My FASTer Way to Fat Loss Review – Eating Bird Food
My honest FASTer Way to Fat Loss review with before and after photos. I’ve completed the 6-week, am now a VIP member and I feel leaner and stronger than ever before.
I started following the FASTer Way to Fat Loss in July 2023 and whenever I share my workouts or info about the program on Instagram I get a ton of questions so I wanted to create this post as a place to share my honest opinion on the program and answer some common questions that I get asked.
Table of Contents
Overview of the FASTer Way to Fat Loss
To start, what is is the FASTer Way to Fat Loss?(FWTFL)?
The FASTer Way is a comprehensive program created by fitness expert Amanda Tress, to optimize fat burning, boost metabolism, and improve overall health through a combo of effective workouts, nutrition strategies (like intermittent fasting and carb cycling).
The program emphasizes a holistic approach to weight loss, focusing not only on physical transformation but also on sustainable lifestyle changes and healthy habits for long-term success.
Here are some of the key components:
- Nutrition: FWTFL emphasizes balanced nutrition through a flexible macronutrient-based eating plan. Participants are encouraged to prioritize whole, nutrient-dense foods while strategically timing their meals to optimize fat burning and energy levels. Your coach will help you set your macros according to your specific goals, body type, demographics and activity level.
- Intermittent Fasting: Intermittent fasting is a central aspect of the FWTFL program, which just means there are periods of eating and fasting to optimize fat metabolism and insulin sensitivity. You can choose how long you want your daily fast to be, typically somewhere between 12-16 hours.
- Workouts: This is my favorite part! The exercise component of FWTFL incorporates a combination of strength training, high intensity interval training (HIIT), and cardio exercises to maximize calorie burn, build lean muscle and improve overall fitness levels. The workouts are quick and effective – most workouts are no more than 30 minutes and they can can be tailored to your fitness level and preferences, making them accessible to participants of all abilities. The trainers are really good about offering modifications for every move and providing low impact options. I also love that the workouts are filmed so you just push play and work alongside the trainers, who are showing you the moves while offering encouragement, tips for good form and weight suggestions. I do the at-home workouts but they also offer gym workouts too.
- Coaching: When you sign up for the program, you get a coach to guide you through the program so you’re not going at it alone. All of the FASTer Way coaches have to complete the 6 week program and the program and go through a certification process before becoming a coach. Their role is to help collaborate with you on customizing the program, provide ongoing support and help motivate you throughout the process. My coach, Loren Mattingly, is amazing. She’s very knowledgable, always willing to help me work through things and give a bit of tough love when I need it. I’m not sure if all coaches offer this, but Loren has a Facebook group for her participants in the program. And there are separate groups for first-time clients doing the 6 week program and for VIP clients. These groups are such a great way to stay accountable, get inspired and connect with others following the program.
My Experience with The FASTer Way
I first met Amanda years ago, back when I hired her marketing agency to help me launch a health coaching program to my audience. Years later I ended up signing up for a round of the FWTFL after having my first baby. I did the 6-week program and had pretty good success, but after the 6 week program I didn’t continue with the VIP membership.
When I did my first round back in 2020, they didn’t have the app so the whole program was run through a Facebook group and PDFs. I followed the nutrition strategies, but was still doing my own workouts so I figured I could manage to follow the program on my own without paying for the VIP monthly membership.
Now they have the FASTer Way app where you can access the weekly meal plans, workout videos, your macro tracker, water tracker and fasting timer. Following the program is sooo much better now and because everything is in one place and you don’t have to spend extra money on a macro tracking app like MyFitnessPal.
July 2023, a year after having my second baby, I decided to sign up for the 6 week program again and after the 6 weeks, I was feeling so good following the workouts and nutrition strategies that I decided to join the VIP program and I’ve been a member ever since.
Before and After Photos
Here are my results the first time I did the 6-week program back in 2020.
I definitely saw some changes but nothing like the changes I’ve seen with following the program and committing to the workouts and macro tracking this time around.
As I mentioned I have been following the program since July 2023. I saw really good results during the 6 week program, but didn’t stay consistent with tracking through the holidays so in February I recommitted to tracking and doing the workouts for about 6 weeks and these were my results.
The photo on the left is from January 28, 2024 and the photo on the right to April 2, 2024.
The crazy part is that my weight is exactly the same in these two photos but I’ve lost inches and my body composition has definitely changed. I’m looking leaner than I ever have, even before my two kids and I’m feeling so much stronger as well.
A little backstory – I’m a certified health coach through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and a few years ago, I received my personal training certification through NASM. So in theory, I know exactly what I need to be doing in order to build strength and lose fat, yet for years I have struggled to see the results despite a ton of effort… long cardio sessions, dieting, etc.
It was honestly really disheartening to feel like I was doing all the right things and not seeing any changes. Being in my late 30s there were points I thought it was just my genetics and getting lean wasn’t going to happen for me!
Why The FASTer Way Works For Me
Through the FASTer Way I’ve been able to find workouts that I can easily fit into my day – I can do them at home and I’m done in 30 minutes! They’re challenging, but not so challenging that I dread them and I’m seeing results… I’m stronger, using heavier weights and getting leaner. It’s amazing!
I’ve also found tracking macros has been so enlightening. Once I started tracking I realized I was rarely hitting my protein goals and most days I wasn’t eating enough! Yes, you can be eating all healthy foods, but maybe it’s not the proper ratio of macros or maybe it’s too little or too much. I don’t think you have to track macros forever to see results but it’s very eye opening and has been a game changer for me.
By hitting my protein goals, I’m feeling more satisfied with my meals, snacking less, thinking about food less often and continuing to build muscle.
