Let me just start by letting you know that this may trigger those who have spent years jumping from one fad diet to another. That’s a good thing! Trust me!
I am not a professional dieter! I used to be. 😆
I jumped from one diet to the next until I realized that I was spinning my wheels with no lasting or healthy results on the horizon. Let me tell you, I paid dearly for it. The one good thing that came out of this was that I learned some valuable things that I now want to share with you. So, first things first, let’s talk about some of the things that I did in the past that led me down the path of undesirable results.
Diet doctors with pills and shots
Liquid and soup diets
Low carb (many versions) diets
Heavy cayenne pepper supplementation
Under 1200 calorie diets
Intermittent fasting
So, at this point, you’re probably wondering what strategies I adopted to get me on the road to success. Well, it actually breaks down to three simple phases. That’s right! THREE phases! These phases that I am about to introduce have helped me to break free from being a professional Yo-Yo dieter. They have taught me to be intentional with each phase of growth necessary to accomplish progressive personal fitness goals both in and out of the gym. And finally, they have helped me to put consistent healthy strategies in place that are goal driven.
Let me introduce you to the three phases and explain how I effectively use each of them to reach my goals.
Build
Lean
Reverse
Build:
I use this phase to add additional muscle mass while increasing my caloric intake to support my progressive lifting goals in the gym.
Lean/Cut Phase:
The main goal for me during this phase is to lose body fat and reduce body weight. The key here is to preserve and reveal the muscle mass developed during the Build phase.
Reverse:
This is the point in the process where I increase my overall caloric intake after being in a deficit during the Lean/Cut Phase. Some of the benefits of this phase that I’ve personally experienced have been: improved sleep, more energy, and increased strength in the gym.
Surprisingly, when I finally ditched the fad diet trends and began implementing the proper nutritional strategies that were in line with my health and fitness goals, I began to build a healthier and more balanced mindset around food. This served as a game changer when it came to my personal gains in the gym. Speaking of gains in the gym, there was a point where I got to the Build phase in the process. Let me just put this out there right now and say the Build phase isn’t about looking like a muscular man.
True story…
One of my closest “Hey Girls” said something that resonated with me about dieting. In summary, reversing your intake is, yes, a form of dieting. But as an athlete, when the goal is adding muscle, you are in a Build. This was definitely an eye opener that served me well.
Why I decided to move from a Lean phase strategy into a Build
Around October, I hit the absolute lowest weight that I had ever been at during any of the three phases. I hit and maintained 162 for a few weeks. That was 6 lbs less than my target goal of 168. I then intentionally did a small Build and got back into the low 170’s. Despite my body scan results proving that I had a nice amount of lean muscle on my frame… Guess what? The visual changes I thought weight loss or that ideal weight would bring weren’t there. My frame needed more muscle. So what did I do? Back to the Build phase I went!
Currently, I have been in a Build since the end of November. Throughout this strategy, I’ve been able to increase my strength in the gym when lifting. I’ve been able to up my intake to over 200g of carbs to give me the energy to lift more. This has also contributed to an overall increase in my body’s muscle mass.
At this current moment, my trainer has me on a program where I am lifting 5 days a week and doing less cardio than I’ve ever done on any of my programs (3x20min). We are using the method of progressively overloading or gradually increasing the weight, frequency, or number of repetitions in my strength training routine.
Here are a few of my strength gains since November 2020:
Chest press: from 40 to 65 lbs
Hack Squat: from 70 to 180 lbs
Tricep dips (never attempted): from zero to 110 lbs
Lat pull downs: from 75 to 90 lbs
Hip thrusts: from 90 to 200 lbs
Each phase has served its purpose. Now that I’ve done them all a few times throughout my journey, I appreciate and respect each. I can’t easily say which phase I prefer over the other because it’s no longer about a preference. Instead it’s about the goals that I am working towards. Once I establish those goals, it’s then about implementing the appropriate strategy.
As I approach the final weeks of my Build phase, I’m looking forward to going into a small Lean/Cut phase in order to see the work I’ve been putting in the gym and in the kitchen!