A simple, honest starting point you can actually stick to. Built around real life, not an ideal one.
Live better. Achieve more. — Dan Thomas Coaching
Nice one for grabbing this. Here's exactly where to start — no fads, no shortcuts, no "new you by Monday" nonsense. Just the stuff that works when life is already full.
If you've started and stopped more times than you'd like to admit, you're not lazy and you haven't failed. You've just been sold the all-or-nothing version of fitness — the one where a missed session or a takeaway means the whole week's a write-off.
Here's the truth: you don't need to be perfect. You need to be consistent. One bad meal doesn't undo a good week, the same way one salad doesn't fix a bad one. You are a product of your average. Get the average right and the results take care of themselves.
The goal here isn't to be healthy 100% of the time — that's exhausting and it never lasts. The goal is to be healthy enough that you don't have to worry when you're not being healthy. That's a life you can actually keep.
So for the next week, forget motivation. Motivation comes and goes. What you want is a system — a few simple things you repeat until they stop feeling like effort. That's what this guide gives you.
Fat loss and fitness aren't complicated — they're just made to feel that way online. Pull these three levers consistently and you'll get further than 90% of people ever do.
Eat slightly less than you burn, get enough protein, and build meals around foods you'll actually repeat. This is where fat loss is won.
Lift a couple of times a week to hold onto muscle, and move your body most days. The minimum effective dose — not punishment.
Steps, sleep and stress. The quiet stuff that decides whether the other two actually stick. Ignore it and progress stalls.
You don't need an app that beeps at you or a spreadsheet with 40 tabs. Understand what the numbers mean, let my calculator do the sums, then build meals you'll actually repeat.
Fat loss comes down to eating a little less than you burn, with enough protein to keep you full and hold onto your muscle while you do it. Two words worth knowing:
Maintenance is the amount of food that keeps your weight exactly where it is. A sensible deficit is eating around 20–25% below that — enough to lose fat steadily, but not so little that you're starving and pack it in by Wednesday. This isn't a crash diet. It's a livable amount you can hold for months.
Rather than have you doing sums in your head, I've built you a calculator that works it all out.
My free macro calculator gives you your calories, protein, carbs and fats in about 60 seconds — no maths required. It also flags to me that you've done it, so I can help you make sense of them.
Once the calculator's handed you your numbers, carve them up however suits you. Bigger breakfast person? Load it there. Prefer to save room for the evening? Do that. Here's how an 1,800 kcal day might look:
| Meal | Calories | Protein |
|---|---|---|
| Breakfast | 350 | 25g |
| Lunch | 500 | 30g |
| Dinner | 550 | 35g |
| Snacks | 400 | 20g |
| Total | 1,800 | 110g |
Find meals you like that fit these slots, and repeat them until you're bored. Then swap. That's the whole game.
You don't need to hide from social life to lose fat. Check the menu before you go, lead with a lean protein and some veg, get sauces on the side, and have a glass of water before you order. Enjoy the weekend — just don't let a good Saturday turn into a written-off week. Loosen the reins without dropping them.
Two strength sessions built around supersets — short, but they'll make you work — plus a conditioning finisher to bolt onto the end of a session once a week. Designed for the gym. Rest 45–75 seconds between supersets, and each week aim to add a rep or a little weight. That's progressive overload, and it's what actually gets you stronger.
(Bolt this on to the end of a session — once a week.)
Push the hard 250s, then genuinely ease off in the rest. It should feel challenging, not brutal — build the pace up week on week.
You can nail your food and training and still spin your wheels if these three are ignored. Get them ticking over and everything else works better.
Your most underrated fat-loss tool. Find your current daily average and add 1,000–2,000. Take calls walking, park further away, get off a stop early.
Poor sleep spikes hunger and drains the energy to train. Aim for a consistent bedtime, screens off 30–60 mins before, cool dark room. It's not optional — it's foundational.
Stress makes every healthy choice harder. Build in one thing that switches you off — a walk, a sauna, ten quiet minutes. Managing it is part of the plan, not a luxury.
A simple week to get you moving. Shift the days around to fit your life — the order matters far less than actually starting.
Five simple wins. Tick them off each day — you're aiming for consistency, not a perfect score. Print it, or fill it in on your phone.
| Habit | M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hit protein target | |||||||
| Hit step goal | |||||||
| Trained / moved | |||||||
| Veg with meals | |||||||
| 7+ hours sleep |
This guide is the start. If you know what to do but you can't seem to make it stick — that's exactly what I help people with. Honest, evidence-based coaching built around your actual life, not an ideal one. Drop me a message and tell me how you got on.
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