I Went From Bulky to Lean in Just 6 Months — Here's My 9-Step Weight Loss Secret
Losing weight in a healthy, gradual manner is one of the best ways to keep it off in the long term. YouTube star Kesha Collins struggled with her weight for much of her life. After getting diagnosed with PCOS, she decided to get into shape and lost 20 pounds. She then bulked up at the gym. "I got up to probably the highest weight" of her life at 197 pounds. In six months, Kesha lost 24 pounds. In a viral YouTube video, she explains how she did it the healthy way.
Weight Training
Kesha starts with the "weight training" portion. "When it comes to weight training, it always remains the same for me. Whether you're cutting or bulking, the goal is always to try to put on muscle mass or maintain as much muscle mass as possible, especially when eating in a calorie deficit. You want to try to lose only fat, but of course, the longer you're in, the more muscle you might lose, too. But the goal is to maintain as much as possible," she says.
Tracking Workouts
Kesha uses the Heavy app. "That's where I track my workouts. I try to hit those same numbers or at least close to it. If I'm hip thrusting 315, I want to try to continue to hip thrust 315," she says.
Less Workout Sessions Can Be More
"Sometimes less is more. I was always someone who went to the gym six days a week, sometimes seven days a week, and that did not help my body at all. Now, I only go to the gym three to four days. So on a good week, I'll go four, but other times, I'm still lifting three," she says.
Diving Workouts Up By Body Part
When Kesha goes she will do "two lower bodies, two upper body or two lower body days and one upper body day," she says. "And when I'm lifting weights, I rest in between my set, like I get rest, I take my break, I wait for my heart rate to come back down before I continue on."
RELATED: I Sculpted My Best Body Ever in My 50s With This Surprising 5-Step Plan That Actually Works
Calorie Counting
Kesha moves on to diet. "I am someone who counts calories," she says. "I know it's not for everybody, but it's something that I need to do." While she isn't "crazy" about it and doesn't count every single calorie, "I just like to get a general sense of how many calories I'm consuming because it is very easy to overeat."
Calculate TDEE
She uses the TDEE website and inputs her weight, age, and other information. "It gives you a calorie range, and then you can go from there. But I was eating around 2000 calories, and then it slowly declined. Now, when I say slowly declined, over six months, I've only dropped about 200 calories," Kesha says. "Don't go dropping your calories like crazy. As long as you're still a little weight and losing weight, you don't have to cut the calories at all.
Spacing Out Meals
The other thing that helped her was "spacing out my meals," she says. "So having bigger meals and then spacing them out." Kesha will eat a big breakfast "and then wait hours before I have my lunch and then hours before I have my dinner," she says.
Cardio
The "last piece of this puzzle" is cardio. "Cardio is important, okay? Cardio is important for multiple reasons," she says. Not only does it feel good and contribute to heart health, but it helps you be in a caloric deficit. Kesha started by walking outside and on the treadmill, working her way up to an incline. She also uses the StairMaster.
RELATED: Top 20 Slimming Superfoods You Should Eat Every Day
Circuits
To lose even more weight, Kesha will "be doing a little bit more circuits, but I might pop in a leg day or back day here and there if I'm feeling like it," she says. "Cardio will remain the same."
Follow Kesha on Social Media
For more on Kesha and her weight loss journey, follow her on social media. She is on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. And if you enjoyed this article, take advantage of these 15 Quick Ways to Lose Body Fat Percentage in a Week.
