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Following the results of my recent survey, it was quite apparent losing weight was a huge struggle for so many women. Although I’ve briefly touched upon my own weight loss habits in many blog posts, I realised I’ve never shared the exact strategy of how I lost over 25 pounds and kept it off.
Before I followed the steps below to finally get rid of my extra pounds for good, I was trapped in a weight loss cycle. I was on a consistent hamster wheel of losing weight and putting it back on. And of course, when I put it back on, I gained a few extra pounds more than my original starting point!
It took many years to realise I didn’t have a weight loss problem – I had a weight return problem!
If you feel like you’ve tried everything and you’re convinced you’ll never fit into your favourite pair of jeans every again, my strategy below may be just the thing you need.
However, be aware. If you’re looking for a quick fix and want to lose over 25 pounds in the next 6 weeks to be summer body ready – this is not for you!
My strategy for losing over 25 pounds and keeping it off for good, is for those of you who are fed up with trying the latest diet fad, drinking disgusting shakes or depriving yourself of the foods you love, once and for all.
I finally got off the diet treadmill by realising, I didn’t want to lose the weight – I wanted to release it!
For too many years, I would use quick fixes to lose the weight and then from no where, it would find me!
My strategy shared below, shed my disempowering “I’m fat” identity, by slowly introducing new habits, a renewed belief in myself and an empowered mindset to finally release my weight for good.
Are you ready to start your own ‘Lose over 25 pounds and keep it off challenge?
Yes? Then lets get to it.
If you’ve been an avid dieter for many years, you know whilst on any diet – all you think about is food. All day everyday! As soon as you’ve eaten something – you’re already thinking about your next meal.
Due to my own failures in the past, I believe starting any sustainable weight loss programme does not begin with food. So, you’ll be glad to know in the first month of this challenge, I encourage you to carry on eating as you usually do – guilt free.
This first month of your journey to lose 25 pound and keep it off, is focused on moving your body on a regular basis by integrating the habit of movement into your daily life. Now, before you tell me you have no time work out, all you need to do is start with 4 minutes a day. Say what!
Yes, all I want you to do is commit to taking 4 minutes of your entire day to getting your heart rate up.
Not only that – I’ve made it easy for you! THIS LINK is the exact 4 minute HITT programme I followed for 30 days at the beginning of my own weight loss journey. (Think 4 minutes is not enough time to have you out of breath and dripping in sweat? Click the link right now, do the first workout and then let me know in the comments below if you still believe that to be true!)
Experiment with free works on YouTube to find what you like and workout consistently for 30 days, so you start building your movement habit.
By month 2, you should be well into your movement habit and even started to increase your time or added different movement exercises to your routine. KEEP GOING!
So, now is the perfect time to look at your current eating habits. But again – do not change your eating habits during this month. All you need to do is become aware of what you’re actually eating over the next 30 days.
You can use your own note pad to create a food diary. However, I would suggest using the app I used to track my food consumption called – My Fitness Pal. It has millions of meals and individual food items already on the platform, which give you both the calorie measure and the nutritional value of the foods. You can even scan the bar codes of what you’re eating and the app finds the information.
The app is free to download for both Apple and Android
You may be surprised when you see how much calories you’re eating, (I know I was!). Especially when I added my favourite sauces, drinks and the snacking between meals. But don’t panic! All we’re focusing on is tracking our normal food intake, whilst continuing to move our body consistently – easy!
This is where things get interesting! Month 3 is not about changing ‘what’ you eat. It focuses on changing ‘how’ you eat. But, before you panic at the word ‘fasting’ – let me assure you, you’re not going to starve to death!
Intermittent fasting has many benefits. Not only does it help lose and maintain weight loss. It also allows the body to focus its energy on repairing cells, instead of using vast amounts of it’s energy constantly digesting food. This is done by restricting the hours you eat within a 24 hour period.
I’ve been following the 16:8 intermittent fasting protocol since 2018 and truly attribute this window of eating to keeping my weight off all these years. (Note: the video linked above encourages also counting calories – I didn’t do that in my journey! But you can if you chose.)
When following the 16:8 protocol, I reframe from eating for 16 hours and have my eating window between 12pm – 8pm each day. Considering I’m asleep for a good part of those 16 hours – it really isn’t as difficult as it may first appear. What’s more, you can chose your own 8 hour window depending on your own personal lifestyle.
Use month 3 to begin exploring an intermittent fasting protocol that works for you now and in the future.
So you’re moving you body consistently for 3 months, aware of what you’re eating and have found an intermittent protocol that works for you.
Now we can talk about diet!
Month 4 is where your food diary in month 2 comes in handy. Chances are, you’ll find you eat the same food within a 20 day cycle. These are obviously things you like. So you’ll be glad to know, when focusing on ‘diet’ this month – you can continue eating the foods you love – but with a twist!
During my own weight lose journey, my mind developed the connection to the word diet with deprivation. Anytime we feel deprived from something, we want it even more! After all previous attempts to lose weight, I vowed to never deprive myself of the things I like to eat again.
So, month 4 is where we find alternative options to the food we love, by swapping our favourites for healthy and nutritionally balanced alternatives.
My overall diet did not change during my weight release journey – and that is a key factor to it never finding me again.
By making conscious foods swaps you can still have your fill of crisps, cakes and biscuits – however the sugar, salt and additives are reduced or sometimes non existent. For inspiration, check out my post 9 Easy Food Swaps That Improve Your Health to see some of my own food swaps. You may be surprised to discover the swaps actually taste better.
Over the last 5 months you have developed the habit of regular exercise, became aware of what you’re eating, made better choices and changed the ‘way’ you eat.
If you haven’t already started to do so, it’s time to ‘pump some iron’.
Weight and resistance training was the biggest game changer with how my body started to change. At this point I was working out five to six days a week but most of it was HITT and yoga. When I discovered weight and resistance training could changed my body composition, make my core stronger and gave me a good sweat session without jumping around – I as sold.
Resistance training is also essential for women’s overall health. It’s well documented that using weights can assist with fat loss, improve cardiovascular health, protect your bone health and may actually help you live longer!
Since releasing all my weight, I actually do more resistance and weight workouts than cardio. To get you started on your strength journey, check out one of my favourite YouTuber trainers Heather Robertson.
(If you don’t own a pair of dumbbells – start with bottles of water or food cans!)
By month 6, I guarantee you’ll be a completely different person.
Not just because you’ve loss over 25 pounds, but the habits and mindset you have developed over the last 6 months, have created a brand new identity for yourself.
Celebrate and congratulate yourself on how far you have come.
But beware. Usually reaching a weight loss goal leads to a false sense of security. However, by continuing to embed the above strategy into your lifestyle I can guarantee you will finally release the weight for good.
Years after implementing the above system, I cannot imagine my life without regular movement, delicious healthy foods and the satisfaction of not having to buy the next size up in clothing.
Take time to celebrate your achievement – but keep going.
So are you ready to take the challenge of shedding 25 pounds over the next 6 months – and keep it off?
If the answer is yes, type ‘I’m In’ in the comments below and lets do this!
I would love you to save this post in your favourites and come back in 6 months time, to let me know how much weight you released.
If you need to keep yourself accountable, download my 30 Day Tracker to set each goal and keep your commitment to finally releasing the burden of weight – once and for all.
Stop waiting for permission or the right time. If you don’t take action today – 6 months from now, your future self will be disappointed you didn’t.
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