Josh's Fat Loss Challenge Journey

OK.  So before I begin, a quick apology to anyone who had no particular desire to see me in a state of semi-undress.  However, pictures are worth 1000 words, so I just wanted to start by showing you what I achieved in the last 6 weeks of concerted effort to burn off some unwanted body fat.

(If you don't think I lost much, try walking around holding a 10kg dumbbell all day.  What size dumbbell are you carrying around with you all day?)

So, to transform your body and reduce all that annoying jelly from around your middle, both exercise and food habits must be taken into account.  Both are 100% necessary to lose weight and live a healthier, longer life.  We know this. 

We know so much.  In fact it's not the knowing that's the problem.  It's the knowing too much but not doing anything that is. 

I've had many people come to me over the years asking me to help them lose fat and tone up.  "No problem" I say.  Just do as I say and I'll get you the body you desire.  All you need to do exercise for around 30 mins vigorously for 5 days a week, and change what, when and how you shop, prepare food and eat/drink. 

"Yeah.  Nah.  I already eat healthily.  Just show me some exercises."

"Um.  OK.  What if I told you, you could keep eating the way you do, but you'd have to run 10km every day minimum plus do 3 sessions of resistance training for 45 minutes each week?  OR...... you could listen to me and change what, when and how you shop, prepare food and eat/drink?"

There is a big difference between eating healthily and eating for weight loss.  Specifically fat loss.  These can be the same, but for most of us they aren't.  I've been asking clients to change their eating habits for years.  Those that listen to me get very clear, quick and visible results.  Those that don't, still enjoy a raft of benefits from training with me including improved strength, bone density, flexibility, balance, range of motion, core strength & stability, pain reduction and fitness but rarely change the main thing they came to me for in the first place.  Reduce their waistline. 

Recently a colleague of mine took on a 6 week fat loss challenge.  He is about the same height and build as me and managed to lose a staggering 15 kgs over the 6 week period.  He looks amazing, feels fantastic and it transformed the way he thinks about food.  His efforts inspired me to do some thinking.  I've watched my weight slowly creep upwards over the years.  Less cardio and a slowing metabolism saw my average weight go from around 80kgs in my 20's to around 90kgs in more recent years.  I also thought to myself, I haven't changed my eating habits in over 10 years.  Also, if I'm asking my clients to give up the naughty foods and drinks they love and reduce their calorific intake, don't I need to know what that feels like first?  Don't I need to set an example for those who look to me for guidance and inspiration.  What if I lost 10kgs of fat.  Wouldn't that inspire some people?  Wouldn't it make me a  better coach?  A more empathetic coach at the very least and be able to speak with conviction from experience?  Might more of my clients listen to me and commit to making some changes for their own benefit?

The course was clear.  It was time to commit to a fat loss challenge and see what I could achieve when I set my mind to it.  I engaged the services of weight loss coach.  I mean, doesn't everyone need a coach & mentor to help them with the things they're not too great at on their own?  I got my partner to join me on the challenge to reduce temptations in the household and to keep me accountable.  I paid some money, filled out a lifestyle questionnaire and got my meal plan for the next week.  It was go time.

We got our meal plans for the week, did our shopping and started preparing the night before.  We needed lots of organic eggs, free range chicken, lean red meat, fish and heaps of green veggies.  In the first week, the primary goals were to eat clean, real food.  Drink plenty of water.  Stop eating when 80% full and eat every 2-3 hours like clockwork.  No more coffee.  No more alcohol.  No more grains, wheat, dairy, sweets and almost no salt. 

That first week for me was the toughest.  My body had been used to eating pretty much whatever I liked, whenever I liked and I had basically no portion control.  Sure I kept away from high GI starchy carbs, sugary sweets and hardly drank any alcohol but my body was used to a very different eating habit.  So when I started the plan I was shocked at the power of my cravings for my morning latte and dark chocolate.  Previously daily staples for me.  I did not anticipate turning into Mr Crankypants when I got hungry.  I'd get cranky about some extremely trivial crap, storm off in a huff, then come back 30 mins later and say "I have no idea what just happened.  I am very sorry".   So much for tough guy PT.  Yep.  Just as human and fallible as everyone else.

By the end of week one, I had lost 3.5kgs. 

Week 2 came around and we had managed to overcome 2 pretty big hurdles over the week-end.  We managed to go to a movie and walk straight past the snack bar and crack-like aroma of pop-corn without succumbing.  We also managed to go to a friend's birthday lunch gathering at a very nice restaurant in Red Hill.  All I did was call ahead, explain the situation and the kitchen were happy to prepare something that fit the meal plan guidelines.  I mean, every restaurant has chicken, fish and veggies in the fridge right?  Just because it's not on the menu, doesn't mean they can't whip you up something healthy so long as you give them a couple of day's notice.  The new meal plan came through with specific food measurements so we had to go and buy some digital kitchen scales and get used to weighing our food before cooking it.  Knowing how much total weight of meat and veggies we needed for the week was great, as we could go to the market, buy up in bulk, and save heaps of money.  All we had to do was measure out the portions and then freeze what we weren't going to use in the next couple of days.  We found ourselves in an efficient routine of measuring, wrapping, freezing, defrosting, cooking, separating in to Tupperware and then simply eating each meal at the designated times and frequency.  This simplified things considerably.  Plus we were saving lots of money by not eating out or ordering in.

By the end of week two, I had lost 5kgs.

