What I Actually Did to Lose 14 Pounds in 2 Months

On July 27th, I committed to an 8-week fat loss phase. I gave myself a target: 14 pounds.

And on September 26th… I hit it.

That’s the short version of this story… YAY ME! Also, that sucked!!!!

Now, time to trust my coach and reverse by his guidance instead of letting completely loose… like I have the last time we were here LOL!

The Long Version… Buckle up!

I am going to share it all. The same way that I go about my coaching. There’s no smoke and mirrors here.

It wasn’t magical. It wasn’t dramatic. It wasn’t even particularly exciting.

It was quiet. It was consistent. It was boring.

It was filled with moments that no one would notice unless I told them… and honestly, I didn’t feel like talking about them much in the moment because I was just trying to settle in and get it done.

But since then, I’ve been asked…

“What did you actually do to lose the weight?”

So here it is. All of it.

The stuff I did. The stuff I didn’t do. The stuff I’m proud of.

And the moments I had to talk myself off the ledge… more than once.

Lifestyle Context

I’m 44 years old and my hormones are in the fluctuations that happen with my age.
I have autoimmune stuff that has been in an active flare.
I also have ADHD and had to come off of my medication for it recently due to an issue with it having a bad interaction with another medication I needed more.
I have four kids. They’re back in school but not in sports.
I work from home and have to work hard at creating boundaries with work, life & family.
I’ve got stress and life stuff just like everyone else.

The First Two Weeks: Early Wins

I started off strong. Calories were set for a moderate deficit, not aggressive.

I prepped food… nothing extreme. Just meals I actually like to eat and could prep in bulk.

I cooked most things myself. I love variety, so I tracked recipes carefully. I even licked the spatula and logged it.

The scale responded fast in those first two weeks. Which felt great… until it didn’t.

More detail here…

The Middle Weeks: Routine and Frustration

Somewhere between weeks 3 and 6, I hit the part no one likes to talk about: The stall.

For ten full days, the scale sat between 154 and 155.

One morning, I got on and off four times. I changed the batteries. Disconnected the Bluetooth. Reconnected it.

Nothing changed.

And yes… I know better. I coach this. I understand fluctuations. Hormones. Sleep. Sodium. Inflammation. Stress.

But when it’s your body… your data… your effort…

It hits different.

I was mad. Fully.

Old me probably would’ve said “screw it” right there. That stall used to be my breaking point.

I’d have eased up on tracking. Let the bites, licks, and tastes slide in. Told myself “this isn’t working anyway.” Maybe grabbed ice cream out of frustration — even knowing I didn’t have the macros for it. Told myself I deserved it. That I shouldn’t feel miserable and stuck.

And then I would’ve gotten on the scale the next day… even more pissed.

Because I would’ve been undoing the work I said I wanted to see results from — all because I couldn’t sit in the discomfort for a minute.

That was me. And honestly, that version of me isn’t that far in the past.

But this time… I did it differently.

I gave myself a rule: Just give it one more week.

So I did.

I kept tracking.
I kept prepping.
I kept walking, running, and lifting.
I reminded myself that the body has its own rhythm… sodium, hydration, inflammation, hormones… who knows what was holding water that day.

There were temptations… the bites, licks, and tastes that could’ve undone consistency. I acknowledged them. Logged them. Moved on. No shame. No guilt. Just awareness and accountability.

The quiet work was emotional too.

Sitting with frustration without reacting impulsively.
Accepting the plateau instead of sabotaging progress.
Trusting that the process mattered more than a single number.
Continuing even when the reward wasn’t immediately visible.

And then…

The scale dropped again. The stall was over.

The work wasn’t flashy. It wasn’t loud.

But the quiet, consistent actions and the patience I practiced during that frustration… that’s where the real progress was built.

More details here

AND The Last Two Weeks… I. WAS. DONE.

I was absolutely done.

Like I’ve told others… I never had any intention of dragging this deficit out for long.

Because I knew it would catch up to me.

