Question:

My metabolism is catching up with me and I need help. I had a gastric by-pass surgery done 2 months ago and have already enjoyed a 59 lb loss. My routine has been to walk 2.5 miles at a 3.5 mph pace. I need variety...help!

Answer:

As you decrease the amount of calories that you take in everyday you will lose weight. But, not all of this weight loss will come from fat loss. Many times the majority of weight loss comes from losing muscle mass. For every 1 pound of muscle that you lose, you also lose the ability to burn 100 calories in a 24-hour period even if you are just sitting around doing nothing! So, the key to a healthy (and faster) metabolism is exercise and preferably strength or resistance oriented exercise in combination with your cardio work.

Even the major wellness and fitness groups like the American College of Sports Medicine have recommended a 50/50 time split between aerobic exercise and resistance or strength training. This is because as healthy as doing aerobic exercise is for you, the resistance training really has the greatest impact on how successful people are in keeping the weight off in the long run!

Unfortunately, cardio is rather boring as you mentioned. You should look into all types of cardio machines like elliptical cross trainers, recumbent bikes, swimming, treadmills, stairsteppers, hiking, etc. One of the best things about a gym membership is the availability of most of this equipment. The gym business is so competitive these days that for roughly 40 bucks per month you can get access to hundreds of thousands of dollars in pretty cool exercise equipment.

Again, try to include some resistance exercise into your weekly routine. I know this will help to continue lowering your bodyfat levels!