Health & WellnessBeginnerPreview
Weight Management That Actually Works
A practical, evidence-based path to managing your weight for good, built on energy balance, protein and fibre, movement, and behaviour change rather than crash diets. You finish able to set a realistic deficit, build meals that keep you full, and run a habit and self-monitoring system that survives plateaus and busy weeks.
For beginners who are tired of crash diets that work for six weeks and then unravel, and who want a sustainable system grounded in real evidence.
Course content
Workbook & downloads
Put the course into practice — a printable workbook plus editable templates you can fill in and reuse.
Preview the workbook
This workbook turns the course into a system you actually run. Each section maps to one course module and gives you the exercises, worksheets, and checklists to set your numbers, build filling meals, move more, and keep the result for good. Work through it with your phone's step data and a kitchen scale nearby, and keep the templates open so you log real data instead of guessing.
How Weight Actually Works
Set your maintenance estimate, choose a sustainable deficit, and define a humane target and timeline before you change a thing.
Worksheet: Maintenance and Deficit Calculator
Estimate the calories that hold your weight steady, then set a modest deficit. Treat these as starting numbers to test against the scale over two to three weeks, not fixed truths. If you are well above goal weight, base protein and deficit on a weight closer to your target.
- Current body weight (and unit, lb or kg)
- Rough maintenance estimate (weight in lb x 14 to 16, or a Mifflin-St Jeor calculator result)
- Chosen deficit size (15 to 20 percent below maintenance is the default)
- Daily calorie target (maintenance minus deficit)
- Target weekly rate of loss (aim for 0.5 to 1 percent of body weight)
- Daily protein target (0.7 to 1.0 g per lb, or 1.6 to 2.2 g per kg)
Exercise: Find Your Real Leverage Points
Map the four parts of your calorie burn (BMR, TEF, exercise, NEAT) to where you can actually create change. The point is to commit your attention to intake, NEAT, and protein, not to chasing workout calories.
- Roughly how many deliberate steps or active minutes do you do on a normal day right now?
- Where do you sit for long stretches that you could break up with movement?
- Which one meal of your day is currently lowest in protein?
- Which lever (intake, NEAT, protein) will be easiest for you to change first, and why?
Worksheet: Realistic Target and Timeline
Convert your weekly rate into an honest timeline, then add a buffer for stalled weeks. A plan that only works on perfect weeks is the wrong plan.
- Goal weight
- Total amount to lose (current minus goal)
- Expected weeks at your chosen weekly rate
- Buffer added for plateaus and life (weeks)
- Realistic target date
- How I will react to the large week-one water drop (so I do not over-anchor to it)
Checklist: Before You Start Checklist
- Maintenance calories estimated and a 15 to 20 percent deficit chosen
- Daily calorie and protein targets written down
- Weekly rate of loss is 0.5 to 1 percent of body weight, not faster
- Target date includes a buffer for stalled weeks
- I understand the goal is a method I can keep, with maintenance as the real test
Eating to Stay Full in a Deficit
Hit your protein, engineer fullness with fibre and volume, and lock in a flexible eating structure you can keep on any week.
Worksheet: Daily Protein Builder
Plan how you will reach your protein target across the day, roughly 25 to 40 grams per meal. Anchor each meal on a protein first, then build the rest of the plate around it.
- Daily protein target (grams)
- Breakfast protein source and grams
- Lunch protein source and grams
- Dinner protein source and grams
- Snack or shake protein source and grams
- Total planned protein (does it hit the target?)
- Two high-protein default meals I can make on autopilot
Exercise: Engineer Fullness Per Calorie
Use protein, fibre, and water-rich volume to feel full on fewer calories. Audit a typical day and find the low-satiety calories you can swap.
- Which foods in your current day are calorie-dense but leave you hungry again soon (for example pastries, juice, crisps)?
- Which non-starchy vegetables will you use to fill half your plate at the main meals?
- Which intact carbohydrate sources (potatoes, oats, beans, whole grains) will replace refined ones?
- What high-volume starter (broth soup or large salad) could you add before a calorie-dense meal?
Worksheet: My Flexible Eating Structure (Plate + 80/20)
Define a default pattern using the plate method and decide how your 20 percent of treats will work. Planned treats keep the 80 percent durable.
- My default plate: half non-starchy veg, quarter protein, quarter intact carb, thumb of fat (note any tweaks)
- My three go-to default meals for busy days
- Treat foods I want to keep room for
- How I will plan treats instead of stumbling into them
- Trigger foods to keep out of easy reach at home
- Optional eating window if using time-restricted eating (e.g. 8 to 10 hours)
Checklist: Meal Quality Checklist
- Each main meal is built on a protein source first
- Half the plate is non-starchy vegetables for volume
- Carbohydrates are mostly intact and fibre-rich, not refined
- I ate to satisfied (about 7 of 10), not stuffed
- Any treat was planned, not a mindless extra
- I drank water with meals and did not mistake thirst for hunger
Move More, Train Smart
Raise your daily steps as the main movement engine, add simple full-body resistance training to protect muscle, and keep honest expectations about exercise.