It really is like a race against fatigue and your personal breaking point… especially when you want to get in and get out.

And by week 7… I was crawling to the finish line.

Tired, hungry, cranky… but still showing up.

Here’s alllllll the things laid out for you 😊

What I Actually Did

Let’s talk about what this actually looked like… the behaviors, the choices, the basics.

Meal Prep and Tracking

All of my meals were prepped and logged. This is because I love cooking, and trying new recipes keeps things enjoyable, even while in a calorie deficit. So if I want the luxury of variety, I needed to pay the price of the meticulous tracking.

Yes, I still licked the spatula sometimes, but everything was tracked… every bite, every taste, every indulgence accounted for.

And having my meals ready reduced decision fatigue, and it helped me avoid grabbing something impulsively. This has to do a lot with me managing what I can manage through the systems and the habits that I build to help myself.

Takeout

Takeout was limited to once a week, sometimes every other week.

And even if the kids had it, I stuck mostly to my meal prep. I didn’t feel deprived; I just chose to prioritize my consistency over the temporary convenience of things that I could get whenever I felt like it.

Hydration

First, I don’t drink alcohol. This is a personal choice. I don’t like the way that I sleep the night after I drink. I don’t like the way I feel the day after. If I really want something, I will have it. But I don’t want it. I would much rather eat my calories.

My daily water intake hovered around 80 ounces, though some days I only managed coffee and energy drinks. Liquid IV helped on hot days, and I kept track of all beverages. Seriously, every liquid IV packet, and all else that was added to beverages was also tracked. But I will say this was a little bit on the easier side since I just drink black coffee.

I do, however, really enjoy a Starbucks latte every so often. I have a custom entry in my Macro Sync app for both my grande vanilla latte with almond milk and for a tall pumpkin spice latte with almond milk and no whip. These were included in my eight week span of deficit. I just pick and chose when I really truly wanted them and made them fit.

Cardio & Movement

I dropped my running down from 5-6 mile sessions to 2-3 miles, 3x/week to prevent excess hunger and support energy levels.

I walked daily… 10,000 to 12,000 steps most days. Some days it was three short walks. Other days one long one. I stacked habits where I could.

Training

Weight training 2-3x per week. Nothing fancy. 20-30 minutes. Kept it simple. The goal wasn’t muscle gain… it was to maintain what I had.

I let my body lead… if I was too tired or fatigued already, I didn’t push. I knew that there was risk to pushing with not recovering as well with my active/heading to remission flare and my hormonal state possibly throwing a wrench in with my sleep. BUT I also went to my coach with the information of how I felt, my Oura ring’s data and let him lead the way here. I didn’t want my temporary feeling to get in the way if it was just emotional… which I definitely battle when I am in a deep deficit.

Recovery

Prioritized sleep as much as humanly possible. I have been working on my sleep since December. I have gone from three hours average to 6 to 7 hours average.

Also, Sunday is my Sabbath. No chores. Just church.

What I Didn’t Do

This matters just as much to say…

I didn’t restrict food groups
I didn’t do fasted cardio
I didn’t take fat burners or metabolism boosters
I didn’t lose sleep obsessing over macros
I didn’t rely on motivation
I didn’t make it harder than it needed to be

And I still lost the 14 pounds I set out to lose.

Because I stuck with the basics instead of chasing extremes.

If you fix your sleep… your body runs better.

If you hydrate… your body runs better.

If you prep your food… you reduce last-minute decisions.

If you practice habits that align with your goal… you get there faster.

Takeway

If you’re in the middle of your own journey… and the scale won’t budge… or your clothes feel the same… or you’re starting to wonder if it’s even worth it…

Give it another week.

Stay with the process.

And if you need to… throw your own tantrum, drink your coffee, and then get back to doing the thing.

Because it’s working. You just can’t see it yet… not from your perception.

From your focal point.

But you will.

It’s just a matter of waiting it out.

With love, Coach Nik

What I Actually Did to Lose 14 Pounds in 2 Months