Two Keys To Losing 150 Pounds of Body Fat
Posted by Michael Vacanti
Yeah, but have YOU ever lost this much weight?
You make a fair point.
I used to be skinnyfat. And I was picked on. And I couldn’t get girls.
But I was never obese.
You don’t know how hard it is to lose 100 pounds! You’ve never done it!!
While not logically air tight, your argument is not invalid.
How can I help an obese person if I have never walked in their shoes?
God was obviously listening.
Because eight minutes later an old client reached out:
“Mike!!
I would love to write a guest post about my weight loss journey.
Directed at those people who have a TON of weight to lose.”
I love you Amy.
I used to coach the amazing woman pictured above. We worked together in group coaching, I trained her in the gym from time to time, and I coached her in my one on one online coaching program.
Suffice it to say, I know Amy very well.
She even wrote a testimonial telling me how great I am. Which is like fifteen times more enjoyable than sex. In case you were wondering.
I also train her son Max, who is a beast and a great kid.
Max is pissed that we are screwing with his chin-up rest times, but he’s a sport.
Anyway, I think I’ve rambled enough.
Take it away, Amy.
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Two Keys To Losing 150 Pounds of Body Fat
By: Amy Budd
Certain things in life are generally accepted as really, really, REALLY difficult to accomplish.
Scaling Mt. Everest.
Winning consecutive Olympic Golds.
Disliking Taylor Swift.
Okay, maybe not the same thing… but come on. She is like an adorable singing embodiment of magical fairy dust!
[Mike: This is true. Taylor Swift has never made a bad song]
Anyway… While those feats are not technically impossible, they are certainly intimidating to even consider. And when we think we have very little hope for success, it is easy to decide not to even try.
For example: when you are severely, morbidly overweight, and to fix it would require a complete and total life transformation.
I’m talking really, very, a lot overweight.
More-than-100-pounds a lot. Needing-to-lose-half-of-your-starting-bodyweight a lot.
The kind of weight loss that would catch the attention of casting directors for weight loss reality shows – shows that only exist because the public consensus is that losing that kind of weight is next to impossible.
We have been sold a lie, my friends.
Because that is just not true. Not even a little.
And if you are that really, very, a lot overweight person – then you listen up right now.
It absolutely can be done. And you can do it.
I don’t care how much you have to lose. You can do it.
I don’t care how many times you have tried without success in the past. You can do it.
I don’t care what anyone else says. I don’t care what fear or sadness exists in your own mind. YOU CAN DO IT.
I know what you are going through
Believe me.
I know how you feel – to be that morbidly obese person.
To be facing what seems like an impossibly steep mountain.
It is terrifying, depressing, and exhausting all at once. I know what it is like to stand at the bottom of that mountain, for what seems like the thousandth time, trying to summon the courage try again.
I know because that was me.
Me. 320 pounds. 2008.
I wish that I could go back to her – to that sad, helpless, obese woman – so that I could hug her and assure her that she will succeed this time.
But since I can’t do that, maybe I can assure you.
You can.
YOU CAN DO THIS.
I know, we hear over and over how difficult it is to lose a substantial amount of weight and keep it off.
But I see this a little differently. Losing a bunch of weight really isn’t difficult, in and of itself.
High quality information is there for the taking. There are so many resources and so many inspiring people with great health and fitness information: workout routines, form videos, and endless healthy recipes.
You don’t need a celebrity coach or a personal chef – there is a huge community of people out there who are sharing information and tools for healthy weight loss and maintenance. Everything you need to know.
So, if it isn’t an information problem, what is it?
Based on everything I have learned during my journey losing over 150 pounds, I believe it boils down to two things:
Thing #1:
You need to have complete & non-negotiable consistency
Holidays and birthdays. Vacations and travel. Family reunions and road trips and amusement parks. On emotionally disastrous days. On logistically inconvenient days. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. For as long as it takes to get it done.
I know, consistency is BORING.
Planning and prepping is annoying and time consuming. Going to the gym in the early hours of the day, or when it’s raining or snowing, hot or freezing, or when you just want a break already. Consistency is inconvenient. It’s relentless. You don’t get a pause button.
And there will be tough-but-necessary sacrifices – by which I mean giving up some kinds of foods for a while. Completely. Not forever, but for a while. (Don’t ask how long. The question is irrelevant. It must be done.)
More on this in minute, but first:
Thing #2:
You have to love yourself
This is the big one. This is the hardest thing I’ve ever done, and if I hadn’t done it, I am 100% certain that I would still be well over 300 pounds and growing.
