want to lose weight? stop doing cardio!

I am in shock. In awe. I'm utterly perplexed by what is happening to me.

I took my weight and measurements today and I was blown away.

My weight has dropped.....again! I'm now down to 109 lbs.

I have not done a single minute of cardio in the last two weeks. NONE! No running, no jumping around to workout dvds, no plyometrics or other crazy high intensity stuff. Not a damn thing! Well, unless you count dance parties with the kids in the basement on occasion.

The only thing I have been doing is weight lifting. And even that is only 4 days per week! That's it!

Of course, in addition to that, I've been eating totally 100% clean. I've had an impeccable diet. I've made sure to eat at least between 20-30 grams of protein at every meal (including "snacks"), fibrous veggies and whole grains.

And in the last two weeks, I've dropped 2 pounds and without feeling like I've even tried! It's unbelievable! And to think I was killing myself all summer long with cardio workouts to try and shed fat. UGH! If your body responds to cardio, then as the song says, jump around! But my body apparently doesn't. At least, not the way I was doing it.

This week, I will be adding a day to my workout regimen. Two legs days and only 2 days rest. And in two weeks I'll be adding some cardio to the end of my weight training sessions. It won't seem so easy anymore.

While I'm totally stoked that I've FINALLY gotten into my groove, I'm hoping the weight loss stops and that I begin to GAIN. I want to add muscle! This is a building phase for crying out loud! Fat loss should come later. But I'll take what I can get. I know that since it's so early in the game, my body is just doing some crazy adjusting to it's new lifestyle and I'll even out eventually. And THEN......look out!

Here are my stats for the week:

weight: 109.4  ----- OMG, I haven't seen that number on the scale for years!
widest thigh: 19.5 unchanged, of course :(
hips: 35 down 1/2 an inch
waist: 23.5 ----- this surprised me, I didn't think my waist would ever get smaller, it was small already
bicep: 9.5 flexed (same)
shoulders: 37 ----- I had Eden measure me. Looking back at last week, obviously measuring myself produced quite a different number.

And there you have it. I'm really in disbelief. Here I've been feeling super lazy because I've done NO cardio, and I get movement on the measuring tape AND the scale. It's.....just.....nuts. Maybe it's true about crashing your central nervous system by doing daily hardcore workouts. It's a stress. And you really do need to take breaks. I'm a total believer now!

Has your progress stalled? Maybe you need to take a step back and re-evaluate what you're doing. You might just need to take a breather, or add a few rest days in between your bad ass workouts. Or, you might just need to lift weights and eat properly ;)