Calorie Cut 2018
I started faithfully tracking my food/macros again on March 10. My weight had gone up after a cleanse, and I knew what I needed to do.
It was honestly like a lightning bolt moment as I was sitting in a Daymond John coaching seminar on a Saturday morning. I just knew I needed to make a change, and I committed in that moment to do whatever it would take.
I texted my friend Kelsey and asked her to coach me. And here we are almost 9 months later, still going strong.
Progress has been slow, slow, slow. Like, so slow. Like I have lost 10 pounds in 9 months slow. Slower than I expected or anticipated.
I had hoped I would reach my goal before summer ended; I wanted to confidently wear a bikini. No such luck. But here’s the thing: I put myself in a very different place mentally for this cut.
I’ve had built-in treat meals every Saturday, which honestly is pretty frequent given the fact that I haven’t been in a drastic (show prep) cut. But these meals have contributed to my sanity and my ability to stick with this for so long without burning out. They’ve been the key for me sustaining this. You could say this has been the main culprit in my cut being so slow, for sure. I most likely would’ve made much faster progress without the calorie jump every Saturday (because let’s be real, ya girl can eat). But I also would’ve quit a lot sooner. This plan is working for me.
I won’t say it hasn’t been hard, or that I haven’t had frustrating moments. I absolutely have. I’ve had periods of feeling burnt out and wanting to give up, feeling like I was doing everything I could but not seeing any movement. I haven’t been perfect. I’ve had several days (not Saturdays) in the past 9 months where I’ve said, “Screw it,” and eaten whatever I wanted. And you know what? It didn’t totally halt my progress. It didn’t stop me. I didn’t just give up because of a bad day here or there.
Kelsey’s been a champ dealing with my complaints during the lowest points of my calorie cut, and she’s done such a great job leading the way and keeping me focused. There have been times that I may have wanted to do things a little differently than she directed, and she probably was irate with me in those moments (#coachproblems). In the end though, I trusted her experience and did it her way.
I’ve now been in a reverse diet for a few weeks as I train for my half on Thanksgiving, building my calories up slowly. I have still dropped a little bit of weight in a reverse. But even cooler? I’ve maintained. This reverse will continue through the holidays.
I have about five pounds I’d still like to lose, possibly seven pounds, depending on what my physique looks like at each point. I’ve consistently taken progress photos. Sometimes I can see the difference. Sometimes I can’t. I hadn't anticipated posting anything like this until I was super proud of my "after" photo. But here goes.
I am excited (and terrified) to start a new cut after the holidays, starting from a much higher calorie point. I am mostly excited to see how high we can get my calories up while maintaining my weight. For real, it is so cool being able to eat all the food. OK, not all the food. I still have to pick and choose. But being able to add more and more food in every week and deciding how I want to use those extra calories has been so awesome.
To sort of explain how this works, for those who are interested: You basically have a calorie maintenance thing going on in your body. You have a point at which your body balances its energy over time, and you stay the same weight. Your body’s focus is to survive and maintain balance. If you’ve been in a calorie deficit for a long time, then your body has likely adjusted to that point, making that low-level your new maintenance. When you want to lose weight or fat, you cut calories from that maintenance point. So the higher you start your calories, like at 2200, for example, the less extreme your cut will be. For example, if you cut from 2200 down to 1950, and burn the other 250 off in a workout, you’re still eating quite a bit. Whereas if your maintenance is lower, like 1600 calories, and you want to do the same cut, you’re down to 1350 calories. That’s pretty miserable, and pretty limiting.
As I continue to reverse in the next 8 weeks, maybe I can get my calories up to 2000. That might be wishful thinking. I’m at 1785 as of today. If I get 50 more calories per week, that puts me at 2185. How cool would that be, friends? Starting a cut from that point? YES!
I think at the point of my next cut, I’ll also dial in my Saturdays and track them so I’m not more than 40-50% over my normal calorie intake. Being able to enjoy myself while not destroying the progress I made in the week should make my next cut go a little faster.
I am concerned as I reverse after my race is over, when I’m not getting the same mileage in. I think after my race, I’m going to drop to three days per week running (TuThSat) instead of MWFSat, and lift weights on MWF. My weight training has suffered during this training season, partly because of all the running, but also due to many more late nights the past couple of months.
