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How Long Will It Take To Lose A Stone With Diet and Exercise?
In this article, I will tell you exactly how long it will take you to lose a stone with diet and exercise. It's a complex issue and I will hopefully take you through it in a very easy to follow and concise manner.
But before we get started I would like to invite you to become my friend by getting on my list.
I’ll email you things. Sometimes they will be educational, sometimes they will be inappropriate, sometimes I might just want to know how the hell you are; either way…it means we can be friends.
Oh, and I will also send you some free fitness goodies too, like a free calorie calculator, a month of in-home and in Gym Workouts and much more…but only when you send me your friend request:
Table of Contents for: “How Long Will It Take To Lose A Stone With Diet and Exercise?”
But first, I want to tell you a story.
Personal Trainers don’t know it all — and that’s ok
This question takes me back years. To a very dear friend of mine who I worked with on the Gym Floor in person.
I am actually Godson to her Nephew, and crucially she is the reason that I am about to marry the most wonderful person on the planet.
This is one of the greatest gifts of being a Coach, that no school or certification can ever tell you. The personal relationships that you build and the way these relationships can transform your life is incredible.
Back to Jess, one of the first friends I ever trained. She turned and looked at me when we were chatting, stressed as anything, and asked:
“How quickly will I lose this weight?”
Now, back then, I didn’t have the knowledge, the expertise, or crucially the confidence to stand back and say to her:
“As long as it takes. It will depend on far more factors than you can even fathom”
So I made the terrible mistake of running to the toilet, checking Google, and coming back saying:
“About 2lbs a week”
If I could have my time again.
It will come as no surprise to you that both Jess and I learned a lot over the course of working together.
And luckily we managed to get her losing weight and she achieved incredible things:
From left to right: Jess’ “Work in Progress Picture 2015–2017, Jess with my Godson on his Christening Day, and Jess on her Wedding Day to Matt (who is another dear friend of mine).
What I adore about all of these photos is Jess’s smile. She was also so full of life, and everything she does she puts her all into. Whether that is being a Teacher for little children, training with me, or now being a mother to her new family that she and Matt have. She is one of the most exuberant and fun people to be around, and looking at these photos makes me well up because being able to experience all of these memories with her as well means so much to me.
What I truly see in these photos is a woman full of confidence and life. And she deserves everything she worked so incredibly hard for, and for her to entrust me with getting her and her husband ready for their wedding was a true honor.
But I did let her down. If I knew then what I know now about how long it will take her to lose a stone my answer would be very different.
It would be what I am about to tell you right now.
So in a vow to never make that mistake again, I am writing this for you.
How to lose a stone with diet and exercise?
I am wholly encouraged that there is a new hashtag emerging on Instagram, and it is the following #caloriedeficitdiet
How To Lose A Stone With Diet
Whether you want Fat Loss or Weight Loss there is only one answer to the question of how you lose weight, and that is a “Calorie Deficit”.
This is the principle that energy in as calories must be lower than energy out, and this will create weight loss for you. You can create a Calorie Deficit in two ways:
Eat fewer Calories
Burn Calories through Exercise
In order to know how many calories is less than your body needs, therefore creating weight loss then use this equation for your “Upper-Calorie Window”
Goal Bodyweight in LBS x 12
For your “Lower-Calorie Window” you need to find out your Basal Metabolic Rate or BMR.
To do this you can download any number of Calorie Calculators from the Internet, but the one I think is the best one to use is available right here.
A couple of really quick strategies to help you manage a Calorie Deficit in terms of your Diet would be to do the following:
Eat Protein and Vegetables at every meal
Drink 3 liters of water a day
Snack on Fruit
Track your calories using MyFitness Pal or another tracking app
Avoid excess liquid calories from drinks like soda, alcohol, and very high-calorie smoothies.
Try to limit the number of times you eat out in a week, as when in restaurants you have very little control over the preparation and calorie content of your food.
These are quite general guidelines but they will stand you in good stead as you get started on how to lose a stone with your diet.
I’m not going into to it much more here as I have nearly 10 articles on it on my website, that explain a Calorie Deficit in great detail, what your expectations with it should be, and how to implement my system of a Calorie Window.
If you do need some extra help on it right now then watch this:
How To Lose A Stone With Exercise
Strictly speaking…you can’t. Calories In are what matter when it comes to adhering to your plan to lose weight.
Although, exercise does burn calories, but not as much as you think. In fact, a study [1] took 60 healthy adults and made them wear laboratory devices as well as activity trackers to see how accurate they were. The Fitbit Surge was the most accurate at calculating calories burned at an error rate of 25%.
Yup. It can be up to 25% inaccurate.
This is why you are driving yourself mad by checking your calories burned from exercise on your watch…and you aren’t seeing results.
This doesn’t mean that Exercise is a defunct part of the Energy Balance Equation. There will be some calories burned from exercise…so that’s good, and you are building some muscle on top of that…but again…not as much as you would think.
But exercising gives you so much more than a method with which to burn calories, and this is one of the reasons that weight loss takes so much time.
Lifting Weights, being in the Gym, doing something difficult is a very human thing to do because it keeps you being a productive person.
And a productive person is a person that burns calories. When you exercise regularly this gives you a feeling of wellbeing. It creates momentum for you, and that momentum will lead you to making better choices about yourself outside and inside the Gym.
You might walk more, you might be able to get an extra training session each week, you might just choose to stand on your commute as opposed to sit on the train, or take the stairs as opposed to the escalator.
When you start adding layers of exercise into your life, you will learn the positive effects that will have on your wellbeing…and that is very addictive my friends.
Added to the above, it will help your Calorie Deficit not just by calories burned from exercise, but by exercising more it will guide you into making nutritional choices more aligned with your goals each and every day.
The most important thing to remember when it comes to how to lose a stone with exercise is this one word: enjoyment.
Essentially it doesn’t matter what “mode” of exercise you do, if you aren’t enjoying it you will not stick to it. If you have loved running in the past…then go running. If you enjoy the Gym…then lift weights.
If you want to try something new and think that will be tons of fun…then go do that.
You don’t need permission from me to do any type of exercise, you only need to give yourself permission to focus on exercise that you enjoy.
My preference is weight training in the Gym for those I work with Online as it is more efficient but it is also more accessible. No matter what your ailments you will be able to lift weights to some degree or level. Every exercise can be adapted for your goals and your physiology.
Whereas running is just running. Cycling is just cycling. If you can’t do it…you can’t do it, and that is that.
Here are some Workouts you can do in the Gym which I took from the following article of mine: 4 Gym Based Workouts For Beginners both Male and Female
They are designed to help you burn fat and build muscle at the same time in order to facilitate the Weight Loss you are after.
They focus on what we call Compound Movements. Moving like this will be your best way to get the most out of your training as it will activate the most amount of muscle which will help your Calorie Deficit the most.
What if you are “Skinny Fat”?
Everyone I have worked with when we first started working together wanted to lose weight, and I think in truth this is because that is what you know.
Or rather, you didn’t know that losing weight and losing Body Fat were two different things.
Or, you didn’t think the difference mattered.
I do believe it is important to know the difference between these two things as many people who need to lose body fat, think they need to lose weight.
There are huge swathes of females out there who dislike the way look and feel. The best word I can think of to describe this feeling to you is “loose”. You just feel loose, and you want to feel tight and “toned”. And you believe the answer lies in losing weight.
If you feel like this, you need to decrease your Body Fat, not necessarily lose weight.
You are what we would call “Skinny Fat”.
Which is a term I really dislike, but it is the industry standard. So for you, today, reading this, as it does explain my point I will just go with it.
When you work on losing body fat, you might not necessarily lose weight.
Let me say that again: When you focus on losing body fat, you might not lose weight.
Weight Loss directly relates to the reduction of everything in your body:
Body Fat
Muscle Mass
Water
This is why you lose scale weight when you cut out carbohydrates because, for every gram of carbohydrate you eat, your body will hold 2–3 grams of water.
It’s doesn’t necessarily mean you are losing body fat.
If you aren’t activating and exercising your muscles you will lose muscle density and therefore you might lose scale weight.
When you focus solely on just a Caloric Deficit, without musclar activation then you will lose weight, but you will also lose strength and metabolic performance.
Which can lead you into a very trapped place in terms of your futurre caloric restriction and being able to sustain your Weight.
