The Weight-Loss Checklist You Actually Need (It’s Not What You Think)
Last year I lost 8 kilos :-O
I had gained a lot of weight during a stressful period as a single mom, working a difficult position in supplement marketing. Even though as a nutritional coach, I know what to do, during this tough time, I let go of all of my boundaries and my bad habits crept in.
Below is THE checklist I used for healthy, sustainable weight loss. It ALL starts with something unexpected: self-love.
Don’t worry, there’s more to it than self-love, but it is SO IMPORTANT to love your own body enough to want to nourish it back to health.
Inspired by my Fast Like a Girl Training with Dr. Mindy Pelz. I’ve prepared this article through my own lens helps you reconnect with your body and solve your health equation. Think of it as your personal roadmap back to feeling lighter, calmer, and more at home in your own skin.
Step 1: Start with Self-Love
“When you release the shame, the body finally feels safe to let go.”
Before you change your food habit or eat within a fasting window, check in with your heart. Ask yourself:
• Who am I without the extra weight?
• Can I love myself today — before the scale changes?
Mindset is everything! When you create peace in your mind, it will be easier to find peace in your body.
Step 2: Learn to Metabolically Switch
Our body runs on two different fuel systems: a fat burning system and a glucose or sugar burning system.
When we eat food you are in the sugar burning system.
When you give your body a daily fasting window (12–15 hours), you train it to burn fat for energy.
Try this:
Use a small glucose + ketone reader (like Keto-Mojo).
Measure when you wake and before your first meal.
You want glucose ↓ and ketones ↑.
When you fast, you start burning your fat. If it’s not happening, adjust your food or extend your fast a bit.
Most people find their fat burning rhythm within two weeks.
Step 3: Fiber First
Fiber stabilizes blood sugar, feeds your gut bacteria, and keeps you full.
Snack on carrots or cucumber.
Add a side salad to every meal.
Make “fiber first” your mantra this week.
Step 4: Protein with Every Meal
Pair clean protein with plants.
Think wild fish, eggs, lentils, or grass-fed meat.
Eat your protein + veggies first, then carbs last — it keeps cravings calm and energy stable.
Step 5: Love Your Liver
Your liver is your main fat-burning organ, but it can only do one big job at a time.
Alcohol, certain medications, and even unexpressed anger slow it down.
Try this:
• Take a break from alcohol for 30 days.
• Swap Tylenol when possible (it’s tough on the liver).
• If anger bubbles up — see it as protection. Express it safely and let it move through you.
Step 6: Move Your Body Daily
Movement doesn’t have to be punishment.
Start with 3–5 miles of walking a day — it balances hormones and clears your mind.
Add:
• 2 days strength training (heavy enough for 8 reps)
• 2 short HIIT sessions
• Yoga or stretching for recovery
Bonus tip: after big meals, do a 20-minute walk or 100 air squats to help your body use glucose instead of storing it.
Step 7: Detox Your Life
Obesogens — the hidden chemicals in food, packaging, and cosmetics — teach your body to hold on to fat.
Keep it simple:
Did Mother Nature make it, or did a factory?
Real food → yes.
Processed → no thanks.
Consider a gentle guided detox if you feel sluggish or stuck.
Step 8: Prioritize Deep Sleep
Sleep is your nightly detox.
During deep sleep your liver clears sugar, your brain flushes toxins, and your hormones reset.
Aim for 8–9 hours and treat bedtime like a sacred appointment with yourself.
Step 9: Eat with the Daylight
Try finishing dinner before dark.
When melatonin rises, your body becomes more insulin-resistant, meaning more likely to store food as fat.
Eat with the sun.
Rest with the moon.
Step 10: Calm Your Stress
Chronic stress keeps cortisol high — and when cortisol is up, insulin can’t do its job.
Before reaching for snacks, move:
Walk. Stretch. Breathe. Journal.
Calming your nervous system is fat-burning.
Final Thought
This checklist isn’t a race. It’s an invitation.
Pick one step at a time. Notice how your body responds.
And remember: when you solve your own health equation, you gain more than weight loss — you gain freedom.
