Jackson’s 5 Easy Things That Helped Him Break Through His Fat Loss Plateau
“Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.”
Why isn’t the scale going down?
Jackson just couldn’t get the number to go down. No matter what he tried his scale was stuck at 235. After he made these 5 tweaks, the 10 lbs that he had spent 10 months trying to lose melted off in 10 weeks.
Like many of you, Jackson was already doing 90% of it perfectly. Eating plenty of protein, prioritizing sleep, and training hard. But that pesky 10% was enough to stall his progress and skyrocket his frustration.
The 5 things he changed were simple. You’d probably even say they were easy. Here’s how he did it.
1. No more nuts
Excuse my French, but nuts drive me nuts. They are amazingly healthy, so you’d think they’re a fantastic snack to reach for when trying to lose weight (1). They’re packed full of healthy fat, fiber, and, unfortunately for Jackson, calories.
At 170 calories per ounce, nuts are extremely calorically dense. A few handfuls throughout the day can amount to 400-500 calories. Do this every day of the week, that’s an extra 3500 calories just from this teeny tiny snacking habit.
Jason drastically reduced his nut intake and started measuring his serving size. The result? Faster fat loss.
2. Reduced snacking
Nuts weren’t Jackson’s only downfall. In between meals, he would munch away on cereal, granola, and whatever else Pam, his fiancé, would stock the cupboards with.
Here’s the thing about snacks. They’re usually low in protein, not very filling, and almost always eaten mindlessly. Just like the nuts, a few “harmless” handfuls here and there can make the difference between weight loss and a stubborn plateau.
To lose weight more quickly, reduce your snacking. If you’re hungry, take the time to fill up with a meal chock full of protein, fruits, and vegetables.
3. More omelettes
Hold the phone here. You’re telling me that Jackson lost weight by eating more?
You bet. Unlike his new waistline, this one was massive.
By filling up on protein and healthy fats early in his day, Jackson squashed hunger later on. On days he would get sucked into work and not eat until lunch, he would find himself ravenous by the mid afternoon. Cue 1,000 calories of cashews and Cheerios
Eat more to eat less. Get ahead of your hunger by eating more protein and fiber (2, 3). If you do, you’ll eat fewer calories overall and finally get the scale to budge.
4. Added 1 resistance training workout per week
When trying to lose fat, lifting weights should be your bread and butter (perhaps not the best analogy for a weight loss article, but I digress).
Before, Jackson did the bare minimum to see results with resistance training - about 2x/week. By increasing his frequency by 50% to 3x/week, he gained more muscle and strength. He also boosted his weekly calorie burn.
Resistance training is beneficial because you’ll burn calories during and after the workout (3). A win-win.
Muscle is metabolically active tissue. The more muscle you have, the more calories you’ll burn at rest. To bust through a weightloss plateau you can’t go wrong with pumping more iron.
5. Laced up his walking sneakers
Put yourself in Jackson’s (walking) shoes.
You finish work at 6, make and eat dinner, and plop down on the couch at 7. It’s -15 degrees outside, pitch black, and your coach wants you to get between 8-10k steps every day. You check your Apple Watch, thinking maybe you snuck in 8k throughout the day. It reads 5k.
Drat.
If you think you’d throw on your parka and get the rest of your steps in, you’re either lying to yourself or have the willpower of a Navy Seal (4). Jackson used 2 strategies to overcome the “last thing in the entire galaxy I want to do is get off the couch right now” barrier.
Got his steps early in the day
Paired his activity with entertainment
Jackson gave it his all to surpass that 8k mark before the post-dinner lull. He went for walks in the morning or snuck in jogs before Pam took her famous casserole out of the oven for dinner.
If he did wait until the evening, he bribbed himself with episodes of House or a Knicks game to hop on the elliptical for 30 minutes.
I know what you’re thinking - wouldn’t watching the Knicks be the ultimate deterrent? (5). Believe it or not, Jackson’s a ride or die fan. By distracting himself with entertainment, he was able to muster up the energy to knock out his cardio sessions.
8-10k steps/day is 56-70k steps/week. That’s a ton of activity and calorie burn. Keeping daily activity high is your secret weapon for consistent fat loss.
Wrap Up
Nuts
Snacks
Omelets
Dumbbells
Sneakers
Can you believe these 5 simple changes made all the difference for Jackson’s weight loss?
We have a common theme here. Seemingly insignificant habits add up over the long term. Just like snacking on nuts or snacking on snacks can ruin progress, squeezing in an extra workout and getting your steps in can accelerate it.
The tricky part about fat loss is that you can do most things correctly and still not make progress. If you’re missing one or two pieces, you’ll never complete the puzzle.
If you need advice on piecing it all together to break through your own plateau, I’d love to help.
Message me or email me any time. My number one goal is to help you get healthier and look better. Really, don’t hesitate. I love this stuff.
Just drop me a line :)
