What Is the Most Successful Way to Lose Weight? A Balanced, Real-Life Approach to Sustainable Results
Let’s start with a quick story! 📚
A few years ago, a woman named Suzy* reached out to me about my weight loss coaching services. Suzy had tried losing weight on her own for years. She had some success doing Weight Watchers, Keto, Optavia, and even Intermittent Fasting, but she always ended up regaining the weight (plus more). After a few years of the same roller coaster pattern, Suzy realized that it didn’t matter which approach she was using to lose weight, she always fell into the exact same trap:
She would stay “on track” and follow her weight loss program perfectly for 3 days… But then life hit and everything quickly unraveled.
Have you ever experienced the same thing as Suzy? If so, know that this is one of the most common struggles for anyone who is trying to lose weight. Today, I’m calling BS on the myth that you need to be “perfect” or “have more willpower” to lose weight, and I’m going to show you exactly how you can lose weight in a balanced, healthy way (instead of focusing on extremes).
If you’ve ever wondered, “What is the most successful way to lose weight?” Well, I’m going to answer just that.
Let’s dive in and get started!
*Name changed for respect and anonymity of previous clients
Defining “Successful Weight Loss”
Before we get this party started, it’s important to understand what success means when it comes to losing weight. First and foremost, successful weight loss refers to a change in body composition for a person over a period of time. However, it’s important to understand that successful weight loss will look different for everyone (which is amazing!).
Let’s address a few important factors that define what successful weight loss looks like for many different people:
⭐️ For some people, successfully losing weight means losing 5-10 pounds. For others, it may mean losing 50 pounds. And for others, it could fall anywhere outside of those parameters! The most important thing for a weight loss journey to be successful isn’t necessarily the number on the scale, but rather creating a more confident body and energized life.
⭐️ Let’s be honest – no one wants to lose weight, only to quickly regain it. Successful weight loss also includes learning the skills needed to maintain your weight loss, long-term. According to the Cleveland Clinic, 80-95% of those who lose weight end up re-gaining the weight they lost. YIKES – It’s time to change those statistics!
So, what is a successful weight loss result? 👇
Sustainable, balanced, individualized success that you can repeat for the next 6 months (and beyond) is the ultimate goal. Maintaining your weight loss long-term requires consistency of actions that you can repeat over time, along with the flexibility to adapt when life gets crazy.
The Balance Between Self Compassion and Self-Discipline
While the actions you choose help to determine how successful you are on your weight loss journey, it’s not the only factor that is important. How you treat yourself is just as important as the actions you take.
In other words, people who are MOST successful at maintaining their weight loss (or achieving any goal in life) are those who find an equal balance between self-compassion and self-discipline.
Here’s what I mean — Successful weight loss can be best accomplished by balancing compassion and discipline.
If you approach your goals with a “tough love,” disciplined attitude all the time, where you’re constantly beating yourself up for every little mistake you make, chances are you might achieve your goals… But you probably won’t enjoy the process. Which means your results won’t be sustainable long-term.
On the other hand, if you approach your goals with too much compassion and without ANY self-discipline, where you’re constantly forgiving the excuses that prevent you from taking action towards your goals, you’ll never gain enough momentum to see results.
You’re either SO hard on yourself that you feel miserable trying to be “perfect,” or you cut yourself so much slack that you’re not taking enough action to see real results.
Both suck.
The key to reaching ANY goal (including weight loss) is to find a delicate balance between self-compassion and self-discipline.
This might look something like forgiving yourself when you “fall off the bandwagon”…
And it might mean calling yourself out when you’re using BS excuses instead of taking responsibility for your choices.
Here’s the craziest part — The more self-compassion you have to forgive yourself and LEARN from your struggles, the easier it is to hold yourself accountable and find that self-discipline when faced with excuses.
If you’re struggling to lose weight, think about this…
Is your “scale” tipping more towards one side than the other? Are you giving yourself too much self-compassion, or are you being too rigid and disciplined?
