I'm about to walk the walk on my own Fat Loss Programme - keep an eye on my blog posts for updates on my progress and how I navigate each week of dieting around running businesses, being a busy Mum and staying on top of my own training and hobbies.
I begin each Fat Loss Programme the same. I ask my client for information around their lifestyle, their diet, their activity levels and more.
It's imperative to know the person I'm working with to be able to create a plan for them that is going to be effective and meet their needs, without it feeling too overwhelming, time-consuming or fiddly.
Calorie counting for me is the only effective way to truly get you to take control of your energy input.
Fiddly, possibly, at least when you're first doing it, but once you've got to grips with it, it mostly takes a few minutes out of each day at most.
I show this pyramid to all my fat loss clients. It really does put things into perspective and shows you really what makes the difference when it comes to fat loss. If you can't get the eating right, the rest is pretty much pointless!
Once I've worked out their lifestyle, I can work out a calorie target that is going to hopefully help them lose fat week on week by creating a sustainable calorie deficit. By this, I mean an amount that will still allow them to eat 3 solid meals a day, have snacks and still feel full and have energy for all their activities.
For my own targets, I'm lucky that my job means I'm fairly active. If you're someone who moves about a lot during the day, or for work then this means you need more food fuel than someone who leads a fairly sedentary lifestyle.
One thing I don't do, is tell everyone that has a sedentary lifestyle, to suddenly overhaul their life and start working out 4 times a week or walking 10,000 steps daily. It's just not realistic is it, we need to work with people, not against them.
I like to offer what I call 'stretch' targets. This is something slightly over their current activity level, that will be a stretch but not a daily pressure.
I set challenges throughout the programme to keep my clients motivated and engaged!
I have set myself a target of 12,000 steps daily this programme. This is usually easily doable in the week, but I tend to get less on a weekend, so I know this little extra push on the weekend will help me further push into that deficit to create fat loss.
Week 1 -
So I went into the first week determined to smash all my targets and really knuckle down on the nitty gritty - the eating!
I made sure to count every calorie and logged it in My Fitness Pal. It's a great tool to count your calories but don't use it to work out how many calories you should be eating. My Fitness Pal is known for giving really low calorie amounts (I used to follow it years ago and was eating just 1200 calories a day - I would never programme that for any of my clients!).
I ask my clients to change the targets to what I have set them, and I give them protein targets too.
I took my measurements, my 'before, photos and a scale weight - but this is the one I try to focus on the least.
The scales really do not paint a good enough picture of progress and really do ruin our day when they don't play ball.
I hate using the word 'before' for a photo - it's more 'me right now' - our bodies are constantly evolving and changing from one day to the next!
You may think 'oh she doesn't need to lose weight!!' but for me currently, it's not about losing 'weight'.
It's about lowering my body fat percentage to display the muscle I've worked damn hard for - I want to see it!
Whatever the reason you may have for wanting to lose, or even gain weight, it should always remain your business and your business alone - fuck what anyone else thinks!
I track my menstrual cycle religiously and this is my rubbish week - leading up to my period. I know what this means for my body and more importantly, I know what it means for my hormones and my weight.
The chances of seeing a difference on the scales in the luteal phase of your menstrual cycle is slim, excuse the pun! This is typically a time when our body holds higher levels of fluid, so water retention and bloating can often affect the scales.
This is another really important factor in a menstruating female's fat loss journey.
I always explain this during the programme to educate my clients about how your cycle affects your body.
Education really is the key to fat loss!
I love hearing such positive feedback from the clients I've helped!
7 days in and I'm already feeling great!
Focused, motivated and positive and it's great to feel in control again.
I've gone out for extra walks where needed to keep my step count high and I've resisted temptation where needed.
I've had a meal out and tried to go for a high protein, filling option that would make me feel full without feeling like I've missed out or gone for the 'diet' option.
Chicken wrapped in bacon with veggies and I swapped the chips for new potatoes - much to my distain! Sometimes you have to make small sacrifices for big wins!
Weather was good which definitely helped with the extra activity for my walks and I managed to train at the gym 4 times (rest days are super important so I always make sure I don't overdo it).
I also love sharing my progress with my clients and vice versa, I have a Facebook Group that we use to motivate each other and share updates and photos of us out and about, getting to grips with our targets!
I even managed a PB with the leg extension this week - not bad considering I have lower levels of energy when dieting!
Here are my week 1 results -
- 1.6kgs lost (pleasantly surprised at this considering I'm due on, I'll take it!)
- 5cms lost overall (same shock as above lol)
I achieved this by -
- Coming in under my calorie target for the week (everyone's is different so I won't be sharing mine as it won't help anyone else except me!)
- Hitting my steps daily, averaged 16k daily!
This will be a large factor in why I still made a difference on the scales.
- Keeping my protein high - 135g average daily
- Exercising 4 times
The first week I always find is the easiest as motivation is generally high as we have almost mentally prepared ourselves for the challenge. It's the consistency now that needs to continue - so let's move into week 2 with the same passion!
If you'd like more information on my next Fat Loss Programme, head to www.mamauffit.com/bookonline
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