How I Dropped 20kg While Working Long Hours
110kg → 90kg. Not from motivation or extreme dieting. From a system that worked under pressure.
The Before
At my worst, I was over 110kg.
Working long hours. Constantly tired. Telling myself I'd fix it next week.
I knew what to do. But I wasn't doing it consistently.
Because my life didn't allow for:
- 6 gym sessions
- Perfect meal prep
- Strict routines
So I stayed stuck.
The Real Problem
It wasn't knowledge. It was structure.
My schedule was unpredictable.
Work came first. Fitness came last. And every time things got busy… everything fell apart.
The Turning Point
I stopped chasing perfect plans.
And started asking: what actually works in real life?
The System
1. Training (3–4x per week)
Full-body sessions:
- Smith machine squats
- Incline press
- Romanian deadlifts
- Chin-ups
- Dips
Done with intensity, focus, and efficiency.
If you want the full programme laid out session by session, read the best gym routine for busy professionals. Same philosophy, fully structured.
2. Nutrition (Controlled, Not Perfect)
Every meal: high protein, controlled calories.
Default meals
- Chicken + vegetables
- Eggs + fruit
- Simple repeatable foods
No extremes. No overthinking. For exact numbers, read how much protein you actually need to lose fat.
3. Non-Negotiables
- Daily movement
- Hydration
- Sleep (when possible)
The Result
110kg → 90kg.
Not from motivation. Not from extreme dieting. Not from living in the gym.
From a system that worked under pressure.
The Timeline (What It Actually Looked Like)
People want to hear that it was a straight line. It was not. Fat loss never is. Here is what the numbers actually looked like over five and a half months:
- Week 1–2: 110kg → 107kg. Water weight, glycogen depletion. Felt hungry. Doubted everything.
- Week 3–4: 107kg → 105kg. Hunger stabilised. Sleep started improving. First time in months I woke up before the alarm.
- Week 5–8: 105kg → 101kg. Clothes started fitting differently. Belt down two notches. Colleagues noticed but nobody said anything yet.
- Week 9–12: 101kg → 97kg. Energy through the roof. Afternoon slump disappeared. Started looking forward to training instead of dreading it.
- Week 13–16: 97kg → 94kg. Two-week plateau at 95kg that nearly broke me. Dropped an extra 200 calories, added 2,000 daily steps. Broke through.
- Week 17–22: 94kg → 90kg. The slowest phase. The last 4kg took six weeks. But by this point the habits were automatic. It was not willpower anymore — it was just how I operated.
Total time: roughly 5.5 months. Average rate: 0.9kg per week. Some weeks I lost 1.5kg. Some weeks I gained 0.5kg. The trend was what mattered, not the individual data points.
When Things Went Wrong
I want to be honest about this because nobody talks about it. There were weeks where the system failed — or more accurately, where I failed to follow the system.
Week 7: A three-day conference. Client dinners every night. Hotel buffet breakfasts. I gained 1.2kg that week. The old version of me would have spiralled — skipped the gym for a fortnight, eaten worse out of frustration, and slowly abandoned the whole plan.
Instead, I went back to the defaults on Monday. High protein breakfast. Training session at 6:30am. Walked 10,000 steps. By Friday I was back to my pre-conference weight. The system held because it was designed for imperfect execution, not perfect compliance.
Week 14: A plateau that lasted twelve days. The scale did not move. I was doing everything right. This is where most people quit. What I have learned since — and what I now teach clients — is that plateaus are a function of water retention, hormonal fluctuation, and stress. The fat is still being lost. The scale just has not caught up. If you are in a deficit and training consistently, the physics does not lie. Wait it out, adjust one variable (usually steps or a small calorie reduction), and the scale drops.
A Typical Week at 100kg
Here is what a standard training and eating week looked like when I was midway through the process, around 100kg:
Training
- Monday (6:30am): Full-body — squats, incline press, rows, RDLs. 42 minutes.
- Wednesday (6:30am): Full-body — leg press, shoulder press, chin-ups, hip thrusts. 40 minutes.
- Friday (6:30am): Full-body — deadlifts, dips, cable rows, lunges. 45 minutes.
Nutrition
- Calories: ~2,100/day (maintenance was ~2,800)
- Protein: 180–200g/day
- Meals: 3 main meals + 1 protein shake. Same meals most days. Chicken, rice, vegetables. Eggs and toast. Greek yoghurt and fruit.
- Alcohol: One drink per week, max. Down from 8–10.
Daily Defaults
- 10,000 steps (phone calls taken walking)
- 2.5L water
- In bed by 10:30pm (non-negotiable when possible)
Nothing complicated. Nothing heroic. Just consistent execution of a system that accounted for the reality of a demanding work schedule. For the exact programme structure, see the best gym routine for busy professionals.
The Real Insight
Most professionals don't lack discipline. They lack a system that holds when life gets busy.
I Now Use This Exact System With Busy Professionals
Professionals who work long hours, travel frequently, and don't have time for fluff. Apply for coaching and see exactly how to drop 10–15kg without disrupting your life.