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This content references scientific studies and academic research, and is fact-checked to ensure accuracy.

Our team of licensed nutritionists and dietitians strives to be objective, unbiased, and honest.

We are committed to bringing you researched, expert-driven content to help you make more informed decisions around food, health, and wellness. We know how important making choices about your overall health is, and we strive to provide you with the best information possible.

She Dropped 80 Pounds By Ignoring Everything Weight Loss Experts Told Her

One weight loss expert reveals the surprising tips that helped her lose weight.

Kayla_Cox_SixMilestoSupper30

You might think you know all the tricks to losing weight, but according to one influencer, there’s a good chance you are wrong. Kayla Cox is a weight loss influencer and founder of Six Miles to Supper, instructing her followers “how to lose weight sustainably and keep it off for good,” she writes in her bio. In a new viral post, she reveals “five weird tricks” that helped her lose 80 pounds.


“I grew up with a weight problem. I was always trying to lose weight. I was like on every diet. By the time I was 30, I had listened to all the diet and weight loss advice there was. And what actually helped me, in many cases, was to take that advice and flip it around, and that's when I had better success,” she says in the clip.

Banish Deadlines

Number one is the idea of banishing deadlines. “Most goal setting advice is to be smart, to make your goal specific and measurable and attainable and relevant and time-bound, and they always harp on time-bound. You need to have a deadline because if you don't have a deadline, then you're just going just never to do it,” Kayla says in the video.

She Still Sets Goals Without Deadlines

My Goals as memo on notebook with many light bulbs

However, she realized that when she set deadlines, they were “completely ridiculous” and “too aggressive,” and she could never meet them. “I was expecting myself to lose like five pounds a week and be done with the whole weight loss journey in a few months. And so what would happen is I would make the thing really difficult, and it would be too difficult. I couldn't sustain it. Then, what would happen is that I would fall for the goal and then quit. And each time this happened, it made it harder and harder and harder to attempt weight loss again,” she says, calling the process “really demotivating.” So, she stopped deadlines and decided to keep going until she reached her goals.

“It doesn't matter to me if it takes years,” she says. “I'm not quitting until I get to my goal weight. And when I did that, what was great was all of a sudden, I could be a lot more realistic with myself, and I could relax. And I was okay with me making mistakes because I knew like, ‘Oh, it's no big deal because eventually I'm gonna figure this out.’”

RELATED:Weight Loss Coach Lost 30 Pounds After Starting to Eat More Potatoes

Stop Telling People You Are Trying to Lose Weight

Friends,Partying,Nightclub,,Toasting,Drinks,girls,pub, alcohol, bar, cocktailsShutterstock

The second thing she did was she stopped telling people she was going to lose weight. “In the past, I used to talk about it all the time. I would tell everybody, ‘I'm on a diet right now. I can't have that.’ And that never really worked out well for me,” she admits.

“The reason I didn't tell anybody I was trying to lose weight was because I was embarrassed, and I was really scared of people knowing that I was trying to lose weight because I knew that was going to bring more attention to me, and I really didn't want that. I also was afraid that if I told people I was trying to lose weight, then, you know, they'd be watching me closer, and maybe they would watch me fail. And I knew from personal experience that sometimes, when you tell people that you're trying to lose weight, there are two ways it can go. And neither one is helpful. One way it can go is people can try to convince you you don't really need to lose weight,” she said.

“On the flip side, I knew some people can be very discouraging. They mean well, but you know, they might tell me things like, oh, it's just, you know, basically impossible to lose weight at your age.”

Keeping It Private Allowed Her to Build Her Own Plan

Happy woman celebrating successful weight loss on scale in bright living room. Fitness goals and healthy lifestyle concept. Joyful moment of achievement and motivation.Shutterstock

“I decided to keep it private, and I'm so glad I did. It gave me that freedom to just build my own plan, and because I didn't tell anybody what I was doing or anything, nobody was trying to critique what I was doing and say, ‘You should be doing this and this and that instead of doing it that way.’ I knew myself pretty well at that time. At that time, I would've listened to him. I would've just gone and done the other thing because I wasn't in the habit of sticking with anything,” she says. “By the time people did start to notice that I was losing weight, I was pretty confident in my plan, and even though people still offered unsolicited advice, trying to tell me like, ‘You should cut out carbs and you'd have much faster success,’ things like that, I just decided to keep doing it my own way. And that was helpful because I continued doing sustainable things.”

I Took a Day Off Every Week

Woman planning her monthly menstruation calendar, mark the days of menstruation and ovulation. She sitting on bed wearing home clothesShutterstock

“The third thing I did that was weird was I took a day off every week,” she says. “I had always heard you got to stick to the plan, and you just got to be on it. You're just on it. And that's just all there is to it,” she says. However, she heard that “if you take a day off every week, you're much more likely to stick with your plan.”

RELATED:I Ran 200 Marathons and These 12 Running Rules Changed My Life After 40

She Now Knows How to Go Off and On Her Plan

Attractive happy middle aged woman is sitting on sofa in living room. Smiling adult lady enjoys drinking coffee or tea sitting on couch at homeShuttestock

“In the past, I knew that I was in the habit of being on a plan, never taking a break, and then finally, I would just break, and then I could never get back on plan it,” she says. “I had this all-or-nothing mentality. Taking a day off every week just got me in this really great practice of learning how to go off plan and then get back on plan.”

