myquirkylife

[myquirkylife]

The black and white of dieting is fairly simple: eat less, move more, calories in, calories out. Be consistent and watch yourself transform. Right? Well, generally speaking, yes. But unfortunately, not always. Just like life, dieting is not always so black and white.

Perhaps you know someone that despite training hard, eating at a deficit with properly balanced macronutrients/micronutrients and recovering appropriately, they just can’t seem to lose weight? More often than not, factors at fault include:

“Ghost Bites” – aka those bites of your coworkers dessert, those mindless bites while you prepared your meal, those random bites of various snacks at work, those unmeasured spoonfuls of peanut butter, always eating out and guesstimating, etc. They all add up!

Not Actually in a Deficit – They may not be burning as much as they think they are in their training, therefore, not being in a true caloric deficit (more on this later). Or, eating more than they think they are in comparison to their output. Yes, it is true, sometimes in dieting, to get to a specific goal, you have to be in a lower deficit than you think you need to be in. Harsh truth.

Other than the above factors, there are some that fall in the grey area of dieting. Perhaps you’ve heard folks say, “I can’t lose weight because I have a slow metabolism”? Hell, I’VE said that (thanks, thyroid)! People can have slow metabolisms (soooo many factors that contribute to this), but the most important tidbit of information to take away from this post is: a slow metabolism is NOT a life sentence that you are doomed with forever (or to use as an excuse). There ARE ways to remedy this.

But it takes work. By tracking your intake, you are in control of the calories-in – which is extremely important if you have specific goals. Controlling the calories-out, aside from exercise, is more so dependent on your biology, which is where things can get tricky. The human body is extremely complex, and it is your metabolism (a mega machine of organ function, hormones, energy, etc) that dictates the amount of energy your body outputs in a day.

The thing with the human body is that it is extremely durable and will adapt to extreme circumstances when necessary. Some bodies do this quicker than others (hi). So if you’ve been eating really low calories for a long time, even when combined with hard, diligent training, and you’re still not losing weight, chances are that your metabolism adapted to its current state. No, this is NOT starvation mode. Most people, thankfully, won’t ever experience true starvation. What this means is, your body adapted to its current intake as its “maintenance,” so even though you’re technically not eating much, your body doesn’t think it’s in a caloric deficit, it thinks it is maintaining.

So, how can this be fixed? Reverse dieting! Or, simply getting back to (or figuring out) your true maintenance numbers (macros to eat to maintain weight). This is done so that your body can slowly adapt to eating at higher calories, with minimal weight gain while also increasing your metabolic capacity.

Some argue that there is no need to to do this slowly and you can simply go back to eating at maintenance in a 2-3 week window after a cutting phase (Lyle McDonald, PhD), while others argue that this should be done slowly in a 10 week (or more) window to minimize fat gain and give your metabolism time to adjust (Alan Aragon, Avatar Nutrition, in3 Nutrition, Layne Norton, PhD, Sohee Lee). In my humble opinion, if you’ve been cutting for a long time, slowly increasing your food intake can also help you mentally. Big increases in food in a small time frame can easily lead to binging.

So…all this may sound familiar coming from me, right? Well, that is because I have covered this topic before in The Dark Side of Reverse Dieting. Read that post where I go over my personal experience with reverse dieting (at that point) and the parts of reverse dieting that people don’t like to talk about. Folks love to focus on the group of folks that respond extremely well to reverse dieting such as weight loss and can get their macros upwards of 400g of carbs without gaining but that is not as common as you think.

Okay, so now you’re probably asking, “Well Jo, why are you bringing up reverse dieting yet again?” Sigh.

HERE’S THE DEAL

To put it into perspective, I wrote that post in July 2017 and it is now toward end of April 2018. I was in the middle of a reverse diet that I had began in March 2017. Which, five months in was a record for me! As mentioned in that post, I was notorious for starting a reverse, and at any sign of gain, I’d jump back into a cut. And very recently, I was reverse dieting…again. WHAT?!

