm on phase 1 of SB, then maybe up the intensity when I start phase 2. For for the next few weeks, I thought I would stick to some lighter cardio, maybe some pilates or yoga. I hope this will counter act my typical weight gain - knowing that some of it is likely water weight.

Any thoughts on this plan? Thanks!

Cici

[kelbel212]

Cici,

You have the right idea going. If you set your expectations too high (such as working out intensely vs moderately) it is most likely you will not enjoy the exercise or even dread doing it. Light cardio is perfect for targeting fat loss, as long as you are doing it for the right amount of time. This does not mean you have to do a consecutive hour everyday, you can break it up into half hour sessions, or even 15 minute sessions. A great way to determine if you have done enough is by paying attention to the amount of calories you burn (if you are using a machine with a calculator). Shoot for 300 calories per day, 3-5 days per week. Then leave the yoga and pilates on days you don't feel like jogging on the treadmill. And on days you just need to rest, rest! Keep in mind, small bouts of intense exercise are very beneficial too. This creates sort of a shock effect on the body and you will actually burn more calories during the recovery period. An example here is adding a couple sprinting intervals to your walk/job or cranking up the resistance on your elliptical for about one minute. Keep this in mind when your just about to step up your workouts for phase 2. This way your body is prepared and ready for some seriously sweaty workouts! Good luck!

P.s.
I am a certified personal trainer with a degree in health behavior science. I hope this helped!

Kelly

[RedRox]

But also most or nearly all of the weight people lose in P1 is water weight as well. So whether you are adding water from stressing muscles and retaining water for their natural repair process or losing water from depleting glycogen stores in your body, it's still all water. Water weight loss and water weight gain are really just two sides of the same coin from biochemical processes. Real fat loss tends to start happening far more in P2 than P1 and with only 10 lbs to lose, it's going to go slowly. So the focus really just needs to be on building a healthy lifestyle, enjoying the SB journey and being patient. You are still getting healthier every day even when the scale isn't necessarily showing "progress".

[MissCici]

Thanks for the feedback.

Didn't get a workout in today. Feeling a little off - headache, tummy upset. Hopefully tomorrow I can begin my exercise plan.

Cici

[RedRox]

Make sure you are getting all your good P1 carbs in!