What is realistic for me to expect for weight loss?
This is the best question you can ask your trainer! There are too many quick fix unreliable weight loss fads out there for you to fall victim to! Today’s post is part of one of my responses to a recent client request. Here are some simple tips to get you moving in the right direction.
The simplest answer is: If you focus on healthy eating, increasing your daily activity and rock your workouts and cardio, a loss of 1-2 lbs a week is realistic and healthy to strive for. For almost everyone who has weight loss goals this should be your first step.
After taking some time off from his weight loss journey one of our bootcampers returned with a new fire in his belly and a need to achieve. While away he’d lost 3 pounds which was good! But he’d increased his fat % by 1.5%. That meant he’d gained fat even though he’d lost weight. Not a healthy thing to see. At 235 lbs and 28.7% body fat he wanted to do better.
How can we achieve results?
As you can see by the calculations below our first goal should be to get you into acceptable fat% levels (18-25%). As you lose fat and increase muscle you’ll see these numbers change and our goal weight change as well. But 11lbs for now is an achievable goal for a month of solid work.
Weight 235 lbs / Fat% 28.7% / Total Fat 67.5 lbs / Lean Weight 167.5 lbs /
Activity Factor 1.2 / RMR 2015 Calories / TDEE 2418 Calories
Desired: Fat% 25% / Body Weight 223.4 lbs
Weight Loss needed: 11.5 lbs
What do these numbers mean?
Activity Factor is a point system based on how active you are in daily life. A sedentary lifestyle (little to no exercise) puts you at a 1.2 activity factor.
RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate) is the amount of calories you burn just being you (Lie in your bed all day and do nothing and you will burn this)
TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is the amount of calories you’ll burn on an average day.
What do we do to succeed?
Eating:
- Eat every meal. No skipping breakfast, lunch or dinner! And small healthy snacks in between. (sounds funny but eat more to lose more!)
- Pay attention to Calories. At your current weight you’re burning 2015 calories a day just being you. If you can keep your calories at 2000 calories you’ll be building a deficit of aprox. 500 a day. (3500 calories equals a pound of fat. that’s a pound lost over a week just on diet alone)
- Skip the white stuff. (Sugar, bread, pasta, grains & Dairy) This will be the hardest part of your nutrition journey. Sarah and I both focused on a diet low in processed carbs and dairy and saw significant results. If you’d like some coaching on what you’ll need to do to accomplish this let me know. The Paleo Solution and Primal Blueprint are great resources to give you some alternatives.
- Water. Drink it rather than anything else. You’ll save on calories and keep your body primed for exercise.
- 3 Day Food Journal: Be as honest with yourself as possible and write down everything you eat for 3 days. It’s an eye opener to where you’re calories are going and where you can improve. I’ve added a link for an example of a basic day diary for you: Food Diary Link
Exercise:
- SGO Fitness Bootcamp: Rock it twice a week and give me all you’ve got. We’ll take care of the program. You take care of the sweat.
- Cardio: Get moving. I know you’ve already got some other classes going. But, make a goal of accomplishing at least 10 minutes of cardio for every meal of the day. (10 minute fast pace walk will get you nearly 100 calories no problem. That’s 300 calories a day!!)
- Activity: Always ask, will this make me better? Every chance you get choose the better path. Park further from work and walk. Take the stairs always. Stand at your desk every ½ hour for 10 minutes. Wash the dishes rather than use the dishwasher. Play music and dance rather than sit and watch TV. Everything you do that makes you move will get you to your goal.
Recovery:
- SLEEP!! 8 hours. No arguments. Be Better.
- Stretch: You’ll be sore after bootcamps. Get stretching. Do the stretches we do after class every day. If you’re feeling like you need extra work done call me and we can set you up with a foam roller and rolling program.
- Professional Help: As a SGO Fitness client you get 50% off your first visit with our support team for Chiro & Rehab, Massage, and Acupuncture . Take advantage of their services and expertise. I do.
Goal Setting:
This is most important of all. We have a weight and fat % goal set. But this isn’t going to do us any good if you don’t have an action oriented goal set to help you achieve it. So here is what I want you to do. Find something you want to accomplish in a month’s time. Something physical and measurable. (An easy one would be complete a 5k in you r best ever time but you choose) Once you have that goal, fill me in and we’ll build you a program to achieve it. By training your body to succeed at a physical challenge you’ll attack your weight loss goal as a byproduct. You win both ways!!
Choose a goal that is Specific, Measureable, Action Oriented, Realistic, Time Sensitive.
See it: Know what you need to do to be better.
Grab it: Take steps to plan your success.
Own it!: Tell people about it and make yourself accountable for your actions and success.
Dedicated to your success,
Sean Gogarty, ACE-CPT
Founder
SGO Fitness 