Lucy’s Online Weight Loss Coaching Testimonial:
“Before starting online weight loss coaching with Hayley, I would try these crazy diets that I just couldn’t stick to. My weight would fluctuate and I would feel guilty after over indulging. However Hayley has massively helped me to over come that.
I found the support super helpful, and have learnt so much about good habits and nutrition and fitness. Hayley has taught me to find the positives out of my week, and to not dwell on the negatives.
I have really appreciated the positive outlook I’ve been guided to create around food. It’s helped me to not feel guilty about eating certain foods, and allow myself to have those small pleasures in life without over-indulging and regretting it the next day.
This was a game changer for me, and I feel a lot happier within myself for it. I have learned a lot about the kind of foods and meals that work well for me on my fat loss journey.
Hayley has been a great motivation when it comes to exercise as well, I stuck to her plans and found I was getting stronger each week. This has been the longest that I have been consistently active. Previously, I would have stopped eating well and exercising after about 1 month but I have managed to stay consistent for 4 months now.
Without Hayley I don’t think I would be where I am now… I lost 1st in 3 months and have noticed significant differences in my body and my mindset.
What have I achieved in 4 months of online weight loss coaching
1. Completed C25K
2. ran a 5k in 30mins
3. Gone to the gym consistently
4. Did my first ever park run
5. Lost 1stone
6. Consistently eating more fruit and veg
7. Made a lot more healthy meal choices
8. Only had a few binge-eating sessions in 4 months when they used to be every night
I have really found the support super helpful.
And have learnt so much about good habits and nutrition and fitness. It has been a great motivator to help build the consistency I wanted to have.
I have really appreciated the positive outlook Hayley has around foods. It’s helped me to not feel guilty about eating certain foods, and allow myself to have those small pleasures in life without over-indulging and regretting it the next day.
I am really pleased with how much more active I have become. Running 5k in 30mins has made me very happy, and I’m proud consistently running outdoors now, as well as still going to the gym and weight training.
Gaining more knowledge about the kinds of foods I should be eating for health and weight loss has helped a lot too. I feel as though I know what to plan for, and I’m pleased that I’m generally eating more fruit and vegetables as I used to avoid them.
It’s a brilliant feeling to be 1 stone lighter than I was. I have noticed a significant difference in my body, particularly around my face (which is great for photos :D). Thank you Hayley!”
Online Weight Loss Coaching Tips for Success
If you’re reading this and wanting similar results, here is some more in depth info on the key points that helped:
Planning and mindfully enjoying the foods you love
To lose weight and keep it off for good, you need to lose it in a way you can live it.
That means planning in less healthy foods you love, and enjoying them guilt-free.
Having experienced various diets, Virginia found this concept really helpful. Nothing off limits – just make sure you slowly and mindfully enjoy every bite.
So often we feel guilty for eating foods, or binge on them mindlessly when we’re stressed.
If you love it, plan it in.
Give yourself time to get the most from it – noticing each delicious bite and stopping when you’ve had enough. You can always have more later.
Seeing it this way can remove the ‘f*** it’ mentality of deciding to eat it all now before you have to ‘start again’.
It can also help to think about saving calories for the best of what you love. Planning in the treats that feel most worth it to you can help you say no to other choices that are ‘nice’ but not ‘awesome’.
Over time, saying no to the generic choices that aren’t that amazing can save you a considerable amount of calories, that wouldn’t have made you feel great anyway. Some of those can be ‘spent’ on your favourite indulgences, and some can be ‘banked’ for weight loss.
Tracking food, habits and progress
When it comes to weight loss, there is so much more to track than just your weight.
For success, we need to keep track of habits. The biggest impact will come from your food (and drink) intake, so it’s really important to keep a record of this. By doing so, you can see where to make small doable changes.
These are ideas for what you can track when it comes to health and fitness:
Metrics
- Weight – not the only form of data and always not the most reliable (as it’s affected by hormones, carbs, salt, sleep, stress and more) but still important.
- BMI – seeing this drop towards the healthy weight zone can be a good motivator for some.
