So it wasn’t until I looked back on my entire 12 months of progress photos and weight tracking that I realized I learned a lot about myself last year. ⠀ ⠀ I feel compelled to lead with this: I DID NOT INTENTIONALLY CUT ONE DAY IN 2019. ⠀ ⠀ In fact, starting at Thanksgiving, I increased to a slight (100-150cal) surplus.⠀ ⠀ What I DO believe had a huge impact on my physique changes was the periodization of my training. Here is how it looked in 2019:⠀ ⠀ 💥Jan-May: lifting heavy 5x/week, no cardio, 10-12k steps daily⠀ 💥May-November: @madeline_moves Weekly Moves, 12-14k steps daily (this increase happened naturally, not planned cardio)⠀ 💥December-today: 6 weeks into a 12 week program from @cody.boomboom called Perform and Build (4 lifting days/week, 2 conditioning + 1 recovery walking day), 12-14k steps - sometimes I need to add 10-15 min walk to hit this ⠀ ⠀ At the end of the summer I started to feel a little too lean in my skin and wanted something new, but I wasn’t (mentally) ready to build. So I continued to eat 2000+ cals daily while doing MM, but eliminating the plyometrics as a compromise to myself. ⠀ ⠀ In hindsight, what was probably happening all summer was that while I was fueling my body with plenty of food, I was in a slight deficit due to the intensity of the workouts and the naturally increased movement that comes with longer days! I had all this energy because I was not limiting my calories or any one macro nutrient! ⠀ ⠀ I know I put on muscle because had done quarterly @dexafit.msn scans, but fat was lost too. Hello ‘body recomposition’ in what certainly *felt* like my ‘perceived’ maintenance!⠀ ⠀ I attribute finding my stride in this ‘perceived maintenance’ to fueling myself with lots of carbs, always hitting my protein and consuming super high volume foods with plenty of fiber. It just FEELS good to be full and satisfied, so that is how I choose to eat and create my recipes!⠀
There is nothing magical about fat loss; it all comes down to consistently being in a calorie deficit. But finding ways to achieve it, that are enjoyable to YOU is crucial to success and long-term sustainability.
And if you want to really double down on your recomp, take a look at your training. If you’ve been doing the same thing for more than 6 months and are no longer seeing progress, it may be time to change the stimulus!
Oh, and I also learned this; I can be happy with who and where I am, but still want to be better. I can love my body and still want to improve it. There is room for all of this 💯
