This incredible transformation from a FitFam member and SnS support squad is a powerful illustration of how crash diets, extreme exercise, supplements, etc are NOT the answer to achieving your goals. If you are not satisfied with your body composition and have spent weeks, months or years in the vicious yo-yo diet/exercise cycle, only to emerge unsatisfied with your results, LEARN from those experiences to drive change.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.
-Albert Einstein
The ONLY way to make break through this cycle to achieve the desired body composition goals is to put those goals on hold. By dedicating adequate time to reversing the metabolic adaptation and hormone down regulation that has occurred through years of stressing your body through these restrictive behaviours, you CAN not only achieve, but maintain your goal body composition for the rest of your life - WITHOUT the use of extreme diet and exercise tactics. Read about how Joanna prioritized building a healthy relationship with food and exercise, while increasing her intake by over 1000 kcal/day and reducing exercising to achieve her goal body composition!
"I started my weight loss journey in 2013, I had always been active but never paid attention to my diet. In 2013 I was doing a boot camp and they offered nutrition “help”.
They told me to eat 1500 cals a day. That was it, not what to eat, not why, no consideration on what I was already eating or how much exercise I was doing etc. So I did, I also ramped up my workouts to 2x most days. Did it work? Sure. Was I starving? Yes. My weigh in days were on Wednesdays, I would binge eat everything on Thursdays because then I had a week to “work it off” (I didn’t realize this wasn’t normal).
It worked until it didn’t. Until I didn’t want to restrict anymore but didn’t know how to stop, that there is even a reverse diet process so I just stopped, as most people do when they are on a very restrictive diet = yo-yo dieting. Instead I ramped up exercise and by that I mean I ran more...boot camp in the morning, running at night... Before crossfit and after boot camp I came from orange theory and my body composition still wasn’t what I was looking for.
I worked with Sharan the first time in 2015, to get ready for our wedding, then again after baby #1 to see how fit I could get before baby #2, and I got fit, but I still didn’t see the muscles I was looking for. I worked with Sharan again after baby #2 and got to a point where I was comfortable on my own and I worked on eating more calories. I ate at maintenance or more for well over a year (that was at least 2300- 2500 cals/day) and with having 2 kids, a husband that works at the gym meant I couldn’t work out as much. So that drastically decreased. I do a 1 hour crossfit class, 4 days a week now. So when I started working with sharan this last time, I had spent the time eating enough to fuel my body, build muscles, let my hormones balance and give my body the break it needed. The body you reveal during a cut is the one you built during maintenance. When you lose fat to see muscles you need to spend time building them, and that takes calories!!
Working with Sharan is amazing! It’s a learning experience, you learn that sleep and stress relief are almost more important than calories (almost:) food quality matters most of the time, but pizza and ice cream still fit in your life, that cutting is not meant to be year round and that list goes on and on. It’s not easy, having a coach is is not a magic pill you still need to put in the work but if you commit to learning what works for you it you will be set for life!
When it comes to cutting, this is where consistency really matter most, I didn’t want to eat less if I didn’t have to. We didn’t go below 1700 calories (and I was HUNGRY!!) I got refeed days, days off, etc but I stuck to it as closely as possible because I wanted this cut to be short. Now I’m back up over 2000 cals a day (and hopefully not done increasing yet!) and my body composition is the same and I weigh only 2 lbs more than my lowest weight with adding in 400 more cals a day."
Week 1 Cut - 2150 kcal/day Post 8 Week Cut - Week 7 Reverse
Diet 2121 kcal/day (still increasing)
while down 10lbs and hitting PRs
daily!