What happens when you get everything back?

Research shows that up to 80% of people who lose a significant amount of weight gain it back within a year or two.

This highlights a harsh reality: Losing weight is a challenge, but losing weight can be even harder. Weight gain often occurs due to a complex interplay of factors. These include biological changes that slow metabolism after weight loss, the challenge of maintaining new habits over the long term, life events that disrupt routines, and unrealistic expectations about the weight loss and maintenance process.

But the common struggle with weight gain can also be your path to lasting change.

Jonathan’s Story: A Second Chance at Sustainable Weight Loss

Jonathan enters.

We pride ourselves on leaving our clients better than we found them, including more effective habits, routines, workouts and diets. And at first glance, that seemed to be the case with Jonathan. He worked with us, lost almost 20 pounds and then graduated to a healthier life.

Or so we thought.

In January 2022, Jonathan returned. The weight he lost had come back. Jonathan was frustrated and we got hurt because we didn’t get the job done.

“I came back to Born Fitness for a second time after having a lot of success with the team in 2020, losing 15 to 20 pounds and gaining it back over the course of about a year and a half. I really started to believe the story that I had failed, that I couldn’t get back to where I was and that I had lost the ability to take control of my physical health and appearance.”

Everything about our approach is designed to help people build the skills to adapt to life’s variations. It’s not enough for us to help our clients achieve results; we want everyone to maintain their results and know how to respond and thrive when everything isn’t perfect or easy.

So for the second round we focused more on helping Jonathan get to where he wanted, but without the weight coming back.

Focus on sustainability in weight loss.

This time we not only looked at what worked for him, but also at what was sustainable. It’s the backbone of our approach, but sometimes when you see results it’s easy to stop and wonder if the right habits are being built. It helps you ask the question, “Are we building this for weight loss, or are we building this for real life?”

Or, more importantly, it helps to talk to clients to understand, “What do you think it will take to be healthy now and in the future?”

Jonathan had all the tools, but he began to doubt if he could do it again. His perspective may seem familiar to some of you:

“A lot of my fears and lack of self-confidence stemmed from unrealistic expectations about what would and wouldn’t work to transform my body and achieve my goals.

Eventually I got tired and when I gained weight again I started to not trust my knowledge of what would work for me. In fact, I expected that I would have to make even bigger changes and adjustments this time to achieve my goals after regaining the weight.”

You have been taught to believe that great results are the byproduct of extreme sacrifice and behavior. While the most extreme results (think becoming a professional athlete or competing in a bodybuilding competition) require more sacrifice, the incredible results most people desire don’t require drastic changes.

The power of a mindset change in weight loss.

As Jonathan discovered for the second time, a simple mindset shift can yield incredible results and life-changing healthy behaviors:

“I have come to embrace the fact that making progress is actually more about:

1. Back to basics
2. Making several small (but important) changes to my diet
3. Be willing to experiment with things that worked for me (so they would stick!)
4. Giving things the right amount of time to see results (including the inevitable ups and downs)”

We couldn’t have said it better ourselves, Jonathan.

Your journey to sustainable weight loss starts here.

If you want help changing your mindset and finding the kinds of changes that get results and fit your lifestyle, we’re here to help. Register here for our online coaching program.

BJ has a bachelor’s degree in health and human performance and multiple certifications including Precision Nutrition Level 1 and BioForce Certified Conditioning Coach. During his 14-year coaching career, he has been fortunate to coach a wide range of clients. From online customers looking to get in top shape, to CEO Nate Checketts (Rhone) and CEO Marcelo Claure (Softbank), and professional skateboarder Sean Malto. Before starting his training career, he was a research assistant in the sports science laboratory.