For years I struggled with being able to lose weight and keep it off. I would go through phases of intense motivation where I would lose a quick 10-15 pounds only to gain it back (and more) immediately. While I had a high degree of motivation to initially lose weight, consistency was something I struggled with. Once I changed my weight loss strategy, my life, and physique drastically improved.
How NOT to lose weight
When I first began trying to lose weight, I was typically motivated by a particular event that was coming up. It would normally be a situation where I would have to take my shirt off. At the time, I hated the way I looked, and I was insecure about my appearance. This made me willing to do anything in order to feel confident in the way I looked.
Unfortunately, I made the mistake of setting unrealistic weight loss goals. I would be trying to lose anywhere from 20-30 pounds in a 2-3 week window. To achieve this, my strategy was to double down on the “eat less, move more” advice and so I ate way less, and moved a shit ton more. I would lose 3-5 pounds in just a couple of days so I thought my plan was working.
Suddenly, on the 4th or 5th day of suffering, I would get hit with this uncontrollable hunger. I would end up binge-eating all my sister’s Brown Sugar Cinnamon pop tarts and Tyson Dino Nuggets when my family went to bed. I would easily consume anywhere from 1,500 to 3,000 calories right before I went to bed because I couldn’t control myself.
The next day I would wake up back to the weight I started at (or heavier) and I would start the cycle all over again. Any weight I lost came back almost immediately. This destroyed my sense of self-worth and made me think I wasn’t cut out to lose weight. I would binge eat even more in private to make myself feel better, which worsened the whole situation.
I wanted to share this because I know it’s something that people struggle with in silence to varying degrees. Every week people crash diet Monday through Thursday or Friday and lose some quick weight. When the weekend rolls around all their willpower is drained and their hunger hormones raging. They (myself included) inevitably overindulge and gain the weight back (and some). This causes them to double down even harder the next week only to repeat the cycle over again.
I know what it’s like to be stuck in that cycle and look at yourself one day in the mirror and realize the damage you’ve done. It becomes overwhelming to think about how much weight you have to lose. You also may have lost hope because of how unsuccessful you have been in the past.
However…
I’m here to tell you that there is hope! I want to help break you out of that cycle. No more yo-yo-ing up and down in weight every week. No more unnecessary suffering. It’s time to break free and achieve the physique you’ve always wanted! To do so, you just need a better strategy.
How to lose weight
Part one of the strategy to losing weight and keeping it off is to implement lifestyle changes you can see yourself maintaining for the rest of your life. There is nothing wrong with hopping on a 6-12 week program, but what happens when it’s over? Did you create a lifestyle that you can maintain? If not, all your hard work will be wasted when all the weight comes back on.
The second part of the weight loss strategy is to try and lose no more than 1-2 pounds per week. That’s it! In a year that’s over 50 pounds! If you have more than 40 pounds to lose then you can expect to lose, a few more each week in the beginning.
To help give you some context as to why 1 to 2 pounds is the goal is because to burn 1 pound of fat you need to burn about 3,500 food calories. Over a week, that breaks down to a caloric deficit of 500 calories a day below your maintenance calories (find out maintenance calories at AJA Calculator). Any caloric deficit greater than 500 calories is when you start to suffer and have uncontrollable urges to binge every couple of days.
Now, I know losing 1-2 pounds a week seems slow. However, what’s the alternative? Do you want to keep going through the endless cycle of losing and gaining the same weight every week while destroying your confidence and self-worth? Anyone can go through a phase of intense motivation or self-hatred and lose some quick weight. What separates the people who successfully lose weight and keep it off is that they treat weight loss as a marathon (that is run once) versus a sprint that is run multiple times. Trust me, I’ve done both!
It’s time to reshape how you think of weight loss and break the cycle! Check out Part 2 of this blog which covers the implementation of how to decrease the number of calories you consume daily. Start with the easiest change you see first and master it before picking another. You will be shocked at how little effort is required to make drastic changes in your weight if you allow yourself enough time.
If you like what you read and learned something leave a comment below! If you have any questions, feel free to comment them below or email me at [email protected]
