Losing Weight

Last fall I wrote a post about losing weight and told you I was on a personal journey to get in better shape. Well I did it. I lost 43 lbs. and feel like a million bucks. Did you know you can leap twice as high when you weigh 43 lbs. less. I almost hit my head on the ceiling! Man was that fun or what!

I had help from my Dr. and friends at Dean Health in Madison, Wis. I encourage you to talk with your Dr. and find a local program that works directly with you in the clinic. I've tried Weight Watchers and LA Weight Loss in the past and lost 15 lbs., but now with over 40 lbs. off I can say that this VLCD was the right fit for me. The trick is finding what fits for you. And being in the right frame of mind. My goal was 40 by 40. I turn 40 in March and I was determined that I wasn't going to have yet another birthday go by with regrets on my weight. And now Summer can't come fast enough, bring out the shorts and tank tops I'm ready!

Setting a good example for personal health to my own children and my dancers was also important to me. If we can't take good care of ourselves how can we expect them to? As Dance Teachers we give so many wonderful lifetime "gifts" to our students, let good health be yet another.

3,500 calories to gain a pound of fat

Now, I'm probably like most of you who have been athletes and dancers for your whole life, but somehow still managed to pack on some unwanted pounds. Dance Teachers often struggle with weight as they juggle busy jobs, teach classes (but actually get little exercise) and are just real people like everyone else with stress, menopause, and families to feed.

I thought I knew how to lose weight, but I didn't really. For instance, I thought losing weight to look good for the recital was a perfectly acceptable reason to lose weight. Turns out its not. Lowering your cholesterol to stave off heart disease is a better reason. (but I'm still secretly hoping to look great for the recital, don't tell my Dr.)

Today, I'm sharing something that I learned - It takes deleting or burning 3,500 calories (on top of those you need just to live) from your diet to lose 1 lb. Or it takes 3,500 calories to GAIN a pound too. Gosh, one home-cooked family dinner at Thanksgiving plus leftovers surely must be 3,500 calories. No wonder we often gain 5 lbs. during the holidays. And that megabag of M&M's you keep for emergency fuel? Watchout! That's why it's not possible to lose 5 real pounds of fat in a week- despite what the ads tell you. One or two lbs a week is a safe, yet tough goal if you do it right.

Teaching an average dance class for 30 minutes for me only burns, according to the calorie burn charts, about 60 calories - a good night of teaching may be over 350 cal. And one full out, full steam ahead ballet class for an hour can burn nearly 450 calories (if you aren't the teacher.)

So, the next time you want to reward yourself for a hard nights work at the studio remember you may not have gotten as much exercise as you think... fuel your body for nutrition not to relieve the the stress from the day.

After class, get some exercise for yourself. Go for a run or a walk, jump rope, or do yoga. You deserve it. You all give so much to others, give a little back to yourself.