What happens when weight loss stops? You do more cardio. Here are 5 reasons why that might not be your best approach.

My body just can't lose weight.

The voice on the other end of the phone sounded beaten, frustrated, and hopeless.
 "If you knew. If you knew how hard I've been working. You'd understand. You'd know I wasn't making excuses."
My heart went out to Sarah, a mother of a 3-year-old girl, and a successful real estate agent. She had come to me after another friend of hers, Tracy, had lost weight working with me through my online training program, just 6 months after giving birth.
A deep breath followed, and Sarah asked why she should believe her body wasn't programmed to look a certain way.
I asked her to keep an open mind, stay patient, and to walk me through everything she had done. As she told me her tale of diet and exercise, I nodded and immediately knew what was wrong.
Sarah was putting in time to her weight loss. But the type of effort she was giving—specifically her over-reliance on running—was a problem I had seen many times before, especially with women.
I explained to Sarah the reasons why her type of running plan isn't always the best way to lose fat.
Notice the wording there; I did not say running is bad or will make you fat. That’s just not true. It’s a great form of exercise and one with a lot of value.
This was about efficiency and understanding why your current cardio approach could be a reason why your jeans don't fit better—even when you spend plenty of time in the gym.
Sarah decided to give it a try and push ahead. One month later and 7 pounds lost, we have her back on track and believing that her body can change.
If you're like Sarah and think your body is or are frustrated by your lack of progress, here are some simple adjustments you can make to make sure your running approach is not one giant weight loss mistake.

Running Mistake #1: Your Workout is Always the Same

Your body is an amazing machine. It's so incredible—and designed for efficiency—that if you do the same thing over and over again, the process becomes easier.
In the case of running, not only will running feel more effortless when repeated workout after workout (even if you're still sweating and pumping your legs), but your metabolism literally learns and reacts so that fewer calories are burned with the same exercise output.
This is where traditional "steady state" running falls short on a long-term weight loss plan. Research conducted at the University of Tampa found that doing steady state cardio—such as running on the treadmill for 45 minutes at a consistent pace that's not near maximal effort (think sprinting)—helps out with weight loss…but only initially.
The subjects lost a few pounds in the first week and then kaput! Nothing more. The reason? Within a week their metabolism had adjusted and now didn't need to work as hard to burn off the fat.
One of the biggest "problems" with just running at a steady, moderate intensity pace, is that the calories you burn are limited to the time you spend sweating.
Once your body adapts, the benefit is limited.
That's why weight training is oftentimes viewed as better than "just" running. Lifting weights impacts your metabolism by causing mini-micro tears that need to be repaired. That healing process requires energy, which means you're burning more calories—a process that can sometimes last for nearly two days.
To put it more simply: With cardio, you can slog away for 30 minutes at a lower intensity and burn 200 calories—or you can just 200 calories fewer per day. It's the same thing.
With weight training (or as you'll soon find out—sprints), that's not the case. The calories you burn are not limited to what you do in the gym. Meaning a little variety might not seem like a big change to your routine, but it will have a dramatic impact on transforming your body.

Running Mistake #2: You Go Longer, But Not Faster

One of the most important variables with any type of exercise—cardio or other—is intensity. If you look at the average person who runs, they pick a pace that they can maintain for a long duration.
Think about it: When you jump on a treadmill, elliptical, bike or trail, you're starting with the intent to be there for a while. Maybe it's 30 minutes or an hour, but your goal is to push at a pace you can sustain, work hard, feel tired, and then go home.
While this is great for endurance, it's not so great for fat loss.
A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association followed the exercise habits of over 34,000 women and concluded that it took about an hour a day of moderate (3 mph walking) exercising to maintain weight. Notice, that's not weight loss. And 3 miles per hour is not very fast.
Now imagine if instead of just arbitrarily picking an amount of time to exercise, instead you focused on pushing yourself to certain level of difficulty.
If the 3.0 on a treadmill would be a "4" on a scale of 1 to 10 of difficulty, what would happen if you pushed yourself at an 8 or 9 for a shorter period of time?
There's no need to guess, I'll tell you: More fat loss.
Research at the University of Western Ontario compared short but intense exercise, to long, less-intense cardio. One group perform 4 to 6 thirty second "sprints" while the other group did cardio for 30 to 60 minutes. The results were nothing short of amazing. Despite exercising for a fraction of the time, those in the sprint category burned more than twice as much body fat.
That's because the process of sprinting causes similar internal changes to your body, such as those that occur during weight training. Your body needs to replenish it's ATP (energy), covert lactic acid that's produced during exercise into glucose, and restore your blood hormone levels after such a hard workout.
All of those processes mean your body works harder and burns more fat—both of which don't happen during aerobic running sessions.