She Averaged Her Weight

Weight scale 120 kilogramShutterstock

“The fourth thing I did was I averaged my weight,” admitting it was previously a “foreign concept” to her. “I made a spreadsheet so that it would average my weights and so that I could always see a running seven-day average. It was just taking the previous seven days of weights, adding those up divided by seven, and then showing my seven-day average.”

It Made It Easier to Stick with Her Plan in the Long Haul

Cheerful diverse young girls sitting together in sports studio before starts training giving high five feel happy and healthy, close up focus on hands. Respect and trust, celebration and amity conceptShutterstock

“What I was able to do then was I was always kind of thinking about at least a week of weights and a week's worth of behavior, which helped me to broaden my timeline. And because I was doing it that way, I was able to see my patterns better. I wasn't just thinking about ‘What did I do yesterday?’ I was thinking, overall, how have I been behaving around food? Have I been just overeating a lot, or am I doing a good job overall? This helped to even the hills and valleys out, emotionally, but also what my weights were doing overall,” she says. “It just made it easier to stick with the plan for the long haul.”

She Allowed Herself to “Eat All the Foods”

happy young woman preparing tasty snacks at the kitchen table in the morning light

“The fifth thing I did, which is probably the most controversial thing, is that I allowed myself to eat all the foods,” she reveals. “In the past, when I would go on a diet or try to lose weight, I would cut things out and cut out whole food groups,” she said, using examples of bread, dessert, and sugar.

RELATED:5 Training Mistakes That Kept This Fitness Expert From Burning Fat

This Made It Easier When She Entered the Maintenance Stage

Handmade chocolateShutterstock

“I would do those things for the short term, but I can never get myself to stick with it in the long run. So, this time, I just did the opposite. I said, okay, I'm going to allow myself everything. I'm going to learn how to lose weight even when I am still eating cheesecake and chocolate, having wine, and eating bread. That was awesome because when I got to my goal weight and entered maintenance, it wasn't a big deal. It was like, okay, I've been eating this stuff the entire time. It's not like I've cut out cake, and now I get to have cake. What am I going to do with that? It was just like, no big deal. Like, I know how to lose weight while eating cake. So maintaining it while eating cake is no different,” she says. And if you enjoyed this article, take advantage of these 15 Quick Ways to Lose Body Fat Percentage in a Week.

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Evidence-Based

This content references scientific studies and academic research, and is fact-checked to ensure accuracy.

Our team of licensed nutritionists and dietitians strives to be objective, unbiased, and honest.

We are committed to bringing you researched, expert-driven content to help you make more informed decisions around food, health, and wellness. We know how important making choices about your overall health is, and we strive to provide you with the best information possible.

You might think you know all the tricks to losing weight, but according to one influencer, there’s a good chance you are wrong. Kayla Cox is a weight loss influencer and founder of Six Miles to Supper, instructing her followers “how to lose weight sustainably and keep it off for good,” she writes in her bio. In a new viral post, she reveals “five weird tricks” that helped her lose 80 pounds.


“I grew up with a weight problem. I was always trying to lose weight. I was like on every diet. By the time I was 30, I had listened to all the diet and weight loss advice there was. And what actually helped me, in many cases, was to take that advice and flip it around, and that's when I had better success,” she says in the clip.

Banish Deadlines

Number one is the idea of banishing deadlines. “Most goal setting advice is to be smart, to make your goal specific and measurable and attainable and relevant and time-bound, and they always harp on time-bound. You need to have a deadline because if you don't have a deadline, then you're just going just never to do it,” Kayla says in the video.

She Still Sets Goals Without Deadlines

My Goals as memo on notebook with many light bulbs

However, she realized that when she set deadlines, they were “completely ridiculous” and “too aggressive,” and she could never meet them. “I was expecting myself to lose like five pounds a week and be done with the whole weight loss journey in a few months. And so what would happen is I would make the thing really difficult, and it would be too difficult. I couldn't sustain it. Then, what would happen is that I would fall for the goal and then quit. And each time this happened, it made it harder and harder and harder to attempt weight loss again,” she says, calling the process “really demotivating.” So, she stopped deadlines and decided to keep going until she reached her goals.

“It doesn't matter to me if it takes years,” she says. “I'm not quitting until I get to my goal weight. And when I did that, what was great was all of a sudden, I could be a lot more realistic with myself, and I could relax. And I was okay with me making mistakes because I knew like, ‘Oh, it's no big deal because eventually I'm gonna figure this out.’”

RELATED:Weight Loss Coach Lost 30 Pounds After Starting to Eat More Potatoes

Stop Telling People You Are Trying to Lose Weight

Friends,Partying,Nightclub,,Toasting,Drinks,girls,pub, alcohol, bar, cocktailsShutterstock

The second thing she did was she stopped telling people she was going to lose weight. “In the past, I used to talk about it all the time. I would tell everybody, ‘I'm on a diet right now. I can't have that.’ And that never really worked out well for me,” she admits.

