Lose Weight Without Trying Harder - I Did It, You Can Too
Weight loss should not be too hard. I’m not saying isn't going to be hard. It just shouldn’t be so hard that you feel hopeless, discouraged or scared. I’m so excited for what I’m about to share!
This post does contain links to products and tools I used on my journey. If you decide to purchase something, I could earn a small affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. Just wanted you to know.
21 Day Fix Disappointment
Let me share a little story with you. When Rebecca was about six months old, I got to try the 21 Day Fix from Beachbody.
I just knew this was what would get my pre-baby body back!
While I was pregnant, I saw people left and right, losing weight and getting in shape because of this new system. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the seven 30 minute workouts and the eating plan with the color coded containers.
I started the Fix on January 1, 2015. I was 100% committed for those first three weeks. I lost a jeans size and couldn’t believe how much my body changed after only three weeks. The inches came off quickly but I only lost three pounds. Honestly, I felt a little disappointed, thinking I should have lost more weight!
I thought I just need to try harder
I felt scared this new system was something I couldn’t sustain without trying harder. I still had more weight to lose but I was still convinced this was going to be the system that would work. All I needed to do was get more organized with my containers and get better at meal planning. I needed to be more self disciplined and try harder!
Something else that bothered me was I had cravings for sweets and junk food like you can’t believe!
I constantly thought about food - what I’d eat, when I’d eat it and how much I wanted to cheat!
But I desperately wanted the weight to come off. I just had to make sacrifices and suffer through it. The foggy brain and lack of energy must be part of what it took to cleanse and detox my body. I was 100 % willing to do whatever it took. That’s just the kind of person I am! And that’s what I was telling my people they needed to do too!
I was actually getting fatter
Starting January 2015, I tried hard to make the container eating system (balanced ratio of carbs, proteins and fat with cutting calories and exercising more) work until December 2017. That’s almost three years! Shouldn’t that be a clue??
Helloooo!! Something’s not right! But the message I kept telling myself was other people were getting amazing weight loss results. I just needed to try harder and get better disciplined.
There can’t be something wrong with the system. There HAS to be something wrong with me!
If I can’t make it work, I just need to do more personal development, listen to more podcasts, read more books. I need to fix ME because this system is amazing! That’s what I was thinking. Have you ever felt the same way?
I’m just being very upfront here.
Although there are tons of things I love about Beachbody, I finally had to admit the container eating plan didn’t work for me. And it wasn’t due to lack of effort!
It all came crashing down in December 2017. It was yet again another year end. A chance to show people the progress I’d made. (This is really important to me, especially because I want to be credible to the people I help.)
So there I was, mid-December, still got the muffin top, still about 31% body fat and I once again hadn’t hit my fat loss goal.
I was actually a little bit fatter! My body fat percentage was going up, I was gaining weight and my clothes weren’t fitting.
A little disclaimer here — I am happy with my body. I’m proud of my consistent exercise routine and how strong I feel. So don’t get me wrong. The problem wasn’t with my workouts. The problem was with my diet.
I still had hope
All I knew was there must be something missing, something else I could try. I still had hope.
Once I finally admitted that the system I wanted so desperately to work for me failed, I felt a sense of relief, really.
And my mind was open to other possibilities. What if there was a way to tap into the fat stored on my body and use it for energy? How can I do THAT?!
There’s something really cool about the human brain. As soon as you throw a question out there, it seems to attract the answers.
Among other things I’ll share later, I found the book, Why We Get Fat and What To Do About It by Gary Taubes. I couldn’t put it down. I got the Audible version and the kindle version so I could read at night and listen while I drove or did chores around the house.
The book explained exactly what happened to me. I learned how there is no way anyone can sustain weight loss from cutting calories and exercising more.
I learned how my body was using food to keep me fat, no matter how hard I tried. I finally proved to myself diets do not work.
I started testing new methods of eating and I kept learning more about how our bodies process food, how we store and burn fat.
I finally lost the 10 pounds I'd been trying to lose for three years
Long story short, I finally tapped into my fat storage. It is incredible! Turns out, our fat storage is a wonderful source of energy!
Now, I feel fantastic. So much energy. So much mental clarity. I sleep like a champ and don’t seem to need as much sleep. I am not hungry anymore and lost my obsession over food, even the cravings!
Compared to the previous three years, it seemed like my results were instant. I lost 10 pounds in just over two months. Those same pounds I’d been trying to lose for three years are now gone! I can't blame you if you don’t believe me when I say, they are not coming back! So stick around. I will prove it to you!
I'm shifting the direction of how I help people
And that’s exactly why I’m totally shifting the direction of how I help horsewomen lose weight and get fit to ride.
This is the end of me telling people to go jump on the next dieting bandwagon, even my own! I am done with that! It’s the END of following someone else plan, someone else diet!
From now on, we’ll work on how you can become your own self study, because what works for one person is never going to work for the next person, perfectly. The only way you are going to know is when you do your own due diligence.
Don’t worry! I don’t want you to try and do this alone. You need support! That’s what I’m here for! I’m going to provide you with guidelines so you are in control. So you can learn to create your own system that works for you.
Like I said in the beginning, weight loss should not be too hard. I’m not going to say that you aren’t going to have to work at it and make some tough choices. But they should be things you willingly want to do. You should expect to see immediate results.
It should not be something where you are trying your guts out for three weeks and then you don’t notice significant changes or that you don’t instantly start feeling better.
Are you in?
Isn’t that exciting? What if you could finally lose the weight and not have to suffer or spend hours obsessing over food? Wouldn’t it be great to finally tap into your stored body fat and use it for energy?
I'm crazy busy working on something to help you, so stay tuned. For now, become a part of our Cowgirl Up Fitness Community on Facebook.
Make sure you check out this candid Facebook Live video to get a feel for my passion about helping horsewomen get fit to ride.
Thank you for checking this out. What do you think? Please leave me a comment, I’d love to hear your thoughts!