So, what had happened was…we had a trip to Costa Rica planned for November 2017 and I did not want to go looking/feeling fluffy (can you blame me?). I was advised against going into a cut just yet, that I should give my reverse more time, then go into maintenance for a bit, and THEN cut. Well, vanity and impatience got the best of me and I compromised on doing a “mini cut” right before the trip. I was warned that cutting a reverse short and diving straight into a cut is not a great idea, but that if I’m to do it, that I should stick to the reverse up until October 2017, then for the month of October, do a somewhat aggressive cut (shock the body in a sense), then get back to a reverse when I return. Well, things did NOT go as planned whatsoever because my body is a difficult bitch (hence why I am writing this long ass post about metabolic adaptation).

Basically, the aggressive mini cut did NOTHING for me. I went from eating about 2200 cals to pretty much 1500 cals (without change in training volume) in a span of about three weeks with no change on the scale or body. The frustrating parts were:

Reverse diet that I spent 6 months on, turned out to be a waste because I was back to eating what I was eating pre reverse diet (perhaps even less) AND at a higher weight than when I began reverse because I’m one of the lucky ones that has some fat gain during a reverse (Note: sarcasm – there should be a sarcasm font)

I was compliant 95% of the time during the reverse and 99% compliant during the cut, so it’s not like I was going YOLO style and overeating

I was diligently training hard in weightlifting throughout

What was done, was done. There I was, right before Costa Rica vacation feeling like…

But I got to thinking…I should NOT be stressing about this during my vacation. I had never been to Costa Rica, it was my first international trip with Migs, and I had spent months planning it. I was determined to turn my shit around and have an amazing time. I planned to mindfully eat but not track my food.

This is just a glimpse at the adventures we had on our 10-day trip living that pura vida:

The trip was phenomenal. We laughed, we ate, we drank, we swam, we did adventure. I couldn’t have asked for a better trip. It took a lot of willpower to not think about what I looked like in this bikini or in those shorts or that dress, but I did it well enough and remained in the moment. Pura vida.

Back to Reality

In my last blog post, I went over exactly what took place upon our return from Costa Rica. Rest in forever peace, my sweet Abuelita.

In that last post, I definitely focused on my training and those lifetime PRs that did make me ever so happy! There’s one major plus from truly fueling my body – getting stronger!

What I didn’t focus on in that post was nutrition and my body, well, because I knew it would take some explaining and it needed its own post to do so.

Anyway, so upon getting back, feeling as discouraged as ever (on top of the emotional roller coaster I was on), I basically just went back to the calories I left off of on my cut and mindlessly stayed there for some weeks until January came around and I stumbled on AHub Nutrition‘s Ashleigh Hubbard on Instagram…and was intrigued. I lurked on her for a while on Instagram from afar. I’d click through and see what her clients were sharing, what she shared, her methods – basically, went down a rabbit hole.

Although I felt Avatar did serve me well, my body just does not always respond as typically as most bodies do and feel it requires more patience than the algorithm allows. It responded well to the reverse overall, but the cut method, not so much, which I know is partially my fault for going from reverse to a cut so quickly. For someone who has a fairly responsive body, I feel Avatar is a great, affordable alternative. But ultimately, it does only base your weekly macro tweaks on your weigh ins (weight + body fat measurement + compliance, and for women, menstruation) without any other factors considered. I figured the time may have come for me to take on a coach again. Someone that can take into consideration not only the weight on the scale but also take into account other measurements such as how I’m feeling, whether I dropped the kids off at the pool, my stress levels, my energy, how I’m recovering, my training changes, etc. I KNOW I could do this for myself but let’s be honest, we’re not always as real with ourselves as we are with others.

What sold me on Ashleigh – because it IS a hefty price tag to take her on, I’ll be honest – is how responsive she was before I even hired her. We DM’ed for about a couple hours the night I finally reached out to her. I asked any and all questions and concerns that I had. I explained my situation, warned her my body is notoriously difficult and I let her know I did not want to go through what I went through before with a previous coach (scroll down). Responsiveness is key with me. Most importantly, don’t brush off my concerns when I have them. She reassured me of all my concerns without giving me blanket responses and added a bonus: her clients have her cell number and can text her with any questions or to just chat.

