It was 2008 when Dom Matteo stepped on the dimensions and noticed the quantity 300.
That’s when he stopped weighing himself.
In 2009, Stephen Field determined, ‘I’m simply going to be fats perpetually. No matter.’
After diligently attempting to lose fats for thirty years, Katey Caswell was nonetheless morbidly overweight. She puzzled, ‘Is something ever going to work?’
This isn’t a narrative about three individuals who gave up.
Moderately, it’s about three individuals who saved going—overcoming the almost common setbacks and challenges throughout main physique transformations.
Not solely did all three finally lose 80-plus kilos apiece, however in addition they modified in different methods: Dom, Stephen, and Katey have all turn into licensed well being and diet coaches who now assist others eat, transfer, and reside higher.
On this story, you’ll uncover their high mindset methods for persevering when fats loss feels unattainable (or not less than simply very irritating).
Caveat: Not each technique will really feel best for you.
Our suggestion: Learn this story via the lens of your private expertise. Strive what seems like an excellent 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 impartial diet, well being, and life coach who focuses on serving to girls attain their well being and health targets. She misplaced greater than 120 kilos. Be taught extra about her at KateyCaswell.com |
 Stephen Field, PN2-MHC, grew to become a diet and power coach throughout his journey to shedding 80 kilos. Along with serving as neighborhood engagement specialist for Precision Diet, he hosts the Unshakable Habits podcast in addition to coaches purchasers. 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, take into account this query:
What do you ACTUALLY need?
That factor you’re actually after in all probability isn’t only a purpose (for instance, a smaller physique), says Coach Stephen Field.
Seemingly, your purpose simply represents what you’re actually after.
For instance, you may 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 pleased.
He wished the leaner physique he had again then, certain. However largely, 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 turn into a father, and a detailed pal 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 choices like, “Ought to I skip my exercise?” and “Ought to I supersize this?”
They requested themselves, “What would the long run me determine?”
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 aspect 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 totally different about your life?
- What are you doing which you could’t do now?
- How do you are feeling?
- What are you sporting?
- 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 (equivalent to a vacation spot postcard), footage (equivalent 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 to be able to turn into the individual I wish to be tomorrow?
Possibly it’s consuming breakfast as an alternative of skipping it, ingesting an additional glass of water, or taking two gradual breaths earlier than your first chunk of dinner.
“Choose one factor that’ll make you are feeling like successful, on a regular basis,” says Coach Katey. “When you’ve carried out that factor, you’re good.”
▶ Has my imaginative and prescient shifted?
You might discover that your imaginative and prescient turns into your actuality ahead of anticipated.
Lengthy earlier than you shed 50+ kilos, for instance, you’ll possible expertise extra power—and also you’ll be capable of do a whole lot of issues that after appeared unattainable.
When this occurs, you’ve gotten a pair choices.
Some purchasers select to re-envision their future selves. For instance, if somebody’s preliminary imaginative and prescient concerned taking part in ball with their children, their expanded imaginative and prescient may contain turning into an avid runner, hiker, or CrossFitter.
Others, nevertheless, understand that they’re already the individual they wish to be. They’re pleased with that, though 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 could 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 day by day actions greater than the ultimate vacation spot, nevertheless, you possibly can 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 habits is extra inside your management than your physique measurement.
“By regularly attempting to take the most effective motion potential, you enhance the probability of the result you need,” says Coach Dom.
To focus on your habits successes, strive the next.
Discover what small stuff you’re doing proper.
“It’s really easy to give attention to the damaging,” says Coach Katey.
To remain assured and motivated, nevertheless, you wish to shine a highlight on what you’re doing effectively, she says. Likelihood is, you are altering greater than you understand.
(BTW, our inside analysis exhibits: Doing a number of issues persistently is rather more essential than attempting to do all the things completely.)
| As a substitute 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 an entire meals
✅ Plan a meal ✅ Transfer your physique ✅ Prioritize sleep ✅ Tune into starvation and fullness ✅ Strive a brand new veggie ✅ Handle stress |
Downshift as wanted.
Generally, you’ll really feel as if you happen to’re cruising on autopilot.
Different occasions, it might sound as if the whole world is right here to sabotage your efforts to eat minimally-processed meals or hit the gymnasium.