Worksheet: Step Baseline and Build Plan
Use your phone's step history to find an honest baseline, then build from it. Steps are your simplest, lowest-friction proxy for NEAT.
- Average daily steps over the last two weeks (from your phone)
- First step target (baseline plus about 1,000 to 2,000)
- Two walks I will stack onto existing routines (e.g. after meals, calls on foot)
- How I will break up long sitting (stand or 2-minute walk how often?)
- When in the day I will check my step count to stay on target
Exercise: Design a Two- to Three-Day Resistance Plan
Build a simple full-body session covering the five patterns. Lifting is what keeps the muscle that keeps your metabolism up, so this is non-negotiable, not optional cardio.
- Squat pattern exercise and starting sets/reps (in the 6 to 15 range)
- Hinge and push exercises and starting sets/reps
- Pull and core exercises and starting sets/reps (do not skip the pull)
- How many sessions per week, and which days?
- How will you apply progressive overload (add a rep, a little load, or a set)?
Checklist: Honest Expectations Checklist
- I am using the kitchen, not the gym, to create the calorie deficit
- I will not count workout calories toward my food allowance
- My daily step target is treated as seriously as my protein target
- Resistance training is in the plan to protect muscle, at least twice a week
- I will not punish a stalled scale day with extra cardio
Make It Stick: Habits, Plateaus, and Maintenance
Install the course actions as automatic habits, set up trend-based self-monitoring, and prepare a plateau and maintenance plan before you need it.
Exercise: Build Your Habit System
Use tiny habits, habit stacking, and environment design to make the healthy choice the default. Be specific; vague intentions fail.
- Tiny habit: shrink one course action until it is too small to fail (e.g. one veg serving, a 5-minute walk).
- Habit stack: write an after-I-X-I-will-Y pairing for a new habit and an existing routine.
- Environment design: name two changes (prep protein and veg, lay out gym clothes, hide a trigger food).
- What is your exact never-miss-twice rule for off days?
Worksheet: Self-Monitoring Setup
Set up weighing, food logging, and step tracking so you judge the trend, not the daily noise. Decide your tools now so you actually use them.
- Daily weigh-in time and conditions (e.g. on waking, after toilet, before eating)
- Tracking app or trend-weight tool I will use for the seven-day average
- How long I will log food carefully to learn portions (e.g. first 3 to 4 weeks)
- The three metrics I will watch: 7-day weight average, daily steps, daily protein
- How I will handle menstrual-cycle water retention (compare same phase month to month)
Exercise: Plateau Diagnosis Drill
Decide in advance how you will respond when the scale stalls, using levers in order rather than panicking and slashing calories. Most stalls are adherence drift you can see in the data.
- If the 7-day average stalls, what is your first step (audit tracking for 1 to 2 weeks)?
- What movement change will you make before cutting food (raise the step target by how much)?
- If still stalled after 2 to 3 weeks, what modest calorie cut will you make (100 to 200)?
- When would you take a 1 to 2 week diet break at maintenance, and what would you protect throughout (protein, lifting, sleep)?
Checklist: Maintenance and Relapse-Prevention Checklist
- I will raise calories gradually to my new, lower maintenance, expecting a small water bump
- I will keep weighing and watching the seven-day trend after reaching goal
- I have set a red-line weight (about 2 to 3 kg above goal) that triggers a brief planned deficit
- Steps, resistance training, and high protein continue as lifelong defaults, not a phase
- I have an if-then plan for holidays and high-stress periods
Your Action Plan
- Estimate your maintenance, set a 15 to 20 percent deficit, and write your daily calorie and protein targets.
- Set a realistic goal weight and timeline at 0.5 to 1 percent loss per week, with a buffer for stalled weeks.
- Plan how you will hit your protein target every day, with two high-protein default meals for busy days.
- Rebuild your default plate around protein, half a plate of vegetables, and intact carbs for fullness.
- Find your honest step baseline and raise it by 1,000 to 2,000, stacking walks onto existing routines.
- Start a simple two- to three-day full-body resistance plan to protect muscle, and apply progressive overload.
- Set up daily weigh-ins and a trend-weight tool, and log food carefully for the first three to four weeks.
- Install your key habits with tiny actions, habit stacking, and environment design, plus a never-miss-twice rule.
- When the scale stalls, audit adherence first, add steps next, and only then make a modest calorie cut or diet break.
- On reaching goal, transition to maintenance: raise calories slowly, set a red-line weight, and keep the monitoring and movement habits for life.
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