Time to get to business. Time to make a plan. And she told me what I knew was coming (but was somehow hoping not to come to this). The only way to really get me out of the hole of eating such low calories and not seeing any results was to reverse diet me…AGAIN. Ugh. I expressed my feelings about doing a reverse AGAIN, potentially gaining weight AGAIN, spending months on a reverse AGAIN when I had just spent 6 months on one. I said and asked all these questions, knowing the sad, sad answer already before she even said it. I don’t have much a choice if I want to get my body and metabolism in order. It’s either, remain eating very low calories and lowering them even more with the possibility of still not seeing any change (and have my performance suffer) or reverse diet, but this time go into a maintenance phase, and then cut. And of course, taking into consideration more than just weight on scale the whole time (biofeedback) and adjust accordingly.

Ugh, fine. So here I am. I started the reverse with Ashleigh in January and my reverse just ended a couple weeks ago. From when we started I gained about 3-4lbs – which to some, may seem like nothing. But if you think about the overly aggressive reverse (aka bulkI didn’t ask for) I was put on post op by my previous coach where I gained nearly 10lbs, then the reverse I was very recently on where I had also gained about 3-5lbs (with Avatar) – it sure adds up and IS a lot. I am now on maintenance for the month of April with a week diet (mental) break at the end of the month where I won’t track macros which is also when I’ll be out of town for work. And then, when I’m back in town…

Time to cut! I am hopeful that it will go well this time under the watchful eye of an attentive coach. Another thing I already knew before Ashleigh mentioned it, was that it is very likely that I will ultimately have to go very low in calories due to how my body has responded historically. But luckily, she said she won’t keep me so low for too long and, I don’t have trouble eating low calories when I have to. I more so get frustrated eating low calories and seeing no changes.

HAVE YOU STRUGGLED?

I’m curious to know my readers better. Aside from the common issues listed in this post, have you also struggled with any body goals? Do you feel your body is difficult to change? Did you end up finding what tweaks work for you?

xx,

Jo

The Joys of Metabolic Adaptation #flexibledieting #nutrition #health #wellness #metabolism The black and white of dieting is fairly simple: eat less, move more, calories in, calories out.

[myquirkylife]

Janky Hip No More

Janky Hip No More - This post has a purpose and its purpose is...LIFETIME PRs!!!

It’s been ages, guys. I started the draft of this post FOUR months ago, and never got around to finishing it. Multiple reasons account to why, and I’ll go into some of those reasons in a follow-up post. This post has a purpose and its purpose is…LIFETIME PRs!!! That’s right, not just post op PRs but LIFETIME. This is huge for me, guys. Lifetime PRs were hit on January 14, 2018 and February 16,…

[myquirkylife]

Painful Bloated Woes & Polyp Murder

pol·yp ˈpäləp/ noun a growth, typically benign and with a stalk, protruding from a mucous membrane. Okay, let me back up here. If you’re a new follower, welcome! You’re in for a treat. If you’re not, then you are all too familiar with most of my woes. Specifically all the bodily woes I mentioned in my Dark Side of Reverse Dieting post and before that in my Random Rambles: Big Ball of Ugh post.…

[myquirkylife]

•N O T • A • P R • I’ve become a head case [walked into that, I know] when it comes to squat PR attempts post op. On Friday 99% went up decent. Heavy but not awful. And since I never like to match a PR, decided to go for 101%, which was just a 3kg jump and I failed the shit out of it. Three. Times. I know it was mental. I did the same crap with recent back squat max out. Ughhhhhh. Halp. (at Torrance Training Lab)

[myquirkylife]

#internationalgirlday If a woman is physically strong, does that automatically take away from her femininity? I like to think all of us ladies in our respective sports challenge that notion day in and day out, all while continuing to get stronger. Cheers to making gainz in and out of the gym! #weightlifter #butlovegettingdressedup #andmakeup #likeagirl #defylabels

