Giving Your Best Life

Episode 97: The Anti-Diet Approach: Embracing Incremental Victories for Sustainable Weight Loss with Guest Zach Lloyd

• Stephanie L. Jones, Giving Gal • Episode 97

Share episode

In this episode, Stephanie and her accountability partner, Sustainability Anti-Diet Coach Zach Lloyd, discuss how struggling with weight loss can feel like an unending battle, especially when engulfed by a sea of fad diets and miracle promises. But what if the key isn't in the monumental goals, but in the incremental victories that stand the test of time? 

Together, they dissect the realities of shedding pounds and how societal pressures often lead us astray from achieving long-term success. Their candid conversation may just transform the way you view your journey to a healthier self.

Connect with Zach:
 Zach's website here
Get a free resource: End Calorie Counting Toolkit here
Follow Zach on IG: @zachlloydcoaching 

Connect with Stephanie:

Get a free resource The 4G Method Journal here.
Shop Stephanie's books here.
Follow me on IG: @Giving_Gal or FB/GivingGal


Stephanie L. Jones:

Hey friends, it's Stephanie here with the Give Me your Best Life podcast with my friend.

Zach Lloyd:

Zach Lloyds.

Stephanie L. Jones:

Zach's an anti-diet sustainability coach, and last time we touched a little bit on this 50 pounds by. This is a perfect time to talk about it. We're in January. Everybody's sitting there like weight loss, diet goals, and you mentioned something about like losing 50 pounds by summer. Is that realistic?

Zach Lloyd:

Yeah, if you want to lose 50 pounds in a certain amount of time.

Stephanie L. Jones:

Usually it's like all right New.

Zach Lloyd:

Year's comes around and you're like I'm gonna lose 50 pounds by summer. And how reframing it?

Zach Lloyd:

and saying okay maybe you do actually need to lose 50 pounds, maybe you don't, but let's say you do and you want to lose 50 pounds. Reframing is what if you lost 10 pounds before summer which is a lot more reasonable and then it wasn't just that you lost the 10 pounds, but you lost the 10 pounds forever and it didn't come back, and it was this sustainable way where you lost it and your lifestyle changed and then the next year that came around. Then you do another 10 pounds and then the same thing. Now you're down 20 pounds, but in two years you're down 20 pounds and you didn't gain any weight back, which I think is usually not how it occurs, and 99% of people that's almost dang near accurate too, that's not a right will always gain weight back and sometimes more weight back.

Stephanie L. Jones:

Well, I was going to say is like when I hear you say that, my first thought is I'm disappointed. I wanted to lose the 50 pounds. I need to lose 50 pounds, and is that because society is thrown so much at us that we believe we've been sold that 50 pounds is the right expectation?

Zach Lloyd:

like that's yeah, yeah, yeah definitely, and I think it's also the short-term gratification that plays into it. Also. It's like the whole sex cells, like all these magazines and all the things you see on the news is either fear-based or it's Putting in front of you something that you is so desirable that you have to have as soon as possible, yeah, and then that leads to that trap of that framework of mental thinking where you've got to get that short-term result.

Stephanie L. Jones:

And then it's great because you do actually feel better, right?

Zach Lloyd:

So it's like oh you don't eat for a week and you lose 10 pounds. Great, like it might have been a really bad seven days.

Stephanie L. Jones:

But man look at me I look 10 pounds lighter like whatever it is and that's, that's the danger to it.

Zach Lloyd:

Yeah.

Stephanie L. Jones:

But going back to expectations, so like that's really shocking to go. If I have a goal that's 50 pounds by summer, I have to scale it back to 10 pounds. But that sustainability piece I guess you have to ask yourself is what is your goal? Do you want to keep that off? Because my guess is a lot of people meet, included is you can't get in the cycles of Losing weight, gaining weight, losing weight, and that's one thing that you really helped me stop that cycle of losing a lot, gaining a lot. So can you speak to that a little bit of how do we just deal with that disappointment of? I want I come to you work with yes, my coach.

Stephanie L. Jones:

Like how do we talk through?

Zach Lloyd:

that, yeah, you, you really have to Continue to remind yourself, especially up front, what the long-term outcome is that you really want. And I, I've coached so many people in their 50s and 60s and If they had this mindset in their 30s yeah, that's them they may not even be seeing me in their 50s or 60s, right? And so, really looking at that long-term outcome and then also thinking like, depending on how old you are, what, what, is the next like decade?

Zach Lloyd:

look like for you. What is the next 20 years? Look like for you. And I've had a lot of injuries and strength training. But I think it's a good example where I've come off of like I'm just gonna get as strong as I possibly can, because I can't train like that all the time, because eventually you'll. Everybody has a limit. Like Maybe I get the thousand pounds once, right, but after that what happens? And then ultimately you know that you're leading yourself down this road of Disillusion.

Zach Lloyd:

I think is a reasonable term for it, because when I'm 80 years old, I'm not gonna be lifting more weight. I'll be lifting less, and so when I'm 80 years old, I'm like I want to be active, I want to be able to pick up my grandkids. I do want to be able to, like, deadlift a lot of weight.

