17 years ago, as a newly licensed Registered Dietitian (RD), I never imagined my career would lead me here. But all of my mistakes and failures as an athlete has called me to serve other women to make sure they never have to punish themselves like I did. I spent years starving myself and punishing myself by chronically overtraining.
Today, my company’s mission is to help women fuel their bodies appropriately and find greater peace and flexibility with nutrition + fitness. We believe in helping women follow a plan that is sustainable, incorporates an “all foods fits” approach, and get to the root problems with your metabolism… not just treating your symptoms.
I can’t wait to share this client story with you because this is WHY I do what I do and love every second.
Meet Coach Brianna’s client, Ashley.
Up 500 calories in just 2 months, our client is feeling like a rock star with a body composition that matches her efforts in the gym.
Ashley came to us after following a “medically supported diet” and complaining of feeling hungry and tired all of the time. DOCTORS actually put Ashley on 900-1200 calories/day. In the nutrition world, this is also known as starvation or chronic over-dieting and calorie restriction, which leads to metabolic adaptation.
All of these things meant that Ashley wasn’t in a position to further diet. If we tried to support Ashley in a calorie deficit, we would have to drop her calories lower and lower. This becomes unsustainable and dangerous, and sometimes people actually stop losing weight because their metabolism is so adapted and efficient.
Instead, Coach Brianna put Ashley in a Restorative Metabolic Phase and has guided her from 1900 calories to 2400 calories in 2 months. She also shifted her workouts from circuit style HIIT to more strength training. Her weight remains stable and she’s gained strength and improved flexibility with her nutrition.
Right now, the goal is to rebuild Ashley’s metabolism and get her calories to a respectable amount… hang there and focus on building more strength, possibly some lean muscle… and then make a smooth transaction into a calorie deficit. Just remember, in this maintenance phase the goal is NOT to see weight loss or body composition changes. It’s cool if it happens. BUT the goal is to rebuild the metabolism and hormones.
