A woman who lost over 100 pounds has advice for her former self—and anyone else struggling with weight loss.
After dropping from 270 pounds to under 170, she’s learned what actually works.
Her insights go beyond typical diet tips, diving into the mindset shifts and daily habits that separate “fat person habits” from “fit person habits.”
Here are the 20 most important lessons she’d share with anyone starting their transformation journey.
Jump to:
- Build Muscle to Burn More Fat
- Track Steps Weekly, Not Daily
- Measure Everything in Grams
- Batch Cook Two Proteins and Two Carbs Weekly
- Take Multiple Short Walks Throughout Each Day
- Track Every Bite, Lick, and Taste
- Stop Drinking Calories
- Create Easy “Fast Food” Alternatives at Home
- Choose Airbnbs Over Hotels When Traveling
- Start Days With High-Protein Breakfasts
- Invest in Walking Pads for Desk Work
- Never Eat Back Exercise Calories
- Pre-Track Food Instead of Logging as You Eat
- Get to Bed by 9-10 PM
- Accept Hunger Without Suffering Constantly
- Remove Trigger Foods From Your Home
- Stop Buying Junk Food for Kids
- Lift Heavy to Build Muscle, Not Burn Calories
- Leave Your House Instead of Leaving Your Body
- Hire Professional Coaching
Build Muscle to Burn More Fat
Muscle tissue actively burns calories just by existing on your body, while fat simply stores energy. This metabolic advantage makes fat loss dramatically easier for people with more muscle mass.
For me, when I was trying to cut for my show, I was around 175, 180 pounds when I started. So, for me at 180 lb, but at 23% body fat, it’s a lot different than for someone else that might weigh the exact same as me, but say they’re at 30 or 35% body fat.
Two people weighing the same can have vastly different maintenance calorie needs based on body composition. Someone with more muscle might maintain weight at 2,000 calories, while someone with less muscle might need only 1,500 calories or less.
This means building muscle creates a buffer that allows for more food while still losing fat.
Track Steps Weekly, Not Daily
Daily step tracking creates unnecessary pressure and self-criticism when life gets busy. Looking at weekly totals provides flexibility while maintaining accountability.
Steps represent a low-fatigue way to increase calorie expenditure. Roughly 5,000 steps burns 200 calories, while 10,000 steps burns approximately 400 calories.
Simple strategies to increase daily movement:
- Park farther away from entrances
- Take stairs instead of elevators
- Schedule 10-minute walks to start each day
- Walk 10-15 minutes after meals to aid digestion and blood sugar regulation
If Monday only yields 8,000 steps instead of 10,000, Tuesday’s 12,000 steps brings the weekly average back on track. Some days will naturally involve more movement than others.
Measure Everything in Grams
Food scales provide accuracy that measuring cups and spoons simply cannot match. This precision becomes critical with calorie-dense foods like nuts and peanut butter.
A tablespoon of peanut butter contains 90-100 calories, and it’s remarkably easy to overfill that tablespoon. Measuring 15 grams eliminates guesswork entirely.
Fat loss requires consuming fewer calories than burned. Inaccurate tracking leads to frustration when expected progress doesn’t materialize—not because the process doesn’t work, but because the data is flawed.
Batch Cook Two Proteins and Two Carbs Weekly
Meal preparation removes decision fatigue and eliminates excuses when life gets chaotic. Preparing food in advance creates a default path toward success.
Choose one lean protein and one fattier protein—like chicken breast and ground beef. Pair them with two carbohydrate sources such as sweet potatoes and rice.
Prep on Sunday or Monday for 4-5 days, storing portions in refrigerator. For particularly busy weeks, divide into meal-sized portions immediately after cooking.
Most people fail at fat loss not because they lack willpower, but because they don’t plan for inevitable disruptions. Kids get sick, work schedules change, cars break down—having prepared food waiting eliminates the temptation to make poor choices under pressure.