“The reason I didn't tell anybody I was trying to lose weight was because I was embarrassed, and I was really scared of people knowing that I was trying to lose weight because I knew that was going to bring more attention to me, and I really didn't want that. I also was afraid that if I told people I was trying to lose weight, then, you know, they'd be watching me closer, and maybe they would watch me fail. And I knew from personal experience that sometimes, when you tell people that you're trying to lose weight, there are two ways it can go. And neither one is helpful. One way it can go is people can try to convince you you don't really need to lose weight,” she said.

“On the flip side, I knew some people can be very discouraging. They mean well, but you know, they might tell me things like, oh, it's just, you know, basically impossible to lose weight at your age.”

Keeping It Private Allowed Her to Build Her Own Plan

Happy woman celebrating successful weight loss on scale in bright living room. Fitness goals and healthy lifestyle concept. Joyful moment of achievement and motivation.Shutterstock

“I decided to keep it private, and I'm so glad I did. It gave me that freedom to just build my own plan, and because I didn't tell anybody what I was doing or anything, nobody was trying to critique what I was doing and say, ‘You should be doing this and this and that instead of doing it that way.’ I knew myself pretty well at that time. At that time, I would've listened to him. I would've just gone and done the other thing because I wasn't in the habit of sticking with anything,” she says. “By the time people did start to notice that I was losing weight, I was pretty confident in my plan, and even though people still offered unsolicited advice, trying to tell me like, ‘You should cut out carbs and you'd have much faster success,’ things like that, I just decided to keep doing it my own way. And that was helpful because I continued doing sustainable things.”

I Took a Day Off Every Week

Woman planning her monthly menstruation calendar, mark the days of menstruation and ovulation. She sitting on bed wearing home clothesShutterstock

“The third thing I did that was weird was I took a day off every week,” she says. “I had always heard you got to stick to the plan, and you just got to be on it. You're just on it. And that's just all there is to it,” she says. However, she heard that “if you take a day off every week, you're much more likely to stick with your plan.”

RELATED:I Ran 200 Marathons and These 12 Running Rules Changed My Life After 40

She Now Knows How to Go Off and On Her Plan

Attractive happy middle aged woman is sitting on sofa in living room. Smiling adult lady enjoys drinking coffee or tea sitting on couch at homeShuttestock

“In the past, I knew that I was in the habit of being on a plan, never taking a break, and then finally, I would just break, and then I could never get back on plan it,” she says. “I had this all-or-nothing mentality. Taking a day off every week just got me in this really great practice of learning how to go off plan and then get back on plan.”

She Averaged Her Weight

Weight scale 120 kilogramShutterstock

“The fourth thing I did was I averaged my weight,” admitting it was previously a “foreign concept” to her. “I made a spreadsheet so that it would average my weights and so that I could always see a running seven-day average. It was just taking the previous seven days of weights, adding those up divided by seven, and then showing my seven-day average.”

It Made It Easier to Stick with Her Plan in the Long Haul

Cheerful diverse young girls sitting together in sports studio before starts training giving high five feel happy and healthy, close up focus on hands. Respect and trust, celebration and amity conceptShutterstock

“What I was able to do then was I was always kind of thinking about at least a week of weights and a week's worth of behavior, which helped me to broaden my timeline. And because I was doing it that way, I was able to see my patterns better. I wasn't just thinking about ‘What did I do yesterday?’ I was thinking, overall, how have I been behaving around food? Have I been just overeating a lot, or am I doing a good job overall? This helped to even the hills and valleys out, emotionally, but also what my weights were doing overall,” she says. “It just made it easier to stick with the plan for the long haul.”

She Allowed Herself to “Eat All the Foods”

happy young woman preparing tasty snacks at the kitchen table in the morning light

“The fifth thing I did, which is probably the most controversial thing, is that I allowed myself to eat all the foods,” she reveals. “In the past, when I would go on a diet or try to lose weight, I would cut things out and cut out whole food groups,” she said, using examples of bread, dessert, and sugar.

RELATED:5 Training Mistakes That Kept This Fitness Expert From Burning Fat

This Made It Easier When She Entered the Maintenance Stage

Handmade chocolateShutterstock

“I would do those things for the short term, but I can never get myself to stick with it in the long run. So, this time, I just did the opposite. I said, okay, I'm going to allow myself everything. I'm going to learn how to lose weight even when I am still eating cheesecake and chocolate, having wine, and eating bread. That was awesome because when I got to my goal weight and entered maintenance, it wasn't a big deal. It was like, okay, I've been eating this stuff the entire time. It's not like I've cut out cake, and now I get to have cake. What am I going to do with that? It was just like, no big deal. Like, I know how to lose weight while eating cake. So maintaining it while eating cake is no different,” she says. And if you enjoyed this article, take advantage of these 15 Quick Ways to Lose Body Fat Percentage in a Week.

Sadie_Chartrand_Slim_Sadie_Coaching5
Evidence-Based

This content references scientific studies and academic research, and is fact-checked to ensure accuracy.

Our team of licensed nutritionists and dietitians strives to be objective, unbiased, and honest.

We are committed to bringing you researched, expert-driven content to help you make more informed decisions around food, health, and wellness. We know how important making choices about your overall health is, and we strive to provide you with the best information possible.