[myquirkylife]

First Post Op Max Out in the Books

First Post Op Max Out in the Books

Guys. I know I suck. No need to tell me. I know it has been a bazillion years since my last post. This post will almost be irrelevant at this point since it happened back in JULY and it is now OCTOBER. I bring shame to the blogging world. But I still want to share this experience with you all! So bear with me…and step back into time with me. Ladies and gentleman, I have an announcement. It…

[myquirkylife]

Hey, guys. This week has been rough. 🎶 One of them weeks, that a girl goes through, when everything feels heavy af, don’t mean to take it out on you 🎶 (at Torrance Training Lab)

[myquirkylife]

Taste the rainbow 🌈. #weightlifting #kilos (at Torrance Training Lab)

[myquirkylife]

#TBT to 2/13/16 which is the last time I attempted this weight before shit hit the fan with my hip (and was dealing with shoulder impingement issues in this very video). I'm coming for you 65kg... • • • #throwbackthursday (at Torrance Training Lab)

[myquirkylife]

Pre #GOT homemade turkey carnitas enchiladas with fried plantains, black beans and Mexican style cauli rice. We actually sat at the table and ate a full home cooked dinner! A rarity. 🍽

[myquirkylife]

Jumping into the weekend like... (at Torrance Training Lab)

[myquirkylife]

Just a few of my favorite things all in one meal. Chicken? Goood. Carne asada? Goood. Avocado? Goood. Rice/black beans/pico de gallo? Gooood. I hadn't been to @wahoosfishtaco in ages so when I had to grab lunch on a whim the other day, swung by here and apparently they have Paleo Bowls (which they pronounce pal-eh-oh 😆) that come with double protein and all nutrition is on MFP. It wasn't enough carbs so I added side of that rice, beans and pico. 👌🏼#latergram (at Wahoo Fish Taco)

[myquirkylife]

If you’ve been in a never-ending cycle of dieting down and eating minimal total calories without seeing much difference or plateauing, chances are your body needs a reverse diet to strengthen your metabolism. What’s a reverse diet, you ask?

Reverse dieting is a process in tracking macronutrients in where you gradually increase your calorie intake after a sustained period of dieting. This concept allows you to slowly reintroduce extra calories (usually in the form of carbs and some fats, while keeping protein fairly consistent) so that you can help your metabolism recover from low-calorie dieting. Adding calories back in slowly is ideal in order to not rapidly gain back what you worked hard to keep off. Not to mention, it helps tremendously for your mental health after the stress of so much calorie restricting. I digress, this post is not intended to explain exactly what a reverse diet is, so if you’re curious to know more, here are a few great sources:

Macro Fit

Corina Nielsen

Dr. Layne Norton, PhD

You may have seen folks in the fitness industry that track their macros, post about their reverse diets on Instagram with glowing pride. Just check the #reversediet hashtag…

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

When people post about their reverse diets, it is usually all sunshine and happiness. Hell, even I have been guilty of that the first time I ever was put on a reverse diet, which was back when I first started tracking my macros two and a half years ago:

December 3, 2014

The first time around, it sure was fireworks and fuckyeahs all around. I mean, what’s not to be ecstatic about? Coming off of bro diet and paleo, I was eating bread again, eating much more AND getting leaner?! You bet your ass I was eager to share my results. Who wouldn’t be?

Well, that was back then. I’ve done a couple short term (bad idea, but I’ll touch on that a bit later) reverse diet stints since then. I have been in a constant vicious cycle of dieting down to fairly poverty macros, but would get exasperated with the low numbers and see little change, so I was quick to think they’re not working, so I’d hop right back into a reverse diet, but as soon as any gain began happening, I’d freak out and get back into a cut.

This time, I’m here to stand on my little soap box and proclaim that reverse diets are not all rainbows and sunshine every time. Are they necessary? Yes, but there is a dark side to it that not many talk about.

