If you want to lose weight, you have to start somewhere.

I know this from personal experience going from 277 pounds, then losing over 154 pounds.

I also know that sometimes, starting is the hardest part. Not because it’s hard to actually start, but because at the beginning it can all look so unbelievably overwhelming. When you’re sitting looking at how much you have to do, tapping out is often the easiest option to choose.

But now, living on the other side I will say this…it does get easier. And also, Easy is Earned.

Here’s how you do it...

Step One: Decide you want to change.

Step Two: Make Better Food Choices

Begin by eating healthier foods and smaller portions where practical. I began simply by making more food at home, choosing more fruits, veggies, and whole grains like brown rice, and eating less fast food. I decided NOT to go to McDonald’s every day like I was used to doing.

Step Three: Food Journaling

Once I got comfortable making better choices, I got curious about what I was eating. I started a food journal, back then it was just a pen and paper, and wrote down everything I ate. Today you can use an online app like MyFitnessPal, but pen and paper can work great too. Honestly, I was pretty surprised at what I was eating…even when I thought I was doing ‘better’.

Step Four: Calorie Tracking

After getting comfortable, I started to explore how much my body needed to lose weight. I calculated how many calories I was using each day, then determined how many calories I needed to eat to be healthy but also in a caloric deficit to allow for sustained weight loss. I set a calorie goal for myself and started tracking everything I ate with that goal in mind. That included all the BLTs too (bites, licks, and tastes).

Step Five: Tracking Calories and Protein

Protein is the most important ‘dial mover’ when it comes to weight loss, fat loss, body composition, and muscle mass. While I wasn’t quite ready to count macros, I was ready to continue eating in my caloric deficit while paying more attention to the amount of protein I was consuming. At first, I wasn’t eating enough, but over the course of time, I did start eating more and more protein which made me feel both fuller, and helped me slim down.

Step Six: Tracking Macros

As I slowly approached my goal, I realized it was time to get really serious about my intake, so, I began tracking macros. All of them. Proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. I saw huge progress! I tracked everything down to the gram, began weighing my foods, noted every BLT, and really saw an incredible change in my body, mindset, and metabolism.

Step Seven: Intuitive Macros

Macros are a tool. They’re not meant to be tracked 365/24/7. Mentally and physically you need a break from time to time in order to keep things fresh and exciting. Just like you experience burnout at work and need a vacation day, you need the same vacation day from macros too. I do not track for longer than 6 months without taking a break. And I can do that easily now because I’ve learned so much about portions and their accompanying macros from years of consistent practice.

Once you’ve done macros for about a year or so, you can become more of an intuitive macro tracker. Being intuitive with your macros is earned from consistency and practice. Easy is Earned and now I can pretty much eyeball most of my meals both at home, in a restaurant, or even on vacation while still maintaining my physique. It’s a nice freedom to have!

My team of coaches and I can easily determine the macro counts by sight and can help our clients when they send us pics of their plates. It’s a great way for us to make sure their MyFitnessPal entries are matching up with the plate they’re actually creating and consuming. Because who hasn’t entered something incorrectly before…whether intentionally or not?!?

If you’re just starting out on your journey, don’t be overwhelmed. Take everything step by step. This is not a marathon not a sprint and it is going to be hard at first. But remember, easy is earned, so if you want to get to easy, you’ve got to put in the work now. And if I can do it, I know you can too!