It's no secret that losing weight can feel like a tremendous undertaking—and that many of us quit before we ever truly begin out of a fear of failure. Yet experts say that even incremental changes in your diet and exercise habits can have a major impact on your health. Mind-body nutrition coachJessie Golden is a prime example of how you can shed excess weight without letting it become your life's sole focus. She shared in a recent TikTok post that she was able to lose 30 pounds "in a really chill way," and is now breaking down her weight loss strategy—which nixes obsessive weighing, measuring, and tracking.
"The intense bodybuilder 'let's track everything and micromanage everything' type of life is not for me," she says in the video. "If you have to overhaul your life to see fat loss results, there's usually a problem," she added in a separate post.
Ready to lose weight and keep it off? These are the three “very chill” things Golden did to drop 30 pounds, plus a bonus piece of weight loss advice from the nutrition coach.
RELATED: Lose 50 Pounds by Following 2 Simple Rules, Successful Dieter Says.
1 | She considered her psychological needs.
ShutterstockGolden says that her approach to weight loss centers not on meticulous calorie counting or long hours spent at the gym, but on a customized plan that prizes moderation and consistency.
After building a foundation of healthy lifestyle habits, which include ample rest and regular physical activity, she was able to then target the parts of her diet that felt psychologically least difficult to change. Ultimately, this helped her make a diet plan that kept her in a calorie deficit, without it becoming an unsustainable sacrifice.
"I developed a strategy that suited my psychology, [and] made sense for my lifestyle and how I like to eat," she explains in the post. "Some of the trade-offs that I might make someone else might not be willing to make and vice versa."
The nutrition expert says that her particular plan involved pushing back breakfast by an hour or two, increasing her protein intake, and putting off carbs until the end of the day, when she would eat a big bowl of cereal to keep her satisfied throughout the evening hours.
2 | She listened to her body for feedback.
ShutterstockNext, Golden says she was able to shed pounds by paying attention to how her metabolism was responding to the changes she was making. "Was my deficit too large? Was it not large enough? What was my biofeedback like? Did it cause my hunger to really increase?" she recalls thinking.
By tweaking her health habits based on this feedback, she was able to fine-tune her efforts and create a more sustainable plan that worked for her body's needs. It also let her know when she was ready to enter the maintenance phase of her weight loss journey, ultimately enabling her to keep the weight off.
RELATED: 4 Probiotics That Trigger an Ozempic-Like Weight Loss Effect, Doctors Say.
3 | She had a positive mindset.
pixdeluxe / iStockGolden says that the third "and probably most important" change she made was to her mindset.
"My relationship with food was of the utmost importance—maintaining that the entire time. I acted with a ton of self-respect still throughout the whole process. I didn't have any sense of desperation. I had a sense of humor about it all," she explains.
In a separate post, Golden shares how she took a mental inventory of her readiness for weight loss. Before beginning, she considered whether it was an appropriate time given her stress levels, evaluated whether she had set realistic goals, and made a plan to keep herself in good spirits during her "season of sacrifice."
She also took the long view.
iStockBeyond these three key factors that Golden says led to her weight loss, she also found success by abolishing short-term thinking. "I absolutely had a long-term view—I was thinking in terms of years, not in terms of weeks or the next vacation I had," she explains.
"Instead of zooming in and focusing on one food decision, say 'How does this one food decision impact the rest of the decisions I make throughout the day?'" Golden continues. "Then, how do my decisions today impact the decisions I make throughout the rest of the week?"
For more weight loss tips sent directly to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.
Best Life offers the most up-to-date information from top experts, new research, and health agencies, but our content is not meant to be a substitute for professional guidance. When it comes to the medication you're taking or any other health questions you have, always consult your healthcare provider directly.