Have you been trying to lose weight but been unsuccessful? Sadie Chartrand of Slim Sadie Coaching is a weight loss coach, military spouse, MO, and Registered Nurse (RN) who “helps women who have been battling their bodies and struggling with their weight for their entire lives” get into shape. In a new viral YouTube video, she reveals how she did it. “This is how I lost 80 pounds in just five months,” she says at the start of the clip. “My only hope is to help you all lose weight based on my own experiences.”


She Was “So Heavy” That She Thought She Had a “Disease or Disorder”

“Two weeks before December 13th, 2017, I had decided at some point that the reason that I was so heavy had to be because of some kind of disease or disorder. So I went to the doctor, and I told myself when I went into the doctor's office if all of my results came back negative, I had to lose weight. I have no more excuses. This was December 13th, 2017. I went into the office, and she read my results back to me. Everything was totally normal,” she says in her post.

She Went to a Doctor and Had Her BMR Calculated

“I stuck to my promise to myself, so I asked this doctor to help me lose weight. The first thing that she did was body composition. From that, she showed me what my BMR was, which was basal metabolic rate. And then she explained to me that to lose weight, I needed to eat about 1,157 calories a day, no more than that,” she continued.

RELATED:9 Things You Need to Do to Drop Body Fat in 30 Days, According to Expert

She Amped Up Her Protein Intake

She is also excited about her protein intake. “She wanted to make sure that I really increased my protein. So I ate one gram of protein per pound of skeletal muscle that I had, which was about 75 grams of protein per day,” she continues.

She Cut Carbs

She also stopped eating carbs. “At the time, she really cut my carbs out. So I was only eating less than 20 net carbs per day, less than 50 total carbs per day,” she says.

Here Is What She Ate in a Day

She was eating a protein shake for breakfast and a protein shake for lunch. “And these are Premier Protein shakes, pre-made,” she says. “For dinner, I was having four ounces of meat and two cups of vegetables.”

RELATED:Fitness Coach Reveals the 5 Foods That Helped Him Lose 20 Pounds in 90 Days

Walking Was Also Key

And, she got her steps in. “As for exercise, all I did was walk,” she says. A 2018 study published in the journal Obesity found a link between walking 10,000 steps a day and weight loss and weight management. Other studies published by the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) in JAMA Neurology and in JAMA Internal Medicine also linked walking 10,000 steps a day to less dementia and less cardiovascular disease overall, with less heart disease, less heart failure, and fewer strokes.

She Lost Weight Fast

When she went in for her two-week checkup “and just to check in to see how things were going,” she learned she had lost 14.7 pounds in just two weeks. “At first, I was so excited, and then everyone said, ‘It's water weight. It's going to come back. Don't get yourself all excited about this.’

She Went on to Lose 80 Pounds in 5 Months

“It never came back. And I continued to lose weight. At the end of the first month. I had lost basically 25 pounds in one month, which was my goal. I just barely miss it by a few ounces. But basically, it was 25 pounds. About two months into my journey, I had lost 40 pounds. And at the end of five months, I had lost 75 pounds. So that's why I say I lost 80 pounds in five months.”

She Gained Some of It Back

Unfortunately, she ended up gaining back 40 of those 80 pounds within a few months. “I got back into it, and I committed again. I lost all of the weight again by May of 2019. Her lowest weight was 180, and she admits that she is now 223.

RELATED:Nutrition Expert Reveals 2 Natural Alternatives to Expensive Weight Loss Drugs

She Is Now Back on Track and Using These Tips

“I am embarrassed, I'm disappointed. But the most important thing that I have to keep reminding myself is that I've done this not once but twice before. I know how to do this, and I can do it. It's just a matter of convincing myself each and every day to do this. It's been a lot, but it's also been absolutely life-changing for me, and I was really missing out on life. So my motto is losing weight and gaining life.” And if you enjoyed this article, take advantage of these 15 Quick Ways to Lose Body Fat Percentage in a Week.

Ruth_Soukup8
Evidence-Based

This content references scientific studies and academic research, and is fact-checked to ensure accuracy.

Our team of licensed nutritionists and dietitians strives to be objective, unbiased, and honest.

We are committed to bringing you researched, expert-driven content to help you make more informed decisions around food, health, and wellness. We know how important making choices about your overall health is, and we strive to provide you with the best information possible.

Are you struggling to lose weight despite dieting? Ruth Soukup is a midlife health and mindset coach who personally lost almost 50 pounds. She regularly shares her tips and tricks with her hundreds of thousands of Instagram followers. In a new post, she reveals a few mistakes she made and then the one thing she did to fix them. “I lost 49 pounds in my 40s when I stopped dieting and started paying attention to this one thing,” she writes in the Instagram video.


She Was Eating Plant-Based, Counting Calories, and Running 3 to 5 Miles Per Day, But Struggled to Lose Weight

“I struggled with my weight for ten long years and failed at more diets than I can count. Even though I thought I was doing all the right things,” she writes in the post. What was she doing? “Eating plant-based,” counting her calories, and “running 3-5 miles every day.”

