1500 Is The New 1200
I’ll never forget this conversation. I had just started working with a new trainer and as any good trainer will do, he started asking me about my nutrition and how many calories I was consuming per day. I proudly replied, “1600!” I was so proud of the fact that I was no longer eating 1200 calories a day and I thought I was eating a lot!
This was back in 2017 when I was about 3 months in working with Layne Norton and on my first reverse diet. Little did I know that I would continue to add calories for the next year and eventually make my way up to 2300 calories per day.
My trainer looked at me and said, “Why?”, in the driest of tones. I was so confused as to why he was so unimpressed with my current caloric intake. Fast forward to today and now I know.
Just like everything, you don’t know what you don’t know. Like many of you, you know you need to eat more than 1200 calories a day, but you don’t realize that your maintenance calories are probably at least 2000 a day, and the more active you are, the more calories you need.
I see a lot of women getting stuck at the 1500 to 1600 calorie mark. It feels like more, but it’s still not enough. You’re afraid of going higher because you’re afraid of gaining weight, but your inability or unwillingness to eat more is actually holding you back from what you really want. If you tap out at 1600 calories, that means you’re going to have to diet off of 1200 calories and that’s really hard, which makes compliance hard, which makes getting results even harder. Not only that, if you want a lean, athletic physique, you’re going to have to build some muscle. You won’t be able to build muscle living off of 1600 calories all the time.
This is why you need support in maintenance and this is why I have created my new program the Maintenance Mentorship. You’ll spend 3 months living in maintenance and I’ll help you overcome the mental challenges that come with maintenance and then we’ll spend 3 months executing a fat loss phase. The maintenance is prep for fat loss. We’ve been doing this in my Monthly Community for years and our long-term clients get the best results because they know the power of living in maintenance.
Living in maintenance has a whole other host of benefits which I’ll address at another time. Today I just want to point out that 1500 or 1600 calories a day isn’t enough. It’s the reason you stay stuck. You know the quote, “everything you want is on the other side of fear”? It’s true. I know you’re afraid to eat more, but fear makes you run AWAY from things. Love makes you run TOWARDS things. Run towards what you want. And if you want support, that’s what I’m here for.