Running Mistake #3: You Focus too Much on Calories Burned

You know what I hate? The calorie- trackers built into cardio machines that inform you how many calories you burn.
They are misleading and oftentimes do more harm than good. You see, a common weight loss mistake has nothing to do with what you're doing in the gym, but instead how much you think your workouts influence the amount of calories you burn.
Believing that the majority of the calories you burn results from exercise is a dangerous misunderstanding. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
Just being alive—sleeping, standing, eating, thinking—requires a tremendous amount of energy. Remember, the machine analogy used earlier? This is why it applies. You burn calories just being alive.
The number of calories you burn at the gym actually pales in comparison to normal functioning and your daily activities that are not exercise based.
Does that mean there's no need to hit the gym? Of course not. Exercise has many health benefits, but the type of exercise you perform in the gym will influence how many calories you burn outside of it.
Running will burn calories, but sprinting or lifting weights will result in more muscle. And the more muscle you have on your body (no—not the "bulky" muscle of bodybuilders), the more calories your body burns just functioning.
Your muscles are like a 3-year-old child: are active and needy. So it only suits you to have more muscle so that you can burn calories without having to work or think about it.

Running Mistake #4: You Don't Try Other Forms of Cardio

Now that you know muscle is important to your overall weight loss goals, it only makes sense that you would want to do the type of exercises that help this happen the fastest and most efficient ways.
If you're a lover of the slower, longer duration cardio, I have some bad news: "Endurance" running and walking (longer duration, lower intensity impairs strength and muscle growth, according to research in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research.
What's more, even if you increase the intensity and run on an incline, cycling was still better for gaining muscle and burning fat, says researchers from Stephen F. Austin State University.
Again, the point here is not that "running doesn't work" or that there aren't any benefits.
This is about losing weight the most efficient way possible. And if you have limited time, you might be better served by cycling (preferably at a high intensity) as opposed to going for a longer walk or jog.

Running Mistake #5: You Run Too Much (Yes, Too much!)

This might sound crazy, so just hang with me: The number on the scale might not be changing because you're doing too much running.
Now, I'll be the first to admit that this isn't problem for the majority of people struggling to drop a few pounds. But I've worked with many clients—and seen hundreds of other case studies—where fat loss has been stunted by doing too much.
Exercise is an undisputable component of a healthy life. However, exercise is still stress of your body. The demands of which impact your hormones, which also control your ability to lose fat.
Specifically, the hormone cortisol is released when you exercise. All cortisol is not bad (despite what late night TV and supplement ads might have you believe), but chronic stress and chronic cortisol can lead to insulin resistance and force you to store belly fat against your best-laid plans.
After all, research published in the journal Hormone Research found that long distance running—like that done in endurance runners—causes an sustained increase in cortisol. And this increase in cortisol for long period of times can lead to more inflammation, slower recovery, breaking down your muscle tissue, building up fat, and even harm your immune functioning.
Just as bad, if you're suffering from too much stress—whether it's the result of exercises for too many hours or not recovering with the right nutrition—you can harm your thyroid and lower your metabolic rate, making weight loss more difficult.
If you're doing an hour of cardio per day, that's more than enough for fat loss. (Remember, this isn't for endurance training.)
If you start running 2 to 4 hours per day and aren't losing weight (or maybe evening gaining), you might be best suited to reduce your running frequency, add some resistance training, and see what happens. Odd are, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

The weight room comes with all sorts of fun connotations and associations. For some, it's a musty place where people grunt as they throw down weights with their 20-inch biceps. For others, it's a place to do a few curls and leave without taking full advantage of what's available. And some manage to put on their blinders and get a really great workout.

