Every-day I am contacted by women who want to know how to lose weight quickly, effectively & keep it off!
It might be that the tricks that used to work before, just don’t work anymore. Perhaps you have done things many times before and are struggling to find something that sticks. Or, simply, you’ve lost the mojo and can’t face up to the whole process of losing weight for the millionth time!
Often women describe to me what is known as paralysis by analysis. There is so much diet information out there and it all gets so complicated and confusing.
How do you know what you should be doing, what applies to you & what doesn’t?
Then once you start down a path you start to second guessing yourself and wonder if you should be adding in more cardio, buying those special shakes that so and so is drinking, or maybe you need to give up gluten?
I’d like to let you know a little secret.
A secret that will make your life, and weight loss, so much easier.
A secret that will stop you second guess yourself and wondering if you are doing it right or why you aren’t getting results.
Tip Number 1
You may have heard some of the tips for losing weight, I’ll list some as an example: go paleo, don’t eat any carbs, no carbs after 6pm, quit sugar, give up gluten, eat some cereal I cannot mention ending in a K, Take X,Y & Z meal replacement shakes and bars sold by X, Y & Z company, do a juice fast and the list could go on.
The reason why most of this advice becomes confusing is because it problem with most of this advice is that it lacks context.
But I will tell you why ALL of this could work.
Adopting any of some of the above habits will most likely result in a consistent calorie deficit meaning that you are eating less than you are expending and for the most part, this results in weight loss.
Basic weight loss tip number 1: Consistent calorie deficits cause weight loss. (obvious and effective)
The good news is you don’t have to give up gluten, quit sugar, go paleo or purchase special products to eat less calories than you expend. Anyone, on any budget can do this and when it’s done with consistency, the end result is usually a positive one.
I do need to add here that there is a sweet spot. Eating a LOT less than you expend in the long term slows down metabolism.
I prefer the women that I work with to be losing weight a little slower but keeping calories higher to support healthy metabolism. This usually looks like somewhere between 1700 and 2000 calories a day if they are modestly exercising.
None of these women dropped their calories below 1700, most of them not below 1800.
Eating in such a way and applying consistency is the first step for success. I recommend my clients track there food intake using a free app called My Fitness Pal.
Tip Number 2
So that’s the first tip. Simple, free and anyone can do it. So that brings us to tip two.
Let’s talk carbs.
Carbs are a commonly demonised macronutrient (fat was the old scape goat).
I have had clients say to me they have been advised that if they want to lose weight they must not eat ANY carbs, not even fruit!
I have to tell you something to be truly honest.
I used to dish out this advice too!
From experience on myself and 100’s of clients I would say that 99% of the time this is just NOT true!
Provided you follow tip 1, keeping a moderate amount of carbohydrate in your diet will actually help you lose weight as well as…
- Encourage a healthy metabolism
- Help you feel full and satiated
- Stave off cravings and binges
- Support healthy and happy hormones
- Help you sleep better
- Feel less stressed
- Encourage better mood
- (if you like exercise) optimise performance and recovery too
What IS important is the balance within the diet when you look at your carbohydrate intake relative to proteins and fats. Aiming for about 1/3 of calories from each is a simple way to start. You can track this all in My Fitness Pal but if you are not into all of that, just focussing on 3 or 4 meals a day which have a protein portion, carb portion, some vegetables and a little fat will probably be all you have to do.
Check out the Anna Marsh Food Plate as an example.
So if we combine tip 1 and 2 together it looks like this:
Consistently* eat between 1700 and 2000 calories per day and have a balanced amount of protein, carbohydrates and fats.
I know this may sound like common sense and you are wondering why you even need to read this. But this stuff works. I use it with all my clients.
Where most people go wrong with this is they are NOT consistent. Consistency produces results. End of.
Tip 3 is the final piece of the puzzle, exercise!
Exercise is a whole other minefield of confusing advice.
Should I be lifting weights? Should I be doing high intensity intervals? What about fasted cardio? I hate running, do I have to run?
One of the most important things I want to communicate to you is that basic principles work and they work well. My goal when I work with my clients is to keep things as simple as possible for as long as possible.
That said, the further along you get on your weight loss journey, you will need to change your approach. Plateaus are an inevitable part of the process and to be expected.
Your body will respond differently at 200 pounds when you aren’t exercising and you are eating badly compared to when you are 160 pounds and have developed habits of regular exercise and balanced eating.
For the most part I will say this, whatever exercise you choose to do, you will see the most bang for your buck by paying attention to the nutrition principles in 1 and 2.
The most difficult thing for most people is to be consistent.
Therefore, if you are choosing an exercise regime, choose one that you enjoy the most and is the most convenient for you. This will be your best bet to actually sticking to it!
If I could give you one additional tip it would be to be flexible with the intensities at which you move. Never exercising hard enough will let you down just as much as exercising too hard all the time!
Once a week push yourself hard, maybe twice a week do something moderate and maybe just walk and move your body a little bit every day to keep the blood flowing.
This is what I would consider to be a sensible workout schedule for someone who is starting their weight loss journey.
MON | TUES | WED | THURS | FRI | SAT | SUN |
40-60 minutes
Whole Body Resistance Workout |
30-40 minutes
Steady State Cardio (where you can talk easily) |
Active rest day including walking, gardening, playing with the kids | 40-60 minutes
Whole Body Resistance Workout |
30-40 minutes
Steady State Cardio (where you can talk easily) |
Active rest day including walking, gardening, playing with the kids | Active rest day including walking, gardening, playing with the kids |
Bonus Tip (last but super important!)
I cannot leave you without saying one more thing.
Life is busy and most people live life at a fast pace.
Too fast.
The biggest road block for most people aiming to create sustainable change is time management and stress.
That is why I wanted to keep things simple.
However, do not underestimate the power of taking a step back and “decluttering” your life BEFORE you start making any drastic changes to your diet and exercise regime.
I see many of the women I work with throwing themselves into huge amounts of exercise and small amounts of food and not getting anywhere because they are so burnt out with that and all their other commitments.
So take a moment to ground yourself and carve out the space in your life to commit to changing your habits. I’m not saying wait for the perfect time because you’ll be waiting a long time.
What I am saying is make the choice to make the space.
Then take one habit at a time and do it well. When it feels good to add the next thing, add it in and do it consistently.
If you want more help and more direction on your weight loss journey and would like to consider if weight loss mentoring is right for you then help and support is moments away.
I run a small Online Women’s Weight Loss Program that offer a personalised nutrition and exercise support to produce life changing and life-lasting results.
If you want to give up the guessing game and have someone just tell you what to do and hold you accountable to actually doing it then this is probably exactly what you have been waiting for.
Life doesn’t get better by chance, it gets better by choice. Now you have a moment where you can choose to take a step towards a very different future and join the community of like minded women who are not just losing weight, but transforming their lives, filling them with happiness and health.
To find out more about how my coaching program can help you, please fill out the application below to book a complimentary breakthrough call and find out out about working with me in more detail.