Anyway, it’s been a long journey, but I’m happy to be at the point I am at and am looking forward to seeing what else I can do in the coming months. Many thanks to Kelsey for her patience and guidance. I’m grateful for her and grateful for this healthy body that does so much for me.
Day two of writing in November: done.
It was honestly like a lightning bolt moment as I was sitting in a Daymond John coaching seminar on a Saturday morning. I just knew I needed to make a change, and I committed in that moment to do whatever it would take.
I texted my friend Kelsey and asked her to coach me. And here we are almost 9 months later, still going strong.
Progress has been slow, slow, slow. Like, so slow. Like I have lost 10 pounds in 9 months slow. Slower than I expected or anticipated.
I had hoped I would reach my goal before summer ended; I wanted to confidently wear a bikini. No such luck. But here’s the thing: I put myself in a very different place mentally for this cut.
I’ve had built-in treat meals every Saturday, which honestly is pretty frequent given the fact that I haven’t been in a drastic (show prep) cut. But these meals have contributed to my sanity and my ability to stick with this for so long without burning out. They’ve been the key for me sustaining this. You could say this has been the main culprit in my cut being so slow, for sure. I most likely would’ve made much faster progress without the calorie jump every Saturday (because let’s be real, ya girl can eat). But I also would’ve quit a lot sooner. This plan is working for me.
I won’t say it hasn’t been hard, or that I haven’t had frustrating moments. I absolutely have. I’ve had periods of feeling burnt out and wanting to give up, feeling like I was doing everything I could but not seeing any movement. I haven’t been perfect. I’ve had several days (not Saturdays) in the past 9 months where I’ve said, “Screw it,” and eaten whatever I wanted. And you know what? It didn’t totally halt my progress. It didn’t stop me. I didn’t just give up because of a bad day here or there.
Kelsey’s been a champ dealing with my complaints during the lowest points of my calorie cut, and she’s done such a great job leading the way and keeping me focused. There have been times that I may have wanted to do things a little differently than she directed, and she probably was irate with me in those moments (#coachproblems). In the end though, I trusted her experience and did it her way.
I’ve now been in a reverse diet for a few weeks as I train for my half on Thanksgiving, building my calories up slowly. I have still dropped a little bit of weight in a reverse. But even cooler? I’ve maintained. This reverse will continue through the holidays.
I have about five pounds I’d still like to lose, possibly seven pounds, depending on what my physique looks like at each point. I’ve consistently taken progress photos. Sometimes I can see the difference. Sometimes I can’t. I hadn't anticipated posting anything like this until I was super proud of my "after" photo. But here goes.
 |
| March to October 2018 |
To sort of explain how this works, for those who are interested: You basically have a calorie maintenance thing going on in your body. You have a point at which your body balances its energy over time, and you stay the same weight. Your body’s focus is to survive and maintain balance. If you’ve been in a calorie deficit for a long time, then your body has likely adjusted to that point, making that low-level your new maintenance. When you want to lose weight or fat, you cut calories from that maintenance point. So the higher you start your calories, like at 2200, for example, the less extreme your cut will be. For example, if you cut from 2200 down to 1950, and burn the other 250 off in a workout, you’re still eating quite a bit. Whereas if your maintenance is lower, like 1600 calories, and you want to do the same cut, you’re down to 1350 calories. That’s pretty miserable, and pretty limiting.
As I continue to reverse in the next 8 weeks, maybe I can get my calories up to 2000. That might be wishful thinking. I’m at 1785 as of today. If I get 50 more calories per week, that puts me at 2185. How cool would that be, friends? Starting a cut from that point? YES!
I think at the point of my next cut, I’ll also dial in my Saturdays and track them so I’m not more than 40-50% over my normal calorie intake. Being able to enjoy myself while not destroying the progress I made in the week should make my next cut go a little faster.
I am concerned as I reverse after my race is over, when I’m not getting the same mileage in. I think after my race, I’m going to drop to three days per week running (TuThSat) instead of MWFSat, and lift weights on MWF. My weight training has suffered during this training season, partly because of all the running, but also due to many more late nights the past couple of months.
Anyway, it’s been a long journey, but I’m happy to be at the point I am at and am looking forward to seeing what else I can do in the coming months. Many thanks to Kelsey for her patience and guidance. I’m grateful for her and grateful for this healthy body that does so much for me.
Day two of writing in November: done.
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