So you know by now that those 8 minute moves will help you shed pounds and look younger. But did you know that building muscle will make you feel younger? That's right! When you strength train, you build muscle and burn fat all day long. With your metabolism revved up, you'll notice an increase in energy that propels you throughout the day. Another benefit of strength training is that it builds younger bones. As bones age, they lose calcium and other minerals, which makes them porous and susceptible to breaking. Getting enough calcium is important, but the best thing you can do for your bones is strength training. Your joint will also benefit because strength training makes your muscles, ligaments, and tendons stronger and free of pain. Strength training will also affect your balance by keeping your brain-to-muscle connections level. Plus, when you see and feel yourself grow stronger, your self-confidence will skyrocket!

Thanks..I needed that..I WILL pick up my weights today...

I do way more than just his 8MM and I find it definitely helps with my weight loss. I try to do 30 minutes of strength training a day but usually get closer to 20. Plus it firms everything up as the lbs come off.

Thanks for this extra information. I will definitely have to increase my exercise. I know that it will be tough, but I can do it. That just may be the reason why I keep playing with the half lb wt loss every week. Gain a half, lose a half.

Bren, are you sure you are eating enough food? Given your current weight, you should probably be consuming about 1600 to 1700 calories a day before exercise. You might want to do a Google search for BMR calculation, figure out what yours is and then drop the calories from that number by up to 1000 to lose about 2 lbs a week.

I know when I don't eat enough calories, I don't lose weight. That's why I count them every day. I can't just go by the plate thing and 3 oz of protein a meal is not enough for me - I need 14 oz a day.

Interesting Susan..I am having the same problem as Bren...and it is frustrating?
Can you explain the dropping the calories part...? My BMR is 1355...what do I do with it?????? So 1355 calories is what I need to stay the same..???
Thanks a bunch..Lou

Sure - go to http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/ and figure out what your BMR is.

Depending on what that number is, you want to drop the calories no more than 1,000 per day.

For instance, my number is 2526.64 -- that's the number of calories based on my current age and weight and activity level I need per day to maintain my current weight.

If I want to lose a pound a week, I drop that number by 500. If I want to lose 2 lbs a week, I drop that number by 1000. So I should eat 1526.64 calories a day to lose 2 lbs a week -- on average.

The kicker is that if you do a lot of exercise and burn a lot of calories, you have to add those calories back into your total. For example, if I eat 1526.64 calories today, but I burn off 500 of them exercising, then I only really ate 1026.64 -- which isn't enough for the amount I weigh right now.

So, I would actually eat my 1526.64 calories plus the 500 I burned off for exercise in order to balance out at the 1526.64 net I need for the day.

It's working for me, and if you are not losing weight and you are heavier, you may not be taking in enough calories and putting yourself into starvation mode.

Got it!!!!!!!!!!! I did it and my bmr is 1355....So if I cut my calories to 1150..300 calorie breakfast, lunch and dinner and two 100 calorie snacks and one 50 cal ..treat ..and that is .5 an lb a week and that seems to be on par of what I am doing. I haven't been excersizing like I should and I will have to get back to it from what the bmr is telling me...if I want to eat and lose weight I better work out also.
thanks for the help..I am losing weight and I should not complain but it is taking so long to lose such a small amount of weight..
Lou

Lou, did you just figure out your BMR? If so, then multiply that by 1.375 if you do light exercise 1-3 days a week and 1.5 if you do moderate exercise 3-5 days a week. That's your daily calorie intake. Then subtract the 500 or 1000 from that number. Make sure you do the extra step to be sure.

Thanks Susan. This is wonderful. My BMR is 1720.8. x 1.55 which means to stay the same, I need 2667.24 calories. Depending on whether I want to drop 1 or 2 lbs. then I will subtract 500 or 1000 from that number. That does put me around 1600 cal. I am going to work with this and arrange these calories to fit the JC plan. This week will probably be off because I have plans for the weekend and I'm doing some religious stuff. Thanks again for that website, it has some very interesting information. I think it may help others that are having the same problem.