Take Multiple Short Walks Throughout Each Day
Sixty-minute walks feel overwhelming when schedules are packed. Breaking movement into 10-15 minute segments throughout the day feels manageable.
Three to five short walks daily accumulates significant step count without requiring large blocks of time. Each 10-minute walk generates roughly 1,000 steps.
When walking isn’t possible, stand up hourly to stretch, perform squats, or do push-ups. Any movement counts.
Track Every Bite, Lick, and Taste
Handfuls of nuts grabbed from containers, bites of kids’ leftovers, and “just a taste” of desserts add up faster than most people realize.
One container of pistachios and almonds can contain 600 calories. Add an extra protein bar, a couple cookies, and a slice of cake—suddenly 1,000+ untracked calories have been consumed, potentially representing half the daily calorie needs.
Many people don’t binge their way to excess weight. They graze their way there, one untracked bite at a time.
Stop Drinking Calories
Juices, fancy coffee drinks, and alcohol provide calories without satiety or significant nutritional value. Liquid calories don’t trigger fullness signals the way solid food does.
Alcohol contains approximately 7 calories per gram—nearly as much as fat at 9 calories per gram. Each ounce of alcohol adds roughly 100 calories.
Juice concentrates sugar from multiple fruits while removing beneficial fiber that regulates blood sugar and supports digestion.
Better alternatives:
- Coffee with sugar-free flavoring and almond milk
- Zero-calorie beverages
- Water with natural flavor enhancers
Whatever concerns exist about artificial sweeteners pale in comparison to health consequences of excess body fat and metabolic dysfunction.
Create Easy “Fast Food” Alternatives at Home
When meal prep fails or emergencies arise, having quick protein and carb sources at home prevents poor restaurant choices.
Keep these staples stocked:
- Canned chicken or rotisserie chicken (skin removed)
- Tuna pouches or cans
- Greek yogurt and cottage cheese
- Protein powder and egg whites
- Sweet potatoes (microwave in 5-10 minutes)
- Rice (cooks in 10 minutes with rice cooker)
- Pre-cooked chicken breast from grocery stores
Even shelf-stable options with long expiration dates represent better choices than drive-through meals. Having Plan B ready when Plan A falls apart creates sustainable success.
Choose Airbnbs Over Hotels When Traveling
Access to kitchens while traveling transforms nutrition adherence. Refrigerators keep fresh food fresh, and stoves allow simple meal preparation.
Difficult circumstances create easy excuses for abandoning healthy habits. Planning ahead eliminates those circumstances.
Start Days With High-Protein Breakfasts
Most overweight women overconsume carbohydrates and underconsume protein. Starting with carb-heavy breakfasts creates blood sugar instability that triggers hunger and cravings within hours.
Protein-centered breakfasts stabilize energy and appetite throughout the morning.
High-protein breakfast options:
- Two whole eggs plus 200-400g egg whites (adds 20-40g protein)
- Greek yogurt with fruit
- Cottage cheese
- Protein shake with banana
Skipping breakfast to reduce calories backfires by creating excessive hunger later, leading to overeating. This cycle repeats daily, preventing progress.
Invest in Walking Pads for Desk Work
Desk jobs don’t have to mean sedentary days. Walking pads allow movement during work hours, dramatically increasing daily activity.
Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) accounts for up to 30% of daily calorie expenditure. Replacing sitting with walking while working captures this significant metabolic advantage.
Never Eat Back Exercise Calories
Weight loss requires calorie deficits. Burning calories through exercise creates that deficit—eating those calories back eliminates it entirely.
Fitness trackers consistently overestimate calorie burn. Food labels have accuracy margins allowing actual calories to exceed stated amounts. Trusting both sources creates double inaccuracy that sabotages progress.
Someone thinking they burned 500 calories (actually 350) eating back 500 calories of food (actually 550) has consumed 200 more calories than burned—the opposite of their goal.
