How are you doing? I don’t know about you, but I am pumped to start the week! I have a lot of fun projects that I am working on and I am excited to start sharing some of them with you over the next few months.
Recap: Chronic Dieting/Restriction can lead to Metabolic Adaptation/Homeostasis. This is when your body down regulates metabolism and thyroid/sex hormones in the absence of food. To support metabolism we need to provide the body with adequate fuel. This is accomplished by doing a reverse diet, which means you gradually add calories to get to weight maintenance. Maintenance is defined as no gains and no losses to muscle or fat tissue. Also, be sure to check out the last 3 blogs on my website as a refresher: https://coachingwithabby.com/blog/
I work closely with my 1:1 nutrition coaching clients to safely complete a reverse diet. There are 3 possible outcomes as I coach someone to their maintenance calories.
1- Weight Loss
- These people are hyper-responders
- Weight loss occurs because the body is HYPED + feels safe
- This happens to the lucky 1%
2- Weight Maintenance
- Weight stays the same (despite INCREASING calories)
- Biofeedback improves: performance, recovery, libido, hunger, mood
- Changes in body composition
- Pics + measurements important to assess progress
3- Weight Gain
- For some, it’s necessary to gain weight + body fat to restore health and bring back hormone, thyroid health, and normal menstrual cycles
- I see this especially with clients that have an extensive dieting history + disordered eating
- Can sometimes gain up to 5-30 pounds
Just remember: THE BODY ALWAYS WINS!
Here’s what to expect when you Reverse Diet –> Maintenance calories (HINT: Look beyond the scale):
•Feel great in gym + outside
•Energy + mood great
•Sleep improves
•Reduced food cravings, not chronically hungry
•Feel appropriate hunger
•High sex drive
•Menstrual cycle present + regular with relatively no symptoms: Every 28-35 days for 3-7 days
•Increased NEAT (fidgety)
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Fuel your dreams!
Coach Abby
Registered Dietitian Nutrition Coach & Personal Trainer
