The big secret

Ok, so there probably isn't going to be a big secret to fat loss in this email.

I had a huge number of new people join the email list yesterday after I shared those images.

This makes me think that a lot of people were curious about how I changed my body over the last two months.

I was in a calorie deficit.

But it was an *easy* calorie deficit.

Too many people try and force themselves into a hard calorie deficit.

Things that made it easy:

1. I have a lot of muscle. While your BMR isn't raised *that* much by more muscle, it does help you look leaner by having more visible muscle.

2. I'm doing training I enjoy and actually want to show up for. If you are training in a way that is changing your body composition but you hate it, how long do you think those results will last?

3. I counted calories for a while. I've been at this game years and I rarely want to actively get smaller but I arrived in London after two months on the piss, so I thought it might be a good idea to track again for a while. This helps me be more mindful when choosing food. I've since stopped tracking because I'm happy as I am and know how to balance my nutrition.

4. I made sure not to sacrifice any social events. I had no end-point or goal size/weight/measurements. I wanted to just get back to feeling "myself". So I still went to all the events and dinners that I was invited to. I just roughly tracked the food/drink and didn't care if it meant I was in a surplus for the week.

5. My NEAT (non exercises activity thermogenesis) is a lot higher in London than the previous two months. I walk/cycle most places, and even the train stations are a bit of a walk away. One of the weeks I averaged 25,000 steps and that didn't include a few BJJ classes were I don't wear the watch!

6. There is a lot of convenient, nutrient-dense food in London. The calories are displayed on most foods too - which I find really helpful most of the time.

If you are trying to make changes to your body - look at your environment.

Maybe you can't make changes to your environment ("hold on I move to London!"), but if you can shape your environment or way of life to make it easier to make choices in line with your goals, then implement them.

Set yourself up to win.

Telling yourself you are going to do gruelling workouts all week, and stay in all weekend because you are hashtag-disciplined, is just pointless.

Unless you are some super-motivated person all year round, then you are probably setting yourself up to fail with that method.

If you need help finding the easy route, join us in The Furnace this week and get help finding the right goals and environment for you.

If you've any questions about the program, feel free to reply!

Thanks for reading,

Siobhan "Always takes the easy road" O'Hagan