Fitness coach recommends 4 strategies to lose 20 pounds in 2026: From lifting heavy to walking daily

Sustainability is the key to turning your efforts into real results. Find out the exact formulas and practical hacks you need to adopt this year.

The first week of the new year has already passed, and if your resolve is starting to crumble and your pace feels slower, it may be time to broaden your horizon and explore new strategies that can aid in sustaining your momentum throughout the year.

Get in shape by following sustainable fitness goals. (Pexel)

The keyword here is ‘sustainable,' meaning long-term. After shedding the weight and reaching your goal, maintaining it is just as vital as losing the weight in the first place.

Soraya, a fitness coach, on a January 7 post, revealed how one can stay in shape without being overly ‘restrictive’ or obsessively cutting out all the favourite foods. She explained that when you begin to eliminate foods entirely, the plan usually becomes unsustainable, increasing chances of falling back into old habits and causing a major setback.

Instead of pushing intensely, one needs to push forward gradually. Progress does not speed up overnight. The fitness coach went on to disclose four strategies that can help not only with weight loss but also with maintaining it in the long run.

The fitness coach covers four major strategies, spanning from diet to exercise:

1. Calorie deficit

The first recommendation on this list is a calorie deficit. This means eating fewer calories than your body burns. Soraya recommended a very practical formula for the same: multiply your goal weight by 12 to estimate daily calorie intake. For instance, a goal weight of 150 pounds converts to 1800 calories a day. But she assured it is not about perfection; one can consume 1700 or 1900, too. To apply, use a tracker.

Why is this approach useful? It discards the rigid pressure of hard and fast dieting. The flexibility in the range makes it easier to actually stick to the diet without diet fatigue. The 200-calorie flexibility window aids to keep calorie deficit plan sustainable.

2. Walk at least 7,000 steps a day

Build up your daily step count. (Shutterstock)

Walking is the baseline, the bare minimum required to stay active. It forms the very foundation of daily movement. Soraya suggested walking 7,000 steps a day, and even if you are not at that level, worry not, as you can always build up gradually.

She explained, “Say that number is 2,000, you wanna aim to increase it by 1000 each week. So next week, aim for 3000 steps a day, then 4,000 steps and work your way up to 7000 on average.”

The fitness coach also mentioned that while walking does burn calories, one also needs to exercise caution so as not to put too much pressure on the joints. For women over 35 or those going through menopause, high-intensity or high-impact workouts can elevate stress on the body, and with so much stress, weight loss becomes harder. Walking for them is a good low-impact alternative.

3. Enough protein

For protein, there is a strategy that makes aneating plan low-effort and uncomplicated.

Soraya elaborated a simple formula, “Ideally, you wanna be getting between point six to point eight times of your body weight in protein, so if you are currently 200 pounds, that will be between 120 to 160 grams of protein on a day-to-day basis.”

Protein is a must in the diet because of its multiple benefits, from curbing appetite to supporting muscle and bone health.

4. Lift heavy

Lift regularly to be healthy.(Adobe Stock)

Lifting weights rounds off this list. It is generally associated with bodybuilders or people aiming to look ripped, but this is a very common misconception. As the coach noted, strength training actually plays a helpful role in sustainable weight loss.

Soraya recommended the frequency of lifting and outlined the exercises, “Lift weight three to four times for 45 minutes to an hour, only four exercises per session, so if it is leg day, that could be Bulgarian split squats, deadlifts, lunges and step-ups.”

Note to readers: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them. This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice.