It was 2008 when Dom Matteo stepped on the size and noticed the quantity 300.
That’s when he stopped weighing himself.
In 2009, Stephen Field determined, ‘I’m simply going to be fats ceaselessly. No matter.’
After diligently attempting to lose fats for thirty years, Katey Caswell was nonetheless morbidly overweight. She questioned, ‘Is something ever going to work?’
This isn’t a narrative about three individuals who gave up.
Relatively, it’s about three individuals who stored going—overcoming the practically common setbacks and challenges throughout main physique transformations.
Not solely did all three ultimately lose 80-plus kilos apiece, however additionally they modified in different methods: Dom, Stephen, and Katey have all change into licensed well being and diet coaches who now assist others eat, transfer, and reside higher.
On this story, you’ll uncover their prime mindset methods for persevering when fats loss feels inconceivable (or no less than simply very irritating).
Caveat: Not each technique will really feel best for you.
Our suggestion: Learn this story by way of the lens of your private expertise. Strive what appears like a superb match and put aside something that doesn’t.
 Dominic Matteo, PN2-MHC, has been a diet and well being coach for 12 years. He mentors Precision Diet’s masterclass college students. A former IT skilled, he misplaced greater than 100 kilos. |
 Katey Caswell, PN2-MHC, NBC-HWC, is an unbiased diet, well being, and life coach who focuses on serving to ladies attain their well being and health objectives. She misplaced greater than 120 kilos. Be taught extra about her at KateyCaswell.com |
 Stephen Field, PN2-MHC, turned a diet and power coach throughout his journey to shedding 80 kilos. Along with serving as group engagement specialist for Precision Diet, he hosts the Unshakable Habits podcast in addition to coaches shoppers. Be taught extra about him at UnshakableHabits. |
1. Get to know the long run you.
Earlier than altering what you eat or how you progress, think about this query:
What do you ACTUALLY need?
That factor you’re actually after in all probability isn’t only a objective (for instance, a smaller physique), says Coach Stephen Field.
Seemingly, your objective simply represents what you’re actually after.
For instance, you would possibly affiliate being in a smaller physique with extra confidence, and being the kind of one who takes on challenges and welcomes new experiences.
Spend time envisioning that complete individual. (Not simply the physique.)
Take Coach Stephen. His imaginative and prescient took him again in time, to when he was athletic, energized, assured, and blissful.
He wished the leaner physique he had again then, certain. However principally, he wished to return to that feeling of vitality.
For Coach Dom, the imaginative and prescient was about who he didn’t wish to be.
He’d lately change into a father, and a detailed buddy had additionally died unexpectedly of a blood clot. Coach Dom wished his son to develop up with his father in his life.
“I by no means wished my son to see me in an unhealthy state,” he says.
These visions allowed Coaches Dom and Stephen to be extra resolute as they made selections like, “Ought to I skip my exercise?” and “Ought to I supersize this?”
They requested themselves, “What would the long run me resolve?”
Now, greater than a decade after shedding over 100 kilos, Coach Dom nonetheless retains a quote from Trevor Kashey, PhD, on his whiteboard:
“Having what you need is a facet impact of being the individual it takes to get it.”
How one can envision the Future You
Think about your self a 12 months or two into the long run. You’re within the physique you need.
- What’s completely different about your life?
- What are you doing which you could’t do now?
- How do you are feeling?
- What are you carrying?
- The place are you working?
- Who’re your folks?
- How do you spend your time?
- What are different individuals saying about you?
Think about each element.
Seize that imaginative and prescient in phrases (comparable to a vacation spot postcard), photos (comparable to a imaginative and prescient board), or in a video or audio message.
As your fats loss journey unfolds, periodically ask your self:
▶ What can I do at the moment so as to change into the individual I wish to be tomorrow?
Possibly it’s consuming breakfast as a substitute of skipping it, consuming an additional glass of water, or taking two sluggish breaths earlier than your first chew of dinner.
“Choose one factor that’ll make you are feeling like successful, on a regular basis,” says Coach Katey. “When you’ve performed that factor, you’re good.”
▶ Has my imaginative and prescient shifted?
You might discover that your imaginative and prescient turns into your actuality before anticipated.
