In this article we’re going to look at the questions ‘how fast can I lose weight and how do I stay motivated?’ We’ll look at the research, the evidence and the practicalities of post-lockdown weight loss.
With gyms opening back up and Personal Training sessions returning to normal levels, people are heading back to fitness after their enforced break. If my social media is anything to go by, a lot of people have found the return hard - they’ve lost fitness, gained weight and are finding the sessions much harder than they used to!
Not only are they finding it physically tough, but it’s also mentally tough to get up and back at it. Motivation to exercise has waned in a lot of people because they’ve gotten used to the easier time on the sofa. The gyms being closed has given them the perfect excuse to not train, so the guilt associated is less severe! The psychological hurdle to jump over is just as hard as the physical one in many ways, so we’re going to cover that too.
We’ve already written about returning to fitness sensibly so in this article, we’re going to cover the other topic people are interested in - how fast can they lose the lockdown weight and how can they stay motivated?
Defining ‘weight’ - It’s not what it seems!
What most people mean when they say they want to lose weight is that they want to lose fat - the two things are different. In fact, you can do a little experiment to prove so…
Stand on some scales and see what you weigh
Drink a litre of water as quickly as you can
Stand back on the scales - see what you weigh now
Chances are you’ll be around 2lbs heavier than you were a couple of minutes earlier. You’re no fatter, you’re just heavier. Use this as an example of how weight and fat are different, and then accept that your fluid levels have a huge impact on weight, so not all weight gain is bad news!
There are certain diets that promise rapid weight loss, but the impressive weight loss numbers you see are just water weight and within a couple of weeks, a more ‘normal’ rate of fat loss occurs.
When measuring weight loss, we’re looking for a long term trend - there may well be day-today fluctuations in weight, there may well be weight gains, but if over the medium to long term the weight is coming down, that’s what we’re hoping for. Generally speaking, acceptable weight loss is around 1-3lbs per week, depending on your time lines and your physiology,
Speed of weight loss
When you’re losing weight, the temptation is to rapidly reduce calories to see early results, which is no bad thing. Seeing early results is an excellent motivating factor, but it’s hard to keep up and you should understand that before embarking on a fast drop approach. The research shows that people who take this approach are often successful in the short term, but through biochemical changes will often see a return of weight gain unless they strictly control their food intake.
The evidence maintains that after a rapid weight loss phase, a slower phase of weight loss of around 1-3lbs per week is optimal over the longer term, giving time to adapt behaviours in a more sustainable way and also reduce the physical impact.
The study then goes on to suggest that ‘maintenance visits’ are useful to ensure that the motivation and behaviours required to lose weight are maintained for the long term. The great thing about hiring a Personal Trainer or joining in with our group classes is that those maintenance visits are happening on a regular basis, so we take care of that one easily!
In the research, the rate of weight loss, the maintenance of the weight loss and the rate of weight regain are all improved by the use of maintenance visits, proving again that they most successful weight loss approaches always involve some sort of check in and accountability.
Weight loss motivation
What the evidence shows is that long term weight loss motivation is maintained when the dieter ‘owns’ the goal - it’s something that they want to achieve and are willing to overcome obstacles and difficulties in the way to make it happen.
By making the goal one that you decide on and want to achieve, your chances of success are far higher. Of course for most people, lockdown weight gain is likely to be fairly limited (5-20lbs) and that is the kind of weight that can be lost in a few weeks, but the reality is it still takes motivation to achieve. There will be times when it’s both physically and mentally tough and those are obstacles that will have to be overcome - with the help of a coach and the internal drive to succeed, it’s possible.
Losing lockdown weight: Concluded
What we’ve learned from the article and the research is the key to ensuring fast and maintained weight loss. These are the key points to make sure you manage it effectively and succeed with your weight loss goal…
You can start fast by dropping calories very low, but don’t stay there - use it as a kick start to lose water weight and boost motivation.
Use a coach! Maintenance visits help to keep you accountable, keep you on track with actions and behaviours and also help to motivate you.
Make sure it’s YOUR goal - not someone else's. Weight loss isn’t always easy, so you’ve got to be willing to tough out the hard times.
Maintain a calorie deficit that will see you lose 1-3lbs per week, which research shows is the most sustainable.
Train regularly - it helps you create the calorie deficit and boosts your physical and mental health!
With the AdMac Fitness team by your side, you’ll be sure to succeed in your weight loss and fitness goals!
At AdMac Fitness we’re not about fads, fashions and short term fixes. We want you to succeed properly over the long term, so with our help and advice you can get your fitness back on track! If you’d like us to help you, contact us on 07921465108 or email us at admacfitness@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!