How I lost 30 Pounds in 16 Weeks: Finale
Obviously losing 30 pounds in 4 months is not easy. However, there are some simple concepts that apply to anyone looking to drop a few (or more than a few) pounds. Here, I’m overviewing the low hanging fruit, which allowed me to see success while dieting for a bodybuilding competition.
This is the finale of this 3-part series. If you haven’t already, I recommend taking a peek at the other two pieces of writing which answer the questions…
What Eating Strategies Kept Me on Track? (Part II)
Here, I answer the question..."How did I track progress?" The interesting thing about this diet was the definitive end date. By the time I had decided to compete, I recognized the short window of opportunity I had to lose a substantial amount of weight. I had to be very regimented and precise.
So without further exposition, let's get down to it.
Tracking Weight Change
Weight was by far the most important metric I tracked throughout the diet. The same holds true for my clients and other people I have worked with.
Each morning, I stepped onto the same scale for 16 straight weeks and jotted down the number. While spending 7 weeks in Nashville for school, guess what I did? Yup, I brought that scale with me. I needed consistency and multiple data points.
At the end of each week, I’d spend 18 seconds logging the numbers into my computer. The following is an excerpt from my log.
Using the Numbers
Something I’ve noticed while working with clients is that many of them are worried about the day-to-day results. That’s a one-way ticket to frustration and confusion.
Weight loss is rarely a perfect correlation.
But Brian, you’ve said before that being if I eat 3500 fewer calories than I burn, I’ll lose exactly 1 pound. True, this is a great rule of thumb, but it’s not perfect.
What’s more important is your trend of weight change over time. With the power of Excel, this is possible!
This is the same information from above when plotted in Excel.
If you’ve done these sorts of procedures before, you can quickly read between the lines (no pun intended) and see that I was trending in the right direction. However, if I were preoccupied with day-to-day stats, I might’ve jumped off board and made some dramatic changes when I didn’t need to.
Here is the same plot with a trend line, which is what we really care about.
From that trend line, I can see exactly what trajectory I’m on in terms of weekly weight loss. For instance, from 3/14 – 4/7, I lost about 4 pounds per the trend line.
The Bottom Line
Losing (or gaining) weight is difficult, but it doesn’t have to be tricky. And in truth, it doesn’t have to be this complex either.
My situation required this level of precision because there was a definitive end date by which I needed to be super lean. Most folks don’t have these sorts of circumstances.
However, there is inherent value in understanding the Why and How.
If you want to lose weight and look awesome, I recommend visiting the SERVICES page of my website.
I don’t claim to be a genius, but I do think I’m pretty damn good at helping people lose fat, build awesome physiques, and do so in a very practical and healthy manner. If you have any questions or concerns, please EMAIL me.
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