You have to forgive yourself.
You have to completely reprogram your inner monologue to be kind and encouraging and loving.
And you have to believe every word of it.
You need to decide – unequivocally – that you are worth the highest level of self-care. You have to love yourself.
Because without Thing #2, you will never sustain Thing #1. You cannot maintain the discipline and sacrifice that is required if you do not believe that you are worth it.
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“But what about moderation?”
A fair question.
What about eating mindfully?
What about ‘diets’ aren’t sustainable in the long run?
I don’t disagree with the positive messages around mindful eating and moderation out there in the online fitness community. And they can certainly help a huge population looking to improve their health and fitness in a way that is sustainable for the long term.
A way that includes pizza and ice cream, or wine, or chocolate, or insert-your-favorite-calorically-indulgent-food-or-drink-here.
But the rules are different for people like you and me.
People who that have to lose a massive amount of weight. This is an unavoidable truth. Because, let’s face it – one does not get to a place where one has to lose half of one’s body weight with moderation, and so it stands to reason that one is not going to leave that place behind through moderation.
You have to make an all-in investment in your future self.
The good news is that this is not forever, and it goes faster than you’d expect.
And that all-in investment? It pays off at an astronomical rate of return.
.
How exactly does losing 150 pounds change you life?
Mike: Pictured above is Amy, looking fucking hot in that dress.
There is the obvious change in appearance, which is certainly awesome. I think about how I would always cry in dressing rooms – and I mean every single time.
Now, shopping is just fun. In fact, sometimes I can’t keep from making “squee” noises, because I remember how awful it used to be. However, while looking better doesn’t suck, it pales in comparison to the Big Stuff.
Like, now I can DO things. I do incredible stuff in the gym – I throw around heavy weight, and I feel like a strong, sexy badass doing it.
And I do amazing outside-the-gym stuff like zip-lining, mountain climbing, beach running, dancing and paddle-boarding … because I CAN. And I always, always opt to take the stairs, because knowing that I can just bound up a few flights anytime I want to – that feels like freedom.
I can do anything I want to do now.
My body doesn’t hold me back anymore. Perfect example: I was recently looking for some good “Before” photos of me. I scrolled through years of photos. Birthdays, vacations, holidays, endless gatherings of family and friends… and there are almost no photos of me. I was absent in my own life, because my physical limitations and emotional shame. Never again.
Now, I can actually participate in the events of my life. No more inventing excuses – no more missing out. I pursue every opportunity for joy. I carpe every damn diem.
But the biggest benefit is that I’m literally saving my own life.
I’m not being dramatic.
Diabetes and heart disease are killers, and I was a textbook case.
It takes years to kill you, sure, but those are some pretty awful years.
I know because my Dad is a diabetic.
He had both of his legs amputated, and now he needs a kidney transplant. I was following his path, and I was setting that same example for my own children to follow.
Now, I am doing the opposite. I’m setting a better, healthier example. I’m the Mom who built a gym in the garage so we can all use it. Who asks her family to go to an adventure park for Mother’s Day. Who figures out ways to make delicious dinners that are also macro-friendly.
All of that improves their lives, too. I love my family so much. And getting and staying healthy is the best thing that I have ever done and can ever do for us.
To me, that’s everything.
My Message To You
The process of making this climb can actually be fun.
I guarantee that it will be empowering. And it will be life-changing in the best possible ways. Ways that you can’t even imagine when standing at the bottom of the mountain.
Your dreams are within your grasp. You are worth it. You deserve it.
And you can do it.
Mike: Amy’s Current Condition:
Amy just squatted in a BIKINI.
So… If you don’t give her insane love in the comments right this second, you are basically dead to me.
.
Amy Budd is a passionate lifter of bells of all varieties – bar, dumb, and kettle – and an enthusiastic real-food-meals-maker who loves preparing and serving yummy, healthy treats for family and friends. A quick-witted potty-mouthed breaker of tension, she is a loyal friend, an incredibly lucky wife to a wonderful, loving husband, and Momma Bear who’s been blessed with the best teenagers ever. You can contact her on her facebook page or visit her website, and follow her on Instagram.
Sonya
I don't know which one of you I'm more impressed with right now. Amy, thanks for the post which I'll probably read 20 times today, and Mike, thanks for being an awesome trainer to anyone who wants to train and not just gym bunnies!July 24, 2015 at 12:04 pm |