How I’ve Lost 8 lbs in 30 Days: Insights Into My Summer Cut

It has been a few years since I've tried to drop a few pounds and get into better shape. 

As of this writing I am 5 weeks into trying to accomplish 3 things.

1. Drop back down to 185lbs. I started at 200 this time around.
2. Run 4 miles at a 7 minute pace per mile
3. Maintain good energy levels, sleep habits and hunger and cravings.

So far its going well!

Im down 6-8 lbs depending on the day in the first 5 weeks, my conditioning is getting better and I am not seeing any increase in hunger and cravings as a result of cutting calories.

I wanted to share a few things i'm seeing personally that may be a helpful reminder for you in your journey.

The first thing that I am remembering on this journey is that logging and tracking food is 100% a difference maker.  I don't log my food 24/7, 365 days a year. I take a more intuitive approach in general after having logged and measure food for years. But getting back to the basics and counting my macros feels really good.

My macros the first 5 weeks were 2100 calories per day, 189g of protein, 189g of carbs, 65g fat

This helped me lose the first several pounds. To continue progressing I will drop calories slightly every 5-10 lbs or so of weight loss. The key is not dropping them so much that I notice a big increase in hunger.

So my macros going forward this week will be 1950 calories per day. 200g of protein, 150g carbs, 61g of fat.

I want this to be a reminder to you that you must still eat, just eat in the right amounts for our goals.

For me, counting calories and macros does a couple of things
1. Takes the guesswork out of whether or not i'm in a caloric deficit
2. Helps me budget my calories like I would my bank account. 

If you aren't sure how many calories you should be eating each day to lose weight you can check out a past newsletter/blog post on my website HERE

By logging my food each day it became very clear where I was overdoing it before. Having parameters to work within right now is helping me be more intentional with the foods i'm choosing to fill these calories. 

By seeing how many calories I have available, I can then make informed decisions on whether or not I want to chicken or pizza?

I have also made it a point to NOT eliminate any of the foods that I enjoy. I simply budget them into the calories for the day. As I write this, I am eating 1300 calories worth of pizza. I can do this and still lose because I made choices during the day leading up to this that allowed me to still stay in a caloric deficit.

Remember, first rule of fat loss. Caloric deficit. No matter what. Your body does not disseminate foods when it comes to fat loss, it simply is analyzing whether its had too many calories or too little and will then store fat or burn fat as a result. That's it. 

The problem for most is that highly palatable foods like pizza are higher in calories which lead to overeating. This leads me to the second thing I've noticed. 

Prioritizing protein is more important when looking to lose weight.

I'm aiming for up to 200g of protein per day to ensure I keep muscle as I lose fat. Getting this much protein also manages my appetite throughout the day because protein is costly for the body to breakdown which keeps you full longer.

This makes eating pizza in moderation much easier because I am not starving for food when I eat it. I can eat pizza and enjoy it for the treat that it is rather than a mindless face stuffing with no parameters.

I have also noticed that taking this measured approach has allowed me to look at food for what it is: an energy source for the body.

Other random thoughts and things I've noticed:

Weighing my food has given me new awareness around portions sizes.
Losing a few pounds has already made my running easier
Keeping the protein high has kept my body feeling strong and not depleted.
Keeping all foods on the table as options makes me feel like im not really doing anything different than before, just different portions.

Things Ill keep an eye on: 
I will keep an eye on energy and performance on less carbs. I may bulk my carbs around my workouts to ensure I have enough calories to pull from to help my workouts.
As calories continue to drop I will have to watch my energy levels and sleep. Getting too little calories in the past has me feeling lethargic, brain fog and affects sleep. This affects recovery which then affects progress. I will keep my calories as high as I can while still seeing progress to ensure I dont see this boomerang effect happen.

Well that's it for now. I plan on sharing more on all of this through my social media accounts so be sure to follow along and see how its going there and feel free to slide into the DM's if you have questions.

Are you training for anything right now? dieting down for summer? vacation? wedding? 

Let me know, happy to support you!

Have a great week!