Did you really think I would tell you that there’s a quick way to lose weight? Come on now, you should know better than to believe shit like that! I do apologize for the click bait, but now that I’ve got you here, let’s talk about my three-year weight loss journey.
You read that right: three freakin' years. Because this doesn’t happen overnight, and if it does, it sure isn’t healthy or sustainable! Simply put, the quicker you lose weight the quicker you’ll end up putting it back on; and we don’t want that. We want long-term, sustainable, permanent, weight loss. And what’s weight? Here, we want to focus on fat loss, not just weight loss. Weight loss would mean muscle too, and we want to keep that. Total body weight is made up of both fat mass and fat-free mass (everything other than your fat, including organs, tissue, muscles and water). So weight loss is one thing, but fat loss is a completely different thing.
In my three-year journey, I’ve lost 30 lbs of fat mass. Fat-free mass (lean) has gone down by about 4 lbs, but as a woman, it is extremely challenging to build muscle mass, especially when we’re peeling away 30 lbs of fat at the same time.
My 5 tools for success:
Accountability: having someone to hold you accountable (preferably an educated coach who understands the importance of good health and mental well being; not just someone who can tell you to workout more, eat less, and you’ll lose the weight.) Weekly check-ins are a great tool to apply to see changes, what works and what doesn’t, and to be able to look back months from now and see exactly how much you’ve progressed.
Flexible dieting: there’s no one-size-fits-all meal plan and fad diets don’t work for the long term. Sure, they might work short-term, but if you cannot follow a specific ‘lifestyle’ for a long time (ie: keto, paleo, low carb, etc.), then it probably isn’t very healthy. I follow flexible dieting where I hit certain macronutrients (protein, carbs and fats) every day, and I can eat whatever my heart desired as long as I hit those target numbers. It’s allowed me to get rid of the ‘good food vs bad food’ mindset, and now I’m eating ice cream with sprinkles, and burgers and fries on a regular basis.
Strength training: strength training is far superior for fat loss than cardio is, but that may vary depending on the person. Strength training helps to preserve and build muscle mass as well as burns body fat, so you’re really in a win-win situation with this one. Some types of cardio might be beneficial (such as HIIT or steady state) but having a good training program that matches your needs, goals, and lifestyle will outweigh any cardio. Cardio has its time and place, but for most people, it’s not a huge priority, or at least it shouldn’t be.
Honesty: you need to be honest not only with your coach, but with yourself too. Listening to your body, understanding what it needs and that rest is actually very healthy for you!
Resources: using multiple tools such as an educated coach who can provide you scientific research as to why you’re doing certain things in your journey and using different tools to measure and track progress (the scale is not the only indicator of weight loss, plus you don’t know what you’re losing is fat and what is muscle!) and by using measuring tapes or even a body composition method like my favorite: the BodPod.
In the three years of my fat loss journey, it wasn’t always one linear path. Most of my progress did continually drop, but I did go through a 7 lb weight gain recently (on my body that’s a lot) and that ended up being pure body fat. Progress is NOT linear, and when you are able to learn, understand and accept that, you will be a lot better for it and your journey will be much healthier. Being fixated on the scale weight is not going to give you accuracy with your fat loss, because muscle takes up more space than fat does, so even if you weigh the same amount, your body composition (fat mass vs fat-free mass) could be completely different. Even daily fluctuations happen because our body is continuously undergoing chemical reactions and internal changes that we aren’t aware of. Digestion, hormones, sleep quality, water levels, sodium intake, fibre consumption, environmental factors like stress, family functions, weather changes and air pressure will all play a significant role in our progress as well.
So I apologize that there is not secret weight loss hacks that I can provide you, hopefully just some more insight on expectations and reality, and understanding that this takes a long damn time.
Further resources:
My YouTube channel provides many informative videos about my journey (I have 2 body composition videos where you can see how I measure my body composition via the Bod Pod and what my accurate tests show).
www.youtube.com/courtneyforlife
My blog also provides further reading in categories like nutrition, fitness, personal, recipes, well being and motivation. I create weekly blogs that are sent to your email when you’re subscribed to my newsletters (which usually come out on a monthly basis – subscribe on my website home page!) that provide a lot of bite-sized information to continually improve in your journey.
www.courtneyforlife.com/blog
If you're interested in joining my team of thriving athletes, information for coaching is available at:
www.courtneyforlife.com/coaching