Getting Started With Weight Loss

I'm sure many people reading this made a promise to themselves on January 1st: now’s the time to get started with weight loss.

And I'm sure many of those same people are now telling themselves they'll start their weight loss journey on Monday.

OK. Cool. I get it. Change is hard, and delaying it is easy.

But let's make sure that you do actually get started with your weight loss journey tomorrow and you don't spend the rest of the month telling yourself you'll start next Monday.

Because before you know it summer will be here and you still won't have started.

Let's start by addressing the two most common reasons why people don't start:

1. It's hard to start. This is where discipline comes in. While your weight loss journey shouldn't feel like a constant struggle, you do need to struggle a little at the beginning - but only enough to build momentum. Once you've pushed yourself to take some kind of small action, you'll see results (even if those results are simply a general feeling of well-being), and those results will give you the motivation to take more action - it's a positive feedback loop that requires a little discipline to start the process.

2. You don't have a plan. A goal without a plan is essentially a wish. And most of us are too old to be making wishes.

So let's say you've read a lot of my Instagram posts and you have a good understanding of what's required to see results. You decide that tomorrow you're going to dig deep, find a little discipline, and start doing this:

• Calorie intake of [target weight in lbs] x12

• Weigh, measure, and track food

• Eat 0.7-1g protein per lb target weight

• Eat fruit or veggies with every meal

• Get 7-9 hours' sleep per night

• Get 7K+ steps per day

• Do 2-3 strength workouts per week

• Do 1-3 cardio workouts per week

• Drink [half your bodyweight in lbs] oz water per day

Now let's imagine you didn't work out at all in 2021, you currently average 2K steps per day, you don't really know what foods contain protein, you drink 1 glass of water per day on a good day, and you only manage 5-6 hours' sleep per night.

How successful do you think you're going to be if you try to do everything on the list tomorrow? I doubt you'll make it to lunchtime.

Getting started with weight loss shouldn’t make you feel like this

And I'm not saying that to be mean. I'm saying it to show you that simply writing a list of everything you need to do is not a plan. Because trying to do everything at once is setting yourself up for failure.

This is not how you get started with weight loss.

Here's what I would recommend instead...

Getting Started With Weight Loss…

Choose the one or two - no more - habits that feel the least intimidating.

Let's say that you've chosen "Get 7K steps per day" and "Eat fruit or veggies with every meal" as the two least intimidating habits.

But maybe you're still not sure about being able to achieve them.

So you need to break down those habits even further until you feel at least 8/10 confident about being able to achieve them consistently.

Instead of getting 7K steps per day, you can aim for 3K steps if you're 8/10 confident about doing that consistently. Or 2K steps. Or 1K steps. It doesn't matter how low you go - just find that spot where you're 8/10 confident.

And instead of eating fruit or veggies with every meal, eat fruit or veggies with one meal per day if that gives you a confidence level of 8/10.

Now you have a rough plan for the next two weeks:

• Get 3K steps per day

• Eat fruit or veggies with one meal per day

As part of that plan, you need to also figure out how you're going to get the things done. For example, you can go on a 10-minute walk three times per day to get the 3K steps (because it takes the average person around 10 minutes to get 1K steps).

And to achieve the "fruit or veggies with one meal per day" goal, you could eat either half a cup of blueberries with breakfast, or half a cup of roasted broccoli with dinner (these are just random examples).

Now you have a more specific plan:

• Get 3K steps per day by going on a 10-minute walk three times per day.

• Eat fruit or veggies with one meal per day by eating either half a cup of blueberries with breakfast or half a cup of roasted broccoli with dinner.

Finally, we need to overcome any potential obstacles. For example, remembering to get outside and get your steps can be a challenge. And eating those veggies and berries can be challenging if you don't have them in your kitchen ready for you.

So let's make one more addition to the plan:

• Get 3K steps per day by going on a 10-minute walk three times per day. I'll set reminders in my calendar to make sure I remember to do it.

• Eat fruit or veggies with one meal per day by eating either half a cup of blueberries with breakfast or half a cup of roasted broccoli with dinner. I'll go to the grocery store today to buy enough to last me for the next week.

Now you have a realistic and achievable plan for the next two weeks. This is how you get started with weight loss: you come up with a simple and achievable plan.

And you need to make a promise to yourself that you'll work hard to achieve each of these goals 80% of the time. Over 2 weeks, that's 11 times where you need to achieve each of the goals in your plan, which is a high enough consistency to lock in a new activity as a habit.

Once you've demonstrated to yourself that you can follow the plan consistently for 2 weeks, it's time to add to it. You could work on hitting 4-5K steps per day and eating fruit or veggies with two meals per day. And once you're at the point where you can consistently get 7K steps and eat fruit or veggies with every meal - it's time to add another habit.

Maybe you decide to introduce strength training. You only feel 6/10 confident about doing it twice per week, but you feel 9/10 confident about doing it once per week - so you're gonna start with once. Schedule the workout, make sure you have appropriate clothing, and join a gym if you need to. Strength train once per week for the next two weeks, and if you're successful, try increasing the frequency to twice per week.

This is how you go from doing nothing to doing all of the things you need to do to see success. You don't try to do everything at once; instead, you gradually introduce habits in a way that will maximize your chance of success.

In summary:

1. Pick 1-2 things from the list that intimidate you the least.

2. If necessary, break down those things even further until you feel 8/10 confident about achieving them.

3. Write down exactly what you're going to do to make them happen.

4. Write down any obstacles and how you're going to overcome those obstacles.

5. Follow the plan for 2 weeks.

6. If you've been consistent with the plan - which means doing the things 80% of the time, or 11 times in 14 days - you can then add one more thing to the plan.

7. Repeat steps 2-6 until you're doing everything on the list.

8. Win.