Fat gain is inevitable. How much will vary. As you saw, on my first reverse diet, I leaned out quite a bit. Those are the lucky few – and, from what I’ve seen, it seems like people tend to lean out on their first reverse diet and not as much on their following ones. But don’t quote me on that, I don’t have scientific data to back that up, it’s just what I’ve seen. On some, the gain will not be noticed, but on others, it most definitely will be noticed. You will notice it before anyone else does – specially on the scale – and this is where most people will want to jump ship and start to cut (diet down / lower macros) again prematurely, before they’ve truly given their metabolism a chance to recuperate and get their intake up.

Too soon?

Mental fuck. This correlates to the last point but it deserves to be expanded on. The mind is a very powerful part of your being as a whole and holy crap it makes it hard af to be okay with gaining some weight. It takes mental grit to accept yourself in a controlled chubbier state. Not to mention, during the reverse diet process, you’ll be seeing a whole lot of #transformationtuesday and Before/After posts on social media of people with the body you had or want. And if you happen to be reversing in the summer months, it stings just a little more. The gain will mess with your mind and make you question why you’re doing this.

So much food. Eat all the foods they said. It’ll be fun they said. Well, I may be in the minority here, but I do not have goals to eat 300g+ carbs and 150g+ fats. You may see people on social media that eat that much (and more) and look shredded with comments on their posts from followers green with envy about eating that much and how they wish they could eat that much and look like that. Well, eating a lot not only can leave you full all of the time (which can make training uncomfortable) but it also gets expensive! I’m currently on a reverse diet and I’m currently at about 180g carbs and 70g fats and it is already starting to feel like a lot. Sometimes it gets to a point where the thought of eating another meal to hit your numbers for the day is nauseating. When you start to feel this way, first of all, be patient, but second of all, you have start to include more calorically dense foods into your day while still getting in your micronutrients, of course.

Feels like forever. The more I consult with experts (hey Mark from Avatar, you the real MVP), the more I realize how much I shorted myself in the past on the previous reverse diets I’ve been on. My first two lasted no longer than 2 months each. Any sign of puffy or gain and I ran back to a cut. From what I’ve read, the recommended timeframe is about 4 to 6 months, but obviously it is case by case.

Enough about the overall dark sides. My experience on this particular reverse diet has been fairly unique because of numerous factors, but doesn’t make it any less of a mental fuck.

Having hip arthroscopy surgery in November 2016, followed by being put on a too aggressive reverse diet while still in recovery by my coach at the time, combined with dealing with a developed mysterious constant abdominal discomfort, caused some initial weight gain post op. Fast forward to about March, during my journey to find out why I’ve been experiencing abdominal pains and while still going through the last of my physical therapy, I made the decision to re-join Avatar under the moderate fat loss setting (of course I wanted to start cutting again, haha) and sadly, my body did not respond to poverty macros for the month I was on them. No change or loss and eating very minimal calories considering by this time I was cleared to return to regular training. After a long email chat with Mark, I was advised to begin a conservative reverse diet because it really wasn’t safe for me to go any lower with macros for someone my size and with the amount of training I was doing. And I’ve been on a reverse diet since then. There was an initial gain when I first started but after about 2-3 weeks of keeping at it, weight finally stabilized and has been within a 2-3lb range since then. But boy is it a mental battle.

My woes: I try to avoid being in pictures at all costs these days because I feel fluffy. I’ve avoided going to the beach to not have to put on a bikini. I’ve only posted training videos when I’m very happy about my post op recovery but refrain otherwise because I don’t like the way I look in them. Weighing myself tends to be disheartening, but I know it’s necessary to see trends. Knowing that I know what to do to lose fat but holding off for my own good, is so hard. Feeling sexy while in this chubbier state is hard to come by. Training while not only dealing with that pesky mysterious abdominal pain but also while generally being in a state of full, sucks.

There ARE bright sides…don’t worry, I’ll keep this section brief since these benefits are what people tend to talk about when referring to reverse dieting.