Stephanie L. Jones:

But what is a lot of weight, like the number doesn't matter right?

Zach Lloyd:

Yeah, right, like how many of you can move that well, right? So that's like how my outcome has changed. Is I'm training for, you know my geriatric years now, right? And then trying to have more fun with my training and all of a sudden. What happens is I actually Train more right, enjoy it more, and then my outcomes are better.

Stephanie L. Jones:

Yeah, oh my gosh, she said so many good things is one thing you touched on is I feel like a lot of people who are in their 50s, 60s, they're having to have all these different surgeries and their whole goal for all these surgeries is I want to be able to play with my grandchildren, right, and it's really hard when you're in your 30s to go. Oh, I'm gonna work on something now, but I guess is, if you went back and talk to those clients, if they would have the mindset that you help them with that, like lower Expectations. Yeah, they may not be where they're at today, right?

Zach Lloyd:

It's so difficult, I don't you know and it's okay. You're gonna struggle, especially with the society we live in. Yeah, and no matter what personality are I've seen all of them You're gonna struggle with that idea, but, but I think that's it's a worthy idea to struggle with and just be aware of that and then get ready to struggle with.

Zach Lloyd:

It Is just something you're gonna wrestle with. So notice like, oh man, I really want that short-term fix or goal. And then say, alright, wait, wait a second, what do I really want? You're stepping back and then it becomes a good mental exercise. I think all of us should be doing that, not just in our health and fitness, but in every aspect of our lives, like our finances, our relationships. You know like a lot of people have had that experience with a friend and they're like they keep going to lunch with his friend, but their friend is just totally a suck of life all they do is just dump stuff on you.

Zach Lloyd:

You don't get anything out of the relationship, so it's really not even a relationship anymore. But you keep showing up to that.

Stephanie L. Jones:

But if you applied that long-term thinking, I only have you know Well however old you are, like if you're in your 30s, you only have six hundred more coffee dates, six hundred more coffee dates for the rest of your life.

Zach Lloyd:

How do you want to spend it? You want to spend like 30 to 100 with this toxic person that's sucking life out of you? Probably not so thinking in long-term can really help us in all aspects.

Stephanie L. Jones:

I like that, and it's so hard for people now to think in long-term, and I think that's if you want to be successful in your goals, you have. You have to think in long-term, which is why Isaac and I talked about like when we set our goals, we had a day of planning on January 1st.

Stephanie L. Jones:

But then we come in here and we focus on the short-term actions that we have to take. So it's the combination you were talking about. Even if you look at like meeting with that toxic person or losing that 50 pounds, I think a good question like the mindset of getting in your habit is why? Why are you still meeting with that?

Zach Lloyd:

person. Why do?

Stephanie L. Jones:

you want to lose 50 pounds by summer. Like, what is behind that? What is driving that? Because my guess is that will really help you peel back the layers. Of whatever cycle that you're in yeah, definitely yeah.

Zach Lloyd:

I like that idea of the cycles to transitioning to another thing.

Stephanie L. Jones:

When I worked with Zach, I was shocked about my ex like in my head my expectation was.

Zach Lloyd:

I'm gonna come in.

Stephanie L. Jones:

I'm gonna start working out more lifting weight Towards something I wasn't doing Changing my diet is I'll probably lose five pounds a week. Yeah, like to me that was gonna be like oh, okay, I'll lose five pounds a week. Tell me what you told me. What is the realistic expectation a woman should be losing a week?

Zach Lloyd:

Yeah, so depending on what you know studies you're looking at, but basically a half a pound to a pound every two weeks. Yeah, I was so disappointed. Maybe a half a pound every week at best. So we're looking at two to four pounds max on average for somebody losing weight every month. Yeah, that was so Disappointing.

Stephanie L. Jones:

20 is a little much, yeah, so like, but I was basing it off of which, if we go back to our last conversation, one of the questions I asked is who told you that? Like I don't know? Who told me that? I don't know where I got that. It probably was not an expert, it was probably off a magazine cover, or I saw something off social media. And then it just got in my head. And I think that's when we see disappointment, because when you reset my thinking, when I hit that half a pound or a pound on the scale, then I was like I'm doing exactly what Zach told me, as opposed to stepping on the scale, hitting a half a pound or a pound and being disappointed in myself of I didn't hit five pounds and then you start in this shaming guilt cycle.

Zach Lloyd:

So the facts actually were able to help you feel better about yourself and your progress, and then it was more sustainable over time.

Stephanie L. Jones:

Yeah, oh, 100%. So you see that, like a lot of women that come in or that work with your coaching, that they have that, like what do they think they're going to reasonably be able to lose in a week or a?

Zach Lloyd:

month yeah.

Stephanie L. Jones:

It's basically exactly the same as you.

Zach Lloyd:

It's no different than like the five or 10 pounds a week type of thinking. And again, it's funny because we catch ourselves and we're thinking in weeks instead of months or years, which is really what we could be thinking about. It also reminds me, too, of the way that I lost my train of thought. Go ahead.

Stephanie L. Jones:

Oh, I was just one of. The things that I was thinking of is, like what are your thoughts on stepping on the scale every day?