- Measurements – sometimes your weight won’t change much for a few weeks or more, but your measurements show that things are happening. My clients take waist, hips, arms and thigh measurements every 2-4 weeks.
- Item of clothing – not strictly ‘data’ but trying on something that’s a bit tight, and feeling it start to fit you better, is another good way of tracking progress. Many of my clients like this method the most.
Key habits
- Food intake – obviously extremely important when it comes to weight loss. Keeping a food diary or using an app such as ‘my fitness pal’ can both work very well. Virginia found that the ‘my fitness pal’ app was the post effective tool for her. It enabled her to find ways to increase her protein intake, which helped with reducing cravings, and staying fuller for longer. And it empowered her to fit in some favourite less healthy foods, while making a few tweaks to other choices, to help balance things out.
- Steps – using a fitbit or other step tracker will help boost your general activity, and can significantly improve both general heath and weight loss.
- Training – keeping track of your strength and fitness, and aiming to improve them over time, is hugely motivating. My online weight loss coaching clients have a training plan on an app, that enables them to record their sets, repetitions, and weights used. Adding repetitions or weight when you can means gaining strength, and building or maintaining muscle. This increases your metabolism, helps you tone up, and brings a host of other benefits – more explained below.
Protein
Eating more protein keeps you fuller for longer, and reduces cravings for snacks, which is something Virginia found particularly helpful.
Protein is also the building block of our muscles, helping us stay strong and recover from exercise.
From around the age of 30, we gradually start to lose muscle mass, and this accelerates after menopause. We also become less efficient at digestion and using protein as we get older.
So for optimal health and body function, we need to make sure we’re eating enough of this vital macronutrient.
How much is enough?
If we’re being specific, 1.5g per kg of your ideal bodyweight is a good number to aim for.
Higher or slightly lower than this is fine too. For example, if your ideal weight is 65kg (10 stone 3lbs, or 143lbs):
65 x 1.5 = 97.5g
For most women, 90-120g protein is a good range.
If you’re not counting grams, aim for a palm size serving of protein in each meal (you could also have a high protein snack, like Greek yogurt with fruit, or a protein shake.
Resistance Training
Such a powerful tool for weight loss, and for living your best life.
Resistance training helps you build and maintain muscle – keeping your body strong, protecting your bones, and boosting your metabolism.
It also helps you see noticeable changes in your figure, and get the ‘toned’ feeling that boosts confidence and makes you feel amazing in clothes you love.
To get the most out of resistance training, it’s really important to aim to get stronger. You can do this by adding repetitions or increasing the weight over time.
Don’t worry – you won’t get big bulky muscles. As women, we only have 10% of the muscle-building hormone testosterone that men have. You can build more if you want to – you just have to work hard and consistently to do it. It won’t happen by accident.
What lifting weights will do, is help you strengthen, shape, and maintain the muscle you have.
And the more muscle you have, the more calories your body burns each day.
What are the best exercises to do?
Doing big compound movements (exercises that work lots of muscles and multiple joints) like squats, deadlifts, push ups, rows, presses and pulldowns, is the most effective use of your time.
These moves keep you strong and able to do all the movements the human body is designed to do.
You’ll be less likely to suffer aches and pains, and more likely to be enjoying life to the full for decades to come.
Training at the gym is fantastic for being able to use a variety of equipment and keep building strength, but you can get a lot out of workouts at home too.
The majority of my clients are busy working mums and do resistance training at home to save time.
There are plenty of ideas, in the form of videos and infographics, on my Instagram page – @hayleyplummerpt
And to find useful home training equipment, check out my store page HERE.
For more help and inspiration…
Virginia found my podcast helpful for working on her mindset around weight loss, as well as learning more about nutrition, building habits, and the benefits of strength training for women.
It’s on all podcast platforms, and you can find it on Spotify via this link:
Think Healthy with Hayley podcast
If you’d love support, accountability and guidance to lose weight in a healthy, sustainable and enjoyable way (yes, this is possible!), find out more about online coaching here: