If you're looking to lose a few pounds or even a more significant amount of weight, it can be tricky to know where to start. There's no shortage of diet and workout plans that you can follow, but it's challenging to adhere to something stringent that may not necessarily mesh with your lifestyle. That's why so many people opt to develop their own methods for losing weight, finding out what works for them instead of just following rules set by others. That's exactly what 35-year-old Rachel Byers did, making five lifestyle changes that helped her lose 44 pounds in just 20 weeks.
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In an interview with TODAY.com, Byers explained that she needed to make a change after experiencing a close call with her daughter at a swimming pool. When her daughter ran off to apparently jump in the water, Byers said that she "couldn't catch her to keep her safe."
In addition to this scary experience, Byers was also experiencing health issues, including high cholesterol and high blood pressure, and rather than taking medication, she realized she could take control.
Byers went from 162 pounds to 118 pounds in just about five months (20 weeks) by following her own plan. As she told TODAY.com, this involved weight training two to three times a week in the morning, aiming to hit 10,000 steps daily, introducing different kinds of workout classes, getting eight hours of quality sleep nightly, and maintaining a good work/life balance.
And to get started, Byers knew she needed to hold herself accountable.
"I had all kinds of equipment and opportunities, but no accountability,” she told TODAY.com. "I realized I was never going to fit exercise into my life doing what I was doing. I needed to plan that first and then figure out everything else."
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While her husband, Will, helped with different areas, including emotional support, meal preparation, and grocery shopping, Byers enlisted trainer Eddie Escobar at Ultimate Performance Los Angelesto hold her accountable.
"I told him I wanted him to hold me accountable—no excuses. I’m an all-or-nothing kind of person, and I wanted to completely commit, even through Thanksgiving and Christmas," Byers told TODAY.com. "If that meant hurting my family members’ feelings because I wasn’t eating their pies or their food, I had to stick to my guns, for me, my little one and my family."
Byers also said that she cut back on fast food—which she ate daily before starting her weight-loss journey—and started tracking her macros and using a meal delivery service. (She told the outlet that now that she's met her goals, she is less stringent with her diet on the weekends and gets "back to work" on Monday.) Instead of coffee and soda, she also prioritizes water and has "one little energy drink a day."
In addition to bettering her physical health, Byers told TODAY.com that getting active helped her mental health and her relationship with her husband.
"If you find something in your life that you want to improve, you can take away all the excuses," Byers advised. "You can take charge of your health no matter how old, how young, what size, what shape or what your goals are. There is movement for all of us."
