How to lose 66 pounds in 30 weeks - Motivation
June 20, 2023 • 14 min read
Lose weight and build muscle simultaneously in record time. To be disciplined, and that in difficult phases, is a challenge that many fail. Therefore, this article describes Peter's motivation and what mindhacks he uses to achieve his goals. At first glance, working out and dieting are the deciding factors in weight loss and muscle building. But the best plans and intentions will not help you, if you don't have the willpower to put them into practice. This article, therefore, is about how you can motivate yourself to achieve your goals and what strategies Peter used in particularly difficult situations to avoid going off course.
-66 lbs in just 30 weeks while gaining muscle
The most important of all questions - Why?
Abstaining from sweets and fast food, lifting heavy weights, strenuous and sweaty running sessions paired with occasional hunger pangs, which is accompanied by unsatisfied cravings. This is by far not a complete list of conditions that you will be confronted with, at least in phases, if you want to lose weight in the long term and possibly also build up muscles. And it is particularly unpleasant on the so-called "bad days", when bad moods, malaise, bad weather and the feeling that somehow nothing wants to work out are added to the mix.
Of course, everything is a matter of observation, a question of perspective. And yet, at this point, you have to ask yourself why you should step out of your comfort zone. Why would you put yourself through all that when life offers so many conveniences that are so convenient to get. Of course, there is a simple and pragmatic answer to this: "for the sake of my health". Unfortunately, we humans are programmed in such a way that this "why" is a poor motivator for us and makes us act only in acute cases.
You will achieve your goals, you will definitely lose weight if you have good reasons, if you can answer the "why" for yourself. It's best to write these down right now and ideally place them somewhere you can see them regularly. In the following, Peter lets us look deep into his thoughts and describes what his "why" is. To help you put yourself in his shoes, the article is written in first-person perspective at appropriate points.
This is the reason for Peter's success
What is required externally to lose weight and build muscle, should be known to everyone in the basics. It is, especially in the beginning, demanding, exhausting, occasionally frustrating, depriving, and at the same time not necessarily conducive to a socially acceptable lifestyle. So I must have had a solid motivational base at the time of my diet to be able to pull it off in such a short time. In my starting position, I weighed 251 pounds with a height of 6.1 feet. As a result, climbing stairs was anything but pleasant for me. I also started sweating very quickly, especially in the summer. Due to my specific body fat distribution, normal jeans hardly fit me; stretch pants also reached their limits and put correspondingly strong pressure on my lower body. Lethargy and fatigue were my constant companions; an active and conscious lifestyle looks different! Also, my outward appearance was anything but appealing. In photos, my face looked extremely round and puffy; there was no trace of cheekbones.
To be honest, those physical limitations still wouldn't have motivated me enough to get out of my comfort zone to do what I ended up doing. It was much more idealistic goals and a hobby, which I practiced at the time, that motivated me, or rather excited me.
Lose fat and build muscle at the same time!
A very clichéd motivation is summer and the topless appearance in the outdoor pool that causes many to hit the gyms in the spring, only to throw in the towel shortly thereafter. I have to admit that it never interested me and I think it is a very poor source of motivation. It simply has no intrinsic value. Even as a kid, I was always doing some sort of sport, whether it was table tennis, skating, basketball, boxing, and ultimately working out at the gym. I'm particularly fond of the latter, mainly because it can be done independently of other people and at the same time practically regardless of the time of day. Also, the results are measurable, either by increasing the training weights and visible muscle growth. From my perspective, this sport has a fascinating aesthetic and an amazing simplicity about it.
Finally, I decided not only to train like a fitness athlete or bodybuilder, but also to look roughly like one. I wanted to reach a "milestone" for myself or, figuratively speaking, "get to the point" at least for once. In addition, at the time I was lucky enough to have a good friend who was also doing bodybuilding, with at least the same zeal, as I did. This allowed us to engage in friendly competition with each other and spurred each other on. So I prepared everything for a diet, both in terms of training and nutrition. I was also "really up for it" and mentally imagined what I would probably look like in the foreseeable future. And yet, that initial enthusiasm would not have been enough to get me through the most difficult stages of dieting and training.
The power of habit
No matter what you want to achieve in life, it must become a habit beforehand. If you want to be good at playing the piano, you need to develop the habit of practicing the piano regularly. If you want to be a good soccer player, you have to play soccer regularly. This list could be continued ad infinitum, but I think you understand the principle. Such a habit must be as natural as brushing your teeth or lacing your shoes, only then it will become self-propelling and at the same time you will have less, or even no, difficulties in challenging phases.
Now, to apply this principle to a dietary change, I would advise you to change your diet in small steps. For example, as a first step, you could change your breakfast to a healthy alternative. I would leave the rest of the diet unchanged so that you have enough time to make preparing and eating breakfast a habit. Since your dietary changes and your weight loss successes should be long-term, you can take your time with the change. For example, you might not target the next meal, such as lunch, for 1-2 weeks.
Lose weight quickly and effectively with the right motivation!
In this way, you can easily, effectively, and somewhat stress-free replace bad habits with good habits in a sustainable way. The most important thing to remember here is that it is these habits that will make the difference between success and failure. Even if it does not seem obvious at first glance: the foundation of "motivation" is habit! If you want to delve deeper into this topic, I recommend the book Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones.
Use the fear of failure to your advantage!
Fear is a very unpleasant emotion and basically we want to avoid it. At the same time, fear is a very powerful emotion that can make us do things we wouldn't do right away or at all without it. Fear has the power to make things important and urgent. So if fear creates a very deep emotional state, why don't we just use it to our advantage?
Put it out there!
