Is it normal for your body to look different throughout the year? What are realistic expectations from month to month and heck even morning to night?? Well, let’s take a quick five and chat about that.
One of the main reasons I started Vital was I was straight up sick of all the bullshit fad diets and “online coaches” making bank off leading clients down a dark road of eating less than 1200 cals, and promising a life full of results. More and more women are dealing with hormonal issues early in their 20’s and then dealing with infertility in there 30’s. We are at an all-time high in obesity rates in children. This shit needs to stop. You pop onto Instragam and you see a skinny girl with 100K followers and shit still isn’t being fixed but based on her short-term programs promises you take the bait. I get it your desperate to change. We all want change. We all Want to look and feel our best. I can say that from my own experiences with eating 1200 cals and working out 2-3 hours a day and ending up dealing with a pile of problems. The best thing I ever did was hire my coach. Anyways let’s get back to it.
So you have started your journey and things are going great. Now your measure of going great could be from biofeedback or weight loss or maybe both. But let’s focus on the weight loss side of things today. So you are looking better and feeling better. But your not COMPLETELY shredded yet, so you still cutting and life is getting a bit ugly and lonely. If you have a responsible coach they have well prepped you for no eating out no booze, no cheats, they have your six pack in mind since that is what YOU told them yours after. However the harsh reality has set in, is this maintainable? All the girls are Instagram keep their six packs all year. Is this a lie. Sometimes yes sometimes no.
Being extremely lean comes at a cost. Sometimes the cost is too high for some. For some to be shredded it does mean low calories and lots of steady state cardio. It means passing up on parties and eating out, and if that’s your goal that’s okay. For some it’s genetic and once they have reached their goal they reversed up and their bodies are thrilled. This usually happens with individuals who get a lot of sleep and are well disciplined with food choices and have minimal stress. So where do you fit?
From season to season with the proper periodization of your nutrition, it is VERY NORMAL to have months where your more shredded than others. As many of you know from reading past blogs you cannot LIVE in fat loss calories. You have to come out and rebalance and for some, that means a bit of weight gain back and stabilizing off before you can head back into it. Does this mean your plan doesn’t work?? Absolutely not! It means your body is fighting stressors that are affecting your results. Hormones, sleep, stress, water, maybe sickness. All of these things contribute to your body composition. It is totally normal to fluctuate weight through your nutrition having months where you are more shredded and months where your abs aren’t visible but you are still lean.
This of your day. When you wake up you are shredded. Your abs are visible and you feel amazing, By the end of the day full of food, water, and inflammation from your stressors, your body might not look as lean as the morning. This is completely normal! Think about your monthly friend! While you may be working towards a pain-free period I am sure there was a time where you knew you were going to be getting your period because of the water weight you held onto. Same same, it’s not “real” weight but it does affect the way we look.
I am just as guilty as anyone as wanting all day all season rock hard abs but this last year has been like the rest of my clients! I went through an awesome cut reversed out, gained a couple pounds back and switched to performance and lost my abs but performed great at canniest, took my diet break and now I am back cutting. This is NORMAL this should happen if you are an athlete chasing two goals. Your mind is what matters. Understanding what to expect and what’s realistic to maintain will go ALONG way in embossing the different phases of your nutrition program. Stop comparing yourself to the images you see, friends you train with. Everyone is so different and you have no idea how long they have been laying the groundwork to have year-round abs. Are you willing to give up your stressful career that you love so you can have a six pack? Are you willing to give up date night? If your not that’s okay, just set yourself up for understanding what a REALISTIC body image goal is for you!