At 43, She Decided to Do Something Different

She wasn’t getting the results she wanted. “I couldn’t understand why nothing seemed to work or why it felt like my metabolism was just broken. At some point, I started to lose hope. Maybe you can relate. But one day, when I was 43 years old, I finally got so fed up that I decided to do something totally different,” Ruth writes.

She Did Research to Understand “The Science of Weight Loss”

“Instead of dieting, I did real research to understand the science of weight loss, especially for women over 40. I wanted to know why we gain weight as we get older and it’s so hard to lose it. I was shocked to discover that weight loss has almost nothing to do with calories and everything to do with HORMONES. That’s it. That’s the secret. The one thing,” she reveals.

She Lost 49 Pounds and Has Kept It Off

“I totally changed my focus from counting calories to simply balancing my hormones, to eating the foods that would nourish my body, and creating better habits for a sustainable lifestyle. Ultimately, making that shift is what helped me lose 49 pounds and keep it off, and I’ve now helped thousands of other women over 40 do the same,” she says.

She Stopped Calorie Counting

In another post she discusses other healthy habits that helped her lose weight fast. “I struggled with my weight for YEARS, failing at diet after diet, always believing that the problem was ME and my own lack of willpower before I was finally able to lose 49 pounds and actually keep it off. So what was my secret? It was pretty simple, actually. I just focused on my hormones. That meant I committed to stop dieting! No more counting calories—instead focused on nourishing my body,” she writes.

RELATED: Nutritionist Reveals 3 Surprising Foods She Ate to Lose 15 Pounds (Including Dessert for Dinner)

She Quit Sugar and Processed Food

She also majorly cleaned up her diet. She eliminated a few things. “I detoxed from sugar and stopped eating toxic processed food. It’s the first step in balancing your hormones,” she writes.

She Amped Up Her Protein Intake

She also refocused her diet. “I started eating a lot more healthy fat and nutrient-dense protein,” she writes. According to clinical trials, consuming more protein than the recommended dietary allowance not only reduces body weight (BW), but also enhances body composition by decreasing fat mass while preserving fat-free mass (FFM) in both low-calorie and standard-calorie diets.

RELATED: Man Ate Bacon and Eggs for 30 Days and His Blood Work Stunned Doctors

She Switched From Cardio to Strength Training

She also switched up her approach to exercise. “I focused on strength training & building lean muscle mass instead of burning calories through high-intensity cardio,” she writes. According to the Mayo Clinic, strength and weight training help reduce body fat, preserve and increase lean muscle mass, and burn calories more efficiently. Strength training may also help you:

  • Develop strong bones
  • Manage your weight
  • Enhance your quality of life
  • Manage chronic conditions
  • Sharpen your thinking skills

She Focused on a Healthy Lifestyle

Lastly, she looked at the big picture. “I didn’t give myself a timeline. I just focused on changing my lifestyle,” she writes. “But I still lost more than 40 pounds in six months, have kept it off for more than 3 years, and now I’ve helped thousands of women do the same.” And if you enjoyed this article, take advantage of these 15 Quick Ways to Lose Body Fat Percentage in a Week.

FACT CHECKED BY Christopher Roback
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We've consulted with our team of licensed nutritionists and dietitians to bring you informed recommendations for food products, health aids and nutritional goods to safely and successfully guide you toward making better diet and nutrition choices. We strive to only recommend products that adhere to our philosophy of eating better while still enjoying what you eat.

Kiki (@kikivirk) is a weight loss influencer who has amassed a social media following for sharing all the tips and tricks that enabled her to lose a whopping 60 pounds and keep it off. In one of her viral videos – viewed over 8 million times, Kiki reveals the biggest weight loss mistake she made on her journey – and also what ultimately led to her weight loss success.


She Says Doing High Intensity Workouts Were a “Huge Mistake”

@kikivirk

The plan that helped me shed 60lbs 💪🏽 #weightloss #pcos #pcosweightloss #weightlossmotivation #weightlosstipsforwomen #pcosworkout

“I was so motivated to lose weight and I wanted to see results fast, but I didn't do my research and I jumped straight in, literally into a high intensity, 90 day workout plan. Huge mistake,” Kiki says in the video.

After 45 Days She Hadn’t Lost Weight

kikivirk2kikivirk/TikTok

After a month-and-a-half, she didn't feel like she'd lost any weight. “I was overdoing it. The long, painful HIIT workouts were actually doing my body no good. They were causing it too much stress and loads of other problems,” she says.

Related: 5 Pilates Exercises for a Flat Stomach in 14 Days

She Had “Weight Plateaus” and “Felt So Hungry and Fatigued”

young sports woman working out, running and feeling tired on treadmill in gymShutterstock

In another video, she specified that she was doing “high intensity cardio” five times a week in hopes it “would burn fat fast and give me my dream body,” she explained. “But instead, I had weight plateaus and felt so hungry and fatigued.

Her Fat Began to “Melt Off” When She Started Strength Training

,Dumbbells,,,Rack,hym,weights, fitness, exerciseShutterstock

“Literally, as soon as I started strength training and less cardio, the fat began to melt off, and the lean muscle mass I gained gave me the tone look I'd always wanted,” she continued.

