Oh here we go again! Winter is here , a true nemesis of weight loss. We have been itching for a new challenge and winter has presented us with a good opportunity to embark on one. Join us this winter as we embark on a challenge to lose some weight, we will be doing so by following our own weight loss guide. Our primary goal is to lose the said weight as we have not reached our desired weight as yet, and our secondary goal is to uncover and clarify some of the complexities on our weight loss guide if there are any. We also hope that you will tag along and try your own challenge, so we can do it together, as the motto of this blog state “Your fitness journey companion”. For the next 3 months(15 April 2024 – 15 July 2024) we will be updating this page with our progress, highlight any lessons learned and to indicate any changes or improvements needed for our weight loss guide. Lets GO.

KAT & TSHEPI WEIGHT-LOSS GUIDE

The truth about weight loss is that you need to eat less than you are eating currently. You need to figure out a way to eat less without feeling starved or restricted. We recommend the following 4 steps for a successful and sustainable weight loss:

1. Create your vision

2. Clean up your nutrition

3. Increase physical activity

4. Track your progress

1. Create your vision

Our Winter 2024 vision

CURRENT WEIGHT	DESIRED WEIGHT
Kat – 70.55 kg & Tshepi – 71.35 kg	Kat – 65kg & Tshepi – 65kg

2. Clean up your nutrition

These foods will increase as and when we identify new foods to add or reduce

Foods to Reduce/Eliminate	Foods to include/ increase
1.Bread (R)	1. Spinach
2.Scones (R)	2.Baby Peas
3.Chocolate (R)	3.Tuna
4.Salted Almonds (E)	4.Sardines
5.Take-away Chicken (R)	5.Bean Sprouts
	6.Baked Beans
	7.Brocolli & Cauliflower
	8.Tomato
	9.Squash

3. Increase physical activity

Activities we would like to do

1.CrossFit

4. Track your progress

We will track our progress weekly on Sunday evenings.

To summaries progress tracking:

• Record your weight.
• Select 1 food item you will reduce in the week.
• Select 1 food item you will include in the week.
• Dedicate yourself to your chosen physical activity.
• Repeat each week, adding more items when you are comfortable.