4 Tips for Successful Weight Loss
If you’re feeling overwhelmed or questioning whether you give yourself too much self-compassion or self-discipline, I’m here to help! Let’s start by discussing some of the most important habits for successful weight loss. These tips for successful weight loss can be used to gauge how much compassion or discipline you’re using on a regular basis for yourself:
🍽️ Meal Planning
Meal planning helps simplify decision-making and prevent impulsive eating. If planning out entire meals feels like too much, start by planning out your protein and/or vegetables for a certain number of meals.
💪🏻 Action item: Grab your planning and schedule time to plan 2 dinners and 2 lunches for the next 7 days!
💧 Drinking Water
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, most Americans are dehydrated. Unsure of how much water you should be drinking? I recommend drinking 0.5 to 1 ounce per pound of body weight, and more if you live in a warm climate or actively sweat on a regular basis.
💪🏻 Action item: Keep your favorite tumbler or water bottle near you at all times to serve as a reminder to sip water throughout the day!
😴 Better Sleep
Research from the CDC suggests that 1 out of every 3 Americans don’t get enough sleep. Without proper sleep (which averages to be 7 to 9 hours per night for most people), our bodies struggle to regulate our hunger and fullness hormones.
💪🏻 Action item: Keep your bedroom cool and dark, and aim to stop using all technology (including your phone and TV) for 30-60 minutes before heading to bed.
🍓 More Fruits and Vegetables
There are so many tasty, processed foods at the grocery store. However, many of these foods contain little (if any) nutrients. Instead of pairing less-nutritious foods (like cereals, mac and cheese, French fries, etc.) with protein for meals, aim to add more fruits and vegetables to your meals and snacks.
💪🏻 Action item: Frozen veggies last longer than fresh ones and can easily be microwaved. Challenge yourself to pick up 3-4 bags of frozen veggies the next time you grocery shop.
As you can see, many of these habits for successful weight loss aren’t complicated. They’re actually quite simple. The challenging part comes down to repeating them consistently over time.
Mindset Shift: Ditch Diet Mentality for a Lifestyle Approach
Following your diet “perfectly” for 3 days and then falling off the bandwagon reinforces the idea of the “all-or-nothing” perfectionist mentality. The great news about all of the habits we discussed in the previous section is that they can all be adjusted or adapted for the times when life gets crazy. In fact, research from the Mayo Clinic suggests that focusing on making progress, versus being perfect tends to lead to lasting change.
Let’s say the habit you’re working on is drinking more water. Instead of it being “on” and “off,” meaning you either drink water or you drink no water, you can adjust the habit as life happens. That means that some days you might hit your exact water goals, and other days you might adjust your water goal to drink less.
Successful weight loss is all about adapting and adjusting habits as life happens, as opposed to thinking about your actions as a “yes” or “no.”
The key to successful weight loss is to create habits that you enjoy and that can be repeated (and dialed up or down when needed).
Behavior Strategies That Support Lasting Change
By this point, you can easily answer the question “What is the most successful way to lose weight?” However, before we finish up, I want to include a few behavior strategies that can help you maintain your weight loss long-term.
👭 Accountability
One of the biggest reasons that clients choose to work with us is because of the high level of accountability and support that we provide. Whether it be a coach, a family member, a friend, or a colleague, having someone to help hold you accountable to the actions needed to reach your goals is extremely beneficial.
✍️ Tracking Progress
While your weight is one indicator of progress, remember that it’s not the only one. Circumference measurements, progress photos, energy levels, and overall feelings of strength are all good indicators of progress. If you choose to use the bathroom scale, find other ways to track your progress, too!
🎯 Tiny, Achievable Goals
As we’ve discussed, the “secret sauce” to successfully losing weight (and keeping it off) is to set tiny, achievable action goals that lead to the outcome you want. No action is too small to get started! Whether it’s drinking one glass of water each day, or eating one serving of fruit or veggies, or taking a 5-minute walk… ALL of these actions count and will lead to results when done consistently enough over time.
Final Words of Encouragement: Start Small, Stay Consistent
Successful weight loss isn’t about eating or exercising perfectly. It’s about finding balance, building healthier habits, and creating a flexible mindset. The most successful way to lose weight is to meet yourself where you are — and build from there.
Do you want to learn more about how we help our clients build healthier habits, so they lose weight and maintain it while still enjoying and living life?
Check out our weight loss program for men and our weight loss program for women!