There is no easy way to directly know whether you are losing body fat or just weight overall. What I would say is this:
If you are feeling a lot better in your skin,
If you feel stronger,
If you feel more confident,
If you feel your clothes are fitting better,
If you feel like you have more energy
If you are finding your Calorie Deficit manageable and sustainable
Then what you are doing is working, don’t oveththink whats happening in terms of the scale and keep going.
If you think you are “Skinny Fat” then you need to focus on getting in the gym and building your body up, in terms of its muscular density is going to have the “weight loss” effect you desire, except the scale might not go down.
To conquer the “Skinny Fat” equation follow these steps:
Increase Calories to 110% of TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure)
Strength Train 3–4x a week following a Training Plan
Focus on Performance Goals not Scale Goals
Reduce Cardiovascular output
Look for these markers of progress in your journey:
Are clothes fitting better?
Is the scale not moving down or up too much?
Are you lifting more weight each session?
Are you seeing muscle?
Are you eating enough protein?
Are you having increased energy?
Has your posture improved?
Are you less tired?
Are you more confident?
Do you feel more powerful?
But I Don’t Want To Look Bulky!
You can feel strong and empowered….without looking bulky.
Women have about 15–20 times [2] less Testosterone in their bodies compared to men, but they do make up for this difference in other hormonal aspects of their physiology.
Other hormones that help with muscle building for women is Estrogen [3]. This is a growth hormone that is particularly dominant in the first two weeks of a female’s cycle.
Find out more by reading this: How Does Your Menstrual Cycle Affect Your Fitness And Weight Loss?
Estrogen is great at:
Stimulating Growth Hormone Production
Preventing Muscle Breakdown
Increases Metabolism
This will more or less balance out your inability to build muscle because of a lack of testosterone. The reason you don’t see women with the same muscle density in the Gym as men is because they begin with a much lower (nearly half as much) amount of muscle as men, and can’t gain as much.
The more muscle you build, the less bulky you will look. Muscle on the female body provides definition, shape, and tonality. Therefore the more of it you build, and the less body fat you have (about 20%) you will have that shape and tonality that you desire.
But the path to what you desire isn’t dieting. It is muscle building.
How Long Will It Take?
I have literally just received a DM on Instagram of someone losing 13lbs in 30 days.
This is not what you should expect.
Some of the friends I work with online have taken 2 months to lose 6lbs.
So where does the answer lie?
Whenever someone new applies to work with me via Online Coaching I always ask them this question:
Would you rather:
a) Make very fast progress that you know is not sustainable?
b) Make slower progress that you know is sustainable?
This gives me a guide on where to set their Calories, Training, and how they will need coaching into the future.
I know that most people will want fast progress that will be sustainable, but it doesn’t exist. There comes a point where taking the fast track will always come to a crashing halt, and this could create a very testing path into the future.
Firstly, when you get seduced by fast weight loss, despite knowing that it can’t continue at the Cerebral Level, your imagination will keep saying to you:
“I am different. Look at my results. I am different. I can keep this up”
Your imagination can be your best friend or your worst enemy.
And oftentimes, with people, I have worked with over the years and those who are low on self-confidence, their imagination can be their own worst enemy.
When it comes to losing weight, these two words are without a doubt the most important:
Reality and Perspective
You must always root yourself in the reality of what weight loss is, and the best way to do that is to make sure you have a very realistic perspective.
The reality of weight loss is something you aren’t going to hear, but you really seriously need to listen to this point.
0.5lbs a week is fast weight loss. 1lb a week is terribly fast weight loss.
2lbs a week is beyond epic.
But these numbers can only be seen in this context with hindsight. When you look back over a year you will see an average weight loss of between 0.5lbs and 1lbs a week.
When you are in the thick of it, there is no way that it will be that linear. You will have weeks, sometimes months, when your weight goes up and stays up for whatever reason. You will have moments when it just drops out of control and you will think you are walking on the stars.
Scale Weight by its very nature is erratic.
And with all things erratic we must always give it space and time with which to actually process the results and effect it has had.
1lb of fat is equal to 3500kcal
“A total of 3500 calories equals 1 pound of body weight. This means if you decrease (or increase) your intake by 500 calories daily, you will lose (or gain) 1 pound per week. (500 calories per day × 7 days = 3500 calories.)” [4]
Do this for 14 weeks…magically that is how you lose a stone. Cue eye roll.
This is a conventional stance by many people who are just poorly educated in the field of weight loss. Although I am not denying the science about how many Calories makeup 1lb of weight, what I am calling into question is the lack of understanding this principle has for the human condition and crucially metabolic adaptation [5].
Metabolic Adaptation is the method upon which as you reduce the size of your body, you will need fewer calories to maintain it.
As you lose mass, you don’t just lose Body Fat. You will lose muscle, which will affect your Basal Metabolic Rate, you will also burn fewer calories as you move each day, because you are moving something with less Mass which means you are using less energy with which to do that.
Added to that, sticking to a Caloric Restriction of 500kcals each day for 14 weeks, without any variation on that number is very hard.
Let's look at this in more real terms.
A 40-year-old female who:
Weighs: 182lbs (12st/82kgs)
Height: 176cm (5ft 8in)
Leads a Sedentary Lifestyle
Has a Caloric Need of 1871kcal to maintain her weight.
If you then restrict her to 1371kcal a day (1871–500) in order to achieve this weight loss of one stone you are restricting her to below her Basal Metabolic Rate of 1559kcal a day.
This can then become dangerous and more unsustainable as time goes on due to the fact that you are not eating enough to fuel the basic needs of your body. Your Organs for example.
Five Ways in which restricting your calories to below your BMR level could be harmful are [6]:
It can lower your Metabolism
It will cause Fatigue and Nutrient Deficiencies
It may reduce fertility
It can weaken your bones
It may lower your immunity
And one I will add:
6. It might trigger Disordered Eating habits and behaviors
I’m not in the business of scaremongering, therefore looking at that list, I personally think the most crucial point in terms of your ability to adhere to the Caloric Restriction is number 2.
Fatigue will create havoc in your ability to lose weight. When you are tired you become stressed, leading to a desire for higher-calorie foods [7]. Then you will notice that you aren’t losing weight…and then you will feel like a failure…and then you will be inclined to quit.
Number 6 is also extremely important, as the restrict/binge continuum is something that is more common than you might imagine, combined with the possible effects of this on your Mental Wellbeing also.
If you do experience any behaviors of Disordered Eating please seek specialist help. BEAT is a fantastic charity available here: https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/
If only you actually implemented a sustainable Deficit in the first place and realized my next point…
Worrying About Time Is Your Enemy
When you focus too much on “how long will it take to lose a stone” you will end up putting yourself in a prison.
What happens is that you focus so much on the weight coming off within this particular, made up out of thin air, time frame…when the scale doesn’t comply because of factors effecting you that you didn’t even dream of when you came up with this made-up time frame, you start to feel like you are failing.
And when you start feeling like you are failing, you will start to give up.
And when you give up…you will never achieve what you want.
When you are truly trying to calculate by what point you need to lose this weight. Ask yourself “why”.
If your answer to why is any of the following:
Because I want to look better
Because I need it now
Because it will make me happy
Because it will make me more attractive
Because Karen at work managed it so I should too
Then you need to understand that the answer to these points lies in taking a lot more slowly than it does achieving it quickly.
Without a shadow of a doubt, if you want to make your Weight Loss successful and sustainable then you need to take it a lot slower than you imagined.
Slower than a 500kcal a day deficit. Slower than 1lb a week. Slower than you might really want it.
Because the chasm between wanting it and achieving it is layered with far more traps and potholes than you ever thought when you first typed into Google: “How Long Will It Take To Lose A Stone With Diet and Exercise?”
I believe the truth lies here:
You don’t actually need to lose a stone or any amount of weight by any particular date in the future.
The stress that a time frame will cause, will undermine your ability to actually lose weight. It also won’t take into account the craziness of this world.
Even if you try to lose weight by 1lb a week…that is still 3.5 months.
A lot of things can happen in 3.5 months, a lot of things that are out of your control, and will wildly affect how quickly you are able to lose weight.
So please, give yourself more time to achieve the weight loss you desire…and ironically it will happen more quickly because you won’t go through cycles of restriction/binge or success/failure/quit.
