Hi, it’s me, Abby!
⬆️⬆️⬆️ These are my progress pics, and this is my story of how I improved my body composition, lost fat, and quite honestly, struggled through the process.
😩 I had a client recently *fire* me just 5 weeks into a deficit. She “only” lost 3 pounds in just over a month. And in the priming process (prior to the diet) we improved her sleep, digestion, energy, food quantity and quality, and worked thru some underlying thyroid issues. BUT… 5 weeks in and she said goodbye. I’ll tell you exactly why 5 weeks isn’t enough time.
My pics represent 202 days of hard work, consistency, PR’s, struggles, tremendous self-growth, and feedback. Notice I said two-hundred-and-two days? Not 35 days (like the client that fired me) or 75 days (hard) like social media promotes.
I promise, there is no magic pill. Here I am after 202 days of consistency. NOT perfection. Just good old fashioned hard work, daily habits, doing the boring, unsexy work… and forward progress.
In case you missed my previous blog about how I hired a Nutrition Coach, and going thru a Reverse Diet, check it out here: https://coachingwithabby.com/blog/dear-abby-2/
Quick recap: I hired a Nutrition Coach in October 2022 with the goal of getting stronger/building muscle, and then going through a structured fat loss phase.
October to March: Increased calories from 1700 ➡️ 2600 calories (and 350g Carbs!)/day (aka: Reverse Diet)
- Increased strength, PR’s in the gym (hit new PR’s: weighted Pull-up at 52.5 pounds and benched 155 pounds*- not a PR but I was freaking pumped).
- Improved biofeedback: sleep, energy, mood, libido, menstrual cycle.
- Weight remained stable, but I did notice improvements in my body composition.
March to May: 11 week calorie deficit (aka: cut or diet).
- My calories were adjusted based on progress and biofeedback.
- I ended at 1600 calories.
- Down 10 pounds.
As a Coach, here’s what I learned:
- Spend time doing the boring, unsexy stuff. I spent 5 months just working on increasing my calories and protein, and getting strong AF in the gym!! If you skip this step, it’s like skipping high school and going straight to college. You can do it, but it likely won’t end well.
- My body is super adaptive, which is why when I reversed from 1700 to 2600 calories I didn’t gain weight. This is also why it was so challenging for me on the way down.
- Dieting is freaking hard! Invest in a Coach. Even as Nutrition Professional, I experienced so many emotions through my cut and almost quit too many times to count. But having a Coach to support me and hold me accountable to the process was 100% key to me being successful.
- Don’t Give Up so quickly! Patience. It took me about 5-9 weeks to see significant changes on the scale. And sheesh- my weight fluctuated up/down a bit. And I certainly wasn’t losing weight everyday or every week. Remember, we are looking for downward *trends.
- While dieting to achieve *abs* looks rad, it takes a lot of work to get there and maintain. I still prefer being strong + well-fed, with more flexibility in my diet to add in some dark chocolate or tortilla chips!
We will spend the next few months reversing back up to my *new* maintenance, improving biofeedback after my diet, with an emphasis on fueling my body for optimal performance.
I have some STRONG GIRL SUMMER adventures planned, and being well-fed will be a necessity! I can’t wait to share my summer plans with ya’ll soon (it forces me to be accountable).
Stay tuned!
