I Lost 14 lbs & 6.5 Inches In 12 Weeks While Eating Pizza & Drinking Margaritas

I recently underwent a 12-week fat loss phase. During these 3 months, I ate pizza & margaritas, I only worked out 3 times per week, and I didn’t track my calories.

Here are the things I learned:

Embrace boring

I did the same workouts each week. I ate a lot of the same meals throughout the 12 weeks. I had some variety, but I absolutely had staple meals. Having a routine allows us to adjust much easier to interruptions. Boring works & actually gives us more flexibility for fun.

Zoom out

I had multiple stretches of 10+ days when the scale didn’t drop at all. I had days when it spiked up 2+ lbs overnight. The day-to-day fluctuations on the scale can be infuriating and enough to make us want to quit. But, if we zoom out, we can see the overall trend. Don’t get stuck in the day-to-day.

Choose what matters

I love pizza. I love margaritas. Could I have made quicker progress by giving them up? Maybe, but I’m not so sure. By giving myself the freedom to enjoy the things I love, I was way more likely to stick with my plan. Diets fail because we have to give up the things we love. Keep the things that you love & cut out the stuff you can go without.

Consistent is better than perfect

I missed 1.5 weeks in a row of workouts. I was under 7k steps 17 days. I ate at or above maintenance at least once per week. You don’t need to be perfect. Perfection is a prison. Give yourself the freedom to go off plan occasionally. You’re way more likely to stick with it.

Just keep swimming

41 of 84 days my weight either stayed the same or increased. That’s 49% of the days my weight didn’t go down. Many people quit after one or two days of not seeing the scale drop. Quitting only guarantees you one thing: you won’t get there. Don’t quit. Stay patient. You will get there. You can do it. I’m here if you need me.