MY JOURNEY TO STAGE – WEIGHT-LOSS AND THE THINGS I LEARNED
By Lucy-Jo Tostevin
Weight-loss is not necessarily easy (especially getting stage lean), but people often think the process is much more complicated than it is. The key is to keep things simple.
Here are some of the things I focussed on during my comp prep, all of which are applicable o anyone who wants to get leaner.
- Eat in a calorie deficit. I started on 2300 calories and ended on 1300. There was a gradual reduction over 14 weeks (please note that these numbers were related to my weight/goals and calorie deficits should be calculated to the specific individual).
- Flexible dieting approach – no food groups were excluded. However, naturally, heavily processed foods and higher calorie treats did drop off as my daily calorie intake lowered.
- Trained with purpose and intent! 2x lower body, 2x upper body per week.
- I introduced cardio in the last 4 weeks of my prep, aiming to burn 2000 kcals on the cardio machines per week.
- 10,000 daily step target.
- A whole lot of HARD WORK, SELF DISCIPLINE, CONSISTENCY AND PATIENCE.
I lost the majority of weight early on during my prep – 7kg in total. I then didn’t see the scales budge for weeks, though I did see visual progress (photos can be a great tool). Focusing on the end goal is what kept me going at points where I didn’t see much progress!
It’s important to note that even though there were only a few months between these photos, I had been training and eating well for much longer. I had been focusing on learning skills, refining technique, getting strong in the gym, being consistent with my nutrition, failing, learning, growing for a few years, and I continue to do this post show too.
Also, although weight-loss in most cases is positive, my condition on the right was definitely NOT maintainable year round. I currently sit more comfortably between these two phases.
If you have any questions about my journey to stage or just any general weight-loss or training questions, then come have a chat in the gym anytime.
About the author
Lucy-Jo is a qualified level 3 personal trainer and Pop Pilates instructor. Fitness has been a huge part of Lucy’s life from a young age, taking part in netball, swimming, athletics & gymnastics. While at Uni she competed in cheerleading for 4 years and has also coached gymnastics for over 5 years.
In 2015 Lucy set up her own local fitness business, Family Inspired Training, running outdoor bootcamp classes with a circuits, HIIT and body weight resistance focus. She absolutely loves helping clients improve their fitness, strength and confidence week by week.
Setting goals and sticking to them is a key part of any successful fitness journey and after having recently trained for 2 bikini fitness competitions Lucy can definitely share a few tricks to keeping on track and achieving your fitness and nutrition goals.
