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We're kinda sorta 2 weeks into the school year here (after 2 shortened weeks, plus a heat wave causing early dismissal!) - and I've kind of been limping into my new routines for Fall. This post is going to be a bit longer and more detailed than most of my blog posts, but I hope you find it helpful!

If you're curious about building personal routines for sustainable habits you can check out these blog posts:

Monthly RESET routine

How to Organize Your Daily Life for Healthy Habits

Anyway - since I get questions about what I'm doing for my own personal fitness and nutrition, I thought I'd share it here in the hopes that you can see its not that complicated and I probably do a lot LESS than you think!

First, off - I don’t share a ton of pictures of myself on here, but I recently shared this on my Instagram:

You can find the entire post on my IG feed, but basically I was sharing how I’ve made the switch from chasing a smaller number on the scale to building muscle (and I actually weigh 20 pounds MORE, yet already look more toned today than in 2019!).

I talk about this process on my podcast and while its been challenging mentally to see the scale go up - its been the BEST thing I’ve ever done for my physical and mental health.

I’ve had some setbacks along the way - a pretty severe broken ankle/foot in November of 2022 had me starting from scratch in January of 2023, but now its September and I’ve put in the work to regain AND build more muscle. Now after all my hard work, its time to enter a fat loss phase and reveal all this muscle I’ve built!

Please keep in mind, I’m sharing MY personal plan here and YOUR plan should match YOUR needs - this is what my 1:1 coaching is all about. Cookie-cutter plans should be a thing of the past and the only way to create sustainable habits it to make sure you’re doing what works for YOU.

My Fat Loss Phase/calorie deficit Nutrition Plan

Ok, let’s dive into it - since I’m a nutrition coach, I’ll start with how I’m approaching my nutrition during this fat loss phase. A fat loss phase requires a calorie deficit (eating less calories than your body needs to maintain current weight). Obviously I follow a macro-based plan. If you’re curious about macros and want to learn more, I recommend subscribing to my newsletter.

I’ve spent the majority of the past 2 years eating in maintenance or a slight surplus, so I could build muscle. I am not someone who builds muscle easily, so it took consistency and TIME to get where I am today. I’ll delve more into my fitness plan in the next section!

My fat loss phase macros/calories (you can use my macro calculator to see your personal numbers):

Calories: 1800 calories/day

Protein: 150 grams/day

I don’t have carb/fat goals as this just gets stressful and nit-picky. I choose high fiber carbohydrates for my meals which balances things out without added stress.

This is broken down into 3 large meals per day of 500-600 calories and 30+ grams of protein and usually one snack per day. I don’t tend to need a morning snack, since I eat a filling breakfast. I usually get hungry around 3pm and have a protein shake and fruit for a snack. Additionally, I fit in my favorite foods.

Keep in mind this is a FAT LOSS phase, so I’m am aiming to preserve the muscle I’ve worked so hard to build. The vast majority of diets drastically slash calories and don’t provide enough protein. Yes, you lose WEIGHT - but muscle is often a big part of that weight loss you’re so excited about. This keeps you in a vicious cycle and I was stuck there for YEARS (i.e. my photo from 2019) where you can see I’m skinnier, but I have no visible muscle.

If you listen to my podcast, then you know I’m not a fan of “approved” foods lists or demonizing foods/restricting foods even during a fat loss phase you truly enjoy. Personally this type of behavior leads me to bingeing/overeating. I’m a sweets person, so during this fat loss phase I’ll have an Outshine popsicle or a mini ice cream treat after dinner.

Personally, I’ll be keeping this fat loss phase to somewhere from 8-12 weeks in length, then returning to maintenance. I may or may not do another fat loss phase down the road. I’ve let go of timelines and scale related goals and instead I’m focusing on how I feel and look to guide my decisions.

My goal: keep it simple, get results, get back to maintenance and out of the fat loss phase/calorie deficit. I’m expecting to experience more hunger, slightly lower energy levels and sleep quality during this phase, which is all a normal part of the process and WHY I refuse to ever live in a constant state of dieting/deprivation again!

That being said, its also important to know discipline, planning, and keeping things SIMPLE is key to an effective fat loss phase. Many of us have spent years thinking we should always be “on a diet”, however - we should really be spending MOST of our time in maintenance (neither gaining or losing) while building muscle and only do a fat loss phase when medically necessary or for personal preference. I am absolutely doing this fat loss phase for personal preference (aesthetics) and because I’m so dang excited to reveal the muscle.

