If I had to lose fat, build muscle and start from zero again, these are the 10 things I'd do. I spent years yo-yo dieting, doing random workouts and weighing myself twice a day, and none of it worked until I changed the way I approached it. This is everything I wish I'd known at the start.
We cover why discipline beats motivation, prioritizing whole foods without being restrictive, strength training four days a week, progressive overload, tracking macros for the first three months, building a small deficit instead of slashing calories, keeping carbs in, throwing the scale away, changing your environment, and why six months is the number that actually matters.
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TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 - Intro
1:20 - The activewear brands I actually wear
2:42 - What I'd do if I had to start my fitness journey over
3:12 - The years I spent yo-yo dieting and never sticking to it
4:03 - Why results take longer than anyone tells you
4:28 - Everyone starts at a different point
5:44 - The 10 things I'd do to lose fat and build muscle from zero
6:41 - 1. Build the mindset before you build anything else
7:03 - Discipline vs motivation, and why motivation always runs out
8:27 - The days I still don't want to train
9:31 - Affirmations and feeding yourself positivity
10:18 - The first taste of change, and why it keeps you going
11:04 - Give any program three months before you judge it
12:24 - 2. Prioritize whole foods
12:50 - Why food quality matters more than perfect macros
13:25 - Why processed foods leave you hungry and over your calories
14:30 - Eating more volume and snacking less
15:01 - Protein sources, fiber and vegetables
15:34 - The carbs I actually eat
15:57 - My 90/10 lifestyle and why restriction never lasted
16:27 - The Happy Meal rule
17:08 - Meal prep and my 3-2 rule
17:54 - Using sauces so meal prep isn't boring
19:03 - 3. Strength train four days a week
19:35 - If you want to look toned, it is not through more cardio
20:18 - How to split your four days based on your goals
21:08 - Recovery, and the 24 to 48 hour rule
22:28 - Where cardio actually fits in
23:28 - 4. Focus on progressive overload
23:48 - Your body adapts to what you repeatedly ask it to do
24:15 - What progressive overload actually means
25:28 - The goblet squat example, week one to week five
26:43 - Why random workouts kept me stuck for years
27:30 - Nail your form before you add weight
29:20 - 5. Track your macros for the first three months
29:46 - Why the long term goal is intuitive eating
30:13 - What 30g of protein actually looks like
30:32 - How quickly fats add up
31:02 - How tracking showed me I was over and under eating
32:30 - 6. Create a small deficit, don't slash your calories
33:13 - Adjusting based on energy, hunger and recovery
34:15 - How to tell if you're at maintenance, deficit or surplus
34:56 - 7. Keep the carbs in
35:26 - The low carb years and how miserable I was
36:21 - Timing your carbs around your workout
37:08 - Do you need to eat before a 5am workout
38:35 - Blood sugar, and what to eat if you feel dizzy
39:09 - 8. Stop weighing yourself every day
39:34 - Weighing myself multiple times a day
40:37 - Everything that moves the number on the scale
41:19 - What to measure instead of body weight
42:09 - Throwing the scale away
42:44 - Why your own body is the best scale you have
44:42 - Take your before photos
45:36 - 9. Change your environment sooner
45:52 - What's quietly pulling you away from your goals
47:34 - Setting boundaries around your time and energy
49:54 - 10. Give yourself six months
50:48 - The biggest mistake I see women make
52:00 - The restart cycle that kept me stuck
52:33 - A true body recomposition took me a full year
53:24 - What changed beyond the physical transformation
56:05 - Write these down where you'll see them
57:58 - Wrapping up
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SAM'S LINKS:
ELEVATE App | progressive overload programs, free 7 day trial: https://www.elevatebysam.com/
Macro Guide: https://samanthachristine.co/nutrition-guides
Running Programs: https://samanthachristine.co/running-guides
https://samanthachristine.co/2025/09/03/my-3-2-rule-meal-prep-made-simple/
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