January 2024
DETAILS
New year, new me! This is a 25 day challenge to kick off 2024. It's a beginner friendly weight loss program that doesn't require equipment & has no jumping involved. Suitable for beginners to intermediates as you can modify the exercises as necessary
Please consult with a relevant healthcare professional before embarking on a weight loss journey, or if in doubt at any time. Losing weight is a matter of calories in vs calories out. You must be in a caloric deficit to lose weight, so what you eat will also affect your weight loss. This weight loss program incorporates a lot of cardio, which is aimed at helping you get into a caloric deficit. While this is a weight loss program, please remember that the number on the scale does not define you, nor does it tell the whole picture. 4 weeks is also a short time, and this is just the start of your journey if you’re new. Pay attention to how you feel at the end of this program. Have you become stronger? Can you do each exercise longer? Are you no longer as out of breath? Are you now excited to workout? All of these things should make you feel proud of your progress!
Every body is different, so the amount of weight you lose will vary greatly from person to person. If you have just started your fitness journey, you may lose more weight in the first week or so due to water weight. When you’re burning extra calories, your body starts dipping into its stores of energy, known as glycogen. The glycogen in your body is bound to water, so when you’re burning glycogen for fuel, the body also releases that water, hence losing water weight, and then find that your weight loss starts to slow thereafter. Make sure your goals are realistic in order to sustain the weight loss in the long-term. Don’t forget, you may lose weight but not lose inches, or you may remain the same weight but drop a dress size. The best way to track your physical progress is by tracking your measurements and taking before/after photos at the same time of day, in the same clothing, from the same angle. Make sure share your results on Discord, Instagram or YouTube so that we can all be encouraged by your success!
Diet plays an important role in losing weight but you also need to ensure you are eating a balanced, nutritious diet to fuel your body for these workouts. This is different for everyone and should be discussed with a professional - please speak with a registered dietitian or nutritionist, depending on your individual needs. You can also check out my new recipes section for some healthy recipe and snack ideas.
Don’t forget that measuring your weight on the scales is not an accurate representation of your progress as there's muscle gain, water weight, and other factors to consider. Your weight naturally fluctuates daily, and what you ate the night before will affect how much you weigh the next morning. If possible, try to weigh in at the same time every day under the same circumstances (i.e. after the bathroom, before your first meal). If you are a human who menstruates, you may notice increased bloating and water retention depending on the time of your cycle, which will affect your weight as well. Finally, some of you may be at your optimal weight and there's only so much difference the scales will show.
You are recommended to do ALL videos listed for each day, e.g. if a day has three videos, you should do all three. If a video is listed twice, you should do it twice. If you're having trouble doing them, stick to the low impact versions until you get stronger. That being said, if a video is labeled as optional then it’s up to you if you want to do it or not. The warmup and cool down videos are optional but highly recommended. However, at the end of the day, these schedules are my recommended guide - please feel free to make changes as necessary to suit your needs
Yes that’s absolutely fine. Go at your own pace, and do as much as you can. If that’s only 1 video per day, it’s still great that you’re exercising! Stick to low impact as necessary, and work your way up to being able to do all of them. Just remember if you take a long rest/break (30min+) between videos, you may need to warm up again when you get back to it.
This is entirely up to you - if you are feeling strong enough then go for it. You can also just stick to low impact moves if you want. However, if your body needs rest, then please rest. Your body will naturally be weaker during that time so don’t be discouraged, you got this. After your extra rest day, just continue where you left off.
Although the goals are similar, I have added more resistance, new exercises and included new variations of some exercises for the 2024 Weight Loss Challenge. It is going to be a step up from both 2023, 2022, and 2021, but don’t be discouraged, this challenge is suitable for everybody! Remember, there are always low impact modifications for all exercises.