Why Weight? Start Now!

Sheryl Takayama
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If you are ready to get off the crazy diet wagon and find a way of eating and a way of thinking that WORKS, come and join Sheryl each week for practical advice, tips and a boost of motivation, so you START NOW and nail your goals 🥳

  1. Sep 28

    Ep 56: Don’t Write Off 2026: Your 12-Week Spring Reset to Christmas

    There are 12 weeks left until Christmas. If you’re tempted to write off the rest of 2026 and “start again in January,” this episode is for you. Twelve weeks is long enough to change how your clothes fit, how you sleep, how your blood sugars behave and how you feel walking into the room on Christmas Day. In this spring reset, I walk you through revisiting your January goal, choosing one clear goal for the last quarter, and six simple weight loss habits I use with my clients to finish the year strong. None of them need a gym. I also share the Christmas trip that kept me going when I first started losing weight, and set you a free seven-day challenge so you can start today. If you’re a woman over 40 who’s frustrated with slow progress, working on your blood sugar balance or following a low carb lifestyle, this is your chance to reset, refocus and move forward. What You’ll Learn Why 12 weeks is plenty of time to lose weight before Christmas and improve health markers like HbA1c How to check whether your January goal is still right for you, and when to change it The Christmas Day visualisation that makes your goal feel real How a daily food plan and a five-minute morning check-in stop the 4pm snack attack How a five-minute walk after meals helps lower your blood sugar What metabolic shake-up days are and how they help your body stop adapting How to stop weekend weight gain undoing your good week Key Moments Why this time of year can go either way, and how the urgency works in your favour Revisiting your January goal: is the number still relevant? Picturing Christmas Day and narrowing it down to one goal My story: the Christmas trip home to New Zealand that kept me going at the gym Why spring makes it easier: longer days, warmer weather and lighter food The six actions: a morning food plan, five minutes with yourself, two litres of water, a five-minute walk after meals, two shake-up days a week and nailing the weekend Bonus tips: clean out the pantry, have a default breakfast and lunch, weigh consistently and don’t let one meal become a bad day The seven-day spring reset challenge The 10-week Christmas Countdown inside Why Weight Academy, starting Friday 16 October The One Action You Can Do to Start Now Write down one goal you want to reach by Christmas Day and put it somewhere you’ll see it every morning. Then start the seven-day spring reset challenge, and each night ask yourself, “Did I do what I said I would do today?” Resources Mentioned Find out more about Why Weight Academy: www.whyweightacademy.com

    Ep 56: Don’t Write Off 2026: Your 12-Week Spring Reset to Christmas

  2. Sep 22

    Ep 55: She lost 85 pounds, But Her Legs Wouldn't Change: Patty's Lipedema Story

    Have you got stubborn fat on your legs or hips that won't shift, no matter how much weight you lose? This week I'm talking with Patty from New Jersey. She was eating around 900 calories a day and the scales wouldn't move. She went on to lose 85 pounds (nearly 40 kilos), then spent another five years finding out why her legs still weren't changing. The answer was lipedema, a fat disorder many women live with for years without a diagnosis. Patty shares how she stopped undereating, used an elimination diet to find her inflammation triggers, and now lives almost pain-free without chasing perfection. She's also honest about what diet and exercise can and can't do for lipedema fat. If you've been told to "just eat less and move more" and felt it wasn't the whole story, this episode is for you. What You'll Learn The early signs of lipedema Patty noticed from age 12, like lumps on her outer thighs and hooded knees Why 900 calories a day stalled her weight loss, and how eating more (around 1,700) got the scales moving again How daily weighing taught her about normal fluctuations instead of giving up How an elimination diet showed that "healthy" foods like tomatoes, peppers and gluten were driving her inflammation The honest truth: her changes reduced inflammation and pain, but not the lipedema fat itself Simple daily habits for lipedema, from calf raises and ankle pumps to rebounding and compression Why staying on track is focus, not obsession, and how putting yourself first changes your relationship with food Key Moments The 2020 Father's Day photo that made Patty decide to take things into her own hands The 4-pound jump after a salmon dinner that once would have made her quit Posting a swimsuit photo in a fitness Facebook group, and the stranger who said "look up lipedema" Realising her fingers could bend again once the inflammation came down Why Patty refuses to say she "reversed" her lipedema Her before-and-after photo trick for nights out What she'd tell her younger self The One Action You Can Do to Start Now Set aside one hour this week to plan. Write down your meals, when you'll move, and one small mindset habit, like 20 minutes in the car with the radio off, just you and your thoughts. Patty and I both swear by this. When you've planned, you feel in control, and that's where consistency starts. Links Follow Patty: https://www.facebook.com/pattyunfinished  Patty's elimination diet journal (Amazon): CLICK HERE Work with me: www.whyweightacademy.com  Get my Freebie:  5 day low carb meal plan and recipes

