Every person’s weight loss journey is unique. You have different goals for your weight loss plan and will hit milestones at different times than your friend or spouse who may be joining your weight loss program. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to health and weight loss. And for a program to be most effective, it must be customized to the individual, because you need a plan that’s as unique as you are!
What you need to know about your unique weight loss plan.
When working with health coaches and a medically-supervised weight loss program, your plan will be individualized, making it likely that your weight loss timeline will differ from anyone else. This is why it’s misguided to compare your weight loss to someone else’s, and why you shouldn’t worry if someone is losing weight at a faster rate than you. The reality is, that person may be on a more aggressive weight loss plan based on their lifestyle, goals, travel plans, and more.
However, if you aren’t seeing your desired results, there may be some additional elements that could affect your timeline.
The most common factors that affect a person’s weight loss timeline.
How Age and Sex Impact How Quickly You Lose Weight
Your age and sex are both going to play huge roles in how quickly you lose weight. One of the most unfortunate realities of getting older is that your body starts to slowly break down. You start to lose muscle, your metabolism slows down, and many people also develop hormone deficiencies as they age.
Add that in with family and work obligations, and it becomes a lot tougher to stay on top of your weight loss plan. Added stress from everyday life also takes its toll. Even with a dedicated plan, people over the age of 40 tend to lose weight at a slower rate than those who are younger.
Your sex most likely also affects how fast you can lose weight. While each person’s body type is different, most females will naturally have more fat and less muscle on their bodies than males.
There are also additional factors such as pregnancy and menopause at play here. Pregnancy naturally leads to an increase in body fat, and the stress and lack of sleep from raising a newborn can make it hard to shed extra fat post-pregnancy. And while older men will often have to deal with issues of testosterone deficiency, women also tend to gain weight due to hormone loss from menopause.
Your Activity Level Makes a Difference in How Quickly You Shed the Weight
This may go without saying, but it’s a lot harder to achieve your weight loss goals if you live a sedentary lifestyle.
Your diet undoubtedly plays the biggest role in long-term weight loss and maintenance, but regular exercise is also crucial to get your desired results. The more calories you can burn during your diet plan, the higher your daily calorie deficit will be. Consistently being in a calorie deficit ultimately helps you lose weight.
Ideally, the CDC recommends people spend 150 minutes per week (about 20 minutes per day) doing moderate aerobic activity such as walking. Or if you prefer, 75 minutes per week (about 10 minutes per day) doing vigorous aerobic activity such as jogging or running. It recommends this in addition to at least two days of muscle strength training per week.
We understand that the stresses of everyday life can make it difficult to find time to exercise. In this case, some exercise is better than none at all, and there are creative ways you can reach your activity goals. Some examples include playing with your kids, walking/biking to work, or even just doing simple exercises during moments of downtime.
When it Comes to Weight Loss You Have to Stick to Your Plan, Or You Plan to Fail
Our Forum Health providers and health coaches develop your weight loss plan and help thousands of people achieve their ideal body goals and not just lose weight, but keep it off, too. Our team has a proven process based on the unique needs of each of our clients. This process includes:
- Health Coaching
- Guided meal plans
- All-natural vitamin supplements and weight loss injections
- Medications when appropriate
- Optional protein products
Many people have achieved fantastic results by closely adhering to this routine. But in order to see the results you want, you have to follow this routine in its entirety.
We aren’t going to tell you that you can never have your favorite foods again. In fact, treating yourself every now and again can potentially be a great way to help keep your mental health balanced as you try to lose weight.
Where most people struggle, however, is when those cheat meals turn into cheat days, which can turn into cheat weeks. Suddenly, you’re losing out on all the progress you made up to this point. Along with regular physical activity, sticking closely to your professionally made plan is how to see the best possible results.
The same applies to alcohol consumption. Drinking a fruity cocktail every now and again isn’t the worst thing in the world, but businesses tend to load these drinks with sugar and calories. Therefore, you should only enjoy them infrequently.
If you are going to treat yourself, make sure it’s on rare occasions so that it feels more like a reward. And after that meal or drink, hold yourself accountable and make sure you get right back to your plan.
Make Sure Your Hormones Aren't Working Against You During Your Weight Loss Journey
We touched on this a bit earlier, but your hormonal balance can also have a huge effect on how quickly you lose weight. Hormone deficiencies are directly linked to weight problems and even obesity. If you follow your plan properly and still do not see your desired results, it could mean you have a hormone imbalance.
Our hormones decrease naturally as we age, but even younger patients can have issues with imbalances. In these cases, it may mean that you’re low on natural testosterone or thyroid production. Additionally, many weight loss patients experience insulin resistance.
Fortunately, Forum Health providers can recommend a few different methods to combat these issues. These include Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy (BHRT) and medications. Consult with your provider to determine what is best for you.
For HRT, we start by taking a full blood panel in order to get an accurate gauge of the issues you experience. After a consultation, we develop a treatment plan based on your symptoms and the results of your blood work before beginning therapy.
Don’t Go it Alone!
Our team can help you stay on track with your weight loss journey and meet your goals at every step of the way