You will just keep plugging away.
You will learn how to balance your fitness goals with your very busy life.
and
You will find it empowering because you will see progress over a longer period of time which means you will keep going for a lot longer, and get results upon which you never thought possible.
Did You Find This Useful?
I have plenty more articles about weight loss throughout this website.
Here is a selection I think would make great further reading for you:
Added to that it would be AMAZING if you wanted more help from me.
Just can send me that friend request we spoke about earlier…and I will send you lots of help straight away.
References:
Shcherbina, A. et al., 2017. Accuracy in Wrist-Worn, Sensor-Based Measurements of Heart Rate and Energy Expenditure in a Diverse Cohort. Journal of Personalized Medicine, 7(2), p.3. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jpm7020003.
Encyclopedia, M., 2020. Testosterone: Medlineplus Medical Encyclopedia. [online] Medlineplus.gov. Available at: <https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/003707.htm> [Accessed 25 September 2020].
Legion Athletics. 2020. The Ultimate Guide To Female Muscle Growth — Legion Athletics. [online] Available at: <https://legionathletics.com/female-muscle-growth/> [Accessed 25 September 2020].
Guth, E., 2020. Healthy Weight Loss. [online] Jama Network. Available at: <https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/1900513> [Accessed 26 September 2020].
Darcy L. Johannsen, Nicolas D. Knuth, Robert Huizenga, Jennifer C. Rood, Eric Ravussin, Kevin D. Hall, Metabolic Slowing with Massive Weight Loss despite Preservation of Fat-Free Mass, The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, Volume 97, Issue 7, 1 July 2012, Pages 2489–2496, https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2012-1444
Healthline. 2020. 5 Ways Restricting Calories Can Be Harmful. [online] Available at: <https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/calorie-restriction-risks#:~:text=1.,8%20%2C%209%20%2C%2010%20).> [Accessed 26 September 2020].
Verywell Mind. 2020. How Stress Can Cause Weight Gain. [online] Available at: <https://www.verywellmind.com/how-stress-can-cause-weight-gain-3145088> [Accessed 26 September 2020].
7 Things Stopping Your Calorie Deficit
The epitome of Weight Loss.
The foundation of all that you need to lose weight.
Martin MacDonald once said:
“Weight Loss is as simple as “Calories In vs Calories Out” but “Calories In vs Calories Out” just isn’t that simple”
And he is right. He is as right as they come. We have all heard the saying to lose weight you just need to eat less and move more but if you have any concept of how hard weight loss can be you will realize that this phrase is just short-sighted and far too simplistic for someone who needs help.
Because eating less is a very difficult thing to do consistently enough when you want to lose weight.
So here are 7 Things Stopping Your Calorie Deficit:
1. Not Eating Protein and Veggies At Every Meal
Oh, golly. The first one is really about eating Vegetables.
COME ON ADAM
But this is hella important.
Protein is a truly wonderful Macro Nutrient for many reasons…but why I am always preaching about why you should have it in your diet is because it fills you up. Your body takes a much longer time to digest protein than any other Macronutrient. This basically means it will keep you fuller for longer [1]. The way in which this works is it helps keep Grehlin at bay. Grehlin is your hunger hormone that tells your brain you want food.
So keeping that happy is a good idea.
As you already know from my Article on your Metabolism that you have read haven’t you? Good. Great. Well as you know Protein has a higher Thermic Effect of Food as well and therefore will burn more calories when it is being digested than other Macronutrients.
I personally would suggest you aim for 2g per kg of bodyweight each day.
AIM FOR…
That's a lot of protein if you have never tried before, but it will inspire you to start eating more and trying to get it increased. Which is what we want.
Read My Article that has helped 100s of people understand more about their Metabolsm right here: Is Your Metabolism Broken
What about the V-word then? The dreaded Mushroom. Seriously…is there a vegetable worse than a Mushroom?
Vegetables are Calorie Friendly foods. They have far fewer Calories in them than other foods, and therefore you can eat far larger portions of them. Which again keeps you filled up for longer.
For example….
100g of Spinach contains 24kcal
100g of Oven Chips contains 202kcal
100g of Chicken Breast contains 165kcal
So as you can see…you can eat A LOT more Veggies as oppose to anything else at the same quantity.
2. YOUR DOING TOO MUCH HIIT
Let me be clear…I love running and Cardio Exercise. I love lifting weights.
I very rarely get less than 10k steps in a day and I promote walking and cardio work to everyone in The Fitness Collective.
And all my clients follow Strength Training protocol.
However…HIIT has been known to damage your ability to control your Calories. Studies have shown that those who participate in HIIT might burn a few more calories in the session, but they then have a much higher appetite after the exercise session will then consume up to 350kcals more than someone who has followed a traditional Strength Training Programme. You also think that you have worked so hard you are entitled to be more relaxed around your diet. [2, 3]
It can sound so enticing when you hear about the idea of High-Intensity Interval Training. The idea of burning more calories in less time in the Gym. Who wouldn’t want that?
But in truth…let's say you do one 30min HIIT Session. That’s all you will do because of how exhausting it is.
Whereas if you did a Strength Training you might spend an extra 10–15mins in the Gym…but you will end up burning more calories overall for your workout.
Added to this many of the headlines regarding HIIT relate to a comparison against Steady-State Aerobic Exercise eg Running a 5km. [4]
Not a Strength Training Workout.
3. YOUR FOCUS IS IN THE WRONG PLACE
If you have been looking at my work for a while I would fully hope that you're a true member of team Calorie Deficit.
And by that, you know the only way to create Fat Loss is understanding your Energy Balance.
Calories In vs Calories Out
Now if you are starting your weight loss journey, or have tried in the past I am almost certain your top priority was activity.
Get a Gym Membership
Get a Personal Trainer
What Workouts to do?
Go for a run
etc etc
Your focus was on Calories Out.
If you send the word focus to the other part of the equation so that you begin to address your Calories In…
The Calories Out will take care of themselves.
I’m sure you have heard the old adage…you can’t out-train a bad diet. But the truth is you can’t out out-train a calorie-dense diet.
There is no good or bad…but if you are making the Calories Out your priority and focus…you will find a Calorie Deficit very difficult to create.
I’m not saying don’t exercise. Training is very important for your Health and your global wellbeing…and it will help you burn some calories and improve your body composition so you begin insuring yourself against future fat gain. But you must pour your focus into your Calories In.
4. YOUR CALORIE DEFICIT IS TOO BIG
You have to trust me here.
Your Calorie Deficit is too big. As in…you are allowing yourself too few calories.
If you have been at this for a while and you see initial results and then they stop you have probably set your Deficit to too low. What then happens is you end up in a cycle. You have a deficit, you maintain that for a few weeks maybe a month, you have seen some good results, but its hard work. You get tired, grumpy, and sick of tracking all foods and you just run out of steam. You then stop thinking about your calories and they start creeping up. You start eyeballing your portions and the calories start sneaking in more and more before you know it…you are no longer in a Deficit.
And all this has happened because your initial experience in the Deficit was far too hard.
By beginning with a smaller Calorie Deficit and allowing yourself to eat more within that Deficit you will find it far less restrictive and far more sustainable.
Yes…the results might not be as fast as you honestly want. But they will last a lot longer and you will still be able to have a night out with the girls.
I call that a Win Win Win.
If you want to find out how to set your Calories in a sustainable way then watch this:
5. YOU WANT IT TO HAPPEN TOO QUICKLY
Quick question…
What do you think a decent amount of weight to lose each week is? Say you went to the gym two to three times, started eating a little more nutritiously and made health a little higher on your priority list…
What would you expect to lose each week?
Was your answer 2lbs a week? Maybe 3–4lbs a week?
No, I didn’t read your mind. I just know that you think 1lb a week for weight loss is too slow. Despite the fact that 1lb a week is incredibly realistic, incredibly sustainable, and would signify incredible progress.
By wanting more…you are damaging your chances of success. By wanting it to happen quicker you are damaging your chances of success.
Why the rush? Why the sudden it must happen in 3 months?
You need to take a long hard look at your health and you should want to incorporate it into a part of your life…just like work, finances, socializing and family. It should be part of what makes you up…not what defines you for three months and then not for another 6 years.
Look, it's perfectly OK to be in Year 7 of your 5 Year Plan.
Because really…if you have balance and have found a system that is working, even if it is slower than you initially wanted then what does that matter? Really?
And if you need proof of 1lb a week being normal weight loss…not slow weight loss…then watch this:
6. YOUR NIGHTS OUT
I’m not here to tell you to stop socializing. I really am not. Really.
Because you are a human being. And you have friends and family and you have to live your life right? And if I told you to not go out and enjoy your life you would just ignore me anyway…and rightly so.
The issue here really comes when you drink to excess. Although alcohol does pack a punch in terms of caloric value (about 9kcal per gram).
I will always allow my clients to do what the hell they want…but consider this little story of a night out and let me know if it resonates with you:
Night out with alcohol.
Get a kebab on the way home.
Eat toast when home…put kebab under bed
Eat kebab for breakfast because you are hungover.
Lay in bed all day feeling sorry for yourself.
Try to cheer yourself up with a Domino’s (other Pizza is available)
Eat half of that.
Still not moved all day.
Go to sleep
Wake up….eat the rest of your cold pizza
Feel a little better.
Get a text from a friend about going out.
Feel like you need to feel like you have actually done something this weekend.
Meet up with said friend…
Have a drink or five.
Get a kebab on the way home.
Eat toast when home…put kebab under bed,
Eat kebab for breakfast because you are hungover.
Spend all day in bed and get no steps in.
Take about 3–4 days to regain your energy levels from lost sleep and feeling groggy
Finally, get back on track maybe Friday.
Then its the weekend again…
I have done this. If I haven’t done all of this (like a Kebab for Breakfast) but I have definitely noticed the huge drop in discipline, activity and focus after a night out.
When you see Trainers on Instagram piling on the “Weekend Calories” bandwagon…its not because we don’t like fun.
Its because you see it as one night out.
We see the effect it has on everything for the next three to four days.
7. YOU SPEND TOO MUCH TIME LETTING THE SMALL THINGS STOP YOU DOING THE BIG THINGS
Here is a conversation I had on Instagram with someone this week. This was someone who is at the moment doing Keto. By her own admission, she knows it is unsustainable due to the extremely low carb intake it requires.
When I asked her what she would then move into this was her response:
Now her suggestions aren’t that far off.
Other than the fact Protein itself doesn’t increase muscle mass. You can’t just eat Protein and magically grow muscles. To magically grow muscles you need anabolic steroids…which I do not recommend.
However, she has a Fat Loss goal. She would prefer to spend time figuring out the new regime of Intermittent Fasting, counting her Carbs and Fats, and then making sure her protein has gone up proportionally as well.
Maybe it is just me…but I read that and thought…BLIMEY. That's a lot of words. A lot of figuring out. When really all she would need to do is operate a system like my Five Awesome Rules For Fat Loss Life and its all taken care of.
This girl has missed the point, and its not her fault. But she has got bogged down on the small things.
Other examples are things like:
Cardio or Weights?
Bike or Treadmill?
BCAAs or Protein Powders?
Keto or Intermittent Fasting?
Macro Splits?
What Vitamins to take?
Normal Potatoes vs Sweet Potatoes
I’m sure you get the point.
You could spend all day thinking about this…and not actually go to the Gym…or move.
Or track your calories.
There's a massive reason most of my message is always about the same few topics…because those are the big things that make the biggest changes.
If you really want to start getting results, and getting them fast…stop worrying about the small stuff that will give you 10% of the result.
And do the Big Stuff that will give you 90% of the result you want.
You will thank me.
Oh and if you want the Five Awesome Rules for Fat Loss Life…its right here:
Did you find this useful?
You can Join The Fitness Collective which is my Membership Group. In there I give Monthly Updates, Live Q and A’s, I provide you with new workouts each and every month, and write guidance on your fitness journey.
To find out more about The Fitness Collective you can click here: The Fitness Collective
Please share this with your friends and anyone else you may know who is worried about training in a gym, and feel free to follow me using the links below…
And if you want to get updates on when I publish new articles, publish new podcasts or anything else then please remember to sign up below
And above all remember this…for as long as you are trying your best no one can ask for more from you.
Coach Adam
How Do You Track Weight Loss With Progress Photos? And are Progress Photos useful to use?
The infamous “Progress” Picture. Some of this Article will sound damn obvious. Some of this article will shock you to your core.
But the overall aim of this Article is, like so much of my content, designed to change your perspective on two things:
How you feel about your own “Progress” photos
How you feel when you look at other people’s “Progress” photos.
One of my favorite progress photos is the following:
“I finally had the courage to upload my Progress Photo…it wasn’t easy but I managed it”
The reason I love this Meme so much is that it sums up the entire point of this Article.
Table of contents for: How Do You Track Weight Loss With Progress Photos? And are Progress Photos useful to use?
How Do You Track Weight Loss With Progress Photos? And are Progress Photos useful to use?
What is a “Progress” Photo?
I’m sure you have heard about them…or seen them. Even if you are ever so slightly interested in fitness or have ever logged into Facebook or Instagram I am almost certain you will have come across a Progress Photo.
A “Progress” Photo is a picture of someone on one day in time, typically when they started a new program placed right next to the same person a few months on when the program has finished.
And you are “expected” to see a difference between Photo A and Photo B.
They are also sometimes called “Before and After” photos.
I dislike this term more because it gives a finite beginning and end, which I don’t think is helpful for you.
Now it's great for the Personal Trainer that made you do it in your 12-week program and wants to exploit you and your pictures to try and get more clients…because as far as they are concerned it is Before and After.
Before you ever knew them.
After you are finished with them.
They now don’t give a fuck about you because they have their marketing photo. Its a classic, use, and abuse. In and Out. Kick to the curb.
And it disgusts me.
Disclaimer: I have been known to use my client's photos for marketing purposes. But none of them has ever done a 12-week shred with me. None of them have been with me as a client for less than a year. And they all understand that its a part of the sad world I exist in. I have also never edited a progress photo in order to create a better image of the result. But I am definitely in the minority.
I wish I could sell Personal Training without them. I really do. And I try to use them as little as possible. I very rarely use my own photos to sell how good I am as a Trainer because just because I can get a ripped body for myself doesn’t mean I know how to coach someone else to that end.
And that is a very important point. If you are choosing a Trainer based on how they look…then you are falling for a very easy trap. Anyone can follow a plan and get results themselves…the art of coaching is to be able to get someone else to do that, someone who isn’t you, who has a very different life and who needs very different guidance not just from who the trainer is, but also from all of their other clients too.
You are an individual.
And this is part of the problem. The market decides what sells…and you…yes…you…I know you have judged someone’s training experience based on a “Progress” photo you have seen of them. You have made a snap judgment on their trainer…and a snap judgment on the person based simply on a once in a moment photo.
And that is what sells.
I also think we all have a responsibility when posting them. Whether it is myself to try and garner business or yourself to demonstrate your hard work and to show how you have changed.
I always think…whenever I chose to use a “Progress” photo…I always think what effect will this have on someone somewhere?
Will one of my clients who is struggling right now see it and feel worthless?
Could someone see it at the wrong time of day and it means that they sink further into darkness?
Could it inspire someone to make a change?
I generally do not give a flying hoot about what I post and if someone is offended by what I say…I know they can move on, and I certainly can.
But a “Progress” photo has slightly different energy…and I have a responsibility to make sure that they are used in a more progressive way…and if you are reading this…I would like to think I have stopped and made you think about that too.
And this is based in reality. A trainer I used to work with created an online program that was based around a 6 Week Fat Loss shred. The image they used of their “client” (personally I had never seen them work with them and there was no Social proof for this either over the 5 years I had known said person) was of “this client” looking “large” and then “small”.
The tag line was “6 Week Transformation”
The advertising for this was huge. This woman was almost life-like in size on the website and the online ads and Social Media pictures were in your very in your face. But what really got to me about them was the following: It was all a lie.
This “client” did not do this program.
This “client” did not change her body that much in 6 weeks.
The people who did do this program never got results like that in 6 weeks — so imagine how they must have felt when all was said and done?
Luckily, I never worked with the trainer personally…we were just both in the same industry in the same town. But this is what really hurt most about it.