Week 3 was the start of a new meal plan.  One that involved even less carbohydrates.  Over the week-end I went to a friend's birthday party.  At the party there were kegs of beer and plates of dips, chips, sweets and soft drinks.  I got a mineral water and started distracting myself from temptation with socialising.  All was going well until the birthday cake came out and then someone heated up some Swedish meatballs so the aromas were making a beeline for my nostrils.  I was hungry, my stomach started to groan.  I felt myself starting to weaken.  I began justifying how surely a little bit of this or that wouldn't be so bad...Danger!  Danger!  I thought about the money I'd spent on the weight loss challenge.  I thought about my partner who had given up many of the foods she loved cooking and eating to support me.  I thought about the promise I'd made to myself and my coach to stick with this no matter what and did the only thing I could think of in the moment.  I walked out of the party, got in my car and drove away from the temptation.  Problem solved.  Week 4 was a lot like week 3.

By the end of week 4 I'd lost 7.5kgs.

Week 5 came along and the meal plan changed again.  Now we were learning to play with food timing and training times.  By now people around the gym had started to notice I was looking thinner.  I was still training hard.  I had added some high intensity interval training (HIIT) to my week in the form of 10 x 120 meter sprints on the treadmill with 2 minutes rest in between.  I noticed how much faster my weight dropped when I did HIIT.  I also found that whilst the day to day cravings weren't as powerful anymore, I was starting to dream about eating  pizza and biscuits dipped in chocolate.  I also noticed that I didn't quite have the same amount of power in my resistance training sessions, got tireder quicker and was slower to recover.  This is natural as I was on a calorie deficit, my body had no sugar in the stomach to use readily as per usual and had to go scrounging around my body to liberate fat, synthesise it into glycogen to be then used as energy.  A much harder pathway for it than usual.  I gained inspiration from my colleague who said, just know that no matter how much weaker you feel, whatever you are doing now is burning the fat away, so keep pushing.  And so I did.

By the end of week 5 I'd lost 8.5kgs.

Week 6 was a lot like week 5.  We kept our spirits up by fantasising about all the foods we miss and how we look forward to having some of them again when we're done.  Of course, now, we know what to do to lose the weight and keep it off.  We will not be eating the naughty foods as often as we used to and have agreed to give ourselves a cheat day once a week as a reward for a week of healthful eating.  Thinking about that first pizza after the challenge is over is driving me onward.  I'd give my right arm for a pizza!  Soon my precious.  Soon.  But not yet.....

By the end of week 6 I'd lost just over 10kgs.  Challenge over. 

Epilogue....

In the interest of being completely honest and transparent about this experience, there are a few points I'd like to share:

• This was one of the toughest things I've done in a long time.  Some may find it easier than I did but I'm a foodie.  I LOVE food.  I love all food except for deep fried, doughy, sugar coated death (i.e. donuts, glazed bread scrolls, KFC etc).  Sure I avoided bread/rice/potatoes/pasta for the most part and I'm not a fan of sweet, sugary things, but I essentially ate when I needed to and because my job is so active and I workout so frequently, I rarely thought about portion size.  To go from that, to limited food variety, calculated amounts and designated timing of meals felt like torture at times.  For the most part however, after a couple of days on each new plan, my body would get used to it, and I would cruise a little easier for a while. 
• Being creative with flavours is crucial to not going mad.  Especially when your world consists largely of lean meat and veggies and no salt.  I have to give credit to Jenn who took time to research herb & spice combinations and made a huge effort to make the humble chicken breast a thing of delicious wonder on a daily basis.  Not to say she did ALL the cooking (I cooked as often as I could), but she enjoys it far more than I do and is coincidentally much better at it than I.  
• Beware of all the hidden rubbish in pre-made foods.  I thought I'd sprinkle on some "Garlic and Herb" seasoning to our dinner on one of the early nights in the process.  Then Jenn checked the ingredients list and whilst there was no salt in it, there was amazingly and inexplicably, sugar and rice flour?!  So trust me when I say, it's always a better idea to mix up your own dressings, marinades, seasonings and sauces than it is to buy them ready made and trust your health to someone else.  Sure it takes time & effort that most of us are short of, but it's your and your loved ones' health at stake here, so it's definitely worth it.
• A weight loss plan/diet/challenge or whatever you want to call it WILL NOT WORK unless you have a plan of attack.  A strategy.  A structure.  A compelling reason and something valuable at stake.  There are too many temptations around.  You will have weak moments.  You will get tired, weak, cranky and your resolve will falter at times.  Without forethought and planning and something in place to support you or hold you accountable, what will stop you from sneaking something that you know you shouldn't.  Once you start to cheat, you can open the flood gates to more cheating.  "Ah well.  I've blown it now.  What difference does it make?" etc.  It's a very slippery slope.  You MUST commence any endeavour that takes you outside of your comfort zone with the unwavering belief that you will succeed.  If you don't believe you will, you are sabotaged before you begin.  Make sure that you are clear what the consequences will be if you fail and how much you will gain when you succeed.  But don't leave it to chance.  Spend some money on it so at least there is the knowledge in the back of your mind that you will have wasted it if you cheat.  Give something valuable to a friend and order them to smash it to pieces if you fail.  Write a blank check for $1000 and sign it and give it to a trusted compatriot with the orders to give it to the charity of their choice if you don't finish your task.  Conversely arrange a big reward for yourself when you do complete your goal successfully and put it on a calendar or somewhere in clear view so you can see it every day (just try not to make it a bucket of KFC or an entire mud cake etc).  Without these things, what will lift you up and remind you of your purpose and give you strength when you don't have any of your own?
• Remember, nothing great was every achieved without some kind of risk or sacrifice.  Nothing and no one can make you feel as strong, proud and unstoppable as giving yourself a big, scary goal, throwing caution to the wind, going for it, sticking with it no matter what, and ultimately finishing it.  It's a high that very little if anything else in life can compare to (Yes.  I was a life coach before I became a PT.  Can't help it.  :-) )
• Let me know if I can be of any assistance in helping you go for your goals.  It would be my pleasure.