Losing more than 25 kilos in a few months usually involves intensive workouts and a very strict diet. However, certain transformations rely more on simple adjustments maintained over time.
On social media, weight loss stories abound. Some put forward radical methods, others tell a more gradual path, made up of habits that become established and which end up producing visible effects. The story of Tarah Blake Saylor belongs to this second category. In the space of about five months, this American woman went from 84 to 57 kilos. A change that raises many questions about how she went about it.
For Tarah Blake Saylor, it was never about cutting everything or turning her life into a military program. The challenge was rather to maintain motivation over several months. For this, she explains that the mind played a major role throughout her slimming program. Thus, she managed to welcome moments of discouragement and sudden desires, without creating frustration.
In addition, she indicates that many people give up because the chosen plan does not correspond to their pace of life or because it imposes too many constraints. She explains that she tried to avoid this pitfall by keeping familiar points in her daily life rather than trying to reinvent everything. In this context, she says that a weight loss strategy is most effective when it fits into the existing routine. Eating habits, schedules and even moments of relaxation have therefore not been eliminated but adapted.
The three reflexes that allowed him to achieve his objectives stem directly from this logic. The first is not to completely eliminate foods associated with pleasure, but to replace them with more balanced alternatives. “Don’t stop eating chips, just eat healthy chips.” She continues: “Don’t stop eating ice cream, just eat healthy ice cream. I have a food substitute for almost every indulgent indulgence.”
The second reflex concerns sport, which she recommends adapting to your schedule rather than trying to follow a pace that is difficult to maintain. “No need to get up at five in the morning if that’s not your rhythm; you can do it after work, on your lunch break or in the afternoon.” She also summarizes her approach with this sentence: “Choose an exercise that doesn’t feel like exercise. I spend a full hour every day scrolling on my phone on the treadmill.”
Finally, the third pillar of his method is based on a more unusual tool: a vision board intended to keep in mind the objectives and the progress made. She describes this board as a support that helped her stay focused throughout the transformation period. “I created a vision board, and I looked at it every day”she explains. “Every time I wanted to eat a hamburger, I looked at this chart.” She specifies that this technique was accompanied by writing work. “I kept a journal throughout the time I was losing weight, speaking to my future self. So the writing from back then was speaking to me today.”
Looking back, she believes that this combination of realistic habits and clearly formulated goals played a decisive role. She summarizes this idea as follows: “Find your mantra. For my part, I had convinced myself that every choice I made was a choice either for myself in the present or for me in the past.” In short, a most inspiring journey!