Pre-Track Food Instead of Logging as You Eat
Planning daily meals in advance creates structure and prevents end-of-day macro disasters.
Divide daily calorie and macro targets by number of meals eaten. If eating four meals daily, each meal should contain roughly one-quarter of total daily needs.
Plan and log meals before eating them. This approach eliminates evening scenarios where 30g protein remains but carbs are maxed and fats exceeded.
Consistency beats variety. Eating similar meals daily—even the same breakfast order at restaurants—becomes automatic. Different spices and condiments provide flavor variation without complicating nutrition.
Get to Bed by 9-10 PM
Nothing productive happens late at night. Those hours typically involve mindless phone scrolling or pantry raids searching for snacks.
Bodies need adequate sleep for recovery and metabolic function. Earlier bedtimes ensure sufficient rest, preventing next-day fatigue and poor decision-making.
Accept Hunger Without Suffering Constantly
Some hunger during fat loss is normal. Constant ravenous hunger is not.
High-volume, low-calorie-density foods prevent excessive hunger. Large salads with lean protein provide fullness that protein bars and nuts cannot match.
Have backup plans for unexpected hunger. Keep shelf-stable protein like tuna pouches available. Develop personal rules about not stopping for fast food during emergencies.
Hunger isn’t crisis. Waiting a few hours won’t cause harm. Impulsive eating decisions cause mental, emotional, and physical discomfort that outlasts temporary hunger.
Remove Trigger Foods From Your Home
No food is inherently bad, but certain foods trigger overconsumption for specific individuals. Knowing personal trigger foods and keeping them out of immediate access prevents avalanche moments.
Ice cream, protein balls, cookies—whatever foods lead to uncontrolled eating shouldn’t live in cabinets or freezers. If going out to get them is required, that friction often prevents impulsive consumption.
Stop Buying Junk Food for Kids
Feeding children foods that adults recognize as unhealthy sets kids up for identical struggles. Sugar-laden breakfasts send children to school on blood sugar roller coasters that impair focus and behavior.
Keeping junk food for kids also keeps junk food accessible for parents. One sleeve of cookies can sabotage an entire day of careful eating.
Children will eat what’s provided. They won’t starve themselves. Offering primarily whole foods, lean proteins, fruits, and vegetables establishes healthy patterns rather than perpetuating cycles of overeating processed foods.
Lift Heavy to Build Muscle, Not Burn Calories
Gym sessions should prioritize strength development over calorie expenditure. Lifting 8-10 reps to actual failure—not just until burning sensations start—builds muscle tissue.
Muscle creates the “toned” appearance people want. Fat loss alone without underlying muscle results in a soft, undefined physique.
Prioritize progressive overload and strength gains over incorporating cardio exercises between sets. Rest properly between sets to maximize strength performance.
Leave Your House Instead of Leaving Your Body
Emotional eating represents attempts to escape uncomfortable feelings through food-induced dopamine hits. Other dissociation methods—drinking, smoking, endless social media scrolling—similarly avoid addressing underlying emotions.
Going for walks when emotional discomfort arises allows space to process feelings and build self-awareness. Understanding why overeating occurs matters more than knowing what actions produce weight loss.
Awareness precedes change. Without recognizing emotional patterns driving behaviors, those behaviors continue regardless of intellectual knowledge.
Hire Professional Coaching
Progress requires investment of either time or money. Money invested in coaching represents true investment—it can be earned back, and it compresses learning timelines.
Time spent through trial and error cannot be recovered.
Many people claim inability to afford coaching while regularly spending money on restaurant meals, alcohol, desserts, and snacks that work against their goals. A single night out with drinks, meals, and dessert easily costs $50-100 while adding hundreds or thousands of calories.
Redirecting money currently spent moving away from goals toward investments moving toward goals represents smarter resource allocation. Coaches who’ve already achieved desired outcomes provide knowledge that eliminates years of frustrating experimentation.
