I reached my goal weight in January of 2010. I know it was the strength training that helped me get there. I lost 7 lbs of fat but actually gained one pounds of muscle. I remember thinking that I didn’t want to gain any more muscle, as I have enough as it is, but if I didn’t continue lifting would I gain back the weight I lost?
Eighteen months later, I’ve regained the 5 of the pounds of fat I lost but I have kept the muscle and consequently, kept up my faster metabolism. I did not continue to do the strength training as consistent as I did. In fact, this winter, I decided to do not much at all besides Yoga and Running.
In regards to my little experiment this winter, I think it is pretty interesting that I didn’t lose muscle from not strength training but I did gain weight. Is there a special recipe to lifting weight without gaining it? More importantly, is it that yoga just doesn’t burn the calories that strength training does?
Similar to my habits when I was able to reach my goal weight, I am lifting three times a week. I assume I will reach my goal weight again this fall when I am in the midst of my Urbanathlon training. I want to prevent the yo-yo cycle and so I asked one of America’s best personal trainers, Joe Dowdell what to do when I once again reach my goal.
To find out what he recommends, check out my post today on Crushing The Course.
In short, he suggest that you do not stop lifting. There are many ways to change up your routine to keep things interesting but instead of 3 sets, he suggests reducing to just 2 sets. Keep the weight and intensity.
Have you reached your goal weight and found a happy routine to keep it there? If so, do share 🙂
