@chillman I've done Stronger U! I just finished about a year and a half with them. So for me, in about a year and a half, I lost a little over 25 lbs, which is about halfway to where I want to be. I'm 5'0", 34, started at almost 180 lbs, am now about 152 lbs. The weeks I did lose, I lost an average of probably half a pound. There were periods where I was a little less compliant (mostly around the holidays, but also one three month period of holidays/moving/starting a new job where I either just maintained or gained a few pounds, and had to re-lose them). So if I was perfectly compliant the whole time, I'm sure I would have lost more. But that's life.
Pros:
- For me the biggest pro was the accountability of having a coach. There's no more "I'll start tomorrow/a weekend off won't be that big a deal because nobody has to know." If I wasn't compliant, I'd have to fess up to my coach. Not in a bad way, but I just knew that there was always going to be someone reviewing my week, which made me want to be more compliant.
- The coach was also there to say "chill out if you only lost 0.2 lbs this week, you still went down, the little amounts add up."
- Having someone to calculate my macros.
Cons:
- So...I wouldn't necessarily say macro counting is a "con," but it is a more in depth/complicated way to count calories. It's great for making sure that you hit your protein goals so that you don't lose as much muscle. However, being in a cut for long periods of time, and then adding the more complicated macro counting in there, can be mentally tiring. There were times when I felt like all I wanted to do was heat up a microwave meal, but I couldn't, because it would put me over my carbs/under my protein for the day, even though I knew that the microwave meal would still keep me within a calorie deficit to lose weight. By the end I was really just counting calories and not worrying too much about my macro splits, which was much easier mentally for me right now, and that's what I'm continuing to do.
- Also not necessarily a "con," but by the end, I felt like I knew what I needed to do and didn't really need a coach anymore. I know how to count calories, and being with Stronger U for that long had gotten me back into the habit of paying attention to what I ate and keeping track. So not a con, but a reason why I felt like I didn't need to continue.
- Cost. It's not cheap, but I felt like it was worth it for the time I did it.
I would say, especially if you're having trouble getting started and need the extra accountability, it's definitely worth it! I've always been a very slow loser no matter what I did, and being 5'0", I'm never going to be the person putting up 2 lbs a week losses. So while I would have loved to lose faster, when you're short there are no miracles. If you're interested, I'd at least try a 12 week session and see how you like it, and whether you think continuing with it would help you for your specific goals.
