13 Weeks In
Recap: 13 weeks in.
I spent the past week bringing calories up after my mini cut: 120p/42f/200c (1658 cals). I'm a fan of taking ~2 weeks to return to maintenance calories as I find I (personally) don't feel my best if I jump calories up right away. One thing I have learned about my body is that my NEAT is slowly responsive to changes in my intake. As my food gets lower, I get lazier. I like to lay in bed, sit around on the couch, and generally move less. It's not instantaneous with food decreases, rather it catches up with me over the course of a week or so. Likewise, my body responds similiarly in the opposite direction. As food increases, I move more. I take longer and more frequent walks with the dogs, I'm moving around the house and doing more housework, and I'm running errands and crossing tasks off my to-do list. By walking calories up over the course of a week or 2, I feel that I'm better able to put them to use, and that's why I don't just jump my calories from a deficit to a predicted maintenance in one fell swoop. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I'm not interested in dragging out the reverse any longer than necessary. My goal is to get out of a calorie deficit and transition to a surplus so I can continue building my physique. For me, about 2 weeks is my happy medium.
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| 9.20.2015 |
I spent the past week bringing calories up after my mini cut: 120p/42f/200c (1658 cals). I'm a fan of taking ~2 weeks to return to maintenance calories as I find I (personally) don't feel my best if I jump calories up right away. One thing I have learned about my body is that my NEAT is slowly responsive to changes in my intake. As my food gets lower, I get lazier. I like to lay in bed, sit around on the couch, and generally move less. It's not instantaneous with food decreases, rather it catches up with me over the course of a week or so. Likewise, my body responds similiarly in the opposite direction. As food increases, I move more. I take longer and more frequent walks with the dogs, I'm moving around the house and doing more housework, and I'm running errands and crossing tasks off my to-do list. By walking calories up over the course of a week or 2, I feel that I'm better able to put them to use, and that's why I don't just jump my calories from a deficit to a predicted maintenance in one fell swoop. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I'm not interested in dragging out the reverse any longer than necessary. My goal is to get out of a calorie deficit and transition to a surplus so I can continue building my physique. For me, about 2 weeks is my happy medium.
I took a deload this last week. 2 easy days, a day off, 2 easy days, and 2 days off. No cardio. Just like clockwork, between 8-10 weeks of hard training, my body is exhausted. This time is was right at the 8 week mark. (I'm someone who needs more recovery while I'm dieting, so it's no surprise that I was feeling a little spent after the mini cut.) Instead of thinking, "My performance is sucking, I need to pick it up and lift harder," or, "I'm exhausted, I need to stop being a baby and kick my ass into gear," I've learned to listen to my body and to ask myself if I'm recovered. More isn't always better; better is better. Now I'm feeling super motivated to get back to training with more intensity and more food in my system and super excited to get back to building. The Mr. Olympia was this weekend, and watching the bikini women work the stage is beyond motivating.
My food increases today, and I'm back to lifting heavy today. Yay! :)
My food increases today, and I'm back to lifting heavy today. Yay! :)
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