Western society has a long-standing obsession with weight loss, which has helped unearth a plethora of ways to achieve it.
Many slimmers continue to experience confusion around the best methods around, partly because there is no one-size-fits-all approach to slimming down.
Londoner Josh Goldman is living proof that striking a balance between cardio, strength training and diet, can yield impressive results over time.
This method enabled the slimmer to shed more than 1.5 stone within the 16 weeks leading up to his 30th birthday.
The fitness fanatic joined UP Fitness around his 30th birthday, viewing it as a pivotal moment to improve his health and fitness, entering a new decade of life.
Josh joined Ultimate Performance before his 30th birthday
ULTIMATE PERFORMANCE
His goal was the achieve his best, but he ended up surpassing all his expectations within just 16 to 18 weeks.
The slimmer highlighted the crucial role of personal accountability in his success, emphasising the impact of having a trainer, Konstantinos, who pushed him beyond his limits to keep him on track.
Avoiding crash diets, Josh opted for a sustainable approach which saw him learn about practical nutrition habits.
This has allowed him to maintain a slender physique since ending the program. Beyond the physical benefits, however, Josh has experienced improved mental clarity, increased energy levels and enhanced performance in sports like tennis.
Walking
When asked about the different factors that contributed to his weight loss, Josh credits calorie tracking, walking and strength training.
During a conversation with GB News, he shared: “One big thing about Ultimate Performance is they’re very keen for you to get a lot of steps in. So it was an intense start.
“That’s a big component of their model. When I finally got that as part of my regime, that’s when I started seeing incredible results.
“It was all three of these things together that made the good results. I think for me, the most challenging part was probably actually the bits outside the gym, like the diet and the steps.”
Josh set out to reach a daily target of 10,000 steps a day before increasing his goal to 15,000, claiming that this - rather than the gym workouts - was the biggest challenge.
Strength training
The slimmer firmly believes he needed his gym workouts to help make the weight loss possible, helping build lean muscle mass.
His strength training regimen focussed on building the important muscle groups while making sure all cardio happened outside the gym.
“Ultimate Performance are very keen to make a workout that works for you because not one plan is going to work for everyone," he said.
"I think a lot of people think what happens outside the gym doesn’t matter if they’re training hard. That’s really not the case.”
Josh's diet
Josh’s diet didn’t undergo colossal changes, but he sharpened his focus on getting the right macronutrients.
In this approach, the goal is to stay within your allocated grams per macronutrient, including carbohydrates and protein. Ultimately, you’ll eat fewer calories and lose more weight.
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Strength training, daily walks and a balanced diet can all lead to weight loss
GETTY“I made protein overnight oats for breakfast, I had tuna, sweetcorn, cottage cheese and some crackers for lunch, and then for dinner, I could mix it up," he said.
“I’d normally have one protein with some vegetables and some carbs like salmons, rice and some vegetables.
“But I had the flexibility to make something that was appealing to me based on what I wanted to eat that day, rather than having a very fixed meal every day.”
He continued: “I think the biggest thing for me was trying to build habits. I wanted to go cold turkey on the typical things you should eat when you’re on a diet, like sugar because otherwise, I would have found it hard to build the right routine.”