My outdoor training group just finished an 8 week challenge. We had 4 focuses:
Fat Loss and a decrease in waist/hip measurements
Getting our plate balanced with protein, vegetables, healthy carbs and a little fat for the 3 main meals.
Increasing strength
Increasing fitness
How did we measure this:
An initial and post fitness assessment including both strength, cardio, agility and endurance.
3 x 1-1 assessments, including measurements (chest, waist, hips, arms, legs), scale weight, going through the food plan and problem solving any challenges.
A specific diet (catered exactly to the client), using Precision Nutrition Software, taking into account height, weight, goals, activity level, training sessions per week, meal frequency and food preferences (eg. vegan/vegetarian/paleo etc).
Weekly "mini-challenges", we focused on changing 1 thing a week to get it right, so it was achievable from the start. For example the first week was drinking 500 ml-1L extra water per day.
Aiming for at least 10,000 steps per day
Strength training in the group at least twice a week
I also gave a monthly "home program"- short training sessions at home as an extra.
We all contributed to the WhatsApp group daily, and took pictures of our meals to stay accountable to "getting our plate right".
Mindset, sleep, and aiming for consistency and not "all or nothing" mindset, also paid a large contribution to overall success.
Weight loss is generally not linear (especially for females), and trusting the process and not giving up when the scale goes in the opposite direction, was a key factor to overall success- to play the long game.
8 weeks is still a short period, but we had excellent results.
The winner lost 6.2kg and 24.5cm total off her body.
The average weight loss for 8 weeks was 3.8kg and around 15.5cm lost.
The people that did both challenges this year (the first one was January, only 6 weeks) and this one included have lost between 6-8kg and 30cm+ and are now in a maintenance phase over summer.
No-one was "perfect", you can't be! There are always events, family dinners, birthdays and night out. But instead of having a "fuck it" mentality, we planned the events into our schedules, choose our foods wisely and filled our plates with veg/salads and lean proteins, managed portion sizes and alcohol consumption.
No-one "suffered" or felt deprived because we didn't start with unrealistic ultra-low calories. We tried what the PN software gave us and worked with it and adjusted where necessary.
No major food groups were cut out - there was nothing extreme, just sensible healthy eating focusing on adequate protein, volume vegetables, wholegrain carbs and a little healthy fat.
Having accountability within the group was a massive factor in achieving success, and having access to a coach and other team members was great for support.
Overall I am very happy with the results of this challenge. They now have the tools to continue to move forward with their weight loss diet or to keep their results (and keep doing what they are doing) for maintenance.
If you have specific goals and have failed many times before, I recommend 100% in getting a coach for accountability, support and results. This is the best way and is an excellent investment in your health.