Royal Results: How a Busy Mom Lost 40 Pounds in 12 Weeks

Stacy lost 40 pounds in 12 weeks after she stopped relying on daily gym sessions that were not working and switched to a custom meal plan, heavier strength training and my 12 week online program. She did it while raising kids, studying part time, working about 60 hours a week as a director, and eight months after knee surgery.

Names and identifying details changed for client privacy. Results vary. Stacy’s outcome is not typical of every client, and your results depend on your starting point, health, consistency and how closely you follow the plan.

“Zavier gave me a practical method to follow to lose weight. I cut the fads, followed his directions, and the weight just came off.”

What was Stacy’s life like when she started?

• Full-time mom
• Part-time student
• Full-time director, working about 60 hours a week
• An active social life
• Recent knee surgery 8 months before her first session with me

She had every reason people give for not making progress, and she still found time to train.

Why was hard work not working?

“I had hit a wall. I was waking up day after day, going to the gym early to get in shape, but the weight wasn’t going anywhere. I thought I would see progress if I could get out to the gym every day.”

She was consistent and she worked hard. The problem was direction. She was doing a lot of cardio with light weights, and her weight kept going down a little and coming back. She noticed clients I was training making steady progress and asked me what they were doing differently.

What did I change?

I put her on three things:

• A meal plan built around her schedule and food preferences
• A short list of supplements to make the plan easier
• My 12 week online training program, built around her knee

The goal was not only to lose weight but to teach her how to keep it off.

What did she eat?

• Lean proteins: salmon, chicken and ground turkey
• Fats: avocado and some coconut oil for cooking
• Carbs and fiber: green vegetables and brown rice

Nothing exotic. Food she could cook fast and repeat on busy weeks. A plan built on lean protein and vegetables also keeps you full on fewer calories, which matters when your days are long.

Which supplements did she use?

Protein powder, CLA, BCAAs, a multivitamin and a powdered greens product. I list them because that is what she used, not because they caused the result. Of these, protein powder is the one I still recommend most, because it makes the protein target easier. The meal plan and training did the heavy lifting.

How did she train?

Heavier than she was used to. Instead of more cardio, she lifted with real weight, working around her knee and building up over the 12 weeks. Keeping strength training in a fat loss phase helps you keep muscle while you lose fat. Read can lifting weights help you burn fat.

She also wore a Polar FT60 heart rate monitor to track her sessions and daily activity, which helped her see how hard she was really working. More in the benefits of using a heart rate monitor.

What can you take from her story?

• A calorie deficit still drives fat loss. See the formula for calories in, calories out.
• More effort is not the same as better direction. If you train every day and nothing changes, change the plan.
• A busy schedule needs a simple, repeatable plan, not a perfect one.
• Lifting belongs in a fat loss plan, for women as much as men.

What should you read next?

Read four weight loss sins to avoid and how to lose weight effectively. To work with me, start with the XPL quiz, which is my intake form for every client, then see coaching options and pricing.

Written by Zavier King, personal trainer in Houston and online coach at XPL. ISSA Certified Personal Trainer and NASM Nutrition Coach.