In part 1 of Weight Loss we talked about the basic fundamental that "you can't out exercise a bad diet."  After that email, I got a reply from an old patient from Minnesota. She was kind enough to let me share it.

"Hey Doc! How’s it going? I enjoyed this article and what I find even more surprising is that as much as you tell people that you should do more weight training if you want to see results, 90% of the people will still kill themselves on step machines, treadmills and ellipticals. You can also tell them what to eat but if they are not specifically training for a purpose – something they have for a goal, they will never stick to that diet. It’s exactly what it took me to be serious about what was going in my mouth. It’s all about clean eating and weight training. Not Jenny Craig, not trive, Not Isagenix or whatever it’s called, just the all natural eat what you should be eating that wasn’t created by some company to force your body to drop the pounds. Just saying…I’m off my soap box now. Hope you’re doing well!"

She hit a couple of key points.

#1 Free weight training is better than anything else when you are trying for a fitness or strength goal. I've only joined one gym in my life and there wasn't a treadmill in site. Weight lifting can be helpful in losing weight by increasing insulin sensitivity, not burning calories. That's why it's the best exercise for diabetics. Weight training isn't the focus of this series because we have to start with basics.

#2 Real weight loss isn't about a fad or a trend. It is a lifestyle.

#3 You need a goal, a reason, a burning desire to make a change. Because, being healthy is work. Don't let any one tell you they have a hack, or a short cut. Most people need to learn a whole new way of living, so you need a reason big enough to get you through the rough times. You can take a pill to force your body to lose weight, heck, you can take steroids. But, there are bad consequences waiting on the other side. Most "weight loss pills" are adrenal stimulants and there is a world of trouble waiting a few years down the road by doing that.

I hope you have your goal from last week. You can't just say, I want to lose weight. That won't work. You need the kind of motivation a bride has a month before her wedding.

If you are one of the lucky ones that can exercise and drop weight, this isn't so much for you unless...

If you stop exercising and your weight starts to go up.  There will likely be a day that exercise ceases to work so well. Today, of all days, I was listening to a podcast from one of the top trainers in America. She is now over 40 and has 7 lbs. to lose for a video shoot and is stressed about how hard that is going to be. She eats pretty good from listening to her, so there must be more going on.

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