Her Program: LISS, Walking, Strength and Resistance Training, and a Short HIIT Workout

Running shoes - woman tying shoe laces. Closeup of female sport fitness runner getting ready for jogging outdoors on waterfront in late summer or fallShutterstock

Her program starts with doing 45 to 60 minutes of LISS cardio four times a week. She also walks 7 to 12,000 steps every day, does strength and resistance training three times a week, and a 15-minute HIIT workout once a week.

Related: Patrick Mahomes' "Natural Dad Bod" Has Everyone Talking. Here's How to Ditch It, According to Expert

An Expert Weighs In

Kendra_Gamblehitfitnesstraining/Instagram

“What she says is definitely spot on,” says Kendra Gamble, HIT Fitness Training, Huntingdon Valley, PA, NPTI Certified Personal Trainer and Nutritional Consultant. “Intense cardio and intense HIIT more than twice a week will do the body more harm than good and is not the way to lose fat and get that toned look.” Instead, she agrees that “increasing your everyday steps is more of the most important and beginner things you can do to start losing fat along with getting your diet right.” Unfortunately, “fat loss is not an immediate thing and will take time and dedication but she explains it all perfectly.”

💪🔥Body Booster: If you are a beginner trying to lose weight, starting by increasing your steps and modifying your diet instead of going overboard with higher intensity workouts.

Lynlee_Jacobson_healthylynlee1
Evidence-Based

This content references scientific studies and academic research, and is fact-checked to ensure accuracy.

Our team of licensed nutritionists and dietitians strives to be objective, unbiased, and honest.

We are committed to bringing you researched, expert-driven content to help you make more informed decisions around food, health, and wellness. We know how important making choices about your overall health is, and we strive to provide you with the best information possible.

If you are asking yourself if you will “ever lose the weight,” the answer is yes, says one fat loss coach. However, it might take shifting your approach to diet and fitness. Lynlee Jacobson lost 20 pounds of fat in just 3 months after struggling with weight loss for many years. Now, she is a fat loss coach who helps other women get into shape, focusing on their gut health. “This is what worked for me,” she writes in the post. Here are the 5 changes she made to get in shape.


She Was Close to Giving Up

“If you’re feeling like you’ve lost hope. Like you’ll never get back to feeling like yourself again. Like you don’t even recognize yourself in the mirror. I get it. I’ve been there,” she writes in the post. “I had just about given up & was trying to convince myself that I was ‘happy’ with how I looked, even though deep down I was desperately unhappy.”

RELATED: This Is Exactly How to Lose Body Fat This Year

She Was Tracking Macros and In a Calorie Deficit

“It just felt like no matter how healthy I ate, how hard I pushed myself in the gym, how precisely I tracked my macros to be ‘in a calorie deficit’ - I kept gaining weight,” she continued. “Like the harder I tried, the more bloated, puffy, & exhausted I became.”

She Was Doing All the Wrong Thing

“What I didn’t know at the time was that this was all working against me. The more I pushed, the more my body resisted. This is what I have learned since. You might want to save these tips for later,” she continues.

RELATED: 8 Weight Loss Hacks a Nutritionist Used to Drop 50 Pounds Naturally

She Focused on Hormonal Imbalances

The first thing she did was change her approach to hormones. “Hormonal imbalances, like high insulin or ghrelin, often make calorie-cutting ineffective,” she writes. The solution? “Balance your hormones, and the weight can finally come off.”

She Also Supported Her Gut Health

Gut health is also key, she says. “Bloating, inflammation, and weight gain often point to gut issues,” she writes. “Supporting my gut with nutrient-dense foods made all the difference.”

And Paid Attention to Metabolic Flexibility

She also implemented a new tactic. “I focused on building metabolic flexibility so I could burn both carbs and fat naturally,” she writes. “This kept the weight off sustainably.”

RELATED: Nutritionist Loses 20 Pounds With These 6 High-Volume Eating Tricks "Without Feeling Hungry"

She Ate More Nutrient Dense Foods

She also paid attention to the type of food she was eating instead of looking just at the numbers. “I stopped counting calories,” she reveals. Instead, she “started focusing on nutrient-dense foods, which helped me feel satisfied and nourished.”

She Looked at “Modern Lifestyle” Factors

Finally, she looked at how “Our Modern Lifestyle Works Against us,” she writes. “Stress, processed foods, and poor sleep disrupt our bodies. Aligning my diet and habits with ancestral principles finally broke the cycle of bloating and fatigue.” And if you enjoyed this article, take advantage of these 15 Quick Ways to Lose Body Fat Percentage in a Week.

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Evidence-Based

This content references scientific studies and academic research, and is fact-checked to ensure accuracy.

Our team of licensed nutritionists and dietitians strives to be objective, unbiased, and honest.

We are committed to bringing you researched, expert-driven content to help you make more informed decisions around food, health, and wellness. We know how important making choices about your overall health is, and we strive to provide you with the best information possible.

Are you struggling to blast your belly fat? One expert claims to know the secret to getting rid of it. Miranda Forrest is a fitness coach for corporate women. “I help corporate women own their fitness journey w/o sacrificing their career, wine nights, or fav foods,” she writes in her Instagram bio. In a new social media post, she reveals her tactics for getting rid of a flabby midsection as soon as possible. “If I were to wake up tomorrow and gain 20 pounds of belly fat…here’s what I would do to lose it in 4 months as a busy corporate girl,” she writes.

