Results from a poll we conducted over on T Nation Instagram.
Question: What’s stopping you (or others) from losing that 15 pounds? This might make for an interesting discussion. I have some thoughts, but let’s hear yours.
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For a long time: only myself and my shitty eating habits.
Currently: a few months to get the last bits off
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Currently, my health. If I lost 15lbs, I’d probably be <5% bodyfat and trying to maintain that without assistance would probably kill me 
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What struck me about this poll was that 93% said they needed to lose 15 or more pounds of fat… and they answered this poll on a fitness account that provides all the free info they’d ever need to do it, from a variety of diet ideas and full plans to training tips.
So, the answer isn’t lack of knowledge. I’d also argue that it isn’t because “There’s too much conflicting information out there and I’m confused!” – a common excuse.
This is why most of my fat-loss related articles start with “Stop doing what you already know is causing the problem.” After all, you don’t need a brand-name diet plan to tell you that couch surfing with a bag of chips every night isn’t helping.
So I think the answer comes down to habits and lifestyles.
I can relate to this. I could drop maybe 4-5 pounds myself right now, so what’s stopping me? Well, I don’t want to change anything! I like my workout split, but I know that a dedicated metcon day would do the trick. I like my nutrition plan; it’s 97% spot-on, but I know the 3% I could fix would peel off that little bit of winter chub, too.
What’s always worked for me doesn’t work for everyone. But I usually have to reach a point where I get pissed at myself and make the obvious changes I need to make. In today’s pudding-soft world, we’re never supposed to criticize ourselves or feel bad about our negative behaviors, but it works for me.
We don’t want to absolutely beat ourselves up, of course, but we do need to honestly critique ourselves and hold ourselves accountable. That’s where self-improvement begins.
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I think this speaks to having a very high personal standard. You have the “after” physique most men want, but, to you, you have a little ways to go.
I think having a high personal standard is important too. Keeps us on track. And even when we deviate, we’re still fit and healthy.
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This was a problem for me starting out. I saw other people’s sucess and needed everything to be perfect to feel that I could progress. I guess you could call it the failed perfectionalism mindset.
So learning how to feel “I’m good now, but want to be better,” was important to push through that. Like a balance of Catholic guilt and Ayn Ryandian confidence.
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I think it can be hard to keep all the balls in the air for those of us who really want to excel in a number of arenas. I left work without doing my paperwork both last night and Wednesday because my husband was sugaring (boiling maple sap, which is weather-dependent, when it flows it flows). As a result, the planned dinner wasn’t happening, so both nights I wound up hitting the grocery store to stay on-plan and get home for the dog. I have to go in today to do the neglected charting. It’s very unusual for me to slack on work tasks. Almost unheard of, really.
So this week I chose diet. I might other times make a different choice, driving through Panera or Chipotle (less bad choices than others, but certainly not at all what I’m trying to do during the T-ransformation). Something had to give and it was work rather than my diet this time.
Sometimes it’s my marriage that takes precedence. My husband isn’t a gym guy though his hobbies are strength and stamina oriented (mostly molding 160 acres of steep mountain to his desires), so sometimes my morning workouts have to take second place to his desire to get somewhere early. Sometimes the more intense cardio I’ve planned gives way to a hike with him.
Or it’s the kids and extended family and their wants and needs. I’ve stopped trying to get workouts in when we have company. People don’t understand it. So now I hang out over coffee and eat pancakes, which is what people want because we have our own maple syrup (another strenuous hobby of his). Pancakes are high calorie things that don’t make me full, but it is what it is. I’m a team player.
Balance and excellence can be hard to coordinate.
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If Monday doesn’t go perfectly, the week is a waste and I’ll start next Monday.
I think some people say that. I certainly have never done this.
Does your husband want a friend? Ever since reading Farmer Boy as a kid, I have always wanted to do this.
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Great discussion. Let’s be clear: responses should have been self-selected to people with a fitness mindset, yet a huge percentage claim the need to lose 15lbs or more.
Insane.
Me personally? I probably have 5-10lbs of fat to lose to look slightly better with my shirt off, but I have no real desire to do that at the time. Eating and living as I do is working out great for me. If at 35 I can’t see my bottom 4 abs it’s not very important.
I’ve been amazed as my (very fit) wife has opened up this past year about body image, and her perception of herself and other women, and other women’s perception of her. It’s tragic and worth a whole thread or two on its own.
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I have never done that either. Or woken up after 7am and decided the day is wasted so screw it.
One tip that helped me was to start anything on Wednesday. Then all you have to do is make it to the weekend. Then finish the weekend. Don’t stress about Monday, just look forward to Wednesday and boom, you’re at the one week mark.
Baby on the way. Between crazy schedules and stuff while maintaining the romantic life. Currently about 198lbs 5’11”. Probably the most fit I’ve been in years but I could lose a few. Just doing my best to not gain the wrong weight.
That’s a win when life gets hectic!
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Just when I think I can’t like you more, you say something like this.
My husband would definitely want you as a friend. I’d tell him to!
It really is, and I’d be interested in it. I know I’m not alone in that.
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My problem? Food.
In regards to my very fit wife, it is interesting to look back and realize what she went through in her younger years. Even now. Shunned for looking good. But, that is a different topic.
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Agreed. @EmilyQ is not alone, I’m super interested too. Having struggled with an eating disorder on and off since age 11, I am no stranger to body image issues. I’d love to have a “real conversation” about that with y’all!
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Chocolate doughnuts have a habit of forcing themselves upon me…
Balance. I want to enjoy the finer things in life, and to be in great condition, and it’s a trade-off.
I’ll start with a humble-brag - I HAVE lost the 15lbs. I’ve dropped from just over 200lbs down to 185 over the past eight months.
I had been thinking “if I lost a few pounds I’d be absolutely shredded” for years, and finally decided to do it.
So 15+ pounds lighter, and guess what? I still need to lose “a few pounds”!
But I’m already wondering if the sacrifice is worth it from here. I love wine, I love whisky, I love food. Turns out I love them more than I love visible abs!
So I dropped more than what I was targeting, and then it turned out I had been under-estimating how much I had to lose and over-estimating how good it would make me feel.
And there’s the balance that’s stopping me: I don’t want to live like a monk, so those last few pounds are likely to stay with me.
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I’d rather be lean and be able to enjoy meals with my family than be absolutely peeled while eating like a monk by myself.
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I don’t want to lose 15lbs just 10. What is stopping me is my anxiety. My mom’s heart is failing, and on the bad days I am exhausted and eat crap.
I am half way there, I have lost 5lbs, but there’s no guarantee it’s going stay off… lol
Maybe this should have been in the flame free confession thread😏
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