So, I was on a call with a client the other day…I love these calls by the way.  It’s always so great to see where everyone is at and to celebrate their victories.  But anyways, as I said…I was on a call with a client  and we were chatting about a challenge she participated in not so long ago.  It was a pricey fitness and nutrition challenge hosted by one of her local gyms. 

The challenge worked.  She went in with the goal to lose some weight and she was successful at it.  As we dove a little bit more into the process, I learned it was crazy restrictive.  The caloric deficit was quite extreme…I would guess that on any given day they weren’t eating any more than 1000 calories…probably closer to 800.  Some weeks the plan cut out ALL carbohydrates except for lettuce (carbs are not bad people!!).  She said she lacked energy making the workouts next to impossible.  She felt like she was in a constant fog (your brain needs carbs you guys) and she was irritable.  

But she lost weight.  

But here’s the thing…it didn’t stay off.

Because at the end of the day, when the challenge was over…that was it. It was over.  There was no more support and that type of restriction certainly isn’t maintainable.  

SO THEN WHAT? 

Losing the weight if that is your goal is great.  I personally feel this particular program was too restrictive for the average person but that’s another story for a different day.  A bigger problem is that there was no support on what to do next.  What to do to MAINTAIN.

Obviously, this level of restriction isn’t sustainable for long term and at some point in time a person’s goal is going to shift from weight loss, to keeping the weight off and for some crazy reason, the support for this part of the process is lacking.  

At the end of the day, your coach should not only give you the information to help you lose the weight if that’s your goal, but they should also help you determine where your maintenance levels sit. That means slowly increasing your caloric intake to find out where your own balance is…that point where the energy you eat, equals the energy you expend.  This will allow your weight to stay relatively consistent from day to day.

If we as coaches neglect this aspect, we have failed to set you up for success.  And the weight you worked so hard to get off, will creep back on because you have not been taught how to manage your every day nutrition.

At some point in time, my ultimate goal is to support you and teach you enough that it becomes a complete lifestyle change and that you can manage it all on your own.  That is the part that brings you confidence.  That makes you feel empowered.  Getting to your goal weight is a victory, but being able to sustain it? That’s the big win!