I was in a session with a client. A client who has struggled with weight her entire life. The issues with her weight have permeated through into her Mental Health and for the first time in her life she felt like she was learning and beginning to get to where she wanted to get to.
She was targeted by this advert online and the posts…she sent them to me…feeling very lonely late one night and asked me:
“Is that true?”
I told her the truth that the whole thing is a lie and the transformation took a good four or five years, and her response was this:
“That makes me feel really sad. That makes me feel so small and so unworthy. I’m so glad it isn’t true, but that picture makes me feel so angry because for a while I thought it was true…and it made me feel horrible”
We have a responsibility. We need to do better. We need to stop putting finances above people’s mental health in an industry that is about Health. We must stop selling lies and impossible truths just because we have egos. It's not helping you, and it's not helping your clients.
The worst bit…the program did really well in terms of sales. The results? Well, I’ve never seen a “client” who actually went through the system on any campaign from this trainer since….nor have I seen any of their progress photos on social media.
This brings us quite nicely to…
How Do You Track Weight Loss With Progress Photos? And are Progress Photos useful to use?
How Should You View “Progress” Photos?
Let me be clear. As much as I think they can be bad for the majority of people to see…they do have a place and can be effective for you in tracking your goals. I think they are a terrible way to draw clients in due to how untrustworthy they really can be.
It's more like the “Progress” photo itself isn’t the problem…but like with all things it's the way we personally view them.
When I was at Drama School we would be constantly working on a play. And every so often different people would come into rehearsals and critique the play. Whether that was a Movement Director, a fellow student, a Fight Director, a Voice Coach, a Casting Director, a Producer, the productions Composer and the Lighting Designer. You also had the Set Designer, Costume Designer, Script Writer (if they were still alive…alas I never met Shakespeare). Oh, then there's the whole Stage Management Team as well.
All in all about 30 people.
That wasn’t involved in all of the rehearsals They just had to show up and go away again. But every time they would show up an interesting phrase kept creeping into the rehearsal room:
“It’s a work in progress”
I used to view this as an excuse in case the people watching thought it was totally rubbish…and we would have time to make it better.
Then I was in Twelfth Night…and our Director, James Kemp, spoke to us about how a play is never finished. How a Production is never finished. How every night you must keep digging and digging, you must keep finding new things to discover because that is how you keep a play alive.
And no one wants to sit through a very stagnant three hours of Shakespeare.
You see, this is what your “Progress” Photo is.
It's not a beginning and an end.
Your fitness, if you have taken it on, and want to improve it should never exist with the concept of a beginning and an end. You must always be searching, always be digging, always be developing and letting your experience reveal new truths to you as you go.
There is no end. Just exploration.
A “Progress” photo doesn’t do that. A “Before and After” photo doesn’t do that.
Therefore I think it is a lot more healthy for you to view these photos as
“Work In Process”
Not just your photos, but those of others you see on the internet as well. They are just Work In Process.
I take a photo of myself after every single training session.
And yes…I do have narcissistic tendencies, but that is not why.
Its a lot like my article on “Your Scale Strategy”
Read my article that has helped 100s of women improve their relationship with the scale right here: Your Scale Strategy
The more you expose yourself to a picture like this then the less pressure you will feel first when you see it of yourself, and secondly when you see others. Yes, you might not notice progress as much…but who cares? Like with everything in Fitness…there is no end game. There is no finite; just exploration.
All Work In Process photos must be taken with a huge pinch of salt because they are quite literally just an image of someone frozen in time.
The drawbacks of what you see in a Progress photo are huge.
How Do You Track Weight Loss With Progress Photos? And Are Progress Photos Useful To Use?
What are the Pros and Cons of “Progress” photos?
Well…as we are here…let's start with the Cons:
Some of the biggest cons are that you have no idea about these elements of the subject's health:
Their relationship with food
Their mental health
Their hydration levels
Their physical health
Their relationship with exercise
All of these things could be very much affected…and the more “drastic” a “progress” photo is…and the more professional the photos look the more extreme we can assume the pendulum swings.
I know of BodyBuilders that get to a point where they can only drink what they pass when getting ready for a photoshoot — they also can’t get health insurance…due to the state of their livers.
Yes…that is the extreme side of the equation. But it all counts. Because every time you flick through Instagram and see a very shredded person…it still makes you feel like crap. Even a little. It makes you say “I’d never be able to achieve that” and that isn’t good enough.
Some more cons:
It is well known that people have had their own “progress” photos stolen to sell products and programs they never participated in.
The use of lighting can affect a huge amount of the way you look when they are taken (there is actually a thing called “anabolic lighting”)
They can easily be edited to make the subject look a lot better than they are.
Here are two photos…one on the right I edited on my phone…and the other is the original.
Please excuse the towel…
You can see my Pecs look a lot bigger in the edited photo due to the enhanced shadow, and the coloring looks a little off…but you are comparing like for like. How many “Progress” photos do you see where the subject is comparing all things the same?
I used a specialist app to edit this photo and these are some of its features:
Reshape — including Detail and Bloat (this might sound defunct but it makes your muscles look so much bigger if used well)
Retouch — teeth whitening, smoothing.
Brighten / Darken (very useful for anabolic lighting)
Tall — yes, you can actually make yourself taller
But my favorite feature is the following:
Stickers — Male Ab Stickers, Male Chest Stickers, Female Ab Stickers, Collarbone Stickers, Cleavage Stickers (yes, you can actually put someone else's breasts on your photos — I use this feature personally a lot)
I was going to put a funny photo in here of myself with that feature…but some things just can't be unseen.
In the photo above, I have managed to increase my arm size, my pectoral size, and I was able to darken my Abs so they looked so much more defined, and so that I look a lot more muscly and ripped than I actually am.
It took 5 minutes. Maybe less.
And…this app…is totally free.
Other Cons?
They build pressure on you
They can de-motivate you when you don’t see any progress
They can feel like a much bigger deal than they actually are
They can be very exposing and scary if you have never done them before
If you don’t know how to look at them, and what to look for you may never see the progress in them. I have had a number of clients submit photos to me and despite huge differences, they just don’t see them. Being subjective towards them can be very diminishing. I’ve had full-blown discussions with clients to try and show them what I can see in a photo…they just never believe it.
And this is why I don’t think they are an effective way to draw clients into programs either…
Let’s say I took on 100 clients into a 12 week program and made them all eat 1000 calories or less each day. I would get some amazing before and after photos…trust me. Especially if I only took on clients who had a BMI of 25+ for this program.
Now only about 10% of that number would actually get to the end. I now have 10 clients.
Of these 10 clients, lets say…maybe 5 or 6 of them remembered to do their photos at the beginning, and maybe 2 or 3 remembered to do them at the end.
I had 100 clients. I now have 2 or 3 that I have amazing photos of…to then use to sell the advocacy of the program to you.
You are buying into a program that has revealed 3% of its truth.
If I gave you a 3% chance of success in any program would you want to spend £100s on that?
Hardly seems honest, does it?
97 people, who failed. 97 people who you have no idea about and 97 people who the trainer can’t even remember their names.
On the internet also…there are many accounts that produce these comparison photos…and I kid you not…they don’t even use the same person in both photos. This is no joke. I promise you.
When I saw this it got me thinking of a checklist you should probably ask yourself every time you see a “Before and After” photo. It's really important you protect yourself from stuff like this. So always use the following filter when you are looking at photos of this nature:
Are there any Pros?
Well, yes. There are.
Photos can be and should be used as another way to track your Work In Process. They can reveal a lot. They can reveal things that the scale might not reveal.
They can build huge confidence in people, as they can be challenging, and overcoming a challenge can move you into growth.
And when they reveal development…it is a great feeling.
It really is a nice feeling. But that is chased with trepidation because I’m sure in the past you haven’t seen progress from one photo to another…and it has stopped you in your tracks.
How Do You Track Weight Loss With Progress Photos? And Are Progress Photos Useful To Use?
How Should You Take A “Work In Process” Photo?
There are rules on how it should be done…and in all honesty mine are a terrible example for a number of reasons — which when I explain below you will understand more.
I would also like to take this moment to TELL YOU TO DO IT.
But only if you agree to the following:
1. Its a Work In Process photo and you remember that at all times — there is no end to the process.
2. You understand that its only one method of tracking your work in process — the scale, measurements, the way your clothes fit, and what other people say to you are all huge indicators of progress too.
