Sustainable Weight Loss for Women - Skinny Fitalicious®

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Sustainable weight loss for women doesn’t come from starving, restricting, or trying to be perfect. It comes from understanding your body, building habits, and finally stepping off the dieting hamster wheel. And the stories I hear every day from clients prove exactly that.

One client recently told me, “Feeling really grateful that I started this process. There’s so much about this that has been common sense, but I needed it presented to me in a different way for it to really click.” She’s 49, down 18 inches, and most importantly, she finally feels in control of her health again.

Another client messaged me on Thanksgiving to say she’s already seeing major changes in her mindset, her relationship with food, and her confidence—after years of repeating the same dieting cycles and getting nowhere.

She used to believe she had to eat 1400 calories because that’s what Weight Watchers told her. Now she’s losing fat at 2400 calories because we rebuilt her habits, fueled her body properly, and stopped the restrictive dieting that was keeping her stuck.

These client stories are a perfect lead-in to today’s conversation, because they highlight what so many women still don’t realize: you don’t have to struggle.

You don’t have to be confused, frustrated, or miserable. And you definitely don’t have to keep doing the restrictive diets that steal your energy and convince you that you’re the problem.

You’re not. The approach is.

In this Dish On Ditching Diets podcast episode, I want to show you what’s actually possible when you stop trying to shrink yourself through deprivation and start focusing on what truly improves your health—strength, habits, nourishment, mindset, and sustainability.

In this Dish On Ditching Diets Podcast Episode, You Will Hear:

Sustainable Weight Loss for Women – Why Restricting Keeps You Stuck
How Dieting Has Become Your Lifestyle
Restrictive Diets like WW, Optavia, HCG, Keto, etc. Often Create Huge Calorie Deficits that are Unsustainable and Misleading
Most Women Think “Dieting” Equals Restriction
Why Restrictive Diets Don’t Work for Women
Women Often Lose Sight of the Bigger Picture, Believing a Fast, Restrictive Diet will be Easier than Slow, Sustainable Habit-Building
Don’t Lose Sight of THIS on Your Weight Loss Journey

Never Miss An Episode! Subscribe to the Dish On Ditching Diets Podcast on Apple, Stitcher, Spotify or Amazon Music

words that say sustainable weight loss for midlife women.

In this exclusive, science-backed workshop, you’ll identify the hidden reasons why you are not losing fat, the surprising truth about weight loss and calories plus the critical steps to fix your weight loss blind spots so you can lose weight without willpower, restriction, deprivation or extreme workouts!

send me the blind spots workshop!

Sustainable Weight Loss for Women Podcast Transcript

“Feeling really grateful that I started this process. There’s so much about this that has been common sense, but I needed it presented to me in a different way for it to really click.”

That was from my 49-year-old client who is down 18 inches so far.

Another client said, I wanted to wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving and to tell you that I’m so thankful for you! In the time that we’ve been working together, I’ve already seen some major changes and improvements, and I’m excited to see where things go from here! I have you to thank for that, because before I just kept repeating the same circles over and over again! You have guided me and brought me in a different direction that I can already tell is changing my life for the better! I know I’m still in the early stages, but I’m actually really excited and feel like things are actually possible! I had a hard time feeling that way before. I’d have little glimpses but always felt so lost! I can’t thank you enough for your guidance and the new perspectives that you have been giving me! You are excellent at what you do! Thank you so much!”

That was from my 48-year-old client who has been working on her habits, mindset and relationship with food. She did Weight Watchers repeatedly, was constantly starving and when she began coaching, she was trying to eat 1400 calories because that the number of calories equivalent to the points Weight Watchers gave her.

She began coaching with me after we worked on her habits, her mindset, relationship with food – she is now losing fat at 2400 calories because her maintenance is 2900 calories. Weight Watchers had my client eating in a 1500 calorie deficit.

This is a good segway into our discussion today. I feel like it’s important to understand for you to see what’s possible for you. It’s important for you to understand you don’t have to struggle. You don’t have to be confused, frustrated and all those things are voluntary. I mean that wholeheartedly.

I truly believe if you are struggling with your health, your relationship with food, building muscle, building habits, losing fat if you are struggling with those things, that is a voluntary thing. You have the option to change that. I want you to see what it’s like when you feel confident and healthy and strong and fit.

As someone who used to be 215 pounds, I think why most women choose not to change their situation and get the help they need because they still think diet means restriction. So, you’re scared to work with a coach because in your mind that means you’re going on a diet. Time to restrict. Time to cut things out. Time to be perfect.

And you’ve done that before and you’ve failed and you don’t want to fail because feeling like you failed feels awful so you do nothing. I get it. But as someone who formerly was 215 pounds, I confidently will tell you that’s not how any of this works.

I guarantee the way you have always approached losing weight before is through restrictive dieting. Like the client I just mentioned who was doing Weight Watchers and trying to eat in a 1500 calorie deficit but couldn’t be compliant with that steep of a deficit and thinking she was a failure.

Or another client I worked with this year who was doing Optavia before coaching with me who’s weight wouldn’t budge, and she was starving. Her maintenance was 2400 calories. Unknown to her she was trying to eat 1400 calories which for her was a 1000 calorie deficit. We pulled her calories up to 1900 calories and she lost weight because she was in a reasonable deficit. Not an insane calorie deficit from Optavia.