Whether you're looking to refresh your current strength training routine or are starting from scratch in the weight room, we've got answers to many of the frequently asked questions.

Let's start at the beginning: What are all these black and metal things?

Well, there are a few different kinds:

Free weights: These guys can range anywhere from five pounds to 150 pounds. Lighter weights are usually used for single muscle exercises (think: bicep curls, tricep extensions) whereas heavier weights are better for compound exercises (think: shoulder presses, chest or reverse flyes, weighted squats). If you're not sure where to start, grab a lighter weight and work your way up. How do you know if you are using the right weight? You should be able to perform 8-12 repetitions of an exercise in a row and feel fatigued on that final repetition.

Olympic Bar: These all weigh 45 pounds and can be used for many different activities, including the bench press, squat rack, or functional movements like a clean and jerk. Note: You may also see bar weights, which are long bars with set weights on each end. These typically range from 20 to 100 pounds and can be used to perform weighted squats, lunges, shoulder presses, rows, curls and more.

Plates: These are weighted plates that you can add onto an Olympic bar.

Clips: These are used to hold in the plates on your bars. Make sure you secure your plates on or else they will slip off and cause some damage.

Bench press: This is a flat bench with a bar propped above the chest area. This is how you use it, but if it's your first time using this, seek a trainer to assist you for safety reasons.

Squat rack: These machines often get hogged, but if you ever see it empty, grab a friend or trainer and take a turn at it. If it's your first time using this machine, it's really important to have someone nearby to spot you and/or check for good form. To properly prepare your squat rack, begin by clearing off the rack of any weights (but if the person before you had good etiquette, it should have already been cleared). Walk up to the bar and assess it for proper height — it should come right between your chin and mid-chest. If it's too high or too low, lift the bar off the rack and have your partner adjust the holsters where the weight rests.

To perform your first weighted squat, walk in front of the bar while it is still resting on its holsters. Bend your elbows and position your hands slightly behind your shoulders. Place your hands on the bar, positioning yourself directly in the middle. Let the bar rest on the meaty part of your shoulders. Once you feel completely comfortable, gently lift the bar off of its holsters and pause to gain balance. Your feet should be a little more than hip-width apart and you should be standing very tall. From here, keep your chest lifted as you sit into your squat, bending from your ankles, knees, and then hips. Keep your spine long and neutral as you come into your squat and then stand back up.

Again, if it's your first time, ask for someone to check your form.

Smith Machine: You may see some of these machines hanging around the gym, too. They are very similar to a squat rack, but the bar is connected by a pulley system to the rack, making you feel a bit safer and supported. It's a good place to start if it's your first time doing weighted squats.

Kettlebells: These funky looking things are known for their combination of cardio and strength training benefits. You can start really basic with moves such as the kettlebell swing, squat press, or pull. Form is everything with kettlebells, so ask a trainer for some pointers before you get started.

Great. Now that I know what the equipment looks like, how do I understand the workouts?
Here's how to parse some of that confusing lingo

"Rep" or "Repetition": When someone says they've done "10 reps," they are saying that they performed one single move 10 times. It's basically a count.

"Set": Reps make up a set. For example, those "10 reps" are known as one set. You can determine the number of reps that make up a set, but it's usually a number in the double digits (or single digits if you're lifting really heavy).

Let's apply this:

"I just did 3 sets of 15 squats, lunges, and push-ups."

This means that one set = 15 reps of squats, 15 reps of lunges, and 15 reps of push-ups. They did that whole set three times.

What about etiquette? Where do I put my stuff? What if the weights get all sweaty?

Etiquette is everything in the gym. Some people are no good at it, but that doesn't mean you should be one of them. Follow these tips to make the most of your (and everyone's) time and experience.

1. Have an idea of what your workout will be so that you don't end up "hogging" equipment.

Sometimes the squat rack is on one end of the gym, while the bench press is on the other end. Instead of placing your towel on both pieces and attempting to "claim" them for 30 minutes, plan one workout (or a few sets) around the squat rack, then plan a separate workout (or another few sets) around the bench press. In peak times, this will be helpful to both you and your fellow gym-goers.

