From Wendy Bumgardner,
Your Guide to Walking.
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You took up walking for weight loss, but your scale seems stuck after you lose the first few pounds. What is going on?

Welcome to the Plateau
When you first take up an exercise or diet program your body quickly sheds some water weight. This is why those "Lose 10 Pounds in One Week" diets can actually work for new dieters. But those are the only easy pounds you will see go.

From Fat to Muscle
Once the first few pounds are gone, the body now is busy building muscle from your increased exercise and burning fat. While this is happening, you may not see any change in weight, but many terrific things are happening in your body that will increase your metabolism and help you keep the weight off permanently.

Walking builds long, lean muscle rather than bulky muscle. This muscle burns calories, all of the time, day and night, even while you sleep. Fatty tissue burns very few calories. By walking and other exercise, you are increasing your base metabolism - the number of calories your body burns each day, even on days you do not exercise. This will help you lose more fatty tissue.

Stop Weighing, Start Measuring
Measure your waist and hips. To fight discouragement and the temptation to resume old bad habits, stop weighing yourself and get out the measuring tape or a belt instead. Measure your progress by seeing how much more you can tighten the belt, or how the inches are coming off on your waist and the widest portion of your hips.

Measure yourself no more than once a week. Daily fluctuations can be discouraging, especially with a scale. Don't let that kill your resolve, weigh no more than once a week if you want to keep weighing yourself.

Make your goal not pounds, but sizes. Dropping a pants size means you are looking better and better, getting leaner. And while that happens, you may not see the results on the scale you thought you would - but it means that you have now supercharged your metabolism by burning fat and adding lean muscle.

Next Page >> Getting Off the Plateau