Ever wonder why all of your wonderful dieting attempts always end the same way? Have you been dieting and finally hit a plateau and don’t know how to get the scale moving again? The answer is quite simple: lift weights! Many people seem to be confused by that simple piece of advice, but it truly works. Dieting alone results in you losing precious lean muscle from your body - which you never want to do! By adding weight training to your routine, along with your diet, you preserve that muscle and actually gain some along the way, which results in a leaner, firmer, healthier body. Not only will lifting weights help speed up your metabolism, but for every pound of muscle you gain - you burn an extra 50 calories a day! Add 2 pounds of muscle and you are looking at an extra 100 calories a day (if it doesn’t sound like a lot to you, just think that eating an extra 100 calories a day will result in 10 pounds of fat every year). So just by adding weight training to your exercise routine, and a healthy diet of course, you will lose up to 10 lbs. in 1 year, and that’s without changing your diet. And don’t worry about the muscle making you look any bigger, because it’s actually much denser (hence, smaller) and takes up much less space in your body - resulting in you being smaller (assuming you are overweight) and much firmer (who doesn’t like that!).

Want to give it a go? Don’t forget that not only do you need to maintain proper form at all times but you also need to lift weights that are heavy enough (you should be able to perform each exercise around 15 times and be very close to fatiguing the muscle). Be sure to include all of your major muscles. Perform your weight lifting routine around 3 times a week.  Consult a personal trainer if you are unsure of what to do. And remember, consistency is key, so make this a part of your routine and stick with it to get the best results.