How 30-Day Fitness and Nutrition Challenges Sabotage Fat Loss

 Losing weight can be a difficult process by any standard. Internet outlets and fitness influencers know this, and that's why they use it to their advantage to sell various online "cookie-cutter" programs. As a fitness trainer, I've worked with countless clients who have tried various techniques to lose body fat at some point in their lives. The most common approach I've heard about from clients is often some sort of 30-day challenge designed to help an individual lose as much weight as possible within a 30-day timeline. What these clients often don't realize is how destructive these "challenges" can often be to their long-term health and success regarding the achievement of their desired fitness outcomes. 

Taking the Bait

It's well-known that magazines often use catchy headlines to reach potential readers and subscribers. When consulting my clients, I often compare fitness influencers on social media to the fitness magazines of yesteryear. This illustrates that just as fitness magazines will often promise results that seem too good to be true (when tied to the process that they deem sufficient to produce those results), online personalities will often use the same tactics. It's difficult to blame these online outlets; these tactics attract viewers and potential customers. As a result, the products offered to their audience are often misleading and potentially even dangerous.

We all know that losing weight (body fat) is no easy task. Adhering to a fitness and nutrition regimen requires immense effort and discipline. As one can imagine, this is a hard sell to make to a potential customer. So, many brands or influencers will try to attract potential customers by promising great results with minimal effort. This often manifests in a variation of a 30-day challenge in which the participant will be required to take a specific action (only consume juices or only eat paleo foods), and by doing so, they'll finally see the results that they've wanted to see. 

While there may be some challenging aspects of a 30-day challenge (only consuming juice for 30 days is no easy feat), it's the promise of significant results in a very short time frame that hooks potential customers and subscribers. It tells the individual that they're not achieving results because they "haven't unlocked the secret to their success" and that the approach they've highlighted is the answer their audience has been waiting for.

How 30-Day Fitness and Nutrition Challenges Sabotage Results

Time and time again, I've heard from new clients that they've tried a variation of a 30-day challenge, and they were deeply unhappy with the results. They'll explain to me that while they lost a few pounds in that time frame, they felt much less healthy and that the weight that was lost did not appear to be the weight that the client "wanted to lose" (they lost muscle mass and not body fat). These individuals will go on to say that not long after the 30 days had passed, they gained back the weight they had previously lost, and in some circumstances, more weight was gained than initially lost. 

This weight gain happens because once the 30 days are over, these individuals often feel as though they have starved or deprived themselves, which leads them back to their old eating habits (typically consuming calories in a surplus). This is referred to as a "yo-yo" cycle (periods of weight loss followed by periods of weight gain). The "yo-yo" cycle can be demoralizing and often makes losing weight in the future (which is likely to be the goal following weight gain) even more difficult. 

Achieving Fat Loss

When it comes to losing body fat and improving one's overall health, consistency and longevity are key. There are several approaches to dieting, and establishing whether a particular strategy is a healthy and viable option depends on the individual. Assuming that a specific diet provides the essential nutrients needed to sustain a healthy life, there's not one particular approach that's better than the other for fat loss. The most critical factor in weight loss is energy balance (calories in vs. calories out) and achieving a negative energy balance in the body (consuming fewer calories than the number of calories expended by the body). 

If the goal is to lose body fat and improve health by these means, then achieving a calorie deficit is required. As a fitness coach, I explain to my clients that while this can be a healthy goal to have, we should also consider the "goal after the goal." In other words, what will we do once we achieve this weight loss? 

I lament in explaining that the "hard part" isn't necessarily achieving weight loss; it's in maintaining that weight loss. The majority of people that lose weight will gain most of that weight back at some point (NIH). This fact can be incredibly frustrating and can even deter individuals from wanting to make healthy decisions if they perceive them as pointless. 

Plan for the Long-Term

From my experience as a fitness professional, individuals don't have difficulty sustaining weight loss simply because of an inability to adhere to a nutrition regimen; the difficulty results from attempting an approach that wasn't designed for them. Long-term adherence comes from making incremental lifestyle modifications over an extended period. For example, if someone enjoys having breakfast cereal each morning, the long-term approach to weight loss isn't to remove the breakfast cereal from their diet and replace it with egg whites and apple cider vinegar. Instead, the long-term strategy is to reduce the serving size of the breakfast cereal while introducing nutrient-dense foods to complement the smaller portion of cereal. Doing so will decrease the number of calories consumed while allowing this person to incorporate one of their favorite foods into their daily intake and not feel deprived. 

The key is to balance the diet by incorporating the foods that someone gravitates toward while supplementing with foods that will provide more nutrients than calories (comparatively). As calories are gradually reduced from the less nutrient-dense foods in their diet, this individual can add foods that will contribute essential nutrients without a surplus of calories. 

Another excellent approach to incorporating favorite foods in a diet is to find low-calorie variations of those specific foods. For example, if someone enjoys dairy ice cream as a dessert, this person could try a low-calorie frozen yogurt variation (assuming the portions and servings are equal). 

Planning for the long-term will not only allow for weight loss results but also allow an individual to sustain those results and prevent the dreaded "yo-yo" cycle of dieting. 

Empowering the Individual

30-day fitness challenges take power away from the individual and place it in a singular practice. The key to weight loss isn't a secret held by only the top social media influencers and fitness magazines; weight loss is achieved through a comprehensive and personalized approach intended to address the individual. Seeking help from a professional fitness trainer who can tailor a program to meet an individual’s goals and address their unique experiences can allow for a healthier and more appropriate means of achieving this desired outcome. 

Heavy Mettle Fitness

Heavy Mettle Fitness is a team of expert personal trainers in Austin, Texas. Visit our site for more information, and learn how our personalized approach to training can help transform your health!

*Note* I am not a medical professional; you should always consult a doctor before subscribing to an exercise or nutrition regimen.

Matt Ryan

Owner/Lead Trainer of Heavy Mettle Fitness