There’s no place like home—and nothing like a plan—for the holidays.

Last week marked 12 weeks since I began reverse dieting in preparation for training for a fitness competition. For the last 12 weeks my protocol has been as follows: reverse diet - eat between 1800 and 1900 calories/100 grams of protein per day; consistent resistance training - lift weights at least three times a week and focus on progressive overload; and do cardio at least two to three times a week.

If you've read my earlier posts, you know that I’m reverse dieting and trying to increase my calories by about 300 calories a day (from 1500 to 1800 calories). For about five years I've somewhat regularly tracked my daily food intake on the free version of My Fitness Pal. But when I read that other fitness competitors are eating 1500, 1800, or 2000 calories a day, I sometimes still can't guess what that looks like.