2. Carry a towel and wipe equipment down before and after use.

I like to have two towels with me — one for wiping equipment and another for wiping my own sweat. Many gyms also have a spray bottle or disinfecting wipes. Be kind and clean to yourself and others by wiping down your space.

3. Put weights back when you're done.

If you can lift it up to work out, you can definitely lift it up to put it back. Weights are heavy (crazy, right?), so don't let that job fall to someone else. Put all weights back when you're done using them, and clear off any bars that you have loaded. (If it's too heavy, bro, maybe cut a rep or two next time in the name of courtesy.)

4. It's OK to share.

Especially if it's peak hours, don't be shy about asking someone how many more sets they have on a piece of equipment you want to use (just don't be rude or annoying or ask them mid-squat!). And if you're the one with all the equipment other people want, be open to share requests. For example, if you're doing some movements that use free weights and some that use different equipment, consider letting another lifter use the free weights when you're not.

5. It's OK to ask.

Not sure what you're doing? Ask someone. It doesn't have to be a trainer — although it's preferred — but sometimes the regular gym junkie can at least get you set up. People would rather set you up in good form and with good knowledge than watch you get injured.

I recently met a man at a gym where I consult wearing an Apple watch and a Basis watch, two heavy-duty trackers. He also tracked his food with MyFitnessPal, his sleep, his weight with a wifi scale, and a bunch of other things, too, all on disparate platforms. And after a year with all that data, his progress towards his goals had slowed to a crawl. You'd think he'd be doing better than ever, but he wasn't able to suss through all the crazed web of the different data sets and apps to find a successful path to his goal.

Progress in the beginning of a health and fitness journey is relatively easy. Beginners just need to be pointed in the right direction and consistent and "things happen." But things get trickier when you're not a beginner anymore. When you hit your first plateau (the true sign you're no longer a beginner), it suddenly matters "what" you actually do at the gym. And from here on out, you're going to have to actually think about optimal, and how to avoid hurting your potential progress.

Data and goals are essential to optimizing, but like the gentleman with more data tracking than the space shuttle, they may be holding you back. Here are three accidental ways you could be hurting your health goals.

1. Data Is not Wisdom

In 1989, Russel Ackoff gave a speech to International Society for General Systems Research in which he coined the "Knowledge Pyramid."

Tracking everything doesn't lead to insights. Knowledge and expertise does. That's why even the best athletes have coaches and usually lots of them. Experts are people you pay to help you interpret the data and help you find one path among many. Devices available today aren't substitutes for these experts; they aren't able to extract insights from your data to help to make these decisions. No longer being a beginner means you're going to have to manage lots of potential options, some of which you might not even know are out there. And as Russell Ackoff noted in 2002, data can actually confuse people even more. "[People] who don't know how to measure what they want settle for wanting what they can measure." And getting clear on what your goals are, is the first step to utilizing that data and expertise.

2. Fitness Is not Health

My mentor Dan John likes to remind just about anyone who'll listen that, "fitness and health are not the same thing." Fitness is the ability to do a task. Health is fuzzier. I ran a sub-3hr marathon, but I almost severed both my achilles tendons, kept getting infections, and had exactly zero libido for almost 3 months leading up to it. I was unhealthy. The World Health Organization calls health, "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." Put another way, health is waking up with pretty much the same chance of dropping dead as yesterday.

The reason I bring this up is that many people get hung up on metrics thinking they're health. But most metrics measure "fitness" for tasks. And being fit for many tasks could require a temporary sacrifice of your health. Like marathon running. And that's not bad, it just is. So ask yourself, "Do I have health goals … or fitness goals?"

3. "Goal" Trumps Another "Goals"

Finally, one of the easiest ways to hurt your goals, is to have more than one. In fact, I call trying to achieve more than outcome goal at a time, "The Intermediate Mistake." Beginners' often just want to get better. At anything. Advanced athletes know exactly what they want with crystal clarity. The "Intermediate Mistake" is not having a clear idea of what you want and pursuing it all at once.

You can't run 6 days a week and CrossFit 6 days a week and hope to get better at either of them very efficiently. It's great to have multiple interests and variety in your training, but as you get better, you'll have to choose where you spend your energy and time because you have to manage recovery. I'm not saying you have to specialize in one sport, but prioritizing one goal to do first is the hallmark of clarity.