If you’re still chasing your “pre-pregnancy” or college days weight, then its time to move forward! Constantly chasing the past version of yourself will only prevent you from building the BEST version of yourself.

My fitness plan

Gone are the days where I blindly follow the newest fitness program and constantly start over, hoping that THIS will be the program that changes everything for me. Why? Because I was so, so, so tired of the constant “getting back on track” - it is EXHAUSTING to approach your fitness this way.

Instead of following a “program calendar”, I now fit fitness programs into MY plan.

Instead of trying to workout 6-7 days/week and feeling like I’m messing up my results by “missing” a workout, I only workout 4 days per week.

Let me be clear - by workout, I mean a strength training program with “progressive overload” which is strength training with intentional + gradual increase of difficulty (heavier weights) over time.

For example - when I started in January (after being side-lined with my broken ankle for months), I was using 5 pound weights for overhead press. Now I use 12-15 pounds depending on the workout. In January, I was using body weight only for many lower body moves and I’m up to 50 pounds for sumo squats and 25 pounds x 2 for my Romanian Deadlifts.

Let me tell you - after YEARS of chasing a certain number on the scale, there is NO greater feeling than watching your strength grow.

Current Strength Training Program:

Caroline Girvan Iron 2.0

I’ve been following her free workouts for over a year. I invested in her app in April when it was released and highly recommend it. She has a Beginner Program specifically for people new to weight training and I absolutely love her approach to a healthy lifestyle.

Her program is designed to be 5 days per week, however I normally just do 4 days per week. 2 upper body, 1 lower body, 1 full body/or lower body. I have found 4 days per week is the perfect schedule for me and she encourages you to use her calendar as a guide, but ultimately do what works for you as long as you do 3 days per week.

Recovery is essential to getting results, more is not necessarily BETTER when it comes to workouts, especially if you’re trading sleep and rest for working out.

Daily Activity and Cardio:

Being physically fit is a combination of strength, endurance, and flexibility. The number one thing neglected by most fitness programs is the reminder that your workout is just a piece of the puzzle - it is NOT the whole picture!

Working out just to burn calories is stupid.

Fact: your body burns more calories in a day while you sit around doing nothing than during a 1 hour workout. So if you’re doing a workout purely to burn calories, then you’re not doing yourself any favors.

Instead, look at workouts as a way to improve your strength, endurance, and flexibility!

Obviously, my strength building is taken care of with Iron 2.o.

Endurance: I aim for an active lifestyle with 8K+ steps per day and making sure I get intentional zone 2 cardio in a few times per week. I aim to walk Jade 1-2 miles daily. We’ve created an indoor “track” in our basement to help get steps in if weather isn’t great. I also do things like park intentionally far away in parking lots, take the stairs vs. elevator, and the “long way” when possible. Those little things really add up! Its all about being aware of your current habits and then looking for solutions that work for you. I saw a massive decrease in my cardiovascular health during my ankle injury and I’m still working to get my endurance back where it was! Being sedentary is truly terrible for your health, so get up and MOVE!

Flexibility: This is a new habit I’m adding for Fall - I’ve been notoriously laze about warming up for workouts, but I’m now making sure to do the warm-up included with each Iron 2.0 workout. Additionally, I do a 20-30 minutes stretching routine or yoga 2 days per week. I simply do this in the time block that I would normally do my strength workout.

Being limited by my ankle injury and arthritis in my back has given me an appreciation for my body and simple daily movement that I don’t think I had when I was younger.

Additional Habits

Sleep - I aim for 7 hours minimum per night.

Alcohol - I am eliminating alcohol completely for the duration of my fat loss phase. If you listen to my podcast, you know alcohol seriously screws with your ability to lose weight easily and I’m all for making things as easy as possible.

Mindset - I use the Bloom app as needed, especially if I feel anxiety creeping in. If you’re struggling with your mental health, a fat loss phase could create even more anxiety. Additionally, getting outside, spending quality time with family, and doing my best to plan is key.

Meal Planning - I use my 15 minute meal planning method and mostly ingredient prep vs. large weekly meal preps. I like to eat out once per week, so I stick to specific restaurants and meals that I can reliably track and make sure it fits into my calories/macros.

This isn’t my first rodeo with a fat loss phase (I did a mini-cut for 4 weeks in June) and I know what it takes to be successful. It won’t be “perfect”, but I am committed to shedding some of this fat and seeing where I am at the end of this cut! Its SO exciting to feel in control of my results, instead of blindly following a cookie-cutter plan made by someone who doesn’t know anything about me, my health history, my daily life, or likes/dislikes.