With his wedding just 6 months away, Born Fitness client Chris (aka Sparta) decided to get serious about fat loss.
There’s no such thing as a deadline to get started. Sparta was highly motivated, crushing gym workouts and immersing himself in tracking his food (something that works well for him).
But after initially losing weight, Sparta’s progress stopped…and stopped. The scale didn’t move for almost 6 weeks.
The funniest thing? It’s not abnormal.
Most people panic when the scale gets stuck and assume something is broken. Again, plateaus are part of the process of long-term sustainable weight loss.
Sometimes the scale doesn’t move simply because your body is adapting to the change. Your body needs time to recalibrate to your new lower weight. This is a process known as set point theory.
But when the scale is stuck, it can still be frustrating. The story of Sparta is therefore one of patience and reward. When things don’t go the way you want them to, don’t give up. As you can see, Sparta reaped the rewards.
What led to Sparta’s success? Patience, a great plan from Coach Natalie and some minor adjustments led to major results.
Don’t trust activity trackers.
First, he learned not to rely on activity trackers. Many people (like Sparta) use these tools to estimate how much they can eat and still be in a deficit.
Activity trackers are notoriously inaccurate, so if you use them to adjust the number of calories you can consume per day, you risk overeating and gaining weight.
A study published in the Personalized Medicine Journal found that the figures given for energy expenditure (calories burned) by various wrist-worn devices were 27.4% to 93% lower.
In the study, the Fitbit Surge provided the most “accurate” reporting of calories burned, but it still overrated how many calories you burned on average by 27.4%. Yeah. (For context, the Apple Watch was overrated by 40%.)
Here’s why it’s a big deal. Fat loss occurs when you consume fewer calories than you burn (no matter what diet or workout program you follow). This is difficult for many people, but it’s even more difficult if you consume too many calories. think you burn during your workouts.
Let’s say your FitBit reports that you burned around 650 calories during your workout (you got anus that) and you decided to reward yourself with a 600 calorie meal. After all, you deserve it. On the surface, it’s good.
But, according to the research above, you probably only burned about 435 calories during the workout, which means you’re 150 calories over. And it uses the most accurate tracker in the study.
Plus, if you’re also tracking your macros, most fat loss calorie equations already include your activity in their formula. They’ve taken your workouts (and daily exercises) into account so you don’t have to. So if you add calories to your workout, that means you’re even more likely to overeat.
That’s not to say activity trackers aren’t useful. Your workout data can be used as a reference instead of measuring calories. This will give you a good idea if you did more or less activity than yesterday (or last week).
But don’t let this data play too big a role in the number of calories you consume. Keep your eating plan consistent.
Coach Natalie asked Sparta to use the activity tracker only as a “movement measure.” By comparing how much he moved from day to day and week to week, he could make sure he stayed active outside of the gym. These no-workout “workouts” are a fat loss “hack” that works wonders.
It’s time to get real (with yourself).
More importantly, Sparta made a mental change.
With the help of Coach Natalie, he took a step back and focused on identifying the habits that were keeping him stuck. He quickly realized that he was not being honest with himself.
“I was making excuses about my diet. I always seemed to justify eating like a garbage barge because it was “infrequent” (Narrator: It wasn’t), or a “special occasion”, or…or…or. “What I realized is that I eat when I’m bored and I’m inherently lazy, so I would always go for what was easiest.”
Together, Sparta and his fiancée worked to hold each other accountable. He also limited restaurant meals to once a week and recreated pre-COVID routines (when he prepared takeout meals at work) that worked in his new work-from-home reality.
The results?
“Honestly, it feels good to find my sexy side again. I now have more energy, more strength and I’m a little slimmer. In general, my attitude is more adjusted, which also builds more confidence. And when I walk past a window, I now see someone who looks healthier. And my ass looks better too.
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BJ holds a BS in Health and Human Performance and several certifications, including Precision Nutrition Level 1 and BioForce Certified Conditioning Coach. During his 14-year coaching career, he has had the opportunity to coach a wide range of clients. From online customers looking to get in shape to CEO Nate Checketts (Rhone) and CEO Marcelo Claure (Softbank), to professional skateboarder Sean Malto. Before beginning his training career, he was a research assistant in a sports science laboratory.