I will say, while I do follow the FASTer Way guidelines, I’m not super rigid about them and I listen to my body… especially when it comes to fasting. I don’t always have a 12+ hour fast… if I’m hungry before I’m “supposed to” break my fast, I honor that and eat. I also will break my fast early on weekends when I want to eat with my family or eat later in the evening when I’m going out to dinner with friends. Oh, and the FASTer Way will occasionally do 24 hour fasts and I’ve never done one. I just don’t see the need for me and decide to opt-out.
What I Eat Following the FASTer Way
What I eat now isn’t too dissimilar to how I was eating before starting the program, but I’m definitely eating more protein and I actually eat more carbs too. I think as women we often think that in order to lose weight we have to eat a low carb diet (aka why the carnivore diet is trendy right now), but carbs are our bodies main source of energy and if you’re eating the right carbs (whole grains, fruits, veggies) you’re also getting fiber, which is super important, as well as, vitamins and minerals.
I start my day with electrolyte water and cold brew coffee. Yes, you can still have you coffee during your fast. (Anything under 50 cals doesn’t break your fast.)
Low Carb Day Meals
Breakfast: I usually eat something with eggs, bacon or turkey sausage and avocado. Usually I’ll make some egg white bites or egg white omelette so I can include some veggies in there too. I also really like chia seed pudding and my PB&J yogurt bowl.
Lunch: For lunch I like meal prepping some sort of salad like my tuna salad, rotisserie chicken salad, Greek yogurt chicken salad or salmon salad. I’ll put these over a bed of greens with some extra veggies and have a toasted cauliflower thin or some parm crisps on the side. I also love having a blackened chicken cobb salad or this protein cobb salad on low carb days.
Dinner: One of my favorite low carb dinners is my egg roll in a bowl recipe so we usually have this at least once a week and then the other low carb day I usually just have something simple like a air fryer salmon with roasted broccoli. We’ve also ben getting Factor Meals and they usually work well on low carb days.
Regular Macro Day Meals
Breakfast: I like having my oats on regular macro days so I usually meal prep some protein overnight oats or protein baked oatmeal.
Lunch: For lunch I still like having a salad, but I’ll make one that has more carbs like my curried chicken salad, since it has raisins or I’ll make a big salad with my air fryer chicken cutlets as the protein and add some roasted sweet potatoes on there. So good! I also love this easy quinoa salad.
Dinner: A couple of my favorites for dinner are my healthy chicken enchiladas or this ground turkey pasta.
For snacks, I tend to keep it simple and will have homemade protein balls, a protein bar or protein shake. I also love these chocolate protein muffins. The macros are awesome on these! Of course I have a ton of high protein snacks if you need more ideas.
For store-bought options I really like the Barebells Creamy Crisp protein bars, Aloha PB Cup protein bars and the Kaoi protein shakes. I also really like these roasted edamame snacks.
How Much Does It Cost?
The 6-week program is $250. After the program if you want continued access to the app and the workouts, you will be charged $79 a month for the VIP membership.
I should note that while I am an affiliate for the program, I have never received a discount or free access to the program. I paid for the 6-week program and currently pay for the VIP membership as well. It’s well worth it to me.
How To Sign Up
If you decide you’re ready to join the 6-week program, you can sign up through my link! When you use my link to sign up you’ll be assigned the same coach as me, Loren Mattingly. As I mentioned before, she’s amazing and you’ll be in great hands. She starts new rounds throughout the year and you’ll be added to her next round. You’ll get immediate access to the app when you sign up and then emails from her about your custom macros, the start date and everything else you need to get started.
Sign Up Bonus
If you sign up for the program with my link you’ll be with my coach Loren Mattingly and you will get my FASTer Way resource guide with tips and recipes!
Frequently Asked Questions
Alright, so now that I’ve shared a bit about the program and my story, let me answer some popular questions I get often get asked.
The FWTFL focuses on whole food nutrition and weekly meal guides and grocery lists are provided to facilitate planning. All meals are gluten-free and dairy-free and a vegan option is also available. I don’t follow the meal plans that often, but I like knowing that they’re available. I tend to make a lot of my own recipes.
The program recommends eliminating dairy and gluten from your diet as they are inflammatory. I personally choose to continue to eat dairy, especially Greek yogurt and cottage cheese, because I really love it and it helps me reach my protein goals. I don’t eat gluten often, but I’ll have every so often. That’s the nice thing about this program, you can customize it to work for you!
Yes, the program is totally doable if you’re pregnant or nursing, you might just need to make some modifications, which you can chat through with your coach. I followed the program while I was nursing Olivia and just modified things a little bit… eating around 100 grams of net carbs on the low carb days instead of 50 grams and only fasting for around 10-12 hours. And it didn’t notice a dip in my milk supply.
Absolutely. If you love your group fitness classes or Peloton workouts and want to keep those up, go for it! I will say, the FASTer Way workouts are one of my favorite parts about the program. They’re strategically programmed and only 30 minutes. If you start the program, I highly recommend trying them to see what you think. I used to get a group fitness class junkie and I love Peloton workouts but now I’m hooked on the FASTer Way workouts and just canceled my Peloton membership.
You can do the workouts at home without much equipment – a yoga mat, dumbbells and resistance bands are really all you need. But if you want to level up, I highly recommend investing in some heavier weights and a bench.
Nope! While there are certified coaches, they generate income through client enrollment and retention not through signing up other coaches, if that makes sense.
I’m not a coach and I don’t currently have plans to become one. As I’ve mentioned, I love my coach Loren Mattingly and can’t recommend her enough!
Disclaimer: As with any fitness program, it’s essential to consult with a healthcare professional before starting, especially if you have pre-existing health conditions or concerns.