How to 5x your weight loss (and keep it off)

Be a hare, not a tortoise.

Advice spouted by most coaches is that slow and steady wins the weight loss race. That, however, isn’t true.

A study in 2010 shattered the tortoise’s shell.

262 middle-aged obese women were split into 3 groups – fast, moderate and slow weight loss – and dieted for 6 months. Afterwards, they completed a 1-year aftercare programme and the amount of weight loss the ladies maintained was measured.

The results might surprise you.

After 18 months, the slow group maintained a 3.7kg drop in weight. The moderate group – 7.1kg. And the fast group – 10.9kg.

This means the fast group was 5.1 times more likely to achieve 10% weight loss at 18 months than the slow group!

The message is clear: To lose weight and keep it off requires your game face.

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My experience working with hundreds of clients has shown me that early results boosts motivation and fosters feelings of ‘I can do this!’

You’d be the same, right?

But there’s a catch.

Your fast initial results have to be counterbalanced with realistic long-term expectations.

You can’t sprint like a hare forever (in my experience, a sprint can usually last around six weeks).

Therefore, after a big initial sprint, we recommend a (very unsexy) period of weight loss maintenance.

At Improve Glasgow, we describe this phase as ‘living life at your new weight’.

You can spend a few days or weeks (or even forever if you’ve achieved your goals) eating more food or moving a little less.

After your period of maintenance, you’re in a position to decide on what avenue to explore next: hare, tortoise, or maybe some Frankenstein harey tortoise.

Whatever avenue you choose next is up to you.

I want to reinforce the main point of my animal ramblings: rapid initial weight loss is a powerful tool to help you lose weight and keep it off forever.

But it is equally – if not even more – important to plan how you’ll maintain your results…

Or, eventually, the tortoise will leave you in the dust.

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