How do I start eating more?
Last week I came off a coaching call, where my client was reflecting upon the fact that this year was the first in a very long time that she hadn’t spent all of it trying to lose weight. Yet, this has been her most successful year with effectively changing her body composition and improving her body image.
How has she spent less time being in a deficit and still made the most amount of progress she ever has?
It’s because she was open to trying something new! This came in the form of her spending less time in a chronic deficit, and more time eating at least at maintenance for the majority of the time we’ve worked together thus far.
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
Living in a chronically dieted state (aka being in a deficit for an extended period of time) can create many negative outcomes that hinder our progress. This includes:
Decreased performance
Decreased in muscle mass
Increased food focus
These are just three of many examples I could list that can inhibit our ability to accomplish our goals. Whereas spending time increasing your calories and eating at least at maintenance can yield the exact opposite outcomes.
Sidenote: all the gals getting frustrated their glutes aren’t growing even though you’ve been training hard, this is something to think about!
For this client in particular, her strength has gone through the roof, she’s noticing more muscular definition and she’s not nearly as fixated on food as what she previously was. Most importantly, her confidence has actually increased as her relationship with food is now healthier and more balanced.
I have many examples of clients who have had very similar experiences as a result of actively eating more and getting themselves out of a diet. Having more energy, training better, having a healthier relationship with food, flourishing social life - all of these positive outcomes of eating more has such a positive impact on our quality of life.
HOW DID WE DO THIS?
The process is different from person to person. This is because everyone’s bodies respond differently; but also, everyone is going to mentally react differently. Someone who’s spent a long time not eating a lot, such as my client before we started working together, might need a lengthier process in order to feel comfortable.
So, each week we assessed where her data came at and made changes according to that. This includes both her objective and subjective data, as I wanted to account for how she was feeling too.
This is what we would track across the week:
Her average bodyweight across the week (not necessary for everyone)
Fortnightly measurements
Monthly progress photos
Her mood out of 10
Her energy out of 10
Her training quality
This can sound like a lot, but remember, everyone’s different! Some clients track more data, because they like it. Whereas some clients track less than half of this because they don’t have the time or they find it overwhelming. Find what works for you, gal!
HOW CAN YOU IMPLEMENT THIS?
If you’ve been reading this and have been thinking, “damn, maybe I need to start eating more…” I highly recommend implementing this process first by understanding what you feel comfortable with!
If you’re tracking, maybe start with increasing your calories by ~100-300, depending on what sits right to you. If you don’t track, maybe add an extra snack or increase your portions slightly.
Also, have some forms of data tracking (such as the examples listed above) and make sure that they’re not going to be detrimental to your wellbeing. For example, don’t weigh yourself if you know that you’re easily impacted by the number! Majority of my clients don’t weigh themselves; again, find what’s best for you!
From there, track your data and make changes based upon that. If your measurements are going down, start bumping food up a bit more. If your measurements have gone up, hold steady for a week and keep doing what you were doing the week prior. Overtime, watch your training, relationship with food, social life, everything - improve! It’s a good time having more food in your life.
TL;DR
There are endless benefits that come with properly fuelling and nourishing your body. So, if you’re someone who’s felt like you’ve been stuck on low calories, you have a lot of food focus - or just over the endless loop of restriction and overeating, I cannot recommend spending time increasing the amount of food you eat enough.
If you’re feeling hesitant about this, just the same as my client was when we first started, please reach out! I’m always here to give any support and advice where I can. You deserve to fuel yourself and start living your best life, gal!
