Hi there and welcome to the podcast at changeyourlifeforever. It’s Scott your host talking. And today I wanted to talk to you about weight loss and kind of, you probably don’t need to listen to me about it, but I’m gonna tell you my story. Anyway, So on, my blog. you know, five years ago I started off on my own transformation journey because I kinda got told by my wife that she didn’t want me anymore.
I was overweight at the time as well by about five stone cuz I’d been living in London and eating too much rich food, going out, drinking and having a bit of fun and I’m working hard and playing hard.
So during that time I actually decided that enough was enough and even though the breakup was gonna happen, I decided I just needed to change everything about my life.
And part of that was, was kind of weight loss, but it wasn’t something I concentrated on, it was just something that happened to be honest with you because I just started walking every day for hours and hours and hours.
Just to try and filter all the demonic thoughts I had really in my head to be honest about the relationship, about it falling apart, about my daughter, about what I was gonna do with life and stuff.
And it kind of then kindada, then it went a bit extreme. And in the videos as part of the transformation program, you’ll see kind of how skinny I went. And I, I was walking probably two, three hours a day up and through the hills. I was then training for an hour and a half. I was chopping wood all day. I was then going out as well at night on the bike for an hour and a half. And it really was a fitness journey and you know, that for the majority of people just isn’t achievable.
I mean, at the time obviously because my wife had moved out and left me, I didn’t have any responsibility anymore for my daughter on a day-to-day basis. So I really didn’t have a lot more to do So I kind of flung myself into it. But then later on I met my new wife and as you do, you start gaining a few pounds and I’ve been training for years and years to be honest. And I’ve been in the gym every morning at 6:30 training hard and going another level.
And what I’ve actually realized is that actually training that hard doesn’t necessarily contribute to weight loss. Now I have a Fitbit and all the other stuff and everything else and, you know, training that hard, you would think burning 10,000 calories a week through exercise, you would start to lose weight. But as you age, and I’m 50 now, things don’t work the way they do when you are young and some of the advice that younger people can give you doesn’t necessarily work as you get older, unfortunately.
So kind of in the mornings I see lots of people coming in the gym and you know, they throw themselves around with the new crazes, doing as many burpees as they can, you know, throwing themselves into weird positions and sweating like anything and then you never see them again. And I think the reason being is I know when I was overweight trying to do things like burpees, trying to do some of these exercise programs that people talk about is just too hard. You’re putting yourself under too much pressure and you’re putting yourself under too much strain as well.
You know, your body isn’t meant to to be doing that stuff because it’s not meant to be carrying the weight that you are under. Now I’m not saying it’s wrong to do it, I’m just saying that I wouldn’t do it for the reasons that I just said. And a calorie is a calorie, whether it’s a chocolate bar, whether it’s an apple, whether it’s a salad, it’s still a calorie. So whatever the total calorie content is of that food is what you’re gonna eat.
And if you have between 1500 and 2000 allowance of calories a day, then anything that you’ve burnt on top of that in regards to exercise is additional. But what I’ve found is that the harder That you train, the more That you tend to eat because you get hungry. So trying to maintain a calorie deficit, which is what you need to actually lose weight is hard. So if you’re burning naturally 2000 calories a day, then you need to be eating around 1500 calories.
But what I’ve found is that lighter exercise is much better because again, in exercise, a calorie is a calorie. So the the harder That you go at it, the fitter you will get. So I’m absolutely fit is a fiddle cuz I play football twice a week as well, still even at the age of 50. And that’s another story cuz I keep injuring myself, which is why I’ve changed the way I train as well.
If you go on a walk, for 45 minutes you will burn around 300 calories. If you did the same distance in a run, you’d probably burn 500 calories. So the more effort That you put in, you’re gonna burn more calories obviously, but you’re gonna put your body under more strain. And if you’re actually overweight putting your body under that much strain, will probably put you off actually doing it because you will be exhausted, you’ll be aching and you won’t find it fun. So some people say that, you know, walking is no good for losing weight, of course it is because a calorie is a calorie when it is burnt in anyway.
It doesn’t matter how you burn it. And actually, you know, my brother’s a proper body builder and I used to do a bit of that myself when I was younger and we used to have to lift really heavy weights and I stopped doing that because I wanted to be more motivated around fitness. Now he’s still doing it, but he’s got bad hips, he’s got a bad back, he’s got injuries in his arms and stuff because naturally we’re not meant to be lifting that heavy So. I’ve completely changed my aspect of weight loss now it’s changed massively in regards to what I do.
So what I do at the gym now is just flexibility and mobility, which is a combination of just body weight exercises, stretching and mobility. Because I sit down all day cuz I’m working in the office. Then, you get so tight, it’s untrue. And that’s why I kept injuring myself when I started playing football again because I just wasn’t flexible enough and my hips were out and my achilles tendons, my calves and all sorts of things just snapped. But remembering a calorie, is a calorie I can go to the gym at half six in the morning and do an hours workout using flexibility and mobility.
