Year or so ago, I worked with a guy who really wanted to lose some weight.
He wasn’t fat or anything. Pudgy for sure, and he definitely needed to drop a stone or so for his health if nothing else, but not horrifically out of shape.
Anyway, probably the biggest issue he had was his preoccupation with the scales. Poor chap couldn’t help but weigh himself three, four, five, six times per week and obsess over every minor fluctuation.
This caused us to butt heads on more than one occasion.
You see, I don’t like “weigh ins”. I actually tell clients NOT to weigh themselves for all sorts of reasons, but in particular because it almost invariably becomes an obsession that drives counterproductive decisions.
Like how my former client would notice his weight tick up during and immediately after a hard week of weight training (totally normal due to water retention in response to inflammation, among other things), and respond by some combination of limiting his food intake and skipping or making weird modifications to his lifting regime.
Anyway.
He still finished up significantly stronger, more in shape, and better looking with fewer aches, pains, and niggles than when we started. Testament to the supreme power of a smart, balanced programme of training if ever there was, considering how it worked despite his dalliances.
But I can’t help but wonder just how much more he would have achieved, and how much less stressful he would have found the process, if only he had followed my advice to ditch the scales and use the mirror and how his clothes fit to gauge progress instead.
On a loosely related note…
I’m looking for a small handful (not more than five) people who want to work towards getting stronger and more in shape using sustainable methods that deliver modest yet compounding results once you get the hang of them.
This is a close arrangement. Private (no sharing your struggles with a group of random strangers on a video call), with bountiful personal support to ensure (insofar as these things can be ensured) you are successful in putting what I teach you into practice, not just now but potentially for many years to come.
It’s also open ended. There is no fixed term contract to sign. You pay monthly and can cancel whenever you like without question or challenge (however, I am not offering a “money back guarantee” or similar).
If you’d like the details, email me (phil at phil tyreman dot co dot uk), and we’ll talk.
Thank you,
Phil Tyreman
P.S. If you know you won’t do as I tell you, give this a miss. Questions, comments, and challenges are welcome, but deciding you know best and doing your own thing is not. Just leads to stress and strife we could both do without.