Woman Lost 44 Pounds By Making Two Simple Lifestyle Changes

• Bethany Dobson ditched fad diets and learned to count calories to lose weight sustainably.
• Dobson lost 44 pounds by making lighter versions of her favorite foods and eating four meals a day.
• Eating a fourth meal in the afternoon can help you feel satisfied and stay on track, she said.

Like many women, Bethany Dobson grew up watching her mother and grandmother go on fad diet after fad diet. For a long time, she thought she should do the same.

But it wasn’t until Dobson, 22, from Manchester, UK, learned about calories, macros (protein, carbs and fats) and eating the right amount of each, that she realized that Fad diets are ineffective in the long term and potentially harmful. .

She put those lessons into practice and made two lifestyle changes that helped her lose 44 pounds in a few months: making lighter versions of her favorite foods and eating four meals a day instead of three. Now an online fat loss coach and personal trainer, she also helps others lose weight in a healthy and lasting way.

“I’m just obsessed with the fact that you can eat whatever you want in a sense, but as long as it’s macro-friendly and obviously uses better ingredients, it can be suitable for fat loss,” Dobson told Business Insider.

With the U.S. weight loss market expected to reach $93.8 billion in 2024, according to Market Data, Dobson’s approach to weight loss – without resorting to diets or supplements – fashion – goes back to basics.

Dobson started making low-calorie versions of his favorite meals

As a child, Dobson said she was “a little chubbier” than the other kids at school. As a teenager, she thought she had to follow restrictive diets with boring meals and do excessive cardio to lose weight, and began doing workouts and running even though she didn’t like That. Around the age of 17, she started partying, drinking and eating fatty takeaways, meaning she never lost the weight she wanted.

Things changed when Dobson was around 18 and his new partner introduced him to bodybuilding and healthy fat loss methods.

Dobson went from believing that there are “good” and “bad” foods that cause weight gain to learning that overall calorie intake is what determines whether you lose, gain, or maintain weight.

Dobson gradually began partying less and tried to lose fat by counting her calories while eating nourishing foods, including lots of protein, to ensure she was in a slight calorie deficit (or ‘she ate less energy than you burn). Protein helps you feel full and maintains muscle.

It’s the same approach recommended by many registered dietitians who have spoken to BI about losing healthy fat.

“It was the first time I lost fat without going on a diet where I starved and cut out food,” Dobson said.

A big part of that was making lighter versions of her favorite foods, like pasta, quesadillas, and cookies.

Dobson was adamant that she didn’t want to feel too restricted or deprived when she was losing weight.

“Food is such a big part of my life, and I don’t think that even if you lose fat, you shouldn’t just eat chicken and rice,” Dobson said, describing a basic meal for “the gym brother”. .

“Fat loss isn’t just about nutrition,” Dobson said. “And I always like to tell people that if you just focus on nutrition when it comes to losing fat, you won’t get very far because your mindset contributes so much.”

She soon realized health and fitness was her passion and qualified as a personal trainer and, during the Covid pandemic, began posting her own low-calorie, high-protein recipes on Instagram. Her audience grew quickly (she now has 689,000 subscribers) and Dobson started her own business coaching others on fitness, nutrition, mindset and accountability.

Since then, she has published several recipe e-books, and the latest was released on June 5.

“I went from just doing cardio and dieting to losing fat the right way and training to build muscle properly,” Dobson said.

Eating four meals a day helped stick to a calorie deficit

Dobson also started eating four meals a day instead of three, which helped her stick to her calorie deficit, she said. It’s an approach Dobson recommends to her clients because it can help control hunger and prevent them from consuming less nutritious, high-calorie snacks.

For example, you could have an afternoon snack consisting of a full wrap with chicken and vegetables for around 300 calories, which would keep you full and satisfied. Or, if you think you can’t eat anything before dinner, you might give in and find yourself reaching for cookies, chips, and candy, which are often high in calories and low in nutritional value.

“Your brain registers that you’re actually eating a meal rather than just choosing all the time, then you come away feeling satisfied,” Dobson said.

That’s not to say you can’t ever eat the less nutritious foods you enjoy—dietitians don’t recommend cutting out foods because it can lead to bingeing—but cutting back can help you reach your goals.

“It’s about choosing ingredients tactically based on your hunger level,” Dobson said. “This is what has worked for me in the past.”