You Don’t Have to Go to Extremes

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You don’t have to go to extremes to blast belly fat. “It can seem super confusing and frustrating trying to lose weight, but it doesn’t have to be. 5 years ago I would have tried low carb, HIIT classes, running, and maybe it would have worked for a bit, but the progress always stopped,” Miranda writes.

These Science-Backed Methods Will Keep Your Body From “Adapting to the Stimulus”

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“My body was adapting to the stimulus I was giving it. Here’s how to avoid that adaptation and how I would lose those 20lbs after learning the science behind losing body fat and toning,” she continues.

Lift Weights

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Lifting weights is the first thing you need to do. “Start resistance training,” she recommends. “None of this light weight lifting, though. Heavy weights with continued reps and weight increases to avoid adaptation.”

Track Macros

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You also need to stay accountable when it comes to your diet. “Start tracking macros,” she says. “Ensure you’re eating the right foods to lose body fat and maintain lean muscle.”

Start a Calorie Deficit

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To lose weight you need to be in a calorie deficit. “Start a calorie deficit - I’d make sure I’m in a calorie deficit of 500+ calories per day to lose around 1lb per week,” she writes.

Do Low Intensity Cardio

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And, do some cardio. “Start low intensity cardio - I’d increase my steps and add in low intensity cardio to help ensure I was in a calorie deficit for the day,” she says.

She Eats 2300 Calories Per Day

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In another post she reveals details about her own routine. “Instead of avoiding carbs, cake and running for hours and hours each week, here’s exactly what I’m doing to maintain 19% body fat and stay lean this winter,” she said. “I eat 2300 calories daily, 150g protein, 255g carbs, 80g fats. I never skip my bagel in the morning and ensure I can have a sweet treat before bed.”

She Walks and Lifts Weights

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She also makes sure to get her steps in. “I aim for 10k daily steps to ensure I’m getting activity in (my desk treadmill is the only way I make this possible),” she writes. “I lift 3 times per week (non of those “strength training” classes bc that’s a waste of time imo) and get 1-2 days of 30-45 min of cardio for heart health.”

She Meditates and Journals

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She also gets her zen on. “I take the first 30 minutes of my day to meditate, journal and stay off my phone (way more important than you’d think for the mental),” she says.

She Gets Rest and Takes Time for Self-Care

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And, she allows her body the chance to regenerate. “I start my bedtime routine around 7:30pm so I can be in bed reading by 8pm and lights out at 9pm,” she says. “I also make time for self care and socialization — we NEED to spend time with the girls in order to be our best selves.” And if you enjoyed this article, don't miss12-3-30 Walking Method: 20 Proven Tips to Lose Weight Faster.

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Evidence-Based

This content references scientific studies and academic research, and is fact-checked to ensure accuracy.

Our team of licensed nutritionists and dietitians strives to be objective, unbiased, and honest.

We are committed to bringing you researched, expert-driven content to help you make more informed decisions around food, health, and wellness. We know how important making choices about your overall health is, and we strive to provide you with the best information possible.

Diarmid Murphy is an online fitness coach and trainer who helps his clients lose weight and build muscle to achieve their best bodies. In a new social media post, he reveals some habits that could prevent you from losing weight. “10 ‘normal’ behaviors causing you to stay overweight,” he writes. “Why you can’t lose weight,” he continues. “I see this all the time. You could be training hard or watching what you eat…But you’re also doing these things 🫠And that’s why you can’t make any progress!”

Cheating on the Weekends

Do you eat healthy during the week but cheat on the weekends? “Relying on weekends as a free-for-all,” is the first habit that could be keeping you overweight. “Undoing your week’s hard work with overeating or bingeing on junk,” he says.

Mindless Snacking

That handful of chips or nuts may seem harmless, but it could derail your diet. “Mindless snacking,” is the second habit on Murphy’s list. “Grabbing handfuls of food without realizing how much it adds up,” is a big mistake.

Drinking Your Calories

Don’t be tempted by that delicious Starbucks drink or flavored martini. “Drinking calories,” is a common faux pas. “Overindulging in sugary coffees, sodas, or alcohol without tracking them,” will prevent you from losing weight.

Skipping Meals

You might think that nixing breakfast or lunch will keep you from consuming as much, but this isn’t always true. In fact. skipping meals to “save calories,” could be causing you to hold onto weight. “Leading to overeating later out of hunger and poor planning,” he says.

Underestimating Portion Sizes

“Underestimating portion sizes,” is another mistake he sees his clients making. This includes “Serving more than you think, even with ‘healthy’ foods,” he says.

Using Food as a Reward

Are you setting goals and have a reward system for motivation? “Using food as a reward,” is not a good idea, he says. “Treating yourself with high-calorie foods for every small achievement,” might have you eating more.

Overestimating Exercise Burns

“Overestimating exercise burns,” is mistake seven. “Thinking one workout ‘earns’ you a massive calorie surplus,” he explains.

