There are weight-loss guides. And then there are holistic weight-loss guides.
The goal might be similar—to get fitter and slimmer—but the approaches are quite different.
The former is typically a “one-size-fits-all” strategy that tends to focus on diet and exercise for quick results. On the other hand, the latter is the opposite—it considers the whole person and aims for lasting health and overall well-being.
And the latter is the basis of Mindalley’s official guide for accelerated holistic weight loss and muscle gain.
“What we’ve done is actually curated a very specific, a very exclusive list of 15 ways to accelerate the weight loss process,” explains Lorenzo Delano, the co-founder of Mindvalley’s 10X Fitness Quest.
Developed by the company’s Human Advancement Lab (HAL) and WILDFIT, the guide was originally crafted for the Mindvalley team based on the top science-based fitness principles so that they can reach their ideal weight and maintain a well-toned physique.
And now, with access to it, you can, too.
First off, what is holistic weight loss?
The holistic approach to health means your physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual health are all taken into consideration. It comes from the idea that all aspects of your life are interconnected, so when one is out of whack, the rest follow suit. (The word “holistic,” after all, means to look at the bigger picture and address all areas of your life.)
Rather than just treating symptoms or diseases, the aim here is prevention and maintaining your health for longevity. The goals are for the long term, hence why it caters to the individual.
So it may look like this: a mix of balanced nutrition, regular physical activity, and mindfulness practices based on your body type. For example, if you’re overweight, you may look into practicing mindful eating, doing circuit training, and engaging in meditation or journaling.
This is very much the opposite of what many of us are taught—count calories, go on a restrictive diet, and spend hours at the gym. Unfortunately, with one in eight people struggling with obesity, traditional approaches are not sustainable weight-loss strategies.
In fact, one study reveals that the odds of clinically obese men slimming down with diet and exercise alone are 1 in 210 in a given month. For women, it’s 1 in 124 in a given year.
On the plus side, though, the participants managed to drop 5% of their body weight. The downside to that is, they weren’t able to keep it down, nor were they able to achieve their desired weight. And half of those who dropped down regained it within two years, with more than 78% regaining it within five years.
The bottom line? Going traditional might be a thing of the past. And holistic weight loss programs will step in to do what the others could not.
So let’s get into the 15 parts of this guide.
Part 1: Food and nutrition
“Training without proper nutrition doesn’t get you anywhere,” says Ronan Diego, a holistic health mentor and the co-founder of Mindvalley’s 10X Fitness Quest.
However, he adds that it’s not about depriving yourself of food or adopting complex diet plans. Rather, it’s about wholesome, simple, nourishing meals.
Nutrition is one of, if not the most crucial, aspects of the holistic weight loss plan. And this guide includes six science-based principles of nutrition that will improve your health and accelerate your weight loss and muscle gain.
1. Break up with sugar and carbohydrates
2. Eat sufficient protein
3. Take fiber-rich foods
4. Stay well hydrated
5. Increase your fat burn with caffeine
6. Don’t get hungry
Part 2: Physical activity
A slimmer waist is just a component of physical activity. Among other benefits, it enhances your mood, your brainpower, and your overall mobility.
“Our bodies are made to move and lift,” Ronan points out. “It’s made for locomotion, it’s made for play, and it’s for carrying and lifting. And if we don’t do these things, it’s like the bird that doesn’t fly.”
The thing is, if your sole aim is to create a better body composition, you actually don’t need to work out a lot; you just need a better system for exercising. So here are three incredibly effective workout methods for quick weight loss and muscle gain that you can check out in this guide.
7. Strength training
8. High-intensity interval training (HIIT)
9. Work out in a fasted state
Part 3: Sleep and mindfulness practices
The human brain, according to Ronan, isn’t exactly wired for happiness. Rather, it’s often in survival mode to keep us safe at any given instance.
So for any positive emotions to occur, like happiness, you’d need to make conscious, daily choices. For example, cultivate self-love and self-respect so that you don’t eat yourself to fulfillment.
No doubt, getting rest and practicing mindfulness are incredibly important. And here are the three most important steps we can take toward your desired body composition.