    Ep 55: She lost 85 pounds, But Her Legs Wouldn't Change: Patty's Lipedema Story

  3. Sep 15

    Ep 54: My Pantry Slip-Up after 25 years: How I was Back on Track by Dinner

    Show Notes White bread, butter, Marmite and a handful of potato chips. That was my lunch one stressful afternoon recently, and that is not exactly on my food plan! In this episode I share the honest story of an emotional eating slip-up: what triggered it, why stress eating can still catch you years into weight loss maintenance, and why this time it didn’t turn into a weekend binge and a “start again Monday” cycle. If you’re a woman who’s ever felt like one bad day ruined your progress, this one’s for you. Keeping weight off long term comes down to how fast you get back on track, and that’s a skill you can practise. What You’ll Learn How stress, cortisol and an overloaded day can send you straight to the pantry, even when you’re not hungry The two pairs of shoes: stepping into your future self while your old habits wait by the door Why one slip-up doesn’t undo your progress, and the story that turns 300 calories into 3,000 The one number worth tracking on your weight loss journey: how long it takes you to get back on track My quick get back on track plan for the moment you find yourself in the pantry How low carb comfort options let you emotionally eat without derailing your progress Key Moments New shoes, old shoes and becoming your future self Old me versus me now: same sandwich, completely different outcome Why the damage lives in the story you tell yourself about the eating Stop counting perfect days and start measuring your recovery time The quick get back on track plan Maintenance as a series of quick recoveries One Action to Start Now Put your new shoes back on right now. If you’ve had a slip-up, you don’t need to wait for tomorrow, Monday or next week. Your next meal is your fresh start, so carry on with your day and keep those shoes on for as long as you can. Connect With Me Find out more about Why Weight Academy at whyweightacademy.com Fab Freebie: my five day low carb meal plan plus five dinner recipes  Foundations of Fat Loss, my four week program for women over 35

    Ep 54: My Pantry Slip-Up after 25 years: How I was Back on Track by Dinner

  4. Sep 2

    Ep 53: How Many Times Have You lost the Same 10kgs?