3. You will only compare every two to three months (you can and should take them much more regularly so you get to practice and used to taking the photos)
4. You follow the best practice as laid out below…
If I had a dollar for every client that said to me…
“I wish I took photos at the beginning”
In fact just this week one of my clients in The Fitness Collective said just this. Word for word.
Get my enitre library of resources and learn how to Build Confidence, Burn Fat and Build Muscle by Joining the Fitness Collective right here: https://www.thegymstarter.com/the-fitness-collective-sign-up
And I understand why you don’t want to when you start.
You feel scared of failing, and you definitely don’t want a photo to remind you of another moment where you failed. Plus…you’re in this to lose weight…because deep down there are parts of your body you hate…and a “reveal all” photo to send to your trainer when you can’t even make love with the lights on just isn’t happening. Full Stop.
It is a challenge. And a photo isn’t mandatory. But if you have someone who believes in you, as much as I do. If you have someone who is your number one cheerleader then of course you aren’t going to fail and that photo could be something you are immensely proud of and giving yourself that opportunity could be life-changing.
So this is how you do it:
1. Always take your progress photos at the same time of day. Mornings are preferred…as much fewer variables are in play ie: how much food you have eaten that day and therefore how bloated you are.
2. Try and use natural lighting as much as possible. Go outside and get the photo as it is going to be a much truer reflection.
3. Use the same clothing — never change your clothing. It's ok to have a progress photo in a T-shirt, but remember that won’t tell you the whole story…but if you need that comfort that’s ok. But always where the same one!
4. Use the same phone, and put it in the same position! Do not change lenses, do not change angles and do not do it like a selfie. In fact the phone should always be lower than you think. Usually, the best position for the phone in relation to you is about in line with your belt buckle.
5. Put the phone about 6 feet away from you so you can capture your whole body from toe to head on the screen.
6. Keep the phone completely parallel to your body. Do not angle it upwards or downward as it is a variable you will not be able to repeat.
6. Stand naturally…no flexing, no tensing, and no worry. Just be you. Because you are all that matters.
7. Try to put the gridlines evenly across your body, and make sure you stand in the center three boxes. Like this:
And that’s it.
Nearly.
Now the photo is taken…
You then have to wait a minimum of 8 weeks and then repeat the process.
Then…and this is probably the most important part of Work In Process photo.
Send the photos to a professional who can look at them objectively.
I promise you…you won’t see what they see…and what they see is what is really going on. You will be hell-bent on seeing a reduction in your belly, but you will ignore all the differences in your posture, your muscular development, the difference in confidence and so much more.
It takes practice and work to really see what is going on in photos…and that is something you do not have experience in.
I tell you what…if you got this far in this article…email me and I will look at them myself for you…to help you…just email me on adam@thegymstarter.com
How Do You Track Weight Loss With Progress Photos? And Are Progress Photos Useful To Use?
Conclusion
I really hope your biggest take away from this article is the following:
Stop viewing these photos as “Progress” photos or “Before and After” photos. Looking at them in that mindset is helping people manipulate you into buying into very large untruths about their work and the effectiveness of losing weight.
I want you to start realizing they are a “Work In Process” photo.
There is no end. It's just where you are at over this last two to three month period.
A Work In Process photo is useful, but it only reveals one very small and slim side of someone's story. It doesn’t tell you their relationship with food, what drastic measures they have had to go through to get the photo in the first place.
Its just two photos…two or three months apart. You have no idea how happy that person is…and I bet even though they lost some weight…they still aren’t happy.
Because this is the kicker: Losing Weight doesn’t make you happy.
The work and focus on the process of looking after yourself might. But reducing the size of your body will not make you happy…so stop thinking that it will…and above all stop thinking that the people you see in these photos are happy.
If they look happier on one photo compared to another its because they have manipulated it that way…they have slouched and sunken in the first one and stood up straight in the second one.
There’s more to this than you think.
So let's get you focussed on the Process. On the work. On the toil.
And let's get you viewing these photos with a more critical eye when you see them….
And let's get you viewing your own ones as quite simply…
A Work In Process.
Because that is beautiful. Just like you.
Did you find this useful?
You can Join The Fitness Collective which is my Membership Group. In there I give Monthly Updates, Live Q and A’s, I provide you with new workouts each and every month, and write guidance on your fitness journey.
To find out more about The Fitness Collective you can click here: The Fitness Collective
Please share this with your friends and anyone else you may know who is worried about training in a gym, and feel free to follow me using the links below…
And if you want to get updates on when I publish new articles, publish new podcasts or anything else then please remember to sign up below
And above all remember this…for as long as you are trying your best no one can ask for more from you.
Coach Adam
Do You Have Scale Anxiety? Improve Your Relationship With The Scale
We all hate that view, right? Well hopefully not anymore.
This week I spent a long time writing a book called Your Scale Strategy for my Online Clients on The Strong and Confident Program, and it got me to thinking that this information needs to be more “out there”.
Too many people are losing their desire, goals, and success because of two massive issues with the Scale.
They do not know how it works
They do not know how to make it work
My book is called Your Scale Strategy, and I wanted to share my strategy from it, to hopefully help you understand how to make the Scale work in a much better way for you.
Table of Contents for: Do You Have Scale Anxiety? Improve Your Relationship With The Scale
My aim is to give you a strategy for the Scale. This is what we will cover:
We will discuss your perspective of the scale
We will discuss the science of the scale
We will discuss A Workable Plan for you to move forward
Do You Have Scale Anxiety? Improve Your Relationship With The Scale
Before we get into it though let show you what effect this Strategy has had on my client. Case Studies are great because they demonstrate to you that this works for people like you. People who are struggling, people who need real answers to real results, and people who are figuring it out. Slowly by surely.
Let’s take my client, Beverley. Beverley has had limiting beliefs about her weight all her life. She is aware it makes her feel very unhappy, and actively avoids being in photos or videos with friends and family. Bev made a commitment to me to implement this Strategy as it is laid out in my book for at least 30 days. She went from not knowing what her weight was for over 2 years to adopt this plan and is now being consistent in both her behaviors and her fitness regime.
She's incredible. I’m so damn proud of her. But more importantly, she is proud of herself.
Here is what she found in 14 days in terms of her scale weight:
DAY 1 (15 stone 6lbs) and DAY 14 (15 stone 4lbs)
Beverley said the following two weeks in:
“To go from never knowing my weight because of what I thought it meant to me, the judgement that was wrapped up in the number and the ideas of self-disappointment, lack of confidence and constantly feeling like a failure…to now not caring what the scale says. Literally accepting it is just a number, and one that will mess with your head if you let it has been such a huge weight off my shoulders. For years knowing there was something about me I couldn’t confront because of the shame attached to it, meant I wasn’t willing to admit I was ashamed of myself. The scale represented that. But now…after implementing this strategy, it's all gone. All the worry and the angst. The number is just that, a number. Of course, I have goals I want to reach, but knowing I am doing the work each day to ensure that one day in the future it will take care of itself and that I have to be patient, respectful and understand truly how it works is life-changing. I’m no longer scared of the scale. I’m no longer ashamed”
I also made a video all about Beverly’s journey. There are two parts, and in it I discuss the ups and downs of this strategy and what she went through when trying to heal her relationship with the scale.
You can watch that here:
Do You Have Scale Anxiety? Improve Your Relationship With The Scale
Your Perspective of the Scale
I love this meme. Perspective is everything. Is the cup half-full or half-empty? I’m sure you know the “correct” answer to that but this can be so hard to implement in terms of weight loss.
Let's look at your previous unsuccessful journey in terms of weight loss.
You decided to take action — gym, slimming club, eating “clean”
You lost a few lbs
You had a social event you couldn’t avoid
Stepped on the scale again
Gained a few lbs
Thought this will never work
Gave up
Felt awful
Realized this “healthy” ‘thing was never for you
You might do this a few times over…in the course of a month or two…but eventually steps 7, 8, and 9 are the winners. Sound familiar?
Before you shoot me just hear me out. Please.
I am not stalking you. I promise. I’m not a fortune teller (although I did used to be a Magician at the biggest Toy Store in the World — Hamleys) but I promise you I am not reading your mind.
Want to know how I know you have done this time and time again?
Because you are normal. Because I have seen it happen with 99.99999% of the population.
