“My weight just won't budge… So I went back to what worked in the past and… now it doesn't work anymore”.
Has your ‘go to' diet stopped working?
There was a time when you just ate a bit better…
…and went for a few runs/did a few workout classes and things were firing on all cylinders.
Then life happened.
You lost weight and looked great.
Several years later you were frustrated.
So you went back to what you did in the past…
Only this time… nothing.
WTF.
So you tried harder.
Stayed consistent.
And still…
Nothing.
So frustrating.
Why though?
Why did it work before but now your diet stopped working?
I get asked this A LOT.
Let's address it why your diet stopped working…
Well for starters, the first time you attempt to lose weight/inches will likely be the easiest.
Most of us are well past that point. ????
There's something that many people don't realise about fat loss and the adaptive, brilliant nature of our bodies.
Let's just ignore the fact that age, environment, hormones, and context may be totally different now then it was when you successfully got the results you wanted.
In other words, being older, with hormonal changes, and a different phase of life can all be responsible for the old thing not working.
But we're going to set that all aside.
When you attempt to lose fat, you are imposing a stressor on your body.
Lack of calories and nutrients coming in = stress.
The goal is for your body to adapt by mobilising stored energy (fat) and to burn it off.
However, when the stress becomes chronic, meaning you continue to eat less and never give yourself a break…
We see some negative metabolic adaptations occur.
I've talked about this a million times so we don't need to go in depth but the bottom line is…
Your body adapts by down regulating your metabolism (along with other hormonal consequences).
Here's the part that most people miss…
Your body remembers!
Like an elephant.. it never forgets.
Let's say you were successful with a 1200 calorie diet and you lost 20 lbs (the diet and number are irrelevant, I'm just painting a picture).
Then, you felt rubbish, life got stressful and you rebounded.
Gained all the weight back.
Maybe plus interest.
If you're reading this there's a 95+% chance that this applies to you so don't feel bad.
In fact, this applies to men too.
Anyway, years go by and your weight has crept up.
Eventually, you decide… you know what… that 1200 calorie diet (or whatever the protocol was) worked in the past.
Let's do that again!
So you jump in and you're ready to get the same result as last time. 20 lbs… see ya later!
Only.. you don't lose anything.
Maybe 5 lbs.
But you quickly feel rubbish and can't sustain it.
Your body remembers.
Once your body recognises that same blurrggh feeling as before, it's like…
“Oh (wo)man…” and the adaptations happen much quicker.
The quicker your body adapts, the less progress you make.
Before, it took a while for your body to adapt.
So you kept making progress. It was a new stimulus.
But now… your body remembers and adapts quickly.
Again, this is also ignoring the other variables that may be playing a role like age, hormonal state, environment, phase of life, other stressors, etc.
So the question becomes.. what do you do about it?
Clearly, putting your body into the same stressed out state isn't going to work.
My guess is that you've tried that in a number of different ways with minimal results (if any).
So why don't we try the opposite?
Hint: At Plan B Fitness… we do! 😉
Why don't we send the “safety” signal instead of the “stress” signal?
By eating enough calories, your body doesn't feel threatened. It doesn't feel the need to preserve energy.
You still need to manage energy balance, but priming your metabolism first will make it 100x more effective.
In addition, we want to make the fat loss phase as painless as possible so your body doesn't adapt too quickly.
We accomplish that with a number of methods…
Ensuring we eat a balanced plate of protein, good fats and carbs… most of the time.
Allowing ourselves a few meals/nights off – this is real life!
Essentially, we want to constantly remind your body that everything is A-OK.
Not only does it allow for more progress on higher calories and less misery…
It makes it more sustainable.
It also makes a huge difference when we align your nutrition with your training.
Why?
You guessed it.
Better recovery = less stress.
That will also help with performance and body composition improvements.
To make sure you fall in love with the process, our programmes build in things you may enjoy…
Alcohol, social events, work lunches, restaurant meals.
You don't have to sacrifice your entire life for the sake of maintaining your long term health and fitness.
You can actually have balance, look lean, and feel great.
Shocking, but true.
If that sounds like something you'd be interested in accomplishing, you can book in for a quick chat with us here: https://planbfitness.co.uk/letschat
Let's have a chat to see if we're a good a fit and if we decide that we are, I can invite you into the right programme for you.