Week 0 - Getting Started

I wanted to start off with the basics of how I'm setting up my cutting program and some ideas of what and how much I'm eating. Everyone is different and I've found that I need to eat more than most women my size. Using a standard TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) calculator online I get a TDEE of just over 2,100 calories per day. So what does that mean? Well it means that I should consume an average of 2,100 calories per day to maintain my weight.

I track my daily and weekly calories (2,100 calories x 7 days = 14,700 calories/week) because it leaves more wiggle room to eat a little more or a little less each day as my appetite (or social engagements) demands. The common calculation is to subtract 3,500 calories per week (500 per day) to lose a pound per week. Half that to lose half a pound per week, which is my goal. So, my calculations say I should eat 1,850 calories per day or 12,950 per week (2,100 - 250 = 1,850) to lose 0.5 pounds every 7 days. But I have found this doesn't hold true for me. On 13,000 calories per week I was losing closer to 1.5 pounds every week. I'm not sure if it's because I work a somewhat physical job or if I just have more muscle or a higher metabolism than estimated. So I'm eating 'at maintenance' (2,100 calories per day) for now to see if and how my weight changes over the next couple weeks. I will adjust up or down as necessary to reach my goal loss of 0.5 - 1 pound each week.

The next step in making my comeback was cleaning out my fridge. All of the Easter candy and goodies are gone. There is no junk food in my house AT ALL. I know that I like to eat when I'm stressed or anxious so I have taken away the unhealthy options and replaced them with Quest Bars and Arctic Zero 'ice cream'. I also got back to meal prepping.

My fridge

My current food situation consists of oats, eggs, egg whites, strawberries, Greek yogurt, chicken, beef, sweet potato, rice, asparagus, broccoli, spinach, almond milk, rice cakes, almonds, peanut butter, and coffee. I haven't committed to a set 'meal plan' for this week but I did prepare meals for breakfast and work each day to make staying on track easier. 

Breakfast is usually oats and berries plus a protein shake

Lunch was a 3 oz. lean beef burger with rice and asparagus

Dinner was another burger with peanut butter and sweet potato

My snacks, or smaller meals, consist of things like chicken with veggies, a Quest bar, or 1-2 rice cakes and almonds. I also drink 3-4 liters of water each day and take a multivitamin, fish oil, vitamin D, and a probiotic. Making sure that I get plenty of protein, healthy fats, and all of the necessary nutrients is my top priority for ensuring my metabolism and weight return to normal (and stay healthy).

This is long enough (and probably boring). I will write more about my workouts in my first update post and cover how I decide what adjustments to make to my nutrition. If I missed anything or didn't explain it well enough just drop a note in the comments and I will make sure I cover it in my next post! 

Finally, thank you to everyone who took the time to read and respond to my initial post. It isn't easy to admit I'm struggling and that I don't look and feel my best right now. But I know that I can help people if I swallow my pride and bare my progress for the world. It means more than you'll ever know that so many of you have reached out and offered support and kind words. <3 p="">

Fit to Fat to Fit In Real Life

I'm sure everyone has seen or heard about the show Fit to Fat to Fit. If not, well, its basic premise is a personal trainer/fitness professional purposely becomes overweight and then loses it alongside their client. I have enjoyed the episode or two I managed to catch but I never thought I would be the 'fat' trainer. And yet here I am.

I set a goal of competing again this year in May. I worked out and ate well but in excess up until the new year. I weighed in around 142 pounds over the holidays. My goal was to put on as much muscle as possible and then cut down to stage ready from mid-January to mid-May. Then I would go through with peak week preparations and step on stage to better my standings from last year.

Warning: If you are squeamish then you may want to skip the next paragraph.

We all know the saying about the best laid plans... I became consumed with seeing how lean I could get. I averaged 1.5-2 pounds a week lost. While this rate of loss is considered safe medically it was too extreme when I was already fairly lean. I dropped down to 129 pounds around Valentine's Day and I estimated I was at 13.8% body fat. With over three months to my show date it was too early to be so close to stage ready. I started to experience problems with overwhelming cravings, extreme hunger, and then my periods stopped. I decided to put some weight back on and reevaluate my competition readiness after 4-6 weeks.

129 pounds

What I didn't expect was how hard my body would rebound. At first I assumed a good bit of the gain was water weight. But the scale kept jumping up... and up and up. My clothes got tighter and people started to notice. I was still happy with how I looked but I worried that I had done metabolic damage with my cut. I finally plateaued at 157 pounds. The heaviest I have ever been.

157 pounds

Now that my body has finally stabilized again I am ready to take off the excess weight at a more reasonable pace. I have planned out meals and calculated my calories needs to lose 0.5-1 pound a week this time. I may not step on stage in May but my ultimate goal is to be healthy and happy. Thankfully I'm still pretty comfortable in my own skin at this weight.

I decided to share my journey back to health and fitness here in hopes of helping someone else. Shows like the one I mentioned only gloss over the details. I want to share every last bit of my journey from meal planning and prepping to workouts to progress pictures. My goal is to share weekly updates for anyone who is interested but also to motivate myself. 

Please leave me a comment if there is anything you would like me to share this weekend when I post my first update! Let's get on track to our summer (and beyond!) bodies together.