There are no doubt some people in this wide world, who for one reason or another, truly cannot lose weight by traditional means. What are those traditional means? Burning more calories than one takes in is the most basic of ideas but doesn’t tell the whole story. Let’s also say eating foods that suit your body and just enough of them as well as exercising to the point of a good hard sweat.

For a good portion of the remaining population who struggle to take off some weight–and there are plenty of us at midlife–the culprit is not the diet, the supplement, the lack of fresh vegetables, or the occasional cosmo. It’s honesty. We lie to ourselves.
And it’s not entirely our fault in the category of exercise. There are barrels full of experts who say “Walking is great exercise, grab a friend and walk around the neighborhood. AND you only need 30 minutes a day.” Bull dinkies!

If you are a sedentary person who is just starting to move around then this sounds like the ideal prescription and 30 minutes might even be too long to start with.
For those who are more comfortable exercising, or have been doing this in fits and starts for years–you’ve got to put some effort into this.

Notice I didn’t say exercise longer. 30 minutes per day is plenty of time to allot to aerobic exercise but you’ve got to move it like you mean it.

Here’s something I learned from trainer to the stars, JJ Virgin, if you aren’t breaking down muscle or pushing through your comfort zone you are not going to get any results. And it’s not weight we want to lose it’s fat.

Her exercise program is based around something called Burst. Here’s the drill. Say you are going to walk. You warm up for 2 mins, walk at your normal/fast pace for 1 – 2 mins then push it as hard as you can for 30- 60 seconds.
When I’m on the treadmill and doing this I walk at 4.2 mph for 1 min. then I push it up to 5.6 which means I have to jog for 45 secs or 1 mins. Then I go back to 4.2. Next round I raise the incline up to 6 or more and do that for 45 seconds. Repeat for 30 mins and you’ll be praying for the gods to take you.
But in 30 minutes I’ve given my body something to work with in terms of building muscle, working the heart muscle to increase my stamina, and burned a butt load of calories.

Whether or not you want to start doing this right away I encourage you to give it a try. Who wants to spend hours on the treadmill or bike when you can get on and off in 30 minutes?

Whether or not you are ready to work this hard at the #1 anti-aging tool we have or not, take an honest look at what you are or aren’t doing. Rather than playing the “nothing works” card, why not play a new game entirely. A rut is a rut and if you are not getting the results you want from the exercise you are doing maybe it’s time to climb out and get honest.

Living young to old age is not going to happen unless you make it happen.
Leave a comment on what you can do to improve your results.