Good question and is one that I’ve been asked a lot over the past year. There are a couple of things that you need to realize to keep the pounds off.
Reason # 1: Your diet is more important to your fitness goals than exercise. In fact it is 75% Nutrition, 25% Exercise. Any release of insulin into the bloodstream triggers your fat cells to not only take in the calories as fat and store them it also seals in the toxins so your body is more likely to be in inflammation mode. So drinking Juice, may seem healthy but the effect on the body is far from it. Eat your fruit whole and your body will keep burning fat. Drinking alcohol is also a no-no. Unfortunately alcohol spikes your blood sugar and destroys the body’s ability to destroy fat (up to %92). So when you have a drink after your workout the fat burning stops! Basically you need to stay away from anything that comes in a box and is processed. Anything w/ enriched flour such as white bread and regular pasta will also trap the fat and toxins. Opt for “Ezechiel Bread” and “Ezechiel Pasta” instead. They are made from sprouted grains and are not processed.
Reason #2: Your Exercise routine is not intense enough. The long slow aerobic exercise such as on the treadmill or the elliptical really does not do enough. If you are succeeding with your work outs, that is, you are finishing them with relative ease and no discomfort then you are not doing yourself any favors. The group of people who are in the best shape are contractors. This is because they get themselves into awkward positions that really challenge the body and works each individual muscle. If you do the same thing with the same intensity then your body gets used to it. Your body is so efficient that you need to confuse it and keep the exercises of a variety. Look into doing intervals. This 10 rep workout on the treadmill, bike or elliptical cuts your workout time in half! 30 sec fast and 60 sec medium pace 10 times will blow the fat right off you belly. Also do weight bearing exercises like push-up, core planks, jumping jacks, knee ups etc. Get your heart rate up! Your heart is a muscle and needs to be pushed so increase the intensity to decrease your FAT!
Best, Dan