But you think its just you. You think you are the slightly broken one…when you are not. When you are just perfectly normal. Its all about perspective. When you realise that everyone is going through the same struggle as you, when everyone is not actually losing 60lbs every three months, and they are in truth trading lbs day in and day out, up and down every day until over a long period of time they reach a goal (a much smaller goal than they initially thought) then you realise that you aren’t the problem.
The system might be.
Here is a thought:
Maybe the Diet failed you, you didn’t fail at the diet.
Know how I know this? Traditional restrictive diets fail everyone.
And see that shift in perspective, when you start seeing it change thus…you can begin to see that actually what you want is out there. Your goals are achievable.
SUMMARY: Perspective is really important when it comes to the scale. You need perspective with what is relaistic with yourself compared to what you see on Social Media, and you need perspective with the journey as well.
Do You Have Scale Anxiety? Improve Your Relationship With The Scale
The Self Perspective: Empathy
In terms of your perspective, you also need to embrace this word. You need to give yourself a hug a lot more often. In your story of previous unsuccessful attempts, between 6 and 7
6. Thought this will never work
7. Gave up
You need a 6.5: Empathy.
In your 10 point story, you never gave yourself a moment to reflect. The 10 point story happens over a period of time. A one-off example might not be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, but this is a big picture example.
However, I am willing to bet you are doing the same thing not only every time a new diet fails you…but:
Every time you have “bad” food.
Every time you drink some wine.
Every time you chose to go out as opposed to the Gym.
Every time you step on and off the scale.
And over time it all accumulates to you stopping, losing motivation and just wishing it was all a hell of a lot easier.
That number you see, without empathy and love, is a judgement. It's your High School bully laughing at you, it's your greatest fears about how you look and how sexy you feel. It’s a reminder of you being a “loser”, not a winner. It’s a judgement on the food you ate, the wine you had, and the fact you slept in as oppose to work out.
It’s a judgement of your own self-talk saying: “You are useless. Why are you even trying”
And that is all you hear in yourself. You don’t take into account all the other factors that are at play in your ability to adhere to a Calorie Deficit. Things like:
How much sleep you are able to get?
Your personal Finances?
The support of your friends and family?
Your accessibility to be able to exercise?
How stressed you are?
How your mood is?
These few factors alone will have a huge impact on your Calorie Deficit and therefore the number you see staring back at you.
Your whole perspective on the scale is imaginative. And that's not your fault. It’s the fault of the Fitness Industry, The Media, I’m sure you are even thinking that it could be your Mum’s fault or your Partners.
But looking for fault isn’t going to help anyone. You need to change your entire outlook. And when you do, you will be able to treat yourself with the empathy you deserve.
SUMMARY: Empathy is your number one priority when it comes to healing your relationship with the scale. You need to realsie your factors in your life that will impact how adherent to a Calorie Deficit you can actually be, and allow the results you track from that Calorie Deficit to allow for these factors.
Do You Have Scale Anxiety? Improve Your Relationship With The Scale
The Outside Perspective: Comparison
One of my favourite quotes is:
“Comparison is the death of joy”
And it is quite simply because we can’t compare evenly. You spend your life comparing people instantly on Social Media, but the issue with these platforms is they pander to your confirmation bias.
You only see people who have:
Been Succesful
You don’t notice all the people struggling, all the other people not making it…all your brain sees is the successful ones.
My best example of this from my life is what I call “London Underground is Ruining My Life”.
It’s storytime.
Now when I was a young buck at Drama School I got my own flat in London in my third year. Until that point, I didn’t need to spread my wings and fly. But in Third Year enough was enough. And my parents and I managed to afford a flatshare for myself. Of course, this came with the usual expectation of a 21-year-old living in London wanting to live the high life as an “up and coming actor” So obviously I wanted to seduce the women. Luckily I had one who actually said “Yes”.
We had an enjoyable evening. And then I had to spend the next two weeks riding on the tube. And the tube had changed. I promise you. For those not familiar with the London Underground…there is a LOT and I mean a LOT of billboard adverts on the tube.
And I promise you, hand on heart, every single advert, that evening henceforth, was for some sort of Pregnancy thing.
Whether it was Well Woman Vitabiotics, Clear Blue Pregnancy Testing, or even an advert for a West End Show…every advert was about pregnancy.
All 16,000+ of them.
This is a prime example of Confirmation Bias. My world ie: my brain was showing me my fear. All I was looking for was things to back up my own silly hypothesis that I was about to become a Dad.
…
And when you are on Social Media this is what your brain is doing. It is only finding things you want it to find…to confirm your preexisting thoughts about yourself.
To conquer the scale, you must realize that you are normal. You are like 99.9% of the world out there. That is why you have got this far into this article because it resonates with you…and you are not alone.
For example, we are in the midst of an “obesity crisis”. This literally tells you that more people in the world are struggling with this than are succeeding.
So embrace your normality. Understand everyone is in the same boat and the minority is what you believe to be the majority. From there…you can begin to see the wins you are achieving, as opposed to only Stop comparing your Chapter 1 to someone else’s Chapter 14.
Just focus on your journey, your progress, and how far you are coming.
SUMMARY: When we look at ourselves through the prism of comparison we will only ever compare to someone who is doing better than us. We never look down, only up. The more you compare the more your brain will be conditioned to only seeing who is doing better than you, not the reality of society at large.
Do You Have Scale Anxiety? Improve Your Relationship With The Scale
The Science of the Scale
So you have spent the majority of your life being all consumed by this little square block on your bathroom floor, and in truth…you know very very little about what makes up that number.
Which when you think about it…it's crazy.
You don’t really know what it represents, you don’t know what makes up that number and you don’t know all the factors involved in what it says and why it says it.
So let me break it down for you:
The human body as weight is made up of Bone, Organs, Muscle and Fat, and averagely this is split thus:
Bone: Men: 15%; Women: 10%
Muscle: Men: 45%; Women: 37%
Organs: Men and Women: 25%
Fat: Men 15%; Women 28%
These are estimates as its really hard to know the true figures, and we will never know our actual Body Fat Percentage unless we have an Autopsy…which is really inconvenient. Your Body Fat Percentage may well be higher than the average…but its never 100% of what you are.
That's really important to remember.
This is what should strike you the most from those figures:
Your body really isn't made up of much Fat at all…With the Body Fat Percentage figure, you must remember you cannot get to 0% Body Fat as you will die, and it is extremely unlikely you will ever get to >8% Body Fat (Men) and >21% Body Fat (Women) unless you become an Athlete. So what we can realistically effect in terms of Body Fat Percentage is about 8% Body Fat (Female) and 7% Body Fat (Male) based on the above averages. If you carry more Body Fat, this figure will be increased but can be affected more easily.
Your Muscle is Heavy…you have more muscle than you think you do. And Muscle is really hard to lose and really hard to gain. We lose about 3–5% of our Muscle Mass per decade over the age of 30 unless we train to keep it. We can gain muscle at a rate of 0.5lb per week. But even that is rare and takes extreme dedication.
Your weight gain over time isn't likely to be muscle gain. You might have heard that muscle weighs less than fat, which isn’t true.
What weighs more? A tonne of feathers? Or a tonne of bricks?
They are exactly the same weight, and the same is true for 1lb of fat and 1lb of muscle. They both weigh one pound.
Muscle takes up less space over a bone and therefore you can fit more of it onto the space you have available.
Muscle is incredibly hard to build - it's a little easier if you are newer to training but the longer you have been strength training, the longer it takes to build.
In the early days, some of your weight gains might be due to the muscle being built, but if your weight is increasing, and you are in a Calorie Deficit, past the three-month mark as a new gym goer, then it will be due to a caloric surplus and is likely to be fat gain, not muscle gain.
Time for a little PSA.
If you have a Trainer that is telling you, past these parameters, that your weight gain is because you are getting stronger and that it's not due to your Caloric Intake, then you need to get rid of your trainer and hire a better Coach.
I'm sure you have heard that scale weight is affected by a number of factors...and it is. These are:
Water retention from Salt in your diet
Water retention from lifting weights
You need to poop
You ate more yesterday than usual
You had more Carbohydrates than normal in your diet yesterday
Your Menstrual Cycle
This means that the Scale will go up and down like a rollercoaster - even if you are in a deficit.