The tool I use for this with clients is called, "5-3-1st," and it's pretty simple.

1. List your top 5 health and fitness goals.
2. Of those, what are your top 3?
3. Of those, what is the first goal you would like to achieve?

If you take the time to prioritize the order in which you would like to achieve your goals, you will save a lot of time and energy that you might have wasted trying to run in two directions at once.

I know a lot of people who want to lose weight but are stuck, like I was in 2005.

They want to get healthy and fit, but can’t seem to stick to a diet or exercise plan. They start, and then fail, and then feel bad about it.

This was where I was 10 years ago, and I’m happy to tell you that it’s possible to change.

The secret lies in leveling up.

Like a video game, the way to changing your health habits is by starting out at the first level, and only going to the next level after you’ve beaten the one before that. The problem is that most people start at Level 10 and fail, and wonder what happened. Most of us want to skip several levels, but we’re just not ready.

So the secret is to start at Level 1, and only advance once you’re done with that level. One level at a time, you’ll master the game of losing weight and getting healthy.

Here’s my guide to leveling up.

Level 1

Please, for goodness sake, don’t make the mistake of skipping this level because it sounds too easy. The easy levels are where you gain your skills.

You need to do two very easy things in this level:

1. Start walking just for a few minutes every day.
2. Reduce your eating by a little bit. A very little bit.

The walking should be as simple as walking around the block a couple times, or going to a nearby park for just 5-10 minutes. It should seem so easy that you feel a little dumb not doing more.

Why should it be so easy? Because you’re not ready for higher levels yet. You might think you are, but if you haven’t been regularly exercising for awhile, you aren’t.

The eating could just be as simple as putting a little less on your plate at dinner, or having one less soda a day. Make it almost unnoticeable.

Only progress past this level after you’ve successfully done it for a week.

Level 2

Remember, don’t go to this level until you’ve had a streak of 7 days of doing Level 1.

Here are the two things to do in this level:

1. Walk every day for a few minutes more. If you’ve been going around the block twice, make it three times. Or add 5 minutes to your walking.
2. Eat a little less than in the previous level. Just a little less — not really noticeable.

You’ll slowly adjust to the new levels of walking and eating. Do this for another week before going to the next level.

Level 3

If you’ve successfully done Level 2 for another week, you’re ready to add more:

1. Walk a little more.
2. Eat/drink less of something that’s empty calories — less soda, sugar, bread, pastries, sweet coffee drink, chips, cookies, pizza. Don’t drop any of these completely, just eat less of it.

Slowly, you’re adapting to a new level. Again, spend a week here.

Level 4

Now we’re going to change things up a little!

1. Add a minute of faster walking to your walks. Just one or two intervals of walking at a pace that makes it harder to have a conversation. So walk for 5 minutes at conversational pace, then speed it up for a minute, then back to the regular pace. You can repeat that a couple times if you feel like it.
2. Add some veggies to your food. Just a little, and something you might like. Greens are the best, but if you’d rather eat carrots or cauliflower, go for it. Don’t make it a lot, just a little.

Spend a week at this level.

Level 5

Basically, this is a repeat of Level 4 — add a little more fast walking to your daily walks, and add another veggie to one of your meals.

You can repeat this adding each week for 2-3 weeks. You’re getting the idea by now: basically, you started out by eating a little less each week (barely noticeable) and then adding some vegetables to your diet. You started out by walking just a little each day, slowly adding more, then adding some faster intervals. Keep increasing this progress slowly, one week at a time.

Level 6

Now we’re going to add some harder challenges:

1. Add some hills or stairs to your walking routine. Find a hill to walk up for at least a few minutes, or if you have stairs in your building, do a few flights at the end of your regular walk. Don’t make this too hard!
2. Try finding and making a new healthy recipe online each week.

Stay at this level for 2-3 weeks, until it seems easy.

Level 7

Only do this level once the previous level seems really easy!

1. Add some pushups. Just 2-3 sets of less pushups than you think you can do.
2. Find a healthy breakfast and eat that.

Other Levels

By now, you’ve been walking, doing walk intervals, added some stairs/hills, and some pushups. You’re in much better shape than before.

