Saturday was our third Transformation HQ Shoot of the year.
So good luck to everyone doing it.
There’ll be a right mixture of feelings tomorrow.
Some people will look at their photos and think:
“Bloody hell. I’ve done well there.”
Others will be happy for about four seconds before zooming straight in on the one bit they still want to improve.
And someone will definitely think:
“I’m not ready yet.”
That’s the funny thing about getting in better shape.
Six months ago, you might have bitten someone’s hand off to look how you do now.
Then you get there.
And suddenly you want a bit more.
Progress moves the goalposts.
Which got me thinking about something from earlier this year.
I was walking the city walls in Dubrovnik and went right up to one of the towers.
It was roasting.
By the time I got to the top I was sweating, out of breath and starting to wonder if walking the walls should count as that day’s training session.
Getting back down wasn’t one big staircase.
You’d go down a few steps.
Then along a wall.
Through an opening.
Flat for a bit.
Then another staircase.
Down again.
And actually, that’s probably a better picture of long-term weight loss than the one most people have in their heads.
Because we expect a ski slope.
Start here.
Diet.
Weight comes flying down.
Hit your target.
Job done.
Real life doesn’t usually work like that.
Your weight probably didn’t go on like that either.
You didn’t go to bed at 12 stone one Tuesday and wake up at 15 stone on Wednesday.
It was probably three pounds here.
Another few pounds over Christmas.
A holiday.
A busy couple of months where training went to pot.
Another summer.
Another Christmas.
Then eventually you see a photo and think:
“Christ. When did that happen?”
So why do we expect to undo three or four years of that in 12 weeks?
Think stairs, not ski slopes!
Say you’re 15 stone and you’d eventually like to get closer to 13.
You don’t necessarily need to attack the full two stone in one go.
Get down to 14.
That’s a good result.
Then, instead of immediately deciding you need to lose another stone, you might be better staying there for a while.
And I mean actually staying there.
Not finishing your diet on Friday and spending the next six weeks eating like you’ve just been released from prison.
Bring your food back up.
Keep training three times a week.
Keep moving.
Get stronger.
Go for a curry.
Have a few glasses of wine.
Go on holiday.
Get through a birthday weekend.
Basically, learn how to have a normal life without marching straight back up the stairs you’ve just come down.
Your weight might come up a pound or two.
Don’t panic.
Eating more food, having more carbs and simply having more food sitting in your body can move the scales.
It doesn’t automatically mean you’ve suddenly put all the fat back on.
What matters is what happens next.
Can you stay roughly there?
Because that’s the bit people don’t give themselves enough credit for.
Losing a stone is great.
Still having that stone off six months later is arguably the better result.
You’ve learned how to live there.
Fourteen stone isn’t your “diet weight” anymore.
It’s just roughly what you weigh now.
You’ve lowered your normal.
Then, if you want to, go again
Maybe you stay there for three months.
Maybe six.
You’re eating more.
Training is going well.
You’ve got stronger.
You’re not thinking about food every five minutes.
Then you decide:
“Right. I fancy another push.”
So you lose another half stone.
Then stop again.
Another landing.
Get good at living there.
That’s the bit I want people doing tomorrow’s Shoot to remember.
You might look at your photos and realise you’ve still got more you want to do.
Fine.
You don’t have to do all of it tomorrow.
And you don’t have to keep dieting until you’re completely sick of the sight of chicken, potatoes and MyFitnessPal.
You can take some progress.
Keep it.
Then go again later.
You might also look at your photos and decide you’re happy exactly where you are.
Also fine.
There’s no trophy for becoming the lightest person in your town.
The goal isn’t to keep losing weight forever.
For most people, it’s to get into good shape and actually stay somewhere close to it while having a life.
September is a decent time to sort yourself out.
Summer’s pretty much done.
Kids are going back to school.
Holidays are slowing down.
You’ve got nearly four months before Christmas.
That’s a decent chunk of time.
And you don’t need some massive transformation goal to make use of it.
You might want to lose a stone.
You might just want to get back into training properly.
Maybe you’ve been doing two sessions when you know you should be doing three.
Maybe your weekday food is decent but every Friday at 5pm you seem to turn into a Labrador that’s found an unattended buffet.
Pick something.
Then make it specific.
“I need to get back on it” means nothing.
“I’ll train Monday, Wednesday and Saturday for the next four weeks” does.
“I’ll get more steps” means nothing.
“I’m averaging 5,500 now. I’ll get that above 7,500” gives you something to work with.
Then tell somebody what you’re doing.
Your partner.
A mate.
Your coach.
Someone at the gym.
Nothing dramatic.
Just:
“I’m getting myself sorted before Christmas. I’m aiming for X.”
Now there’s a little bit of accountability attached to it.
Also, have a plan for the weeks that go to crap.
Because they will.
If you normally train three times and work goes mental, what’s the minimum?
Two sessions?
Fine.
If you don’t have time to cook Tuesday night, what’s the backup instead of ordering £28 worth of food because you’re starving?
Have something in the freezer.
If you’re 3,000 steps short, can you get out for 20 minutes after tea?
You don’t need a perfect Plan A.
You need a decent Plan B.
Keep an eye on the basics as well.
Training sessions.
Steps.
Calories and protein if you’re tracking them.
That’s enough for most people.
And once a week, have a quick look at how you’re actually doing.
Not how you think you’re doing.
Did you train three times?
What did your steps average?
How many days did you actually hit your food target?
Where did things go wrong?
Then fix that bit next week.
One bad week doesn’t matter much.
Three bad months because you kept saying “I’ll sort it Monday” does.
Finally, decide what you’d genuinely be pleased with by December.
A stone off?
Those jeans fitting again?
Three sessions every week?
Getting your first proper press-up?
Being stronger than you are now?
Feeling decent when someone gets their phone out for the Christmas photos instead of suddenly volunteering to take every picture?
Pick yours.
You don’t have to change everything by Christmas.
Just get yourself to the next landing.
Then get bloody good at staying there.
Think stairs, not ski slopes.
-Ryan
P.S
If you know what your next landing needs to be, but you’re not quite sure how to get there, that’s exactly what we help with.
Have a look at our 6 Week Meltdown, see how it works and if it sounds like a good fit, you can take it from there.
Find Out More 👋