WEEK	WEIGHT	FOOD (REDUCE/ELIMINATE)	FOOD (INTRODUCE/INCREASE)	PHYSICAL ACTIVITY	COMMENTS
WK 1	Kat- 70.55kg Tshepi- 71.35	Bread – eat only on Saturday	Spinach – Include in the morning shake	CrossFit 3 days per week	1.Completed only 1 CrossFit session. 2. We consumed bread on Sunday as well – Not on the plan. 3. Lessons: -Try not to be restrictive, focus must be on sustainability. -It must be a lifestyle. -Choose well, you must be able to eat like this forever.
WK 2	Kat -70.6kg Tshepi-69.95kg	1.Bread – eat only on Saturday 2. Starchy vegetables -eliminate at dinner	1.Spinach -Include in the morning shake 2.Bean sprouts-Include in every lunch	CrossFit 3 days per week	1.Completed only 1 CrossFit session 2.Decided no to restrict bread on Sundays -Avoid too much restrictions 3.Weekly tracking revives the goal, it keeps it alive.
WK 3	Kat-69.95kg Tshepi-70.6kg	1.Bread – eat only on Saturday & Sunday 2.Eliminate starchy vegetables at dinner	1.Spinach -Include in the morning shake 2.Bean sprouts-Include in every lunch 3.Chicken liver – Include every day(but away from Gym)	CrossFit 3 days per week	1.Completed only 1 CrossFit session 2.Nutrition went well and as planned 3.Caution, commitment fades as time passes
WK 4	Kat-69.95kg Tshepi69.95kg	1.Bread – Eat only on Saturday & Sunday 2.Starchy vegetables-Eliminate at dinner 3.Reduce coffee (Kat) – To improve sleep.	1.Spinach -Include in the morning shake Bean sprouts 2.Include in every lunch Chicken liver – Include every day 3.Chia Seeds- Include 10g per day (good for digestion)	CrossFit 3 days per week	1. Month completed, hooray. 2.Completed 2 CrossFit sessions -3.It was Kat birthday, lots of processed food were consumed 4.A few indulgences are still okay if you are mindful of your goal 5.Surprisingly after 2 days of processed food we had enough and were craving whole foods.
Wk 5	Kat-69.95kg Tshepi- 69.95kg	1.Bread – Eat only on Saturday & Sunday 2.Starchy vegetables-Eliminate at dinner 3.Reduce coffee (Kat) – To improve sleep.	1.Spinach -Include in the morning shake Bean sprouts 2.Include in every lunch Chicken liver – Include every day 3.Chia Seeds- Include 10g per day (good for digestion)	CrossFit 3 days per week	1.Did not complete any CrossFit session 2.Food logging was not consistent 3.Included bread in most days this week 4.NB: Be aware – focus on weight loss gets disturbed when other life challenges shows up
Wk 6	Kat-69.90kg Tshepi- 70.10kg	1.Bread – Eat only on Saturday & Sunday 2.Starchy Vegetables-Eliminate at dinner 3.Reduce coffee (Kat) – To improve sleep.	1.Baby spinach -Include in the morning shake Bean sprouts 2.Include in every lunch Chicken liver 3.Include every day Chia Seeds- Include 10g per day (good for digestion) 4.Cooked Spinach – Include 3 times per week (to increase more greens)	CrossFit 3 days per week	1.Be consistent in logging food
Wk 7	Kat -70.2kg Tshepi -70.15kg	Bread – Eat only on Saturday & Sunday Starchy vegetables-Eliminate at dinner Reduce coffee (Kat) – To improve sleep	Baby spinach -Include in the morning shake Bean sprouts -Include in every lunch Chicken liver – Include every day Chia Seeds- Include 10g per day (good for digestion) Cooked Spinach – Include 3 times per week (Increase more greens)	CrossFit 3 days	-Be consistent in logging food
Wk 8	Kat -69.8kg Tshepi -70.80kg	Bread – Eat only on Saturday & Sunday Starchy vegetables-Eliminate at dinner Reduce coffee (Kat) – To improve sleep	Baby spinach -Include in the morning shake Bean sprouts -Include in every lunch Chicken liver – Include every day Chia Seeds- Include 10g per day (good for digestion) Cooked Spinach – Include 3 times per week (Increase more greens) Eat 10g of muilti seeds daily Eat Squash 3 times per week	CrossFit 3 days	-Be consistent in logging food, we were not consistent -There were a lot of activities’ which led to eating out the whole weekend
Wk 9	Kat -69.45kg Tshepi -69.75kg	Bread – Eat 1 slice per day Starchy vegetables-Eliminate at dinner Reduce coffee (Kat) – To improve sleep	Baby spinach -Include in the morning shake Bean sprouts -Include in every lunch Chicken liver – Include every day Chia Seeds- Include 10g per day (good for digestion) Cooked Spinach – Include 3 times per week (Increase more greens) Eat 10g of muilti seeds daily Eat Squash 3 times per week	CrossFit 3 days	-Be consistent in logging food -Bread re-included during the week, changed breakfast diet(Winter)
Wk 10	Kat -70.00kg Tshepi -70.00kg	Bread – Eat 1 slice per day Starchy vegetables-Eliminate at dinner Reduce coffee (Kat) – To improve sleep	Baby spinach -Include in the morning shake Bean sprouts -Include in every lunch Chicken liver – Include every day Chia Seeds- Include 10g per day (good for digestion) Cooked Spinach – Include 3 times per week (Increase more greens) Eat 10g of muilti seeds daily Eat Squash 3 times per week	CrossFit 3 days	-Try to beconsistent in logging food. -No Crossfit, Busy week.
Wk 11	Kat -69.35kg Tshepi -69.20kg	Bread – Eat 1 slice per day Starchy vegetables-Eliminate at dinner Reduce coffee (Kat) – To improve sleep	Baby spinach -Include in the morning shake Bean sprouts -Include in every lunch Chicken liver – Include every day Chia Seeds- Include 10g per day (good for digestion) Cooked Spinach – Include 3 times per week (Increase more greens) Eat 10g of muilti seeds daily Eat Squash 3 times per week	CrossFit 3 days	-Holidays affected routine -No Crossfit, Busy week.
Wk 12	Kat -70.15kg Tshepi -69.8kg	Bread – Eat 1 slice per day Starchy vegetables-Eliminate at dinner Reduce coffee (Kat) – To improve sleep	Baby spinach -Include in the morning shake Bean sprouts -Include in every lunch Chicken liver – Include every day Chia Seeds- Include 10g per day (good for digestion) Cooked Spinach – Include 3 times per week (Increase more greens) Eat 10g of muilti seeds daily Eat Squash 3 times per week	CrossFit 3 days	-We have been inconsistent -Set dinner time to 19:00 – consistent time -A bout of flu disturbed routine (food and training)
WK 13	Kat -69.3kg Tshepi -69.85kg	Bread – Eat 1 slice per day Starchy vegetables-Eliminate at dinner Reduce coffee (Kat) – To improve sleep	Baby spinach -Include in the morning shake Bean sprouts -Include in every lunch Chicken liver – Include every day Chia Seeds- Include 10g per day (good for digestion) Cooked Spinach – Include 3 times per week (Increase more greens) Eat 10g of muilti seeds daily Eat Squash 3 times per week	CrossFit 3 days	-We have been inconsistent -Set dinner time to 19:00 – consistent time -Not a lot of training because of busyness
WK 14	Kat -68.60kg Tshepi -69.75kg	Bread – Eat 1 slice per day Starchy vegetables-Eliminate at dinner Reduce coffee (Kat) – To improve sleep	Baby spinach -Include in the morning shake Bean sprouts -Include in every lunch Chicken liver – Include every day Chia Seeds- Include 10g per day (good for digestion) Cooked Spinach – Include 3 times per week (Increase more greens) Eat 10g of muilti seeds daily Eat Squash 3 times per week Tomatoes – Include in every dinner	CrossFit 3 days	-Completed 1 Crossfit training , but weekly cardio was consistent. -Food tracking was inconsistent, get it back on track. -Time to get back to normal routine

It has been 3 months since we started the winter weight loss challenge. Looking at the end weight picture above, Kat has lost 1.95 kg and Tshepi has lost 1.6 kg. We are happy that we have lost this weight(especially in winter) and are confident that our weight loss guide helps in losing weight. What has been more beneficial is the number of foods we have added to our diet as a result of this process, these are healthy foods that were not regular to us and now they are part of our weekly meal plan.

We would like to thank you for following the challenge. Until the next time, Stay blessed.

Kat & Tshepi

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