When I lost 50 lbs as a millennial mom of three, I used what I now call my Lose More, With Less Method. It helped me create a calorie deficit without counting calories, exercising, or overhauling my eating habits. Looking back, these are the seven habits that helped me consistently follow the method and lose weight.

*Before you read on, get my Free Training: How I Lost 50lbs*

1. I Went Into A Calorie Deficit Without Counting Calories

Weight loss is a calorie deficit. That’s it. It’s not fitness, and it’s not nutrition. That’s one of the biggest reasons GLP-1 medications have become so popular—they help people eat less and, as a result, create a calorie deficit.

That’s exactly what I did, except without the medication.

I consistently created a calorie deficit without counting calories, exercising, or overhauling my eating habits. Yes, it’s possible. It’s also exactly what I teach inside At Your Goal Weight, where I show moms how to create a calorie deficit by using my Anchor to the Scale process instead of tracking every bite.

Everything else on this list helped me follow through with that calorie deficit consistently enough to lose 50 pounds.

2. I Intentionally Managed My Mindset

One of the biggest reasons I was able to lose 50lbs was because I managed my mindset just as much as I managed my eating. My default thoughts often led to overeating, procrastinating, or telling myself I’d start tomorrow. I learned to replace those thoughts with ones that made following through feel easier.

Two thoughts that helped me the most were, “Every Bite Counts” and “I’m Losing Weight Today.” Instead of thinking about how much weight I had left to lose, I focused on making the next decision count. Every meal was another opportunity to move closer to my goal.

The thoughts you practice matter. They create the feelings that drive your actions. When I changed the way I thought about weight loss, following through became much more consistent.

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3. I Optimized For One Goal At A Time

One of the biggest mistakes I see moms make is trying to improve everything at once. They want to lose weight, eat perfectly, exercise every day, meal prep, drink more water, build muscle, and improve their nutrition all at the same time. It’s simply too much.

When I lost 50lbs, I had one goal: lose weight. That meant I optimized my decisions around creating a calorie deficit. I wasn’t trying to become the healthiest eater in the world or train for a marathon. Those goals are valuable, but they weren’t my priority.

Focusing on one goal at a time made weight loss dramatically simpler. Once I reached my goal weight, I could shift my attention to other health goals. Trying to do everything at once usually means making less progress on everything.

4. I Didn’t Let My Circumstances Stop Me

When I lost 50lbs, I had 3 boys under the age of 4. I was working 20 hours / week and my husband worked outside the home full time. My life wasn’t calm, predictable, or easy. There were sleepless nights, busy days, vacations, birthdays, holidays, and plenty of reasons to tell myself I’d start later.

Instead of waiting for the perfect time, I decided my circumstances weren’t the reason I couldn’t lose weight. They were simply the circumstances I was going to lose weight in.

Life rarely settles down for long. There will almost always be another busy season, celebration, or unexpected challenge. Learning how to lose weight in the middle of real life is one of the biggest reasons I was able to not only lose 50lbs, but keep it off.

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5. I Used My Lose More, With Less Method

The biggest reason I was able to lose 50lbs is because I stopped trying to make weight loss harder than it needed to be. I didn’t count calories, follow a restrictive diet, or spend hours exercising. Instead, I focused on creating a calorie deficit in a simple, sustainable way.

That’s what I now call my Lose More, With Less Method. It’s built around the idea that permanent weight loss doesn’t require doing more. It requires doing less—but doing the right less.

The method helped me lose weight while still eating the foods I enjoyed, raising three young kids, and living a full life. Instead of relying on willpower, I followed a simple system that made consistency much easier.

Learn more here.

6. I Made Common-Sense Tweaks To The Foods I Was Already Eating

One of the biggest misconceptions about weight loss is that you have to completely change the way you eat. That wasn’t my experience at all. I continued eating many of the same foods I already enjoyed—I just made simple, common-sense tweaks that made creating a calorie deficit easier.

Sometimes that meant drinking fewer liquid calories. Other times it meant ordering a little differently at a restaurant, choosing a lower-calorie option, or eating a little less of something that was more calorie-dense. None of those changes felt extreme, but together they made a big difference.

This is one of the reasons my approach has been so sustainable. I didn’t create an entirely new way of eating that I couldn’t maintain. I made small adjustments to the foods I was already eating, which made it much easier to continue those habits after I reached my goal weight.

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7. I Stopped Eating At Night

Stopping eating at night was one of the highest-impact changes I made while losing 50lbs. Before then, I had gotten into the habit of eating after dinner simply because the kids were finally in bed, I was exhausted, or I wanted to relax at the end of the day. It wasn’t physical hunger—it was just part of my routine.

Once I gave myself a clear cutoff time, I stopped consuming hundreds of extra calories each week without feeling like I was dieting. I still enjoyed the foods I loved during the day, but I no longer treated nighttime as an extra eating window.

This one habit made creating a calorie deficit dramatically easier and became one of the cornerstones of my Lose More, With Less Method.

Grab my Stop Eating At Night Mini Course here.

A Final Note

These seven habits changed my life, but they aren’t the whole story. They worked because they were part of a simple, repeatable approach to weight loss that helped me create a calorie deficit without counting calories, exercising, or overhauling my eating habits.

That’s exactly what I teach in my Free Training, How I Lost 50lbs (Without Exercising Or Overhauling My Eating Habits). I walk through the complete process I used, why it worked, and how you can apply it to your own life. I’d love to teach it to you.