If you’ve only got a few kilos left to lose until you reach your ideal weight, but that weight won’t budge no matter what you do, you’re not alone. Losing the last 5kg is always the most challenging part of every weight loss journey. I’ve helped over 300,000 people lose over 3 million kilos with my home fitness & nutrition program, so I can tell you that getting stuck anywhere from 2kg to 5kgs away from your goal weight is a common problem. But the good news is that over the past 20 years as a personal trainer, I’ve found a few tried and true solutions that can help you break your weight stall and finally reach your ideal weight.
How to stay fit & healthy at home with 28
My online fitness & nutrition program has helped more than 500,000 Australians cook healthier meals, get fitter faster, and live healthier lives. I’d love to help you too.
8 tips to lose the last 5kg, quickly and naturally
There are a number of surprising reasons why those last 5 kilos might not be coming off, but if you follow my proven approach to sustainable weight loss then you may discover you reach your goal weight quicker and easier than you ever expected!
There’s no need for crash diets if you choose the 28 way of losing weight.
I’ll help you lose the last few kilos by helping you improve your current eating and exercise routine in a natural and sensible way, that doesn’t leave you feeling deprived. And, as lots of my 28ers tell me, you might be surprised to discover you start to really enjoy the healthy new weight loss methods I recommend too!
My method to shifting your stubborn kilos will not only help you reach your ideal weight faster, but thousands of my 28ers have also told me that their energy and sense of wellbeing also improves, which is an extra bonus to losing those last few kilos!
1. You’ll lose the last few kilos faster if you know what you’re eating (and drinking!)
If you want to lose those last stubborn 5kgs, you’re going to need to change what you’ve been doing. But first, you need to know what you ARE doing.
I usually don’t recommend calorie counting, as it can be counterproductive to maintaining a healthy, balanced approach to eating. This is one of the reasons why my online weight loss program has been specially designed so you don’t have to think about calories. However, if you’re not following a specific weight loss eating plan, and you need to lose the last couple of kilos then it’s going to be important to locate areas of your diet where you can cut out unnecessary calories.
If you’re serious about losing the last 5 kilos, take a look at my online diet program, 28 By Sam Wood. My at home program helps keep you motivated and on track until you reach your ideal weight.
If a nutrition and fitness program like 28 isn’t for you and you want to shift those last 5 kilos on your own, then it can be useful to track your calorie consumption, just until you reach your goal weight.
- Try keeping a record of what you eat and drink for a week.
- Record everything you consume
- Review your diary at the end of the week
- Highlight anything that might be sneaking into your day (extra portions, snacks, wine, etc) that could be hindering your weight loss.
If you’re struggling to lose the last 5kgs and you don’t know why, start a food diary and track everything you eat for a week – the results might surprise you!
2. Reduce your snacking
If you’re eating three regular, balanced meals, snacking is rarely needed unless you’re finding you’re consistently hungry. The exception to this is if you’re pregnant, breastfeeding, or have blood-sugar imbalances. If none of these apply to you, then consider reducing or cutting out your snacks until you reach your goal weight.
3. Eat foods that help control your weight-gaining hormones
If fat loss is your goal, hormonal control must be considered. If your hormones aren’t balanced it can promote fat storage and this is a common problem when you are trying to lose the last few kilos. And men, this applies to you too!
To keep your fat-gaining hormones in check, stick to the 28 nutrition plan as closely as possible and make sure you follow steps 6 and 7 below, too.
4. Limit your treat meals
How many treat meals are you having per week? When you start seeing results, it can be easy to slip back into old habits and allow an extra treat meal here and there to creep back into your weekly eating. Remember that consistency and sticking to your healthy eating program is key to seeing results, so ask yourself honestly if you are as dedicated to your nutrition as you were when you first started your journey.
5. Increase the intensity of your workouts and… change it up!
Have you gotten too fit for your current exercise routine? To shift the kilos and get the best fitness results, we need to keep our bodies guessing and challenged, so don’t let yourself become too comfortable. If you aren’t feeling challenged by your workout then it’s time to increase the resistance, to change it up and increase the (fat) burn!
6. Improve your gut health
Remember, your health starts in the gut. We want to achieve a good balance of bacteria in our gut and the best way to do this is to include probiotic and fermented foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir and miso. You also want to feed the good bacteria with natural pre-biotic foods such as garlic, leek onion, Jerusalem artichoke and more fermented foods. We have a range of gut-health promoting recipes in our 28 by Sam Wood online weight loss program.
7. Manage your physical and mental stress
A little bit of stress isn’t a bad thing, but if your stress is left unchecked for too long it can hurt your health and your waistline. Stress causes your body to produce high levels of stress hormones: cortisol, adrenaline and norepinephrine. Cortisol can suppress your immune system, increase blood pressure, decrease your digestion and increase your fat storage. To bring your stress levels down we recommend taking some regular YOU time with activities like walking (ideally in nature), deep breathing, meditation, yoga, reading, and/or taking a long bath with magnesium salts or natural essential oils such as lavender or ylang-ylang.
8. Get more sleep
It’s going to be hard to lose the last 5 kilos if you’re not getting enough sleep. Your body needs time to renew and repair all your systems, so do your best to get 8 hours of sleep each night. Sufficient sleep really will maximise your weight loss and overall sense of wellbeing. And, as an extra bonus, when you wake up feeling energised in the morning you’ll be more likely to power through you day which helps you do the things you should do, like get your daily workout done, and it also strengthens your resolve to avoid things you probably shouldn’t do – like reach for high-calorie snacks when 3.30itis hits!
Want my help to lose those last few stubborn kilos?
My online program has helped over 300,000 people lose over 3 million kilos. For less than the cost of a cup of coffee per day, I’ll help you achieve your weight loss goals with my proven online nutrition and fitness program.
If you’d like me to be the personal trainer in your pocket, I’m ready if you are!
All you need is a phone and 28 minutes a day!
- Customisable 28-minute video workouts – workout with me in real-time
- Pilates & yoga workouts for improving flexibility
- A weekly nutritionist-approved meal plan (specific to your dietary preferences)
- Flexible menu options: swap and drop recipes and change serving sizes as you like
- Weekly shopping list to see everything you’ll need for the week ahead
- Optional grocery delivery service from Woolworths
- A library of motivation & mindset podcasts to help you achieve your health goals
- Access to our amazingly supportive Facebook community of 28ers
- Live support from me and my crew, 7 days a week