Long Weekend Recap + Finding your Maintenance Calories + 2 Tips For Stalled Progress

I hope you had a great long weekend! We had an awesome time in Whistler. While Ryan hit the slopes, I did what I love to do, workout at a new gym! I also explored the village on foot, and treated myself to delicious coffees and cookies at different cozy cafes and bakeries. Despite Whistler's reputation for world-class skiing, I didn't lose any sleep over not partaking in the winter sports.

One of the highlights of our trip was a visit to the Scandinave Spa on Saturday. Picture this: outdoor hot and cold pools nestled in a serene forest setting, along with saunas and steam rooms. It was the ultimate hydrotherapy-relaxation experience that left us feeling refreshed, renewed, and really hungry!!!

I indulged in a delicious ribeye steak not just once, but two nights in a row! I'm pretty sure my iron and B vitamin levels are now off the charts. Okay, let’s talk about maintenance calories and stalled progress!

Eating at Maintenance Part 2: How the hell do you figure out your maintenance calories?

Whether you're trying to find your maintenance calories after a period of eating in a caloric deficit, or simply seeking to gain a general understanding of what maintenance calories looks like for your body, here are some valuable tips to guide you:

➡️ Assuming your protein intake is high enough (1.0g per lb of body weight), start increasing your carbs and fats.

➡️ Add one to two additional servings of dietary fat per day, as well as one to two additional servings of carbohydrate per day for two to three weeks, continue to add until your weight stabilizes.

➡️If you like counting calories you can increase by 100-200 calories/weekuntil your weight stabilizes.

➡️Different strokes for different folks: Track macros/calories (more accurate), eye ball serving sizes, and/or use the hand method for serving sizes.

Continue to increase your food intake until your weight stabilizes. Once you are no longer losing or gaining weight over the course of two to three weeks, this is your maintenance phase.

Remember that a slightly higher number on the scale doesn't necessarily indicate that you're gaining body fat; it’s likely from more food volume, water weight, or an increase in muscle mass if you're lifting.

If you have specific physique goals and find yourself feeling hungry all the time without seeing weight loss progress, I have 2 suggestions:

🥦ARE YOU EATING YOUR VEGGIES???🥦 Make sure you're focusing on consuming healthy fats, protein, fruits, and vegetables. These nutrient-dense foods can help keep you feeling fuller for longer.
🥘EAT MORE!🥘 If you're struggling with hunger and not seeing progress, it may be worth considering gradually increasing your calorie intake to reach a healthy maintenance level. This can help support a healthy metabolism and can prevent extreme calorie deficits in a fat loss phase that may lead to excessive hunger or discomfort.

If you want help reaching your physique goals WITHOUT depriving yourself or spinning your wheels, APPLY HERE for 1:1 Health Coaching.

Our time together looks like:

5 months (I have shorter time commitment options but if you have body composition goals I find that a longer commitment is better)
10 zoom calls (bi weekly)
WhatsApp or Voxer support M-F (text/voice msg)
Prescribed macros/calories if applicable
Workout program design if applicable
Movement, sleep, stress, and nutritional education/recommendations
Metabolism education during fat loss/maintenance phases
Cost: $2500 (payment plans available upon request)

APPLY HERE if you're interested! We can hop on a free 30 minute call to make sure that this feels like the next best step for you!

Sending strength + encouragement,

Alicia