We work more effectively, more conscientiously and more decisively when we are accountable to someone, that is, when someone is figuratively looking over our shoulders. This means for you: if you want to achieve something that would be a great accomplishment for you, then let those around you know. Announce it to your family, friends, acquaintances and possibly even on social media. And do it with a factual determination without using relativizing phrases that you could use as loopholes. The advantage is obvious: if you fail now, it will not remain hidden and anonymous. Failure due to lack of discipline thus becomes a public embarrassment and for us humans, saving face with our social group is a big concern. This is an incredibly powerful driving force and you'll be amazed at how easy your diet and workouts will be from this point on!
Program your brain for success with this trick
Each of us has nerve cells or neurons in the brain that belong to the category of mirror neurons. These become active when you perform an action, observe it, or even think about it exclusively. This sounds a bit abstract and dry, which is why you are probably asking yourself how this will help you.
Professional athletes and experts in their respective fields, such as chess players, are not only actively engaged in their profession, but also passively. A soccer player watches other soccer games, has his home decorated with soccer decorations such as jerseys, and listens to podcasts from other soccer players while driving. While talking to his friends, who presumably also play soccer, he talks about soccer. Even though the dynamics are completely different, chess players engage with chess itself, for example by watching others play and reading books about strategy. The principle behind these two examples should have become understandable and can be applied to any other thing you want to become good at or even very good at.
Speed up fat loss with the right strategies!
Through these different activities, the mirror neurons in your brain become active! You virtually condition yourself to perform the respective activities with pleasure and enthusiasm. So ideally, you can actively use this strategy to increase your motivation. To put this advice into action, you could regularly watch or listen to videos, podcasts and the like of your role models. Also, it helps you to write down your goals and read them regularly as well as visualize them.
Here's what you need to know to succeed in the long run
"Motivation" is very often seen as something static and given that successful people are born with. At the same time, this misconception is used as an excuse why something cannot be achieved. "I just don't have the motivation" or "if I only had your motivation, I could do it". But after reading this article up to this point, it should have become clear that motivation is not a genetic condition. Everyone can gain motivation and at the same time motivation can also diminish over time if it is not strengthened; an English proverb describes this fact very well: "what you don't use, you lose". So you are in control of how motivated you want to be. So work on your motivation regularly and achieve your goals!
Although it may sound a bit cliché, practiced phrases and sayings that have a motivating effect on you personally can tip the scales in your favor. Especially during a motivational low, a depressing day, or simply in a crisis situation, mentally focusing on uplifting formulas can have an incredibly positive effect. In the following, I present some such quotes and sayings as examples.
- He who conquers himself is the mightiest warrior.
- People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily.
- Opportunities don't happen, you create them.
- Don't let someone else's opinion of you become your reality.
- I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions.
Great things are done by a series of small things brought together
The heading of this section is a figure of speech that summarizes the content of this short section very well. Simply put, this saying means that any large and sometimes complex problem is solvable if it is worked on in many small chunks. "Divide et impera" is the Latin phrase, "teile und herrsche" in German, and finally "divide and conquer" in English. You should have already encountered this strategy in the course of this text. Above I recommended you not to change every meal, your entire diet, at once, but to proceed progressively from meal to meal. This approach can make solving any kind of problem much easier. Apply it today as you reach your next goal!
Lift your mood with this trick
We occasionally feel uncomfortable, annoyed or dissatisfied, and all too often we think it's because of the things we desire but don't have. But in doing so, we do not realize that the reason for our discomfort is not the situation we are in, but our thoughts and judgments about it. Both the philosophers in ancient Greece and modern psychology have concluded that bad moods or even depression are not caused by objective facts, but by our opinions about circumstances. Consequently, it is not the "things" that make us unhappy, but solely our thoughts.
This subject is very complex and extensive, so this section can only outline it in broad terms at best. In the following, you will nevertheless receive an effective strategy to be able to sustainably lift your mood and motivation. This comes from the stoic doctrine of ancient Greek philosophy, which is also used in Western psychology. This is about "gratitude", in English we speak of "practicing gratitude". What does gratitude mean in this context? We imagine things we have and focus on what it would be like if we didn't have them or even lost them. This applies equally to related parties and circumstances. This is the opposite of desire, which is imagining what it would be like to have things that we do not possess. Here, the former has an uplifting effect, while the latter leads to a negative mood. You could resolve to think of 10 things each day that you are grateful for. Of course, you can do this silently in your mind, which also has a meditative effect. Interestingly, one can prove a positive health effect, which even has an impact on our cardiovascular system.
This information, especially that on Stoic doctrine, comes from the book How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius, which I highly recommend to you as well.
What did you learn in this article?
You have seen in this article how Peter managed to lose 66 pounds in 30 weeks through a mental adjustment and self-motivation and that while building muscle at the same time. Also, you now have a repertoire of motivational techniques that will help you turn your goals into reality.
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Lose Weight and Build Muscle
You read articles like this one because you have real goals. You want to achieve something, something that is important to you. You want to lose some weight to feel more comfortable, to be healthier, or to please yourself more. You want to build up muscles in order to have a slim and beautiful physique in the future. Supplements can be very helpful here, but at the end of the day, your total daily calories and the macronutrient distribution make the difference between success and failure!
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Total Calories and Macronutrient Distribution
To stay on track, you need to control your calories and keep an eye on them. But also the macronutrient distribution, i.e. the ratio of eaten protein, carbohydrates and fats, is extremely important. Determining these values daily by hand in a spreadsheet is very time-consuming and frustrating. To help you out, I'm providing you with a 100% free calorie counter app. It also helps you to log your weight and analyze it graphically. What are you waiting for? Start NOW!
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