I’m going to make this as simple as possible! Below you will find an easy-to-follow, step-by-step outline of the process that I used to lose 40 pounds in the last 6 months and keep it off. Follow these steps to start losing weight now!
Step 1 – Track What You Eat
There are certain things that you have to do if you are going to start losing weight now. The very first step is that you have to track what you eating. If you don’t know how many calories you are consuming, you will have zero idea on how much you truly need to cut out. This isn’t about what foods you are eating. It is simply about counting what goes into your mouth when you eat.
Why does this matter?
Simply put, your body burns a certain amount of calories each day. This number changes day to day, depending on many factors. (The details information is found in my 7-Day Crash Course). In order to lose weight, you have to remain in a calorie deficit (less in than out) in any given day over a week period. The type of food doesn’t matter for losing weight, just the amount. For example, if your body burns 2500 calories a day, and consume 2000 calories of snickers, you will lose weight.
Yay…Free for All!!!
Does this mean that you should just eat whatever, as long as it is below my calorie expenditure? Absolutely not! I’m just trying to make a point! You have to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight. We call that CICO, or Calories In Calories Out. This has to happen, or the rest of this doesn’t work. I go into more detail of specific foods, macro numbers, and recipes on the 7-Day Crash Course, but for now, you need to know how much you’re eating.
There are many ways to track what you eat! The most important thing is to track. You can use Apps like MyFitnessPal, Lose It, or even a piece of paper (the hardest way).
I personally use Noom. It allows me to track my food for each meal with ease and accuracy. Noom also has a unique character to it that other apps don’t. It is backed by psychology in where it teaches you to adapt your thinking and actions to make real, lasting change. I learned many psychological tools that helped me adapt to my new lifestyle and train my mind to enjoy this new way of living. I would say that Noom is in the Top 3 of the best tools that I have use to lose weight and get healthy.
Step 2 – Know What You Burn
If you don’t know how much you are eating, and how much you burn, then you can’t do the math. What math is this? The math of CICO – Calories In Calories Out! Let me show you an easy formula so that you can find out how much you burn on average. Remember, this number changes slightly day to day. However, you will get a good estimate of where you are starting.
Women BMR = 655 + (9.6 X weight in kg) + (1.8 x height in cm) – (4.7 x age in yrs) Men BMR = 66 + (13.7 X weight in kg) + (5 x height in cm) – (6.8 x age in yrs)
To make this simpler, here is the link so that you can just plug in your numbers and find out quickly.
Based on this information, I (a 40 year old male, 6 feet tall, at 232 pounds) would burn around 3100 calories a day and around 22000 calories a week.
Now Let’s Put These 2 Number to Use to Start Losing Weight Now…
Using my numbers above, I consume around 2000 calories a day (sometimes more, sometimes less). If I burn 3100 calories and consume 2000 calories I would be in a calorie deficit of 1000 calories a day. Over one week, that would equate to a 7000 calorie deficit.
What does this mean for weight loss?
It takes a deficit of 3500 calories to burn 1 pound of fat. In any given week, I am burning around 2 pounds of fat. This is about the maximum number of weight you should lose weekly, after the initial water weight and excess that you shed at the beginning.
Step 3 – Weigh Yourself DAILY
Why do I recommend weighing daily? According to WebMD, “Research shows that people who weigh themselves every day have even more success with weight loss than those who weigh in once a week.” I took this advice and have found it to be very accurate. The reason is psychological and practical. If you weigh yourself daily, you will be more accountable to yourself and the scale. You will also see the trend going downward on the scale.
Here is the scale that I use at home that has an app that tracks it for you:
Step 4 – Move More EVERY DAY!
While running a mile every day would be great for your overall health and weight loss, let’s be practical. If you are overweight, and many of us significantly so, then running is the last thing on our minds.
I want to give you a simple goal for the foreseeable future…try to walk 10,000 steps a day. If you have to work your way up to it, start at 8,000 steps a day. If you can’t make 8,000, start with 5. The goal is to make it to 10,000 steps a day. Do I hit that number every day? No! Do I go over that on some days? Sometimes! But I always aim for 10,000. It is quite simple to track your steps every day. Most cells phones today have the ability to do this without a wearable device. I use my Apple Watch, but it is not a non-negotiable. Here is a step tracker that I used before I was gifted an Apple Watch. It works just as good for tracking steps, for a fraction of the price:
Once you master this feat, start adding in running, or HIIT, or other forms of aerobic exercise to your routine. In the first 4 months, I only walked on the treadmill and in my neighborhood for about 45 minutes every other day. That’s all I could handle. I now walk an hour 3 times a week and run once or twice a week for 2 miles, maybe. and I hate running! I cover more about the benefits of walking, running, and other exercise in my 7-Day Crash Course as well.
Step 5 – Do Some Form of Weight Training
I am one that hates to lift weights 4 to 5 days a week. It’s just not in my DNA, so to speak! I would rather do 10 pushups, 20 sit-ups, and 1 pullup and call it a day. I know that the struggle is real when it comes to weight lifting, but this is an important aspect of reshaping your body composition.
The saying is true that more muscle burns more fat! If you focus only on the eating aspect of weight loss you will lose weight. Lots of it! But you will also lose muscle and, in turn, lessen the ability to continue to burn fat. Can you see the issue here? Weight training is a necessary inconvenience to keep our motor at high performance for burning fat.
Now, you don’t have to go to the store and buy expensive weight machines, or a BowFlex machine (remember those?). I bought a couple of cheap weights at Goodwill and a set of resistance bands from Walmart to get started. Since then I have upgraded, a bit, but I still don’t go to the gym and spend hours pumping iron. I do simple resistance training exercises, some basic dumbbell exercises, and some squats. Then my 10 pushups, 20 sit ups, and 1 pullup. Haha! Just kidding on the last one! It’s a bit more complex than that, but I keep it as simple as possible.
If you want to see a sample of what I do in a normal workout, go over to my YouTube channel and check out my video, “My Normal Daily Workout”.
Here are the resistance bands that I use now:
Step 6 – Don’t Give Up!
I know this one seems like a no-brainer, but this might be the hardest step in the process.
Here is a study by DealOnHealth.net,
- 77% of Americans are striving to eat healthier.
- 45 million US adults start dieting each year.
- 20% of dieters manage to maintain long-term weight loss.
- Dieters usually regain 50% of the lost weight within two years.
The statistic that sticks out to me the most is the last one, “Dieters usually regain 50% of the lost weight within two years.” That was me! I did that so many times! I would jump from one program to another. From one pill to another. I looked like a roller coaster if you looked at my weight loss from year to year. While I have my ups and downs now, that trend line keeps going down!
You have to keep going, even when the plateaus come, when the injuries happen, or when stress hits you in the face. Keep your eye on your prize and keep going to start losing weight now!
Bonus Step – Know Your Why
I do this for one reason alone. My family! I want to be there for my family and not just be present. I have 4 young children ages 11, 8, 4, and 4 and I want to be able to run and play with them for as long as possible. This wasn’t possible for me just a year ago. This is my WHY:
You have to find your reason for doing this to start losing weight now. Whether it is just for your personally, your family, or a specific goal you have in mind. You have to have something to strive for or you will give up. When things get hard, you will throw in the towel if you don’t have a reason to keep fighting.