Lengthy earlier than you shed 50+ kilos, for instance, you’ll doubtless expertise extra vitality—and also you’ll be capable of do quite a lot of issues that after appeared inconceivable.
When this occurs, you may have a pair choices.
Some shoppers select to re-envision their future selves. For instance, if somebody’s preliminary imaginative and prescient concerned enjoying ball with their children, their expanded imaginative and prescient would possibly contain changing into an avid runner, hiker, or CrossFitter.
Others, nonetheless, understand that they’re already the individual they wish to be. They’re proud of that, although they haven’t misplaced as a lot weight as they thought they might. That’s okay, too.
2. Focus extra on actions—and fewer on outcomes.
It will probably take a 12 months or two to lose 50+ kilos.
When your journey lasts that lengthy, it may be troublesome to maintain your sights on the end line, says Coach Dom.
By emphasizing your each day actions greater than the ultimate vacation spot, nonetheless, you’ll be able to break that months-long odyssey into a number of shorter, extra attainable day journeys like…
- Going from zero to at least one veggie serving a day
- Switching from massive fries to medium
- Strolling 10 extra minutes than final week
One other profit: Your conduct is extra inside your management than your physique measurement.
“By regularly attempting to take the most effective motion potential, you improve the chance of the result you want,” says Coach Dom.
To focus on your conduct successes, strive the next.
Discover what small stuff you’re doing proper.
“It’s really easy to give attention to the adverse,” says Coach Katey.
To remain assured and motivated, nonetheless, you wish to shine a highlight on what you’re doing properly, she says. Likelihood is, you are altering greater than you understand.
(BTW, our inner analysis reveals: Doing a couple of issues constantly is way more vital than attempting to do every little thing completely.)
| As an alternative of beating your self up for… | Have fun everytime you… |
| ❌ Indulging in processed meals
❌ Hitting the drive-through on a busy day ❌ Skipping a exercise ❌ Staying up late ❌ Consuming mindlessly ❌ Having chips for dinner ❌ Emotionally spiraling after a triggering occasion |
✅ Eat a complete meals
✅ Plan a meal ✅ Transfer your physique ✅ Prioritize sleep ✅ Tune into starvation and fullness ✅ Strive a brand new veggie ✅ Handle stress |
Downshift as wanted.
Typically, you’ll really feel as when you’re cruising on autopilot.
Different instances, it may appear as if your complete world is right here to sabotage your efforts to eat minimally-processed meals or hit the health club.
On prime of that, some days you’ll really feel tremendous motivated. Different days you’ll crave ice cream for dinner and hours of high quality time in your favourite recliner.
That’s why Coach Dom suggests you consider your effort like a dial. Throughout simple stretches, you would possibly hold the dial cranked, at a seven or greater.
Throughout more difficult instances, nonetheless, take into consideration turning it all the way down to one thing that feels extra manageable.
“I made a decision to do the issues that I deemed vital to the most effective of my means each single day,” says Coach Dom. “Some days, the most effective of my means was perhaps 50 %. Different days it was 80 %. However I did the most effective I might daily.”
By scaling your effort up and down primarily based on what’s occurring in your life, you’ll be capable of go from an “all or nothing” mindset to an “all the time one thing” mindset, says Coach Dom.
The graphic beneath reveals the way you would possibly dial bodily exercise up and down, primarily based on life circumstances. You possibly can customise every notch on the dial, primarily based in your skills and preferences. You can too create related dials for diet, sleep, stress administration, and another conduct you’re attempting to vary.
Learn extra: By no means Press Pause on Your Well being and Health Once more
3. Know what you’re not keen to reside with out.
There are going to be some meals and experiences that you just don’t wish to quit—in addition to others that you just’re simply not keen to strive.
That’s okay.
The excellent news:
YOU get to resolve what modifications you’re keen to make and keep.
For instance, originally of his fats loss journey, Coach Stephen wasn’t keen to surrender quick meals.
He ate it daily, a pair instances a day.
As a result of he cherished it.
And it was handy.
Relatively than give it up, he set a really completely different problem for himself:
Discover a method to lose fats whereas nonetheless consuming pizza, tacos, and burgers.