10. Listen to your body
11. Sleep a minimum of 8 hours every day
12. Meditate your stress away
13. Visualize your ideal body
Part 4: Social influences
It’s been said that we’re like the five people closest to us. And it may just apply to our weight as well.
One study from 2007 suggests that the friends we’re surrounded with literally influence our waist size. Its results found that if a person has an obese friend or family member, their chance of becoming so increases by 57%.
It’s not so much that hanging out with heavier people will make you heftier. It’s just that you’d tend to follow the crowd unless you, yourself, have the willpower to avoid a sedentary life.
In other words, if you’re the smaller-sized person in the room and want to lose weight, then you might just be in the wrong room. But the good thing is, there are steps you can take to make healthy lifestyle changes.
14. Develop a buddy system
15. Seek the advice of an expert
15 steps to holistic weight loss
Fitness is the most you can do for optimal well-being, according to Lorenzo. Health is the minimum you need for normal functioning. And everything else that makes up this guide lies in between.
Check out this video of him explaining how to use this list of 15 points to get the most out of this resource.
1. Break up with sugar and carbohydrates
If this is the only agreement you make with yourself, you are already halfway through the race. Sugar is the ultimate enemy, and it comes in various forms.
If you check the product labels in the supermarket, you will find that almost everything on the shelf has sugar or artificial sweetener in it, often the top three ingredients. Even foods that you wouldn’t even think contain sugar.
The surest bet is to eat an ancestral diet—fresh, unprocessed food. In other words, food that looks like it did when nature made it.
Besides focusing on removing what’s harmful from your plate, it is even more important to…
- Add as many leafy greens to your diet as you can,
- Cut out carbs gradually (especially bread, rice, pasta, and potatoes),
- Fill your plate with nutritious vegetables, meat, and eggs, and
- Keep some healthy snacks near while you work so that you won’t turn to unhealthy ones when your sugar cravings kick in.
At Mindvalley, we developed a seven-day holistic weight loss program rooted in behavioral psychology that conditions you in 10 minutes a day to break up with sugar—for good. It’s called 7 Days to Breaking Up with Sugar, and it’s absolutely free.
In terms of carbs, there are three levels of intake to consider if you’re aiming to lose weight.
Ketogenic or “WILDFIT Deep Spring”
By eating less than 25 grams of carbs per day, you can put yourself in a fat-burning or keto state that supports accelerated weight release. That means if you’ve eaten a banana or a bowl of cashews, you’ve already reached the limit.
Intense? For sure. But extremely efficient as well.
Low carb or “WILDFIT Spring”
Eating between 25 and 100 grams of carbs per day still supports holistic weight loss for most people, particularly if they combine that with an excellent workout routine.
“WILDFIT Summer”
If you are not concerned with losing much weight, you have more flexibility and can increase your carbohydrate intake to 100–150 grams.
2. Eat sufficient (high-quality) protein
Protein is misunderstood and vital. It is actually not the protein that we need but, rather, the amino acids that it’s made of.
Proteins are complex molecules that do various biological jobs in our bodies. We eat proteins to get amino acids and then we use those amino acids to make the proteins our bodies need.
The good news for you is, digesting most protein takes a lot of energy so you may be burning more calories than you’re taking in. This also means that protein has a lower risk of being converted into body fat.
What does this have to do with a healthy, lean body?
For starters, your goal shouldn’t be to lose weight but to lose fat, which is an important distinction. It is actually possible to lose fat, lose inches, and gain weight all at the same time because muscle is denser (smaller) than fat.
Simply put, the more muscle you have relative to your body fat percentage, the better you look. But it doesn’t necessarily mean that you lose from your overall body weight.
The key is to combine a nutritional plan that will support both the release of fat and the building of muscle with a workout program that will speed up that process. And protein is key to that.
Now, there are two ways to calculate the right protein intake in your diet.
- About 25% of your total calorie intake should come from protein, including everything you eat and snack on during the day.
- You should consume approximately 1–1.5 grams of protein per kilogram of your body weight. This means that if you weigh 75 kg right now, you will need to have at least 75 grams of protein a day.
If you are a vegetarian or vegan, you may find it challenging to meet these criteria. However, high-protein nuts, seeds, and legumes will help you reach a good balance in your diet.
3. Take fiber-rich foods
Both soluble and insoluble fiber can contribute to releasing weight and developing a leaner body.
Soluble fiber—that includes fibrous vegetables, fruits, legumes, grains, and flax seeds—can help reduce your appetite. However, while they’re technically carbohydrates, they don’t absorb as sugars in the digestive system.
According to research, soluble fiber can enhance weight loss by decreasing the level of glucose and cholesterol in your blood. It dissolves in your stomach and slows down your digestion so that you can feel full for a longer period of time.
Now, insoluble fiber, like the cellulose found in many vegetables, is another carbohydrate that is not absorbed as sugar. Instead, it turns into a jelly-like substance in your belly, supporting the natural gut bacteria that help you digest your food.
4. Stay well hydrated
Your body needs water to make muscles. Staying consistently hydrated means that as your body works to make muscle, it will be well-stocked with one of the most important ingredients: water.
Ronan also suggests adding some electrolytes—a pinch of pink Himalayan salt or Celtic salt is enough. “Drinking water brings fluid to your bloodstream, but what takes that fluid inside the cells are the electrolytes.”
Further, thirst is one of the six core hungers that drive all of our eating decisions. Staying hydrated is a super simple holistic weight loss strategy and one that can help keep cravings at bay.
5. Increase your fat burn with caffeine
Caffeine (we’re talking about coffee and tea, not those monstrous beverages) might be your go-to substance in the morning. But did you know that it can help promote weight loss and decrease body fat? In fact, one particular study found that when the participants doubled their caffeine intake, there was a 22% reduction in weight, a 17% reduction in BMI, and a 28% reduction in body fat.
Though coffee and tea enhance fat burning and have a positive effect on your mood and energy, they need to be taken in mindful moderation. We often consider it a socially approved addiction, but consuming caffeinated beverages daily can lead to tolerance and, often, dependence.
Balance, as always, is the magic word for managing your weight and your energy level at the same time. So if you are a coffee lover (or even a tea lover), here are a few things you can do to release that extra energy:
- Exercise or do other physical activities to avoid anxiety.
- Get enough quality sleep so that your body can recover during the night.
- Go on the occasional caffeine detox to reset your tolerance level to normal.
- Make gradual changes in your volume of intake so that you can avoid the discomfort of side effects.
One more note to add: get coffee from sources you trust. For example, Dave Asprey’s Danger Coffee comes highly recommended as it’s fresh, high-quality, ethically produced, and mold-free.
6. Don’t get hungry
Hunger is, effectively, scarcity. When the body feels scarce, it will be reluctant to spend any energy on building additional muscle mass. Worse, it will send out emergency messages to eat.
Eric Edmeades, the founder of WILDFIT and trainer of the Mindvalley Quest with the same name, explains this as a survival mechanism. The hungrier we get, the more flexible our food rules become.
This way, as our regular food sources are limited, we would be motivated to turn to alternatives. This leads us to eat things that are convenient in the short term, even when they are detrimental in the long term.
By avoiding hunger and having healthy snacks around, we can tell our bodies that it is safe to release excess weight and build healthy muscle.
7. Strength training
“Strength training will be a priority because of the cascade effect that it has,” explains Ronan in Mindvalley’s 10X Fitness Quest. He adds that it not only helps build muscle mass, but other benefits include improving the way your body metabolizes sugar and helping your bone structure become stronger and more dense.
This is important for everyone, especially at an older age. And Carl de Wet, a Mindvalley Member from Johannesburg, South Africa, knows this well.
“As I am 60 years old, it is important to do strength training,” he shares on Mindvalley Stories. “The biggest surprise I got was, my blood pressure kept coming down and, now, quite normal. High blood pressure is dangerous, and I was struggling to get it to a healthy level. And my biggest win is that I feel so good with a fitter and healthier body.”
Research has shown that lifting heavier weights increases your basal metabolic rate, and your body will continue burning fat for several days after your exercise is over. This also means that you don’t need to go to the gym every day; go once or twice a week and push yourself beyond your limits.
8. High-intensity interval training (HIIT)
The single biggest myth in the health and fitness industry is that the more you work out, the more weight you lose. This might sound shocking, but increasing the time you spend on exercise won’t get you better results.
The hourly rates of gyms and the way we structure our calendars fooled us into thinking that we were supposed to exercise for 60 minutes. This is fine if you want to do some physical activity for fun, but not if you want to get into better shape.
HIIT workouts can last as little as four minutes up to a maximum of half an hour, and they have been proven repeatedly to be more efficient than low-intensity steady-state cardio, a.k.a., traditional exercise plans.
In a study conducted by the University of Western Ontario, they found that people lost more fat doing four to six 30-second sprints (with 4-minute rest periods) than 60 minutes of incline treadmill walking.
So if time has been preventing you from hitting the gym, this is good news for you. Just start with a four-minute daily full-body workout and refine it as you go. These four minutes can increase your metabolic rate, lasting up to 24 hours until you get ready for the next set.
9. Work out in a fasted state
“Intermittent fasting is often used as a restrictive practice to lose weight,” Ronan highlights, “but actually is a practice of integrating and transforming body and mind.”
What’s great about it is, it has a bunch of benefits that can help you with your weight loss goals. Here’s why:
When you exercise with your insulin at a baseline level, your body is able to burn more fat during your workout than when your insulin level is high.
After you finish a meal, it normally takes two to six hours for your insulin level to drop again (that also depends on the type of food you eat and your hormone level in general). Avoid food for a few hours before working out, and your weight-loss speed will go up.
Even though you might not be able to maintain the same physical intensity for as long as you could with a fed belly, it shouldn’t be a problem if you stick to your high-intensity interval training.
The only risk involved in working out in a fasted state is potential muscle damage. If you are working out with heavy weights after a long fasting period, you can consider taking HMB (β-Hydroxy β-Methylbutyrate) which is a supplement that prevents muscle breakdown.
10. Listen to your body
When you wake up in the morning, it’s likely your body feels stiff from not having much movement during the night. So Ronan suggests this: “Ask your body, ‘What do you need at the start of the day? How do you need to begin the day?’”
This allows you to tune inward. Here are a few things he suggests:
- Stretching
- Yoga under the sun (a little two-in-one where you get movement and beneficial vitamin D)
- Breathwork
- Meditation
- Journaling
“By doing this, you see that your mind will be better throughout the day,” he adds. “Your mood will be better throughout the day. You’ll be more connected with your body and all the good stuff that comes with it.”
11. Sleep a minimum of 8 hours every day
There’s a reason why experts stress the importance of getting your beauty sleep. It helps with maintaining a healthy weight and body composition.
When you sleep, your body completely shifts from the fight or flight state of our everyday hassles to a rest and digest state. It is when you give rest to your body that you digest most of your food intake and build muscle.
Scientists found that when participants in the study had less than seven hours of quality sleep during the night, they started gaining weight. Lack of sleep for an excessive period of time also increased the chance of obesity for children (89%) and for adults (55%).
What’s more, poor sleep habits also increase your appetite and cause you to make more impulse decisions, including those responding to your cravings. All in all, the less quality sleep you get, the more weight you gain. And the more weight you gain, the harder it is for you to sleep, which can turn into a vicious cycle.
The best way to prevent this? Here are a few things you can do:
- Establish a bedtime routine for healthy sleep.
- Set a reminder for an hour before your planned time for sleeping.
- Eliminate all digital devices and strong light from your environment.
- Invest in a comfortable pillow and dark curtains.
Additionally, relaxing herbal tea blends and magnesium as a supplement can also contribute to a good night’s sleep without any side effects.
12. Meditate your stress away
While meditation is rarely associated with nutrition and exercise, this might be one of the most transformative habits for a holistic weight loss program.
The thing is, stress is one of the main contributors to weight gain. And what is the best solution for long-lasting stress release? Meditation.
It decreases the level of the stress hormone called cortisol in your body, which affects your insulin sensitivity and, thus, your metabolism. At the same time, it prevents you from stress-eating as well.
When you stop and listen inward, your mind is able to reflect on what you really need. It allows you to work on your self-compassion so that you can appreciate your weight-loss progress instead of putting yourself down at every single step.
But with mindfulness, especially in meditation, it’s all about making it a habit. You can get started with Mindvalley’s free 6 Phase Meditation Quest and take up this successful habit in less than a week.
13. Visualize your ideal body
In 2008, researchers conducted an experiment on hotel maids and asked them how much they exercised. Even though these women did heavy physical activity on a daily basis, some of them said that they didn’t exercise at all only because they were not aware of it.
After some of these women were reminded of the fact that they live an active lifestyle, the results were astounding: Within a month, the maids who were educated about the effects of their work lost weight, decreased their waist-to-hip ratio, and even their blood pressure dropped.
This is just one of the experiments proving that our consciousness can even shape the way we look.
Visualizing your muscles working hard during your exercise routine can multiply your results. In addition to that, ask yourself the question: What kind of person do I need to become to reach that optimal body composition?
Is it about planning a more nourishing diet, saying confidently no to temptations, or sticking to your workout schedule? Is there an emotional block you need to overcome? Visualize yourself having all of these achieved and developing the mindset that will get you closer to your ideal shape.
Once you think like the person with your desired look (and take action accordingly), that extra weight will melt away.
14. Develop a buddy system
If you want to improve yourself, seek out those who are more knowledgeable than you. For example, if you want to learn to run faster, you’d likely ask a track and field coach or someone who runs for a living.
It’s like what Warren Buffet says: “I learned that it pays to hang around with people better than you are because you will float upward a little bit. And if you hang around with people that behave worse than you, pretty soon you’ll start sliding down the pole. It just works that way.”
It’s no different with weight loss. Start hanging out with those who are a few sizes smaller than you, or find a community that prioritizes holistic weight loss. Observe what they are doing differently as a part of their lifestyle, and try to adopt a few good habits.
One other thing you can do is partner with an accountability buddy or with someone willing to train with you and discuss your weekly progress together. This, based on a 2005 study from Brown Medical School and Dartmouth University, can help increase your chances of weight-loss success.
15. Seek the advice of an expert
Nowadays, it is easier to find a personal trainer or dietician than the right sports shoes. If you don’t have the time to do the necessary research, tracking, and goal-setting and you’re serious about getting fit, hiring a coach may be a good option for you.
Remember, learning without implementation won’t get you the results you desire. Start taking the first step towards your ideal weight and body composition now, and track your daily commitments.
The more you work your way down the list, the sooner you will see your desired outcome.
Futureproof your well-being
The goal of a well-functioning body isn’t so much to be a hashtag on social media or show off those ripped abs at the beach. (Well, it shouldn’t anyway.)
When you get to the root of having a healthy body, it’s to be able to live life. As Ronan Diego says, “We have a body so we can have a human experience.”
Mindvalley’s 10X Fitness Masterclass can be the stepping stone to getting you there.
Make no mistake, it’s no ordinary fitness regiment. And it goes beyond providing you with a holistic weight-loss plan. What it does is show you how you can activate and optimize your adaptive response mechanism so your body can be stronger, fitter, faster, and more resilient—in a short amount of time.
Take it from Mary, a 40-year-old military officer and one of the over 200,000 students who has experienced the transformation of 10X:
“I feel like in the past, I would do workouts, go to the gym, two [to] three hours, I never noticed any difference in my body; it never changed,” she explains in an interview with Vishen, the founder of Mindvalley. “My form looks much more feminine than it ever has, and yet, I’m stronger, I’m faster, and I’m doing obstacle races—things that, you know, in my 40s that I wasn’t doing before.”
Your age is not an obstacle here—you could be in your 20s, or 40s like Mary, or 70s like Vishen’s dad. 10X was designed for everyone. And if you’re willing to put in 30 minutes a week, then you may just find yourself feeling the best you’ve ever felt before.
Welcome in.