Always Finishing Your Plate

Don’t listen to the words of your mother. “Always finishing your plate,” isn’t going to do you any weight loss favors. “Eating out of habit, not hunger, because you ‘don’t want to waste food,’” will prevent you from achieving your goals, he says.

Late Night Eating

It can be tempting but stay out of the kitchen at night. “Late-night eating,” is a common culprit that will keep you heavy. “Mindlessly grazing in the evening while watching TV or scrolling online,” he says.

Avoiding Accountability

And finally, the last mistake is avoiding accountability. “Not tracking food, avoiding scales, or dismissing progress checks,” he explains. And if you enjoyed this article, don't missI’m a Nutritionist and Here Are 25 Weight Loss Truths You Need to Hear.

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Evidence-Based

This content references scientific studies and academic research, and is fact-checked to ensure accuracy.

Our team of licensed nutritionists and dietitians strives to be objective, unbiased, and honest.

We are committed to bringing you researched, expert-driven content to help you make more informed decisions around food, health, and wellness. We know how important making choices about your overall health is, and we strive to provide you with the best information possible.

Are you struggling to lose weight? One expert claims that you need to understand a few fundamental things before you are successful. Sofe Ring is a Certified Nutrition Coach with almost 100,000 followers on social media who dropped 21 pounds and helps others do the same. In a new social media post, she reveals a few things she had to learn before losing weight. “5 truths about weight loss,” she writes. “Some truths need to be heard!”

Your Weight Loss Journey Is Going to Be Boring

Number one, “Your weight loss journey is going to be boring,” says Ring. “Showing up for yourself everyday isn’t as glamorous as you see on Instagram. You may find you want to eat the same thing everyday because it fits in your calorie target, and the scale may move so slow that you don’t have something new to celebrate everyday, and THATS OKAY! Consistency over time is boring but effective!”

You Need to Realign Your Expectations

“You need to realign your expectations,” is her second truth. “The first week or two of tracking you may see a drop on the scale from excess water and the pull back of everything you were eating, but after that it’s a slow roll to the finish line. I didn’t see my body change until month 3-4. The scale told me there was change, and measurements did too, but the physical changes took a while. I think a lot of it was in my head,” she writes.

Maintain a Calorie Deficit

“Any movement you do is going to be good, but you need to think about movement as a way to feel good, versus lose weight. To lose weight you have to be in a calorie deficit — meaning the most change is going to come from what you are eating vs how you are moving,” she says.

Calculate Your Own Calorie Gorals

“Use my journey as inspiration, but you need to calculate your own calorie goals,” she continues. “Your height, weight, age, and activity level may differ from mine. You need to focus on making small sustainable changes that fit within your current lifestyle, what you’re comfortable cooking and what you put on your dinner table. Trying to copy someone else’s world doesn’t set you up to achieve success in your world.”

There Are No “Good” or “Bad” Food Groups

And finally, there is no one food group that should be labeled as “bad,” she says. “You may find you have intolerances, but thinking that “if I eat carbs I’ll gain wait”, feels very restrictive. It’s all about moderation vs deprivation. Enjoy the things you want, just watch your portions.”

In Another Post She Elaborates on Other Habits

In another post, she elaborates on calorie deficit. “There was so much I thought I needed to do - gym, steps, weights, abs, more of this, more of that, supplements, oh wait, cortisol, and so on. It was too much! When I tell you that I was solely focused on my deficit, I literally was solely focused on my deficit,” she says.

She Recommends UsingTracking App

Her “guide to an EASY calorie deficit that WILL help you lose weight,” she adds, starting with finding a tracking app you enjoy. “People love MFP. My go to is @loseitapp. Let it calculate your TDEE for you, and tell the app you want to lose weight. It will calculate a deficit for you as well. I recommend you don’t eat too steep a deficit. Stay within the 250-500 range,” she writes.

Find an Accountability Buddy

Next, accountability can be easier with the help of a buddy. “Really though, make it a New Year’s resolution to do together. You’ve done far harder things together than logging your food for a week,” she writes.

Keep Health Food on Hand

Make sure to keep your kitchen stocked with healthy food. “Make sure your pantry and fridge are filled with supporting ingredients! 🛒 Here’s a grocery list for the 7 days,” she writes.

  • Protein: Ground turkey, breakfast patties, sausages, chicken breast, cottage cheese, yogurt, carton of egg whites, deli meat
  • Veggies: Head of broccoli, head of cauliflower, carrots, cucumber, lettuce
  • Fruits: Assorted berries, apples
  • Carbs: White rice, brown rice, quinoa, low cal tortillas, low cal English muffins
  • Snacks: Rice cakes, meat sticks, protein chips, diet coke, a chocolate treat, popcorn

Get Motivated with These Menu Ideas

Here is a sample menu, “alternate between options and snack away,” she writes.

Breakfast: yogurt bowls, cottage cheese with fruit, egg whites and breakfast sausages on muffins, egg tacos

Lunch: Chicken breast on a salad with cucumbers, deli sandwich on a muffin, leftovers from the night before

Dinner: chicken tacos, ground turkey stir fry with broccoli, sausages with cauliflower and rice. And if you enjoyed this article, don't missI’m a Nutritionist and Here Are 25 Weight Loss Truths You Need to Hear.