Calories Up?
As you know, to prepare for another fitness competition, one of my first goals is increasing my daily caloric intake. Say what? Calories up? Yes. My good friend and colleague Allison, has convinced me this is the way to go for this prep. In her twenties, Allison destroyed her metabolism eating too little (~1200 calories a day) and doing endless hours of cardio. She has swapped that fitness protocol for eating ~2000 calories a day, lifting heavy and often, and doing minimal cardio. Using this protocol, Allison has had three children, works full time as a data scientist, and has competed and placed in several fitness competitions. And by the way, Allison weighs about 10 pounds less than what she weighed in her 20s on that 1200 calorie/endless cardio fitness protocol. I don’t know about you, but THIS is how I want to roll into my 50s: strong and ripped, eating a lot, and weighing less than I did in my 30s and 40s!
Allison and me at a 2015 competition
The First 12 Weeks
Where Allison and I have landed is that I’m going to start daily calories at 1800 to 1900 calories for at least 12 weeks. She thinks I’ll probably want to weigh in around 140 to 145 on show day. This is a realistic goal for where I’m starting and where I can get in a year. We’re not necessarily planning to WIN the show. Allison wants to get me above 2000 calories a day before I start cutting next spring for the show. GULP. This will get my metabolism revved up and help me build more muscle. Goal 1 is to just eat between 1800 and 1900 calories every day – no more, no less. Goal 2 is to get at least 100 grams of protein a day. Ideally I'd eat at least 1 gram of protein per 1 pound of lean body mass, or about 120 grams of protein. But, for now, where the rest of the calories come from (fat, carbs, alcohol) will just depend on the day. We're not manipulating other macros just yet. If my weight goes up too much, FBA and I will call an audible. What do you call this diet? Consistency. I’m going to give it a try.
According to the calorie calculators, someone of my height/weight/activity level should be eating 2000+ calories a day and should lose weight rapidly by cutting to 1900 calories a day. HAHAHAHAHA! Allison says that these calculators are somewhat meaningless, because it’s all about your base caloric intake. And for months (and probably a few years now), I’ve been hovering around 1400 to 1500 calories a day, probably intermittently yo-yoing up, depending on the social activities du jour. It’s probably too little and my body just won’t let any weight go, so I’ll have to slowly build up (calories not weight) and then when I do a cut my body will let the weight go. It sounds too good to be true. The good news is that I am pretty disciplined about tracking my food in My Fitness Pal and I eat the same thing for breakfast and lunch most days, so I have some sense of where I’m starting out this time around.
Consistency Diet
You might be asking, what about keto, clean eating, intermittent fasting, and other diet protocols? For the last few years, I’ve eaten a mostly high fat (100+ grams/day), moderate protein (80 to 100 grams/day), low carb (30 to 50 grams/day) diet. Yes, I’ve done keto, low carb, high carb, clean, and intermittent fasting diets. All of them. I learned something from each diet, but sitting here today, I have no idea what diet protocol is the magic bullet. I’ve lost weight and gained weight doing all of them. But for today, I’m going to be agnostic on this topic and just go with Calories Up Consistency Diet. More will be revealed. Honestly, the flexibility brings me incredible peace of mind.
Mind Over Matter
Believe me, this is not my usual approach to weight loss or dieting, even though since the first fitness competition, I have KNOWN about reverse dieting and that getting nutrition on point and being consistent is key. But my execution has been lacking, so this is really a mindset issue at this point. I know what to do, but I don't do it. I get overwhelmed by life or lose the patience for tracking everything, and when I don’t get the results I’m hoping for I make big, big plans to lose weight: run 5 miles, lift 1.5 hours on a strict keto 1300 calorie diet. On 1300 to 1400 calories, I just don’t have the energy to work a full day, run 5 miles or lift 1.5 hours. Then feeling defeated and ashamed, I quickly throw in the towel and am even less consistent in my diet and exercise routine. I sort of go through the motions and the results speak for themselves – no real change in body composition. I am embarrassed to admit any of this, because I know better and at my age I should have this diet mindset stuff figured out. But I’m trying to be honest here, and I figure it serves no one’s interest to pretend. So I accept that doing this reverse diet and ultimately another fitness competition will largely be mindset work and developing the habit of doing what I say I will do (within reason) and seeing how the results stack up. Calories Up and Consistency Diet. I’m going to give it a try!
Want to learn more about metabolic health? Join our private Facebook Group (Boost Your Metabolism After Age 30), listen to our podcast, follow us on Instagram, get our free video on how you can increase your metabolism, or book a free metabolic assessment. Finally, feel free to reach out to us at info@couturefitnesscoaching.com with any questions!