Four Weeks Of Reverse Dieting
I’m four weeks into a reverse diet and here’s where things stand:
Exercise
Lifting: S, T, R, F – Full body workouts Sunday and Tuesday then lower body on Thursday and upper body on Friday. While I’m definitely focusing on lifting for my entire body, I’ve swapped a day of cardio for lifting so I can devote some extra time to building my booty and hamstrings. Look out! (Working out about an hour, and per my heart rate monitor burning between 200 and 300 calories per workout. Zero splat points for you OT devotees.)
Cardio: M,W, - jogging/HIIT cardio for ~ 30 minutes (Per HR monitor burning between 250 and 300 calories. Between 5 and 7 splat points for OT devotees).
Rest day: S – on the road to Colorado. Mountains here we come!
Food
Calories: 1800 to 1900 calories. Since I’m reverse dieting I’m working on increasing vs. decreasing calories. I tracked in MFP every day and logged between 1800 and 1900 calories every day. I am noticing a feeling I haven’t had in a while, which is HUNGER. Like tummy rumbling hunger. Usually in the morning when I first wake up. My coach, says this is a really good sign. At the same time, I’m struggling to get all the calories in without having a treat (ice cream etc.). A nice problem to have, but see below in the Head Check section. .
Stats
Weight: 160 LBS. Up two pounds. Last week I dropped a couple of times down to the 157 range and now this week I’m jumping up. This is not the direction I wanted to head, but it’s how my body is responding. My muscles could be carrying extra water from all the lifting, it could be that I’ve put on some muscle, OR it could be weight gain from a month of eating an extra 100 calories a day. It’s hard to say and only time will tell.
Week 4 Progress Pics. Even though I carry weight in my upper body, I'll work on building out my glutes and hamstrings. Aside from the aesthetic bonus, the glutes are one of the largest muscle groups in the body. And I drive a desk all day so they don't get much work in the day to day.
Head Check
I’d be lying if I didn’t say the two pound weight gain is messing with my head. Now, I’d be thrilled if the scale went the other way this week, but my brain is telling me that the scale going up is a disaster and this reverse dieting isn’t working at all. Truth be told, if I weren’t doing this blog, I’d probably plan to cut calories, go back to keto, and run more. My Macros Coach Allison has convinced me to stay the course. Her exact words: “If you ever want to do a cut without having to get super restrictive you have to get your calories up.” She assures me that two pounds is no reason to throw in the towel. This is where it’s handy to have a coach. She is using the non-emotional, pre-frontal cortex part of her brain to guide me through this. I’m a bit in the emotional, scared lizard part of my brain and lizard brain is telling me to abandon ship, swap a couple of days of weightlifting for cardio, and drop back down to 1500 calories. And while I know that would probably get a few pounds off pretty quickly, to what end? I’ll be right back where I’m at with my body stalling out, not having energy for all the things I want to do, feeling droopy, and stuck back in the same rut.
A lot of the fitness people I follow (@biolayne, @teambiolayne, @soheefit on Insta)—all of whom have a Calories Up philosophy—write about how reverse dieting is much harder than regular dieting. It’s reassuring to know this because you’d think the opposite would be true. What’s not to like about being able to eat more food? But in reality it’s not a free-for-all eating fest – you have to track your intake and hit your targets. And it takes time for the body to build muscle and reap the benefits of the extra calories. Discipline, patience, consistency, and faith. That’s what I get to practice these next few weeks.
One thing I will say is that it’s a great feeling to know that I’ve not veered off plan. I’ve done all the exercise, tracked all the calories, and eaten within range every day. So I have accurate data from which we can fine tune some things if need be. Turns out Consistency Diet is also good for building confidence!
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