First, he downsized his meals—ordering fewer slices of pizza, fewer tacos, and smaller burgers and fries.
Finally he made completely different decisions altogether, comparable to getting baked potatoes as a substitute of fries and grilled hen sandwiches as a substitute of burgers, because the graphic beneath reveals.
“I misplaced the primary 40 kilos that means,” Coach Stephen says.
Over time, Coach Stephen was keen to amplify modifications, like cooking a few of his meals at dwelling.
His quick meals burger changed into one made out of decrease fats beef. The refined bun turned a complete grain one.
And he stacked it with a number of veggies.
“Relatively than aiming for the finest decisions, all you actually need to do is regularly make barely higher decisions,” says Coach Stephen.
To try this, think about these questions:
- What tiny modifications are you okay attempting?
- What considerably more healthy meals are you keen to eat?
- What parts are you keen to shrink, only a tad?
4. Count on to plateau.
Once you eat much less and drop some weight, you burn fewer energy, because of an annoying phenomenon referred to as “metabolic adaptation.”
(Learn extra: Can consuming too little injury your metabolism?)
Meaning it may possibly change into more and more troublesome to lose every subsequent pound.
For some individuals, which means weight reduction would possibly sluggish—perhaps even stall.
Be affected person.
If you happen to began your weight reduction journey with a particular scale weight in thoughts, plateaus can really feel like getting caught in standstill visitors.
That frustration, nonetheless, typically comes from placing an excessive amount of emphasis on the result, says Coach Dom.
“Once I was reducing weight, I stored telling myself that the result would arrive if I did the work,” says Coach Dom.
“Relatively than hit a particular weight, I attempted to point out up and do my finest every day for a 12 months. By shifting my objective to one thing I might completely management, I negated the sentiments that used to return up for me when my physique didn’t behave as anticipated.”
Do some accounting.
Keep in mind the Future Me imaginative and prescient we advised you about above? A plateau is a good time to revisit it.
Are you continue to making decisions that align with what the Future You wants?
How constantly are you consuming slowly till happy, exercising, and together with complete meals? Has emotional or stress consuming crept again into your life like an ex-lover? How about senseless energy?
Double down on ability constructing.
Coach Stephen hit a number of plateaus throughout his journey to shedding 80 kilos.
Every time, he shifted his focus away from what was out of his management (the size) to what was inside his management: his conduct.
“I obtained actually targeted on making small enhancements and enhancing my abilities,” he says. “Even when the size wasn’t shifting, I felt like I used to be enhancing in these different areas and that stored me targeted and motivated.”
Take into account: What extra abilities would possibly you add or develop?
For instance, when you’re strolling constantly, perhaps you add power coaching to your train routine. Or maybe you lean into consuming slowly and mindfully, seeing when you can cease consuming if you really feel simply happy, even when there’s meals left in your plate.
Query the size.
Sooner or later, you might discover you’ve embraced all the abilities you’re keen to embrace. Possibly you’re dwelling your imaginative and prescient, too.
On the identical time, perhaps you haven’t reached the load you initially thought you wished.
Take into account:
Is that scale weight actually the appropriate weight—for YOU?
In any case, many individuals’s “objective weights” are, properly, a little bit arbitrary. Maybe the quantity simply sounded good to you. Or it’s what you weighed throughout a time in your life if you felt good (however not essentially due to your weight).
A scale quantity is simply that—a quantity.
It’s not a measure of your value as an individual.
Relatively than judging your self by a quantity, focus in your each day actions. Are you continue to doing all of your finest to make more healthy decisions, more often than not? In that case, that’s one thing to really feel GREAT about.
Take a second to have a good time your leaner, stronger, more healthy physique—and the way it’s modified your life.
What are you able to accomplish with this physique that you just couldn’t earlier than?
Likelihood is, it’s rather a lot—and that simply is perhaps sufficient.
If you happen to’re a coach, otherwise you wish to be…
You possibly can assist individuals construct diet and life-style habits that enhance their bodily and psychological well being, bolster their immunity, assist them higher handle stress, and get sustainable outcomes. We’ll present you the way.
If you happen to’d wish to study extra, think about the PN Stage 1 Diet Teaching Certification.
