Overcoming the weight loss plateau

It’s the end of week 6 of my "healthy eating and activity programme". (Yes, I know, unconvincing euphemisms for diet and exercise – they didn’t fool me either).

I’ve hit a slump, big time. I actually put some weight back on this week. Shame!

Why?
I think I got cocky because it seemed to be going so well, and relatively easily. Despite the odd ‘cheat’ (choccie bics, Indian takeout, day(s) off from exercise) I had consistently lost weight. Not so lucky this week.

I'm only half way through the 12 week programme so I can still save this situation and get back on track. In fact, I have a cunning plan.

Most effective exercise for weight loss
A clip I saw on “What’s Good for You” described a ‘key formula’ for weight loss using an exercycle.

Basically I’m going to trial an intense 20 minute ‘Spin Class’ on my exercycle, three plus times a week. I hope it survives the shock!

The magic numbers you need to know are:

• pedal 8 seconds flat out
• followed by 12 seconds recovery
• repeat for 20 minutes (ie 60 times).

Apparently doing this 3 times a week is 3 times better for weight loss than doing 40 mins at moderate intensity 3 times a week. And that's without any dieting.

The story is on line here:
http://health.ninemsn.com.au/whatsgoodforyou/theshow/694660/a-weight-loss-revolution

I tried it first yesterday and found it hard work but doable. It sounds simple enough but I struggled to keep track of the seconds and there was no hope of reading or watching TV like I normally do while pedalling.

Online work out timer
This morning I found an online workout timer and used that. Much simpler for a numberphobe like me.

You just set when you want the alarms to go off and then listen for them as you pedal. I had one sound for starting the 8 second sprint and a different one for starting the 12 second slow pedal. There's nice wee feel good audio surprise when you finish your work out too.

You can try it online here:
http://www.beach-fitness.com/tabata/

In a day or two I’ll try the downloaded version and let you know how that goes.