On high 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 may preserve the dial cranked, at a seven or larger.
Throughout tougher occasions, nevertheless, take into consideration turning it right down to one thing that feels extra manageable.
“I made a decision to do the issues that I deemed essential to the most effective of my capacity each single day,” says Coach Dom. “Some days, the most effective of my capacity was possibly 50 p.c. Different days it was 80 p.c. However I did the most effective I may on daily basis.”
By scaling your effort up and down primarily based on what’s happening 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 under exhibits the way you may dial bodily exercise up and down, primarily based on life circumstances. You’ll be able to customise every notch on the dial, primarily based in your talents and preferences. You can even create comparable dials for diet, sleep, stress administration, and every other habits you’re attempting to alter.
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 simply don’t wish to quit—in addition to others that you simply’re simply not keen to strive.
That’s okay.
The excellent news:
YOU get to determine what modifications you’re keen to make and keep.
For instance, initially of his fats loss journey, Coach Stephen wasn’t keen to surrender quick meals.
He ate it on daily basis, a pair occasions a day.
As a result of he liked it.
And it was handy.
Moderately than give it up, he set a really totally 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 totally different selections altogether, equivalent to getting baked potatoes as an alternative of fries and grilled hen sandwiches as an alternative of burgers, because the graphic under exhibits.
“I misplaced the primary 40 kilos that method,” Coach Stephen says.
Over time, Coach Stephen was keen to increase modifications, like cooking a few of his meals at house.
His quick meals burger changed into one constructed from decrease fats beef. The refined bun grew to become an entire grain one.
And he stacked it with a number of veggies.
“Moderately than aiming for the greatest selections, all you actually need to do is regularly make barely higher selections,” says Coach Stephen.
To try this, take into account 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.
While you eat much less and shed pounds, you burn fewer energy, due to an annoying phenomenon referred to as “metabolic adaptation.”
(Learn extra: Can consuming too little injury your metabolism?)
Meaning it could possibly turn into more and more troublesome to lose every subsequent pound.
For some individuals, which means weight reduction may gradual—possibly 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 site visitors.
That frustration, nevertheless, usually comes from placing an excessive amount of emphasis on the result, says Coach Dom.
“After I was shedding weight, I saved telling myself that the result would arrive if I did the work,” says Coach Dom.
“Moderately than hit a particular weight, I attempted to point out up and do my greatest every day for a 12 months. By shifting my purpose to one thing I may completely management, I negated the emotions that used to come back up for me when my physique didn’t behave as anticipated.”
Do some accounting.
Bear in mind the Future Me imaginative and prescient we instructed you about above? A plateau is a superb time to revisit it.
Are you continue to making selections that align with what the Future You wants?
How persistently 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 talent 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 dimensions) to what was inside his management: his habits.
“I obtained actually targeted on making small enhancements and enhancing my abilities,” he says. “Even when the dimensions wasn’t transferring, I felt like I used to be enhancing in these different areas and that saved me targeted and motivated.”
Contemplate: What further abilities may you add or develop?
For instance, if you happen to’re strolling persistently, possibly you add power coaching to your train routine. Or maybe you lean into consuming slowly and mindfully, seeing if you happen to can cease consuming if you really feel simply happy, even when there’s meals left in your plate.
Query the dimensions.
Sooner or later, it’s possible you’ll discover you’ve embraced the entire abilities you’re keen to embrace. Possibly you’re dwelling your imaginative and prescient, too.
On the identical time, possibly you haven’t reached the load you initially thought you wished.
Contemplate:
Is that scale weight actually the fitting weight—for YOU?
In any case, many individuals’s “purpose weights” are, effectively, slightly 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.
Moderately than judging your self by a quantity, focus in your day by day actions. Are you continue to doing all your greatest to make more healthy selections, more often than not? If that’s the case, that’s one thing to really feel GREAT about.
Take a second to rejoice 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 simply couldn’t earlier than?
Likelihood is, it’s so much—and that simply is perhaps sufficient.
If you happen to’re a coach, otherwise you wish to be…
You’ll be able to assist individuals construct diet and way of life 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 ways.
If you happen to’d wish to study extra, take into account the PN Stage 1 Diet Teaching Certification.