You’ve also slowly started eating less, adding vegetables, trying out new recipes, eating a healthy breakfast.

That’s a major shift in your diet and exercise habits, and you did it slowly, barely challenging yourself at each level. You didn’t rush it.

Now that you understand how this leveling system works, you can create your own levels beyond Level 7. Some ideas for higher levels — but be sure not to make any of the levels too difficult:

• Add more bodyweight exercises
• Add a little bit of running to your walks if you want
• Try some pullups
• Try some dumbbell weight exercises
• Eventually try some basic barbell weight training (squats, deadlifts, bench)
• Do a few yoga poses on some days
• Eat more veggies
• Reduce empty carbs
• Add whole grains
• Eat less junk food
• Slowly eliminate fast food

If you can slowly change your diet and exercise to include these levels, I can almost guarantee you’ll have weight loss over time, and most importantly, you’ll be much healthier over the long run.

“Leveling up isn’t easy if you’re impatient, but it’s the smartest way to change, and it works.” – Healthy lead tips

Running is universally recognized as one of the healthiest forms of exercise and can yield powerful results for your body, making you more fit, healthier and happier. Once you get into the habit of running a few times a week, you'll soon notice how quickly running can get you into shape. You might also notice that the high impact, repetitive nature of the sport can take its toll on your body. This is the point where many brand-new runners give up.
But if you're patient and learn how to balance running just enough to progress without overdoing it, your body will start adapting and you'll reap the benefits of improved fitness. Here are 5 tips to help you find that happy medium while also avoiding injury:
1. Progress gradually.
There are 2 main reasons people get injured from running: They run too much too soon, or too fast too soon. Even experienced runners who know this rule frequently break it while trying to push their bodies too hard. Start out slowly, and progress gradually.
One age-old rule is don't increase your weekly mileage by more than 10% per week. This rule applies whether you're trying to stick to a run/walk program, progressing to running 3–4 days a week or training for a 5K. Your muscles will adapt to the stress of running, but they need time to do so.
Another good rule to follow: Make sure your longest run of the week isn't more than 50% of your weekly total. So if you're running 15 miles total in a week, your longest run should be 7.5 miles max.
2. Rest and recover.
Proper rest is just as important as your training. You can't improve if you don't allow your body to recover. It's a simple sentiment, but it can sometimes be tricky to execute. If you're not used to running every day, don't start a training plan that requires you to do so. Rest days are critical to keep you healthy while you progress toward your goal.
3. Buy the right shoes.
If you're new to running and feel overwhelmed by the seemingly endless styles of shoes available, take a deep breath and read on. The first step to finding your perfect shoe is to figure out what kind of stride you have. If you're a heavy "over pronator," which is a term used to describe how the arch collapses as your foot contacts the ground, you may need a shoe with support. If you have a neutral foot strike, you likely don't need additional support and can run in a neutral shoe.
The best way to determine what kind of foot strike you have is to seek advice from a knowledgeable source, like a salesperson at your local running specialty shop. There are dozens of support and cushion levels that vary from model to model and brand to brand. The best way to figure out what works best for you is to try shoes on and run in them. You should be able to find a perfect match with a little knowledge and patience.
4. Roll it out.
Post-run stretching and massage can help your muscles stay loose and prevent imbalances. Think of self-massagers like floss for your muscles. It's a bit of a chore, but doing it every day can keep you healthy. How much you stretch and incorporate massage into your daily routine will depend on your body and how it adapts to the stress of your training.
5. Maintain balance.
As you increase mileage, it's important to keep track of the other parts of your life that can cause stress and contribute to injury. Are you getting enough sleep? Are you eating enough calories (and the right type of calories) to keep your body fueled and energized? Are you eating a healthy, balanced mix of foods? These lifestyle decisions go hand in hand with your training.
You may not associate your diet with knee pain, but if your diet is poor, your immune system could be compromised. This can result in longer recovery time between workouts and eventually contribute to an injury.
Running is perhaps the purest form of exercise and can be one of the most enjoyable. To stay injury-free and running happily, remember to ease into your training, learn how to recover, buy the best shoes for your feet and, most importantly, maintain balance throughout your life.