But it is only water - I promise you. For example, if you eat 1g of Carbohydrates your body absorbs 3g of Water. This si why when you go on a “Low Carb” Diet you lose Scale Weight very quickly. You are indeed losing water - not actual Body Fat.
I recently did a 60 Day weight loss challenge. I lost 4.1kgs in about 60 days and I decided to weigh myself every day for the last 30 days so I could show you what it really looks like:
What a rollercoaster!
Looking at that you can see just how much scale weight fluctuates. There are peaks and whooshes everywhere, and in fact, I don’t think it whooshed on repetitive days once.
Added to that, I wasn’t in a deficit every day either, and the peaks were a lot harder to stomach on the days after I knew I wasn’t in a Deficit.
Even though I knew I wasn’t actually gaining weight, I had more than likely eaten more carbohydrates, it still felt incongruent to my goal, to lose weight.
I knew deep down the result would come provided I was in a Calorie Deficit for a consistent (25/30 days) period of time. I also only managed to make this a success, because I gave it enough time to succeed.
Even after consecutive days of the scale going up, I didn’t give up and therefore allowed myself to see the success I deserved from the work I was putting into it.
I also adopted the following mantra, which I highly recommend you follow:
“All you have to do is get back on track, and you haven’t failed”
I have spent the first half of this article educating you on the Scale - so that you can take all of this knowledge into implementing a plan to help you heal your relationship with the scale.
How Does My Menstural Cycle Effect my Fitness and Weight Loss? <<< Read My Article that has already helped over 100 women understand their Cycle and the effect it is having.
Do You Have Scale Anxiety? Improve Your Relationship With The Scale
So What Is Your Plan for the Scale?
This is your plan. Your schedule is really important, and it has to be easy to follow, otherwise, you won’t continue to do it.
You are going to weigh yourself daily. Every single day.
This study tells you why: HOW WEIGHING YOURSELF MORE REGUARLY WILL KEEP YOUR WEIGHT OFF
But allow me to pull out one key conclusion of the study:
“Findings from the registry suggest six key strategies for long-term success at weight loss: 1) engaging in high levels of physical activity; 2) eating a diet that is low in calories and fat; 3) eating breakfast; 4) self-monitoring weight on a regular basis; 5) maintaining a consistent eating pattern; and 6) catching “slips” before they turn into larger regains”
All of these points are really very important. Although it can be argued you do not need to eat breakfast in order to lose weight as all you need is a caloric deficit, although in this study when they refer to breakfast they refer to cereal (which surprised me!), it doesn’t define what kind at all — cereal is a very broad term, and fruit. It would be my suspicion that it’s due to an increase in Fibre in their diet which is helping here.
Added to that this Study took a cohort of people, and got them to weigh themselves over a 51 week period reducing the frequency of weighing as time went on. The three groups were split thus:
High/Consistent equalling 6 days/week of weighing over 51 weeks
Moderate/Declined equalling 4-5 days/week of weighing and then a gradual decline to 2 days/week over time.
Minimal/Declined equalling 5-6 days/week until Week 33 and then 0 days/week thereafter.
The results were:
“The high/consistent group achieved greater weight loss than either the moderate/declined and minimal/declined groups at 6 months and 12 months, respectively. The high/consistent group had a greater mean number days per week of adherence to calorie intake goal or step goal but not higher than the moderate/declined group.”
And they concluded:
“This is the first study to reveal distinct temporal patterns of self-weighing behavior. The majority of participants were able to sustain a habit of daily self-weighing with regular self-weighing leading to weight loss and maintenance as well as adherence to energy intake and step goals”
The key takeaway here is that weighing yourself every day leads to better adherence to the behaviors that create weight loss: Calorie Deficit and Step Targets to name a couple.
I need to interject here, also. You can lose weight as well if you only weigh yourself once a day. But you need to think of weighing yourself daily as Data collection - not a judgement on what you are doing each day.
The more data you collect, the more informed a decision you can make about what is happening.
You also need to control the variance that can effect the scale reading as much as possible.
So. in order to do that this is your schedule
Wake Up
Go to the toilet
Weigh yourself
Then eat your breakfast / Drink your Tea or Coffee
Always try and weigh yourself in this manner each and every morning.
Before we go any further please read the following:
Don’t get me wrong, there is a cost to every behavior we partake in as humans, and although I am in favor of weighing ourselves daily, I am not blind to the fact it can have negative repercussions too. If you have ever suffered from an Eating Disorder, and/or Mental Health Issues then using the scale in this way should be discussed with your Doctor and your Medical Team.
Do You Have Scale Anxiety? Improve Your Relationship With The Scale
Stop Playing The Scale Lottery
Weighing yourself once a week, once a month or less than this is like playing the lottery.
You will lose.
You are shooting in the dark. You aren’t collecting enough data.
Blindly hoping you get a down day…as opposed to an up day with your weight fluctuations. Even if you hit a down day 50% of the time…the other 50% will be the percentage you focus on…the percentage you remember and essentially the one that will stop you in your tracks.
You need regularity by weighing yourself daily. Weighing yourself daily does mean that you will have to see the number go up - but that’s okay - because you aren’t gaining body fat.
This study took 29 men and made them eat 40% above their Maintenance Calories, which was about 1200-1500kcals extra a day. Over the 8 week period, they gained 9lbs of fat, equivalent to 0.16lbs a day.
Added to that another study took participants and made them eat 1000kcal/day above their maintenance for one week, which lead to a scale weight gain of 1kg for the whole week. This kilogram was then split up into two sections - half of it was muscle glycogen, and the other half was body fat - which means they gained 71g of body weight a day.
This is why we must be very careful about how you look at and analyse the scale data you collect.
With my clients I implement this:
We compare every two weeks. Not every 2 days. Not every 7 days. Not every 10 days.
14 Days. And it’s a lot longer than you think it is.
There is a reason the studies I have spoken about in this article track people for 51 weeks - because weight loss takes time.
Or if you are overly concerned with your Menstrual Cycle and you know that affects your adherence to a Calorie Deficit you can use this model:
And again, we work on a 14-day schedule of comparison.
If you aren’t seeing the results you are happy with you will then need to analyze what you have been doing and amend one of these factors:
Track your Calories more accurately
Increase your NEAT
Increase your Sleep
Increase your Hydration
Increase your adherence to the Five Awesome Rules For Life:
Increase your Caloric Deficit
The Five Awesome Rules for Fat Loss Life <<< Watch my Video on how to nail your Fat Loss every day
Do You Have Scale Anxiety? Improve Your Relationship With The Scale
Metabolic Adaptation
One last thing we need to be aware of in the plan for your progress is Metabolic Adaptation. As you lose weight your Caloric needs will change.
Smaller bodies need fewer calories.
Therefore make sure you go back to the Calorie Calculator every two months and if you have made progress re-evaluate your numbers and see what it says. The change might not be huge, but it will be good to make sure that you are keeping a check on what your body needs and that changes over time.
You can mitigate the effects of metabolic adaption by making sure when you lose weight you continue to strength train with the goal of preserving muscle mass - and eating enough Protein each day.
Grab My Calorie Calculator Right Here <<< I will email it straight to you
Do You Have Scale Anxiety? Improve Your Relationship With The Scale
And That’s It…
It is my belief that you shouldn’t use scale weight as a determinate of who you are unless you know everything there is to know about the Scale. I hope this book has opened your eyes to what goes into the Scale and why it can be a very flippant and testing thing to use to mark your progress and who you are.
So remember these Take-Aways:
You have to gain a better perspective on what the scale is and how weight works otherwise you will lose motivation really quickly.
99.99999% of people find this really hard and struggle to maintain motivation because of how their perspective is.
Give yourself more time - don’t give up before you see your success from your consistency.
One day of a spike isn’t actually fat gain
Get away from the Prison of Time — allow yourself the time this needs and deserves, so you can empathize with your humanity and the stresses of normal life whilst losing weight
Set a sensible Goal Weight and remember that is based around being active as well - and download my Calorie Calculator to make sure you do that.
Weigh yourself Daily this will keep you accountable.
Stop playing the Scale Lottery.
Track your progress every two weeks and be disciplined in this as it will tell you the real picture.
Do You Have Scale Anxiety? Improve Your Relationship With The Scale
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