I’m not exhausted but I feel as if my body is free because I’ve stretched it. I’ve put it under some good strain. I’ve had a good workout, I’ve burnt around 300 to 400 calories, but I will continue to be in calorie deficit for the next hour or whatever. Anyway, so you get about 500 calories just from that stretch and just from that relaxing, just from taking it easy in the morning, then you just go for a walk. If you go for a walk for 45 minutes, you’ll probably burn 250 to 300 calories.
So that’s on flat ground. So again, that’s about 800 to 900 calories burnt per day. That’s a lot of calories in regards to allowing you to have that deficit without putting your body under too much strain because the strain I put my body under is playing football on a Monday for an hour and a half and playing football on a Thursday for an hour and a half. But I don’t want my body to be constantly exhausted, which is what I used to do. I used to think the more I exercise, the harder I went at it, the better I’d feel and the more weight I’d lose.
And actually my weight never shifted because like I said, I was just hungry. So, I had snacks a lot of the time. But now what I do is I work it out so my, my body can take it and so can my lifestyle. So. I don’t eat before I go to the gym because I’m not doing a massive big push it workout, I’m just doing flexibility and mobility. So I’m not hungry when I wake up. And they do say That, you shouldn’t eat when you wake up cuz you should wait for your digestive system to get to work first. So by the time I get back from the gym is about two hours later and I just have some fruit because fruit is good for you despite what people say.
Then later on I just have a 500 calorie lunch or less, some tuna and pasta or a nice salad or a nice wrap like in a pizza style but I make sure it’s only 500 calories. Then for my tea I eat a nice tea. So some home made curry or home made spaghetti bologaise. But you make sure the portion size is under 500 calories, which actually is quite a lot. If you measure out your pasta a hundred grams or whatever and it’s 180 calories is quite alot in size.
And then your getting protein and your fresh food, because we’re not processing it, we’re making it with fresh tin tomatoes or whatever. You can easily then eat a meal, which is lovely for 500 calories. And then later on you can have a snack of a protein drink or something or a low fat yogurt, which is 150, 200 calories. So you’re below the 2000 calorie deficit. You’re not hungry because you’ve eaten all day and your body’s not exhausted because you’ve kind of not gone at it like a bat out of hell.
I’m actually fitter, I’m losing weight nicely and I feel really good about myself because I’ve been drinking two litres of water at the gym because it makes you thirsty. And then I’ve cut out alcohol. I used to drink every night, a few glasses of wine, but I just decided to knock it on the head because I was feeling a bit cruddy to be honest with you, And. I didn’t realize the impact to stopping drinking would do and I’m now drinking water in the evenings as well.
So you know, look, the the thing is, is if you wanna lose weight then do it sensibly and do it sustainably and do it in a way That you are gonna be able to to make it something That you want to do all the time. You know, I don’t meal prep the whole meals for the week. I think that’s overboard cuz I don’t wanna be a bodybuilder or a mens health fitness guy. I just want to look good for my age and I want to be fit and I want to be mobile and be able to get up and move around and bend over and put me socks on and all that sort of good stuff.
So all it takes sometimes like with the drinking is a decision to go, this is not good for me, this is not good for me and I am gonna change. Cuz people say it’s hard, it’s not hard. The hardest bit is convincing yourself that it isn’t hard and just making a decision. Once you make a conscious decision to do something in your own mind, you will do it. But if you make excuses all the time, you will never do it. So people say to me, why get up at 6:30? because I love it, I enjoy it.
It’s my hour and a half of the day where I can relax, I can enjoy myself and be flexible, you know, mobile and it’s lovely. So you actually look forward to it because it’s something you enjoy. If you think, geez, I’ve gotta go and run 10 miles or I’ve gotta do 300 burpies you’re not gonna look forward to it. So you need to make a conscious decision to look at losing weight in the right way. So it’s sustainable, but make that decision. Just make that decision. I’m gonna make a decision today that I wanna lose weight and I’m gonna do X, Y, Z to do it. A calorie is a calorie out when you eat and a calorie isthat you burn doing any type of exercise. So, I would encourage you all if you are overweight, to get on that journey as soon as possible, you do feel a million times better about yourself.
It improves your confidence, it improves your anxiety levels, And, it makes you a bit happier. I’ve been really grumpy recently and the reason being is because I wasn’t feeling good about myself. And part of that is being a bit overweight, you know, slow at football, not performing. So you have to do something about it, you have to change it. The only person that can do it is you, the only person that can make that conscious decision to go. I am gonna do this. I’m gonna hammer this and I’m not gonna stop until a get where I want to go is you.
No one else will do it for you. So get the motivation if you need it, make that decision in your mind and get out there and go and do it and stick to a sustainable routine and the weight will drop off you. So I. Hope that was a bit of useful advice on my journey so far anyway, and I hope to catch up with you on the transformation program on my blog. So take it very easy. I’ll see you very soon. All my best wishes, Scott.