Another client of mine this year has lost 50 pounds eating fast food daily. But before she struggled to lose weight because she always thought she had to cut all these foods out and be perfect. Then she would beat herself up and give up. As her coach, I didn’t cut out her fast food. I simply helped her find more protein in her fast food.

We worked meal by meal over time then after she got her protein down, we worked on her fiber then she worked on her steps. Then months later she began eating more foods at home and today she’s branching out looking at other foods she can make, and she did that stuff on her own without me directing her to do that. It was a natural progression of building new habits.

You see the whole reason we go on a weight loss journey is to improve our health, get stronger, and fitter, right? Then why if the goal to improve health do we think it makes sense to go on a diet where we are cutting things out we enjoy and eating in starvation level deficits? How does that make any sense?

HCG diet – you’re eating 500 to 800 calories, and they tell you not to exercise. Optavia – 800, 1000, 1200 calories and they tell you not to exercise too. Weight Watchers – well known for putting women on very few points which equate to 1000 calorie deficits.

Why do we think that is how we improve our health?

Why do we think in January it makes sense to do Whole30? A very strict diet that cuts out a ton of foods, some foods that are incredibly health promoting, why do we think doing Whole30 for one month is the way to improving our health, getting stronger and fitter? It’s not. People use Whole30 to crash diet.

If you are waking up and realizing how weird it is that we think it’s normal to improve our health doing these things, no shame because that used to be me too when I was 215 pounds.

What I am here to say is that way too often the underlying issue in all of this is that we lose sight of the bigger picture when we want to lose weight. Because it’s more fun to think I’ll just do Whole30 for a month and I won’t have to do anything after that. Or if I drop my calories really low it’s more exciting because I’ll be losing weight faster.

The restrictive, nonsense diets seem more exciting and enticing than being like, what daily habits should I be doing to improve my health? What should I be doing on a weekly basis with my total calorie needs, my energy needs? How much fiber and protein should I get every day? How can I get more movement in my day? Those questions are not exciting. They are boring.

It’s more exciting to say to do all those restrictive diets and it conjures up more of an emotional reaction than saying, understand your energy requirements, protein, fiber and step requirements.

The bottom line is we lose sight of that bigger picture that going on a weight loss journey is about your health. Aging well. Getting stronger. Getting fitter. Staying strong and fit as we age.

And I what I consistently come back to is there are these massive, big rocks that nobody wants to talk about because it’s too boring and repetitive.

Sometimes I’ll go to write and email, record a video for social media or record a podcast and think am I really going to say this boring habit stuff again? Like, is anybody even going to listen? Maybe I would have more email subscribers and clients if I lied to people and made sensationalized content. But that goes against every moral fiber in my body. But I do think those things.

Just like when I was 215 pounds, I always thought it was a good idea to jump on the restrictive diet train every January because I was bloated and didn’t like the way I felt. And that is likely where you are right now, and I want you to achieve what my clients are achieving.

You don’t realize you it, but you could be feeling so much better. More peace with food, getting stronger, getting leaner and fitter, and showing up as an upgraded version of you. You don’t realize your life can be better.

My client who is 73 was crying on our last phone call. She said to me, I can’t believe the things I’m doing at my age. I have so much more peace with food, energy, I’m more intentional about my choices and it’s all thanks to you.

She signed up for midlife weight loss coaching last December and was in a very bad place with food and feeling terrible about every food choice she was making. She was in the struggle, and she was reflecting on how far she’s come a year later. She is no longer in that miserable place.

You don’t have to be in that miserable place. You don’t have to be in the struggle. You can get the help that you need just like these clients did. Will it take time? Yes, and that does not matter. You have struggled for 20, 30, maybe 40 years of your life.

If you spend one year or even two years working on this, that is a drop in the bucket compared to the 20, 30 or 40 years of your life you’ve been struggling. Anyone who tells you it takes less time than that is putting you on a restrictive diet.

As you step into January, don’t lose sight of what a weight loss journey is all about. I know it will be so tempting for you to lose sight of this but do your best not to. You go on a weight loss journey to improve your health, get stronger, age well, get fitter.

Improve your mental wellbeing around food, your habits, your mindset. It will be tempting to repeat the pattern of dieting and go on another restrictive diet but remember that’s not what going on a weight loss journey is about. Ask yourself is this helping me or hurting me lose sight of that bigger picture? That’s not how realistic weight loss for women over 40 works.

And if you do want to get to a place where you can live your life and be free and be healthy and be fit and have the body that you want and the freedom that you want and have the life that you want and have the mindset that you want, I can do all of that for you.

You just have to go to the link in the show notes and sign up. Speaking of that, I am trialing something new with my coaching in January 2026. In the past, I required a 6-month commitment and for January I’m trialing a monthly plan.

You do get a discount if you make the 6-month commitment, but I understand many women have been burnt by other coaches and programs, so this allows you to get started with me without making a 6-month commitment. I’m testing this so I cannot guarantee I will keep this month-to-month coaching plan.

So, if you’re ready to get started you can go to the link in the show notes and pay for month-to-month weight loss coaching and I’ll start working with you in January. You also have the option to schedule a weight loss consultation with me if you feel more comfortable going that route.

Alright ladies, have a wonderful holiday season. I’ll talk to you in the New Year!