Fun foods. Eating more definitely has its perks. You’re able to easily fit in more “fun” foods such as bagels, rice, pasta, peanut butter (not just a tiny teaspoon), donuts, french fries, pizza and much more. Of course, you can fit these foods in while cutting, but it is definitely not as easy, and usually have to eat a lot less through rest of the day. I’m trying to keep this in mind and fit in foods I normally don’t get to. And also remind myself that this reverse is temporary so I might as well take advantage and try to enjoy it while I can.

Socializing. Having the freedom of being social and actually eating at these social events without feeling extremely restricted is a pretty great feeling. When on a cut and on low macros, it takes a lot of planning to attend and enjoy a social event. With higher macros, you have more flexibility to enjoy the people around you and the food that is there.

Get strong(er). This is the part I’m trying to focus the hardest on. I’ve had the all clear from my surgeon since April and I have been back on a full 5-day weightlifting cycle since then, working on technique and re-gaining the strength I lost post op. Couple this with eating more and it is the perfect recipe for getting stronger. It seems to have been working because I am extremely close to matching my pre op lifting numbers (more on this in a post coming soon). Eating at maintenance or in a surplus is the prime time to make gains in the gym. Although it may not feel like it, you ARE building muscle underneath the fluff and one day it will show.

Temporary. This is another aspect I’m trying to keep in mind. A reverse diet is temporary. There will be an end to the fluff. Remind yourself you’re doing this for the long term, for the big picture, for your optimal health.

This post is not meant to make you fear reverse dieting. Reverse dieting is necessary. Humans were not meant to diet their whole lives. Not meant to be in an endless deficit. So, here I go, going to keep on trucking on this reverse with a plan to begin cutting in late September or early October. Until next time, party people.

Check out my mew post that covers the dark side of #reversedieting, what people don't tell you If you've been in a never-ending cycle of dieting down and eating minimal total calories without seeing much difference or plateauing, chances are your body needs a reverse diet to strengthen your metabolism.

[myquirkylife]

I fully rested the last couple days because for the first time since I started back really training, I had some hip pains with heavier cleans. Looks like the rest did its job because on my first Max Out day Post Op, I was able to hit 93% (61kg/134lbs) snatch and just barely missed 98% (63kg/138lbs). And then....I hit a clean & jerk post op PR at 78kg/171lbs. Then, honestly doubting myself at first, I hit a LIFETIME clean PR at 81kg/178lbs and just missed the jerk, twice! How dis happen?! And all without hip pain?! Big thanks to my coach, @jeffvjr and my @strengthactual teammates for the support today. (at CrossFit Anaheim)

[myquirkylife]

After a crappy couple snatches, and missing the jerk at this weight right before this, I was thrilled on the second attempt to hit 90% of my Pre Op c&j!!! Honestly surprised at how easily I stood up 72kg/158lbs. I haven't even attempted this much weight in well over a year (definitely since before 3/2016), and didn't have surgery until 11/2016. Post Op happiness. Best part? NO PAIN. #bionichip (at Torrance Training Lab)

[myquirkylife]

I have always hated block work - even pre op - because I suck at it (yes, yes I know, it exposes your weaknesses) and kind of scares me. So needless to say, I was super stoked to hit a snatch PR (Even pre op) off blocks (above knee) at 54kg/119lbs. I missed the rep right before this and I knew I had it, just needed to go in confidently and adjust. It's not close to my snatch 1rm from floor but hey, it's a win in my I-Hate-Blocks world. Now, time to enjoy my 4th 🇺🇸✊🏼 America, fuck yeah! (at Torrance Training Lab)

[myquirkylife]

There really is no wonder why Peruvian cuisine is recognized worldwide - it is mouthwatering. And if I see one of its signature dishes at a restaurant I usually have to try it just like at @rabanofoods! And as Peruvian, it earned my seal of approval. Not oily or too salty like some places tend to make it and the steak was so tender. @therealcoachmigs had the La Bamba, similar to the good of his people and he loved it, too. (at Rabano)