    How many times have you lost the same ten kilos? Not how many kilos in total, but how many times you’ve lost them and ended up right back where you started. After 15 years of coaching busy women and 25 years of keeping 30 kilos off myself, I can tell you that losing weight and keeping weight off are two completely different skills. Only one of them ever gets taught. That’s why most weight loss advice stops at the food, and why the weight keeps coming back. In this episode I walk you through my Why Weight framework, the three pillars I build all of my coaching around. Nutrition, which for me means low carb eating that keeps your blood sugars steady. Purpose, the why that still holds up on a wet Tuesday when there’s chocolate in the cupboard. And mindset, the tools that get you through an off plan moment without losing a month to it. I also share the moment in my apartment in Japan, 25 years ago, that became the purpose I’ve never let go of. If you know exactly what to do but you don’t do it, this one is for you. What You'll Learn Why the most disciplined women in the weight loss phase are often the fastest to regain What the all or nothing habit is, and why maintenance lives in the middle ground Why steady blood sugar is the goal that makes low carb eating work long term How to dig underneath "I want to lose weight" to find a why that actually holds The simple daily mindset practices that keep you on track on the hard days What goes wrong when one of the three pillars is missing, and how to spot which one is yours Key Moments Why more information has never been the missing piece The three legged stool: nutrition, purpose, mindset Three low carb meals, one snack if you need it, and no other rules The bikini, the mirror, and the promise I made myself in Japan What "I know exactly what to do, I just don’t do it" is really telling you Three ways this falls apart when a pillar is missing One Action to Start Now Grab a piece of paper and write down three words: nutrition, purpose, mindset. Give each one a score out of ten for how solid it feels today. Be honest, and notice that you probably know your lowest score before you finish writing. Under that lowest one, write a single sentence. One small thing you could do this week to move that number up by a single point. Not five things. One. If your lowest score was purpose or mindset, you’ve just found out why the diets haven’t stuck. Links & Resources Why Weight Academy: whyweightacademy.com Foundations of Fat Loss Book a free call with me

    Ep 53: How Many Times Have You lost the Same 10kgs?

  5. Aug 24

    Ep 52: She Lost 22 Kilos: How The Biggest Change Had Nothing to do With food

    Liz’s seamstress took in her wedding dress four times. Two days before she flew to Las Vegas to get married it still wasn’t sitting right, and the seamstress finally asked her to please stop losing weight. This week I’m talking with my client Liz, who is down 22 kilos on a low carb plan. She spent twenty years as a vegetarian eating carbs on carbs on carbs, tried keto on her own, and slowly gained it all back before she found a plan she could actually stick to. The change that made the biggest difference to her results this year had nothing to do with food. Same meals, same plan, earlier bedtime, and it was her best month of the year. We also talk about shake up days and egg fasts for breaking a weight loss plateau, the Japanese word for eating when you’re bored rather than hungry, how Liz handles the muffins at work, and the two freezer meals she cooks once and eats all week. If you’re a woman over 35 who is tired of starting again every Monday, this episode is for you. What You’ll Learn Why twenty years of vegetarian eating left Liz short on protein, hungry, and gaining weight How sleep affects fat loss, and the nine o’clock bedtime experiment that changed Liz’s results without changing a single meal What a shake up day is, and how egg fasts and lower carb days move a stalled scale The mindset line Liz repeats when it gets hard: no one’s coming to save you, but no one’s coming to stop you Kuchisabishii, the Japanese word for a lonely mouth, and what to do when you’re bored rather than hungry How to stop one slip up turning into a whole week off plan Liz’s low carb meal prep system and her two go-to freezer meals How to handle other people’s comments about your weight loss, including the unhelpful ones Key Moments Twenty years vegetarian, carbs on carbs on carbs, and always wondering why the weight wouldn’t shift The 2am fortieth birthday Facebook post about sausage rolls A proposal, a date set a year out, and a wedding dress that gave Liz a goal worth chasing The surprise that lifted her results without touching her food: an earlier bedtime Shake up days, egg fasts, and why being a bit hungry is not a state of emergency The goal photo Liz set as the screensaver on every device she owns Four alterations, and off the shoulder sleeves made two days before the flight to Vegas Nine kilos of sparkling water, and the moment Liz realised what she’d been carrying every day What Liz would say now to the woman who is about to start One Action to Start Now Put lights out one hour earlier tonight. Just tonight. Liz didn’t change her food that month. She changed her bedtime, and her results changed with it. If a full hour feels like a stretch, start with thirty minutes and see how your hunger looks tomorrow. Links and Resources Fab Freebie: my five day low carb meal plan plus five dinner recipes  Foundations of Fat Loss, my four week program for women over 35

    Ep 52: She Lost 22 Kilos: How The Biggest Change Had Nothing to do With food

  6. Aug 11

    Ep 51: Same Calories, Two Very Different Days: What 10 days wearing a glucose monitor taught me

