My first couple of years as a trainer , weight loss journeys were a bit rocky. Mainly because I didn’t fully understand what needed to be done from day 1 to see real results.
One of the first times I worked with someone on their weight loss in about 2017, we started with too much too soon, didn’t see the results we both expected, and made the process harder on that client than needed.
In my mind, I knew we needed to strength train, eat in a calorie deficit, and do cardio. So what did we do…
3 strength training workouts per week
Cardio on her off days
Completely change her diet on day 1
Week 1 was AWESOME. She felt great, energized, and motivated. Weight was already shedding on the scale and we were both pretty happy.
Going into the second week her energy began to slow down but the scale still showed things moving in the right direction.
By the end of the month she felt like shit and we couldn’t really “see” the change in her body we expected to see after losing some weight.
I approached this in a terrible way. We did WAY too much too soon.
Looking back I would have done just about everything differently, and I want to lay out three thoughts that come to me about weight loss and how I may approach things differently.
Thought #1: Movement vs. Cutting Calories
The main thing about losing weight is that you need to be eating less calories than your body is using.
There are a two ways we can look at doing this—> Eating less or moving more
For most people on their weight loss track, especially at the beginning, moving more will be a great place to start.
What will that look like?
- 1-3 workouts per week
- 2-4 walks per week (30-60 min)
- Some conditioning work added in throughout the week (workout days)
By not putting the focus directly on decreasing calories on day 1, you are going to be giving yourself a chance to adjust to these changes. Too much change on day 1 and this will never be a sustainable approach. Start slow, add 1 thing at a time – in this case, starting with the movement portion of the equation.
Also, by not just cutting calories off the bat, your body will have the nutrients It needs to handle all this added movement and make the most of It. Those nutrients will help your body recover from workouts and build some strength/muscle along the way.
Most people are going to be starting a workout program after not training for “x” amount of time. You will be adding a good amount of stress on your body and asking It to work pretty hard.
If off the bat you begin reducing calories (another stress on the body). It is not going to be a long term weight loss strategy. Start with more movement, worry about cutting back on the food later on.
Thought #2: Ditch The Scale
Yes, weight loss is based on a number on the scale. But please just ditch the scale at least for the first few months.
Now, the people I am currently working with on nutrition are weighing themselves every day BUT It didn’t start there. They started with their workout programs, adding some extra movement to their days, and once It was time to focus on the food, THEN we started utilizing the scale.
Let’s put our focus on other areas at the beginning. Things like consistency, strength, and movement.
These are the things that will have a BIG impact on your weight loss over time and need attention. Like the old cliché, build a strong foundation first then focus on the details.
Consistency is always going to be king, you will have better results doing a mediocre workout program consistently then you would doing a great plan inconsistently.
Strength is the basis of just about every pursuit in health and fitness. Strength is never a weakness.
Movement will be the backbone to your consistency. If you are gaining strength and not moving well, an injury feels inevitable. Move well, reduce pain, get stronger, and do these things often!
Thought #3: Creating a Long Term Result
How many times have you seen someone lose a big chunk of weight FAST. Sometimes It will be for a trip or a wedding. Then when the event happens the old habits creep back in.
A few months later the weight is back on and then some.
The idea of weight loss should be focused on long term results and improving your overall health + wellbeing.
It doesn’t seem very worth all the effort to just have things back to where they were X amount of time later.
Having a specific date for a weight loss goal gives you an end date for all the work. So when that day comes you can’t find any motivation or want to keep putting in that same work. You feel lost.
A long term approach geared toward bettering yourself makes the process enjoyable because you can’t “fail”. There will be ups and downs, but that is all part of the journey. No one is ON all the time. But we will aim to be doing what we can the majority of the time to better ourselves.
There are two ideas behind this idea of the long term mentality:
- Sustainability– something that you can sustain for the rest of your life will give you the best results for the long run
- Enjoying the process– if you don’t find some enjoyment in the entire process then things will be miserable (and most likely impact your consistency). Do things that will give you the best result but also the things that you get excited to do.
Sustainable weight loss is no easy feat. Holiday seasons, cookouts, parties, get together, dinners out – they all make the process just that much harder. Knowing this on day 1 takes the stress away because we already know that not EVERY SINGLE DAY is going to be perfect. That’s just the way It is.
Those things don’t have to deter all the progress you already made or the progress you are going to continue to make if you keep pushing forward.
Find a balance.
Your overall weight does not have direct correlation to your overall health, look of your body, or happiness.
“Bad days”, the number on the scale, or the # belt loop you latched on to today can make you perceive something about your progress. If you are feeling better, seeing change in your body, and happy with those things, then none of those outside factors should ever change that!
In good health,
Jeff
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