I Road Tested our "Lose 3 in 2 Challenge". Here's 7 things I learned.
Before we unleash the “Lose 3 in 2” Challenge to BHC members starting July 22nd, I wanted to road test it myself to see if it actually worked.
I’m currently on day 11 and have lost 4.7 kilos so far! Doing this challenge has been very insightful. Even after being in the Health and Fitness profession for over 20 years, doing this challenge has made me learn new things.
But first, here was my personal approach and tactics:
a) First, I went on to the BHC website, used the “Free Macro Calculator” and calculated that I should aim for 1800 calories per day to be in a calorie deficit.
b) I then ruthlessly tracked my daily calories, and hit under 1800 each day, consistently.
c) I aimed to walk 10,000 steps per day
d) I set a minimum of 3 x Strength workouts per week.
And that’s it. Now, here’s what I learned doing this challenge (please note, I know quite a bit, so I’m not going over stuff I already knew, such as the importance of hitting daily protein targets as well as calorie restriction. So, all the points I make below is NEW stuff I learned!):
1) Mindset was easy
Perhaps the hardest part of any weight loss challenge is being in the right mindset. The right mindset simply means the ability to make decisions day by day that take you toward your target, not away from it.
Because this challenge is only 2 weeks, I found that it was actually pretty easy saying no to all the foods that would have put on the wrong track. I haven’t been even remotely tempted by chips, chocolates, and second helpings to my wife’s spaghetti Bolognese.
I believe it’s because this challenge is such a short time frame. Being only 2 weeks helps. If we did a 8-week challenge, for example, I think my mindset would have been different.
2) Calorie tracking is really hard, but only for the first week
There are a couple of ways to track your calories. Most people will use apps, like My Fitness Pal, to track them. But I’m old school. I used a pen and a piece of paper. And it was a lot of work.
For example, I food prep on a Sunday afternoon and I make a Big Ass salad that I eat every day for lunch. For those who know me well, you already know this about me.
What was hard, though, was that I had to look up every single ingredient and calculate how many calories were in each vegetable. Here is a quick breakdown of my Big Ass salad:
- Quinoa (400 cals)
- Feta Cheese (220 cals)
- Spinach (22 cals)
- Broccoli (52 cals)
- Red Capsicum (50 cals)
- Spanish Onion (63 cals)
- Carrots (50 cals)
- Sweet Potato (120 cals)
So, the entire salad consists of 977 calories. This salad is divided between 5 days (Mon – Fri) so each day, the salad is 195 calories. This is before I add Olive oil and my protein.
That’s one example.
But the second week was easy. I eat the same salad each week, so in the second week, I didn’t have to calculate it again. It’s rinse and repeat.
3) Expect to be hungry and lethargic
Hunger
You need to be aware that you will feel hungry during this challenge. You'll be hungry because you're in a calorie deficit.
And that's ok. Due to the abundance of food in modern society, we see hunger as a problem and as soon as we're hungry we try to "fix" it. But hunger in the next two weeks shouldn't be feared.
But, there's a difference between "Hunger" and "Starvation". We don't want starvation! Please please please be smart. A little hunger is ok, starvation, not!
Tiredness
Once again, because we're in a calorie deficit, we're literally giving our bodies less energy than it's used to. Food is energy! And the excess fat is simply stored energy in our bodies.
A calorie deficit is simply defined as feeding our bodies less energy than it's burning. So, if you are in a calorie deficit then, it won't be a surprise if you don't have as much boundless energy as usual.
Once again, the extreme doesn't help here. If you're too tired to lift your head out of bed, you've taken it too far. So, like above, be smart.
4) There is a ridiculous number of calories in foods I was eating normally
So there are two foods in particular that shocked me with how much calories they have in them:
i) Oats – I eat oats each morning. 1/3 cups of oats equals 114 calories. During this challenge, I limited myself to 2/3 cups each morning.
ii) Olive Oil – man I used to free pour Olive Oil on my salads every day, until I checked out many calories were in it. 30ml of Olive Oil is 244 calories! Couldn’t believe it. Now, instead of free pouring it, I only allow 15 mls of Olive Oil in my salad.
5) Weight training is even MORE important
I already knew that if you are in a calorie deficit, and you don’t eat enough protein & lift weights, then any weight loss you encounter will come from your muscles, and not fat. (I hope you know this too. If you didn’t, now you know.)
It’s easier to hit your protein goals if you allow yourself to eat as many calories as you like. But achieving your protein targets WHILST in a calorie deficit is pretty hard. (If you need specific help with this, reach out, I can help).
Therefore, lifting weights whilst in a calorie restriction is probably the most important form of exercise you can do whilst doing this challenge. That is, unless you want to LOSE muscle, which I’m assuming you don’t.
6) My wife didn’t give a crap how much weight I lost
On my first weekend (day 6 & 7 of the challenge) I had already lost over 3 kilos and I was looking leaner. My stomach as flatter and felt more confident with my body. So, after a shower, I strutted around our house in my underwear, walking past my adoring wife, waiting for her to notice my new and improved physique.
She had her back to me, so I had to get her attention. So, I pulled my stomach in further, hit my best physique pose and called out “Hey baby, do you think I’m looking better after a week of this challenge?”
She turned around, looked at me and said, “Put some clothes on you loser”. “C’mon babe” I replied, “Can you notice the difference?”.
“Actually, I prefer you with a bit more meat on your bones” she said.
Bloody hell. I slinked back to my bedroom and got dressed. Rejected. But I’m married, so I’m used to be being rejected……..DAD JOKE!!!!!!!
(I want you all to know that this is a TRUE STORY! You can even ask Sara if you like)
7) Is it sustainable?
Is what I’m doing sustainable? Yes and no.
After finishing this challenge, I will stop counting my calories and mostly go back to my previous diet. But with a couple of major exceptions. I will stop free pouring my oats in the morning and Olive Oil at lunch. I don’t believe you should ever eat unnecessary calories.
I’ll also probably substitute more alcoholic drinks for bottle of Kombucha. My Saturday night treat as a “Lemon and Lime Kombucha” bottle which was fizzy, tasted pretty good, and was only 9 calories!
In summary, I can’t sustain this exact challenge ongoing, but that’s not the point. I’ve learned so much about what I was eating before, that I know I can make small changes in the future, and they’ll make a big difference in terms of at least 300-400 calories less per day.
If you have 300 less calories per day, that’s 2100 per week, and 9300 calories less per month. Imagine what that would do to your waist line.
If you have any further questions, let me know. If you want to join this free challenge! It’s not too late, here’s the link for it.