    Two days. The same 1300 calories. The same meal times. And two completely different bodies by the end of each day. A month ago I wore a continuous glucose monitor for 10 days so I could see, in real time, what food, sleep and movement were doing to my blood sugar. On the high carb day my glucose looked like Mount Everest, and I was hungry and flat by mid afternoon. On the low carb day, with identical calories, the line barely moved. In this episode I share the five biggest lessons from my own blood glucose experiment, including the protein bar that behaved exactly like two slices of toast, what one bad night of sleep did to my readings the next day, and the free five minute habit that brought my blood sugar back to baseline 45 minutes faster. If you have ever wondered which foods are right for you, or why the scales stall when you are doing everything right, this is the episode for you. What You’ll Learn How a continuous glucose monitor works, what it costs, and where to get one in New Zealand Why calories in versus calories out does not tell the whole weight loss story What the same calories at high carb and low carb did to my blood sugar over two days Why high protein, high fibre bars can still spike your blood sugar The link between poor sleep, cortisol and higher blood sugars the next day How a five minute walk after eating speeds up your return to baseline Why low carb wraps might be behind a stalled weight loss Key Moments Two identical calorie days with completely different blood sugar results What a continuous glucose monitor is and how painless it is to wear The high carb day: Vogel’s toast, a ciabatta roll, feijoas and butter chicken with rice The low carb swap day: same calories, same times, a flat line all day The client who watched her blood sugars skyrocket after sushi The Fibre One bar that spiked my glucose like 25 grams of carb One late night, one 3am wake up, and blood sugars up into the sixes all the next day The five minute walk that brought my levels down 45 minutes faster Why low carb wraps hit me harder than low carb bread The four changes I have made to my own plan since The One Action You Can Do to Start Now Tonight, once you have finished dinner, stand up and move for five minutes. A walk around the block, a lap of the driveway, marching on the spot, or a dance to one song in the kitchen. Anything counts as long as it happens within 30 minutes of eating. That is the habit that brought my blood sugars back to baseline 45 minutes faster, and it costs nothing. Do it after every meal this week and see how you feel. If you want your own data, order a continuous glucose monitor and run the same experiment on your usual meals. Links are below. Links & Resources Dexcom One continuous glucose monitor:  FreeStyle Libre continuous glucose monitor:  8-week Blood Sugar Solution Programme:  www.whyweightacademy.com/the-blood-sugar-solution

    Ep 51: Same Calories, Two Very Different Days: What 10 days wearing a glucose monitor taught me

  7. Aug 4

    Ep 50: The Morning Routine That Swiches Off Your 3pm Cravings

    Did you know the battle for stable blood sugars is mostly won or lost before 10am? In this episode, I explain why your morning routine matters more than your willpower when it comes to blood sugar balance, weight loss over 40, and beating afternoon cravings. When you wake up, your body is naturally more insulin resistant thanks to a morning surge of cortisol - which means a high-carb breakfast spikes your blood sugar higher than the same food would at lunch. I walk you through the "second meal effect," why a blood sugar crash at 3pm actually starts at 7am, and why the first blood sugar decision of the day is really what time you go to bed the night before. Then I share my favourite high-protein breakfast ideas — each with at least 30 grams of protein — plus simple morning habits like a five-minute walk after eating and getting your water in early, so you can stay off the cravings roller coaster all day. What You'll Learn Why you're naturally more insulin resistant in the morning - and why a high-carb breakfast hits harder before 10am How the "second meal effect" means your breakfast shapes your blood sugar response at lunch and dinner Why 3pm cravings are a physiological crash that started at breakfast — not a willpower problem How one bad night's sleep can reduce insulin sensitivity by up to 25%, and what to do about it Why 30 grams of protein at breakfast is your single biggest lever for stable blood sugars, fewer cravings, and protecting muscle during weight loss Easy high-protein, low-carb breakfast ideas - plus why savoury beats sweet The best way to time your coffee, and two simple morning habits that boost blood sugar balance and afternoon energy Key Moments Why your blood sugar battle is won or lost before 10am The morning cortisol surge and insulin resistance explained The second meal effect: how breakfast sets up lunch and dinner The cravings roller coaster — and why it's not about willpower Bedtime: the first blood sugar decision you make for tomorrow What 30 grams of protein at breakfast actually looks like Savoury vs sweet breakfasts, and the truth about coffee on an empty stomach The five-minute walk that pulls glucose out of your bloodstream The One Action You Can Do to Start Now Pick just one: go to bed 30 minutes earlier tonight, aim for 30 grams of protein at breakfast tomorrow, or choose two high-protein breakfasts from this episode and make them your defaults. Don't decide at 7am,  decide now. You're going to have a morning anyway, so make it a morning of success. Links and Resources My Fab Freebie — 5-day low-carb meal plan + 5 delicious dinner recipes: https://www.whyweightacademy.com/low-carb-meal-plan-opt-in  8-week Blood Sugar Solution Programme - starts every Monday: www.whyweightacademy.com/the-blood-sugar-solution