Zach Lloyd:

Right, that's where I was going, okay, perfect, so it depends on who you are. Some people weigh themselves every day, and these are people that I believe have a healthy relationship with their weight. It works extremely well because for them it's like a measurement of. Okay, I fluctuate between a certain amount of weight normally, and where's my fluctuation? Up or down, like, let's say it's like a five pound fluctuation and oh, like I went out Friday and went out Saturday and then Monday morning I'm like wow like I'm five or eight pounds heavier, realizing that you didn't actually gain the weight.

Zach Lloyd:

And then it's really more about water weight there's a lot of extra salt in those foods because you're eating out, you're drinking whatever it is, and then Tuesday starts to see a little down, wednesday starts to see a little down and then by Friday you're basically totally reset in that equilibrium of five pounds out five pounds.

Stephanie L. Jones:

I'm glad you brought that up because I am one that steps on the scale every day. But because I do, that is I had. A couple of weeks ago I had a bad and it was like three or four pounds that I gained. But because I knew that I looked what I ate, it was three days for me to reverse it. Yeah, I was drinking a bunch of water, didn't do my sugar intake and I was like I dropped it like that. But because I had I know that about myself and I know how to get back out of it it's like, okay, don't stay in that cycle of okay, I was eating like crap, I'm just going to continue, because then that's when I can see the upscale. So I'm glad you pointed it out.

Zach Lloyd:

Yeah, yeah, that's a good point. And then what encompasses all this too, which I think is important, is, you know, the specificity of your goals is important, so it's not that you can't lose five or 10 pounds a week, right, it's just that the average person has no business doing that, because they should be thinking of the sustainability of wanting to lose weight for the long term. If that's a goal, and then also the specificity it's like a fancy word right.

Zach Lloyd:

But all I'm saying is if you're a bodybuilder. Like every once in a while I meet with bodybuilder, I don't. That's not my normal clientele, but yeah, we're going to diet a lot. That's part of the sport. But that's the specificity they're actually competing in a sport versus. The average person is trying to look better, feel better, all of these things that are, more you know, equal. You're not like going after the gold medal, so rethinking that is huge.

Stephanie L. Jones:

I just want my jeans to fit.

Zach Lloyd:

Yeah right, I don't want to have to go up a size in my jeans.

Stephanie L. Jones:

You know, like that's constantly my goal, yeah, and one of the last things I want to touch on is I know when I started working with you is I had a delay, I didn't stop or I didn't start losing weight immediately, even that half pound and that pound. And if I was doing it by myself?

Zach Lloyd:

if I was going in alone.

Stephanie L. Jones:

I wasn't working with you, I probably would have quit everything that I was doing, so top. But I think it was probably about a month and then it was like those 16 pounds I don't want to say came off easy, but as long as I stayed to what you were telling me to do being consistent is that 16 pounds I saw that half a pound to a pound a week consistently, and then I've kept that off. I mean, I'm up a little right now but I have in my head that okay, that's okay is you can have that delay. So do you want to talk like do all your clients have that delay?

Zach Lloyd:

Like why do you want to?

Stephanie L. Jones:

have that delay a little bit.

Zach Lloyd:

Yeah, the delay is very common.

Stephanie L. Jones:

If anything, it's a good thing, because it kind of is a.

Zach Lloyd:

It's a sign that you're not making so many changes in such a short amount of time that, again, are not going to be realistic. So yes, and there's lots of different reasons, so it really just depends. Some people may start eating more processed foods when they start because they're trying to add more protein in their diet something like that. That's common and there's tons of biological things that could be going on too, and not just for women, but for men too. But women, especially menstrual cycles are huge. Pre menopause, menopause all of those are going to take drastic effects and like even though we kind of live on this 24 hour like lifestyle, our bodies don't?

Stephanie L. Jones:

they don't think like that.

Zach Lloyd:

So really you're talking about a couple of days usually, if not a week sometimes for these water fluctuations and fat loss to really take place and muscle mass to be grown, hopefully as well, if that's part of your routine.

Stephanie L. Jones:

Yeah, that's good and it goes back to what we were talking about, this short term versus the long term thinking, and I think this can go to your goals holistically. I go to like writing a book is I didn't see really a lot of progress in the first month. It would have been easy for me to quit, but I had a coach like Zach who I trusted. I think that's a good thing is, if you have a coach, you trust what they say, you know what their knowledge base is, you know what their success is in the background. So I think with writing a book like it is so hard and it's it's why a lot of people start and they never finish. And so I know next week we're going to talk about like the consistency, or does that even exist?

Zach Lloyd:

Yeah, I'm going to sprinkle something on top of that I don't think consistency actually exists.

Stephanie L. Jones:

And the controversy about that.

Zach Lloyd:

Yeah. I just want to wrap up with one thing is everything we talk about you know, if you have health issues, make sure you're talking and working with your doctor.

Stephanie L. Jones:

We're just giving good advice, what we've seen, what's worked for us, zach, with all the clients that he's worked with over the years. But thank you and we can't wait for you to join us on another episode of giving your best life with Stephanie Zach. See you next week. Bye.