I GAINED 20 POUNDS.
Listen… one of the reasons I started my own nutrition coaching business was to help others avoid the same mistakes I made in my lifetime. And I believe that ya’ll can learn not only from my failures, but also my successes. So I wanted to share a piece of my most recent personal journey.
I spent > 1 year eating at my maintenance calories/in a surplus (2300-2400 calories). I tracked my foods pretty consistently. And I’ll admit: I’m not perfect. When I went on vacation or got sick, I didn’t track my intake. I did 3-5 strength workouts/week, and focused on improving my hormones (period health + libido) and getting my health into a safe spot before considering a cut.
I worked with a Registered Dietitian Nutrition Coach (yup, even Coaches need Coaches) and we focused on digestive health, fertility, and immune support. I also worked with an Acupuncturist for menstrual health, ovulation, and fertility. I can’t say the fertility piece was successful (yet??); however, for the first time in what I think has been years, I’m ovulating (and yup, you can still get a period BUT not ovulate).
I’ve learned that I’m an unintentional jerk to myself when I don’t track my food. I think I’m crushing all the food… and then I track food and realize that I’ve been lying to myself. Some people are the opposite and over-eat. But I need the awareness to encourage me to eat enough fuel to support my goals.
The scale says I’m up almost 20 pounds from 2 years ago. It’s crazy because I’m not stressing at all about the number like my past self. I used to demonize the scale and obsess over the result. Now, I use it as a tool to know if I need to add more or less to my nutrition. I also prioritize how I feel in my skin + clothes over a piece of plastic.
After 1-2 years of building my metabolism, I feel like a rockstar. I have now earned the right to diet/cut and will be dialing in my nutrition for that. Like Jennifer, my client that I highlighted here: https://coachingwithabby.com/blog/up-7-pounds-fitting-in-her-jeans/ I built up my caloric bank account so that I can diet off of as many calories as possible (2000-2100 calories and already getting results). And, like my client, the scale says I’m up 20 pounds BUT my clothes are fitting better and I’m really confident with the muscles I’ve grown.
My top takeaways for you:
- Give yourself time and be realistic about how long your journey is going to take. I was consistent (but NOT perfect) for >1 year.
- Build daily habits that are sustainable for you. It has to become a lifestyle. Otherwise, you’ll be stuck in the hamster wheel forever.
- Put the work in at the GYM and outside of the gym (food, sleep, daily movement, digestion, etc). It’s not always what you do in 1 hour at the gym… but what you do the other 23 hours.
- Don’t hyper-focus on the scale. I honestly didn’t focus on the scale once during this journey.
- Focus on non-scale victories (increased strength, improved menstrual cycle, MUSCLES, etc). To me, regaining hormone health/control was most important. I also knew that once I dialed that in more, the body composition would follow.
- Fall in love with the process… not the outcome.
I’m excited about this next phase in my journey, and I will be sure to keep ya’ll posted. Hit REPLY if you have any questions for me.