    Ep 50: The Morning Routine That Swiches Off Your 3pm Cravings

  8. Jul 27

    Ep 49: The Question That Matters More than Calories: Why Your Blood Sugar Holds the Key after 40

    Have you ever thought, “I’m eating exactly the same, but my weight keeps going up”? You’re not imagining it — and you’re definitely not broken. In this episode, I explain why calorie counting stops working for weight loss after 40, and why the real question isn’t “how many calories is this?” but “what is this meal doing to my blood sugar?” I break down how declining oestrogen, muscle loss, rising cortisol, and poor sleep during perimenopause and menopause make you more insulin resistant — and why two meals with identical calories can have completely different effects on your hunger, cravings, energy, and belly fat. I also share the simple low carb eating principles I use with my clients to stabilise blood sugar, reduce sugar cravings, and make weight loss feel calm instead of like a constant fight with willpower. What You’ll Learn Why calorie restriction backfires and triggers the very hormones that cause overeating How menopause and perimenopause make blood sugar balance harder — and what to do about it The blood sugar roller coaster: why crashes drive sugar cravings, the 4 p.m. slump, and 3 a.m. wake-ups The tell-tale signs of unstable blood sugar — even when your blood tests look normal Three simple habits that stabilise blood sugar without eating less or relying on willpower Key Moments Why “eat less, exercise more” is a formula designed to fail 400 calories of eggs and avocado vs 400 calories of toast and juice — same number, completely different hormonal response The four big changes after 40: declining oestrogen, muscle loss, rising cortisol, and worsening sleep Why insulin is the “traffic controller” deciding whether food gets burned or stored as fat The wood fire vs dry leaves analogy for steady energy vs sugar spikes Why blood sugar swings make menopause symptoms worse — and how stabilising them helps sleep, brain fog, and belly fat How stable blood sugar improves willpower, decision making, and cravings Signs your blood sugar is the hidden problem, and how a glucose monitor can show you the full picture The three habits: 25–35g of protein at breakfast, build every meal around protein first, and a 10-minute walk after dinner One Action You Can Do to Start Now Pick just one of the three habits and start tomorrow: eat 25–35 grams of protein at breakfast, build your meals around protein first, or take a 10-minute walk after dinner. Then simply notice what happens this week - when cravings hit, how you feel after meals, and how your energy holds through the day. And if you’d love support to get your blood sugar on track, check out my eight-week low carb program, the Blood Sugar Solution — it starts every Monday. Click here to find out more:  www.whyweightacademy.com/the-blood-sugar-solution

    Ep 49: The Question That Matters More than Calories: Why Your Blood Sugar Holds the Key after 40
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If you are ready to get off the crazy diet wagon and find a way of eating and a way of thinking that WORKS, come and join Sheryl each week for practical advice, tips and a boost of motivation, so you START NOW and nail your goals 🥳

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