Ever wondered how our Fit Over 40 plan works? Here’s a step by step guide, so you can achieve your goals easily.
We can’t tell you how many women over forty we’ve spoken to who have been looking to drop a dress size, but struggled to see movement on the scales. These are women who were trying all the approaches which worked in their 20s and 30s, but were seeing ZERO results in the mirror.
The reason this happens to so many women is because most diets are not designed to work for women over forty. They’re usually just about eating less and moving more, which might work for your average 20-something dieter…
But women in their 40s are dealing with changing hormones, high stress levels, busy careers and more. They require a completely different and unique approach in order to succeed.
And that’s why we created our Fit Over 40 plan which has helped more than 5,700 women to get the scales moving and achieve their fitness goals. We use a proven step-by-step formula which delivers FAST and sustainable results for women over 40. This plan helps our clients to lose weight, get back into all their favourite clothes, and feel incredible wearing anything they like!
In today’s blog, we’re going to tell you exactly how our Fit Over 40 program works and lay out the exact process our clients use to see amazing results in the mirror! You can hear more about this on our podcast.
Our discovery session
Before anyone signs up, we always have a discovery session. This is a 30-45 minute call to find out everything about them and their goals. We ask about what they’ve tried in the past, what they’ve been doing more recently, and what they’re looking to achieve.
We’ll then figure out what’s not working and what strategies need to be in place to achieve their goals. Next, we’ll explain exactly how the program works and what’s involved (including the current investment to sign up).
Then, only if we’re a good fit to work together and we’re 100% confident we can help them get the results they want, we’ll extend an invitation to join our program.
For people who do join our program, here’s more about how it works.
1-1 coaching
Everyone works 1 on 1 with a coach, as we’ve learned over the past decade that having the support of someone else is so important for long-term success.
It’s human nature that we don’t want to let others down, but we will give up on our own. It’s easy to fail in private as no one else has to know but you.
A coach provides two things…
Expert support
For women over 40, who’s bodies and hormones are changing, a very different approach is required to successfully lose weight. Our expert coaching team have all been extensively trained, and they’ve seen every problem 100s of times before. They can help you save months not seeing progress on your own by instantly giving you a solution.
Accountability
As you probably know, life can be challenging. It can throw obstacles in the way of achieving your goals. So, if a client is to fall off track for a few days, we track and monitor everything that our clients do.
So we can proactively get in touch with them, or they can get in touch with us, and we can discuss how to tweak the plan so they can still get the results for the end of that week for their weekly check in.
We also can find out what was the root cause of the issue, and what strategies can be put in place to make sure that doesn’t repeat itself over the process.
How this works in practice
The way this works in practice is via:
- An Intake form: The first thing that happens is our clients complete an initial intake form to give us all the information we need to create their program and get them started.
- On-boarding call: The next thing that happens is a 1-1 onboarding call with their coach where they get to know them a bit better, and review their goals. We make sure we have all the information we need to tailor their program. This way they can achieve those goals as quickly as possible. We’ll also then make sure they’re 100% clear on how everything works and what they’ll need to do during their first week.
- Weekly check-ins: As our clients go through the program, at the end of every week we complete a 1-1 check in to make sure they are on track and help them overcome any struggles which they’ve had during the week. We either do this via phone or email (depending on the level of support they have signed up for). In both cases this makes sure our clients are always 100% on track and always seeing results.
- Support: In between these check-ins, our clients can also access unlimited support from their coach so they can get their questions answered and never feel stuck or confused during their journey. Whether they are struggling with how to handle a weekend away, lacking in motivation, or dealing with a stressful week at work, we are there to help and support every step of the way.
The program
There are two key parts to our program: exercise and nutrition. Both are designed to keep stress levels on the body low to avoid elevating cortisol levels too much and triggering the Weight Gain Triangle.
Nutrition
Our clients will receive a tailored nutritional program. We start with a Diet Makeover. This is a 2 week process to: eliminate hormone-disrupting foods, restore your gut microbiome, and rebalance your hormones. And as a result, our clients eradicate cravings and get the weight moving again.
We teach our clients about hormonally balanced eating. We teach them to get the right balance of 3 key nutrients: calories, protein and fibre. Most diets only focus on calories. Whether it’s cutting out whole food groups, fasting, or aiming for a really low target like 1200kcal. They go far too low, and miss out the other key nutrients, which causes serious issues for women over 40. This can lead to loss of muscle, and loss of bone density. Whilst initially quick for weight loss, it’s from the wrong areas and women will plateau very quickly. Then, nothing works to get the weight moving.
With hormonally-balanced eating, women are able to lose weight steadily and consistently. They shift 1-2 stone every 12 weeks – without having to starve themselves or give up entire food groups.
We then conduct holistic fine-tuning, to optimise other lifestyle factors that affect your ability to lose weight. These include things like like sleep, caffeine, alcohol and even HRT.
Our program is built up step-by-step. This might sound like a lot, but we build it up slowly and only add one new focus each week. Something new each week also keep it interesting and to keep you progressing every single week.
Exercise
Most exercise approaches are totally wrong for women over forty, as they actually disrupt hormones further making things worse not better. HIIT, spinning, running, and intense gym classes aren’t conducive for weight loss over forty.
Instead, we use an approach called LIST – low-impact strength training. All that we require is you exercise 2-3 times a week for 30 minutes, and you can do it all from home!
These are all virtual personal training sessions which you can follow along with. This is just like you’re being coached 1-1 by us, so that you always know what you should be doing.
This is tailored to your level, so if you’re more advanced you will still be pushed. If you’re just starting out with exercise or haven’t done it for a while, it won’t be too hard and you will see progress every single week.
Mindset coaching
Even though it’s separate from the training and nutrition, mindset really is what underpins a large part of the program. With this coaching, it’s about making sure we help our clients with consistency, motivation, and willpower – but the main thing that we cover is stress.
The reason why mindset is so important is firstly from a physiological point of view. High levels of stress mean high levels of cortisol. This is counterproductive to their ability to lose weight and body fat.
Secondly, from a behavioural point of view, it’s a lot easier to make poorer choices when stressed. For example, if it’s the end of a stressful day and someone reaches for that wine or chocolate, or thinks “I’ve got through the day so I feel entitled to reward myself with something”, instead they make the right decisions. Even though they’re two separate emotions, they lead to the same outcome in terms of nutrition and results.
To conclude
This might sound like a lot, and we always strive to over-deliver for our members. However, it’s all broken down into just a couple of things to do each week. So that it’s not overwhelming at all.
And because you’re working 1-1 with your coach, we’re always there to point you in the right direction if you’re stuck.
