RESISTANCE!

OK...if you've have been following along you are now minding your caloric intake, keeping a record of the things you eat, and have introduced some cardio into your weekly routine. Don't worry if you feel behind, you can always start from the beginning and catch up. Go at your own pace.

The next important piece of the puzzle is adding some resistance training, like lifting some weights or using resistance bands, push ups, kettle bells, etc. Now,  I'm not talking you have to go train to be Mr. or Miss Olympia or buy a home-gym with tons of weight. No, start slow, especially if you've never done it before. Keep it simple.

The reason resistance training is so important is because we want to minimize the loss of muscle and maximize the loss of fat. Resistance training will help do that. The more muscle you have, the more calories you'll burn. At this point you want to keep  the weight you are lifting "light",  but do a lot of repetitions. I call it "cardio lifting"  Example: Two sets of each exercise with little rest in between, and 15 repetitions each. You can probably do some research online to find various exercises and techniques, or go to the library. There is no need to spend a lot of money on this. Herschel Walker, the pro football player, said he never lifted weights. He did all his resistance training with things like push ups and sit ups, and pull ups. So there you go. Again, make sure of the proper techniques in performing these exercises so as to avoid injury. You'll want to do this 3 times a week as well, at least for a half an hour.  Again, be consistent. You won't see results  if you skip a bunch of days in between routines.

I'm just going to mention this in case you've ever thought about joining  a gym. I don't want you to be intimidated. A lot of people won't go to a gym because they are out of shape and feel embarrassed.Well, I've  been going to gym's  for a long time and most of the people that go are out of shape trying to get in shape. I have found that people in the gym won't judge you, in fact they are glad to see you and will cheer you on. The ones that are in shape will be more than happy to give advice and offer a compliment when you make progress. So don't be intimidated by going to a gym. I know, it took me a long time to build up the courage to go. Now I'm glad I did.