Weight Loss Under Load

January 14, 2026•4 min read

If you are trying to lose weight, one way to increase your chances of success, before you even look at changing your diet, is to take the time to fully understand the context in which you are trying to make a change.

Often, we can rush straight into action without pausing to look at the broader picture. The focus quickly turns to what to do next, without first considering the conditions under which we’re trying to do it. When change is difficult or short-lived, it may be because the plan hasn’t been shaped to fit the realities of our daily lives.

Taking a step back allows you to see what you are actually working with, and from that clarity, you’ll know what you can realistically take on.

Weight loss works in principle at any age: 25, 45, or 65. At its most basic level, weight loss requires taking in less energy than the body uses, over a sustained period of time. That requirement does not change. What often changes dramatically is the environment in which that requirement must be lived out.

A parent of young children is navigating fragmented sleep, constant interruptions, and days shaped almost entirely by other people’s needs.

A mid-life working woman may be carrying responsibility in every direction,at work, at home, and within her family, while adapting to changes in her body and still trying to be there for everyone.

The biological requirement for weight loss remains the same. The terrain does not.

Meaningful change depends on understanding your landscape before trying to move across it.

Lasting progress rarely begins with action. It begins with clarity. Clarity about where energy consistently goes.Clarity about what quietly drains it. Clarity about how much time and energy truly exist on an average day. Clarity about the body as it is now, not as it once was.

Without clarity about where we are at and what is standing in our way of change, if we wish it, we risk standing still, stuck!

Making changes to improve our health doesn’t simply get added onto an already full life; space has to be created for it. In real life, that space usually comes from adjusting routines, not waiting for life to slow down.

That might look like:

Getting up earlier to work out before the day takes over
Blocking time on your calendar to meal prep the way you would for an appointment
Reducing evening commitments to allow an earlier bedtime.
Letting some tasks wait so sleep isn’t sacrificed - going to bed with dishes in the sink.
Asking for help with pick-ups, taking parents to appointments
Saying no to extra tasks on a day off from work

These changes, albeit practical, are often inconvenient and sometimes uncomfortable.

For many people, the challenge is deciding that their health gets time before everything else fills up their time. It is a shift in perspective, exercise must not be sacrificed for clearing house, or a healthy meal prep for a meeting. Sadly, this statement is easier said than done. Keep working at it!

If you wish to make some shifts to your health, ponder these questions:

What does my life realistically allow for right now?
Where does my energy consistently go?
What feels heavy at the moment?
What feels essential or non-negotiable?
What might need to change to create a bit more room?
If I treated my health as an ongoing practice rather than a project, what would change?

Weight loss, at its core, is about alignment between intention, environment, and capacity.

Get clear on the life you’re asking for change to fit into. Once you have that clarity, the next steps can follow.