As if reaching your nutrition and fitness goals isn’t challenging enough, you also have to know how to maintain your results once you get there!

If you’re wondering how you will do both as we approach the summer season, keep reading. The Macro Phasing Method I teach my clients will help you attain both of these goals this summer!

If you’re tired of losing and gaining weight over and over again, I have a roadmap that will help you not only reach your goals but also help maintain them – – and I’m giving you all the answers below! 

Women come to me daily, exhausted from diet fatigue. They’ve spent the last 20+ years dieting and exercising, and while they’ve sometimes experienced results, the results are always short-lived. These same women also feel like this process is becoming more difficult with age. They’re having to work much harder to lose fat and figure out what’s going on within their changing bodies. I often receive questions like, “I used to eat french fries every week with no negative consequences. Now I gain a pound if I even LOOK at a french fry! What’s happening?!”

Well, most likely, this type of scenario is happening because of a common denominator – an inflexible metabolism. These women have spent years working harder, rather than smarter, and unfortunately, they’ve missed the one thing that will help them attain and sustain results – macro phasing. 

Most women who’ve experienced any “positive” weight loss results through dieting continue to try that same route again the next time they want to lose weight. The problem, once again, is that these results are short-lived. They don’t last and wreak havoc on your metabolism, which is why it continues getting harder as you age. These low-calorie diets also have other detrimental effects:

• They’re hard to adhere to, leaving you with diet fatigue.
• They hijack your hormones. Healthy hormones are critical when it comes to fat loss. 
• They increase your cortisol, making it difficult to burn fat.
• They increase ghrelin, your hunger hormone.
• They cause you to binge or become resentful and both cause regaining of weight/fat.
• They burn more muscle than fat.

Instead of choosing another low-calorie diet that’s going to disturb all of your body’s processes, there’s another way – – and it’s called Macro Phasing! 

When it comes to reaching your goals and sustaining them long-term, implementing macro phasing is a game changer! Throughout the year, your nutritional intake should phase (or change). Considering summer is approaching, you can look at it through the lens of the different seasons. You may already know you’re going to want to be laxer this summer. The good news is – YOU CAN! By incorporating macro phasing, you can plan out your entire year with intention! 

Let’s first look at the THREE different nutrition phases you’ll want to incorporate for sustainable results:

Deficit Phase

A deficit phase means you are consuming fewer calories than your body requires to stay at your current weight. This typically lasts anywhere from 12-16 weeks at a time. The goal is to eat in a slight deficit so you can decrease fat mass while maintaining muscle. When this is done correctly, it will help you protect the health of your hormones and metabolism, making it much easier to maintain results later.

Reverse Phase

A reverse phase is your fat loss exit plan. In this phase, you will increase your calories over a period of time until you eventually reach your maintenance calories again. Reversing strategically will help you maintain your results without gaining back much fat. This process usually takes 2-8 weeks, depending on the individual, and it’s a VITAL step in maintaining your new weight. 

Maintenance Phase

A maintenance phase is where you eat at your new maintenance range of calories while maintaining your weight loss. This is where you should be living most of your year (life), especially those seasons of the year when you know you need more flexibility.

Macro Phasing will look different for everyone, but here is how I personally use this strategy over the course of a year:

January – April: Deficit Phase

May – June: Reverse

June – December: Maintenance

** Note that you can do a short deficit right after summer and go back into maintenance before the holidays if needed.

Let’s also look at the facts and benefits of macro phasing:

• Nutrition phasing is the way to lose fat while protecting your hormones and metabolism (both of which are critical for fat loss).
• It helps you develop a healthier relationship with food because you aren’t constantly on a diet. 
• Everyone needs balance. Life has blips and the blips help make up a full life.
• As women, mothers, and wives, we need a realistic plan.
• You need time to think about other things rather than weight loss. 
• Your overall health and ability to look and feel your best will come from building a flexible lifestyle and metabolism.
• Fat loss and maintenance become easier when you have a smart, sustainable strategy.

 What you can realistically expect through macro phasing:

• It is normal for your weight to fluctuate by 1-5 lbs over the course of a year. This happens because you are implementing seasons (summer, the holidays, etc.) where you eat a little more. You’ll have more content in your stomach, more sodium, and even more water weight if you’re eating more carbohydrates. It’s important to remember that weight gain does not mean fat gain. 
• Nutrition phasing promotes flexibility, making it MUCH easier when you adhere to a deficit when it’s needed.
• You will have more energy, freedom, peace, joy, and strength! You’ll also sleep better and because you aren’t always on a diet, you’ll have a better quality of life. 

When you adopt this way of eating over a year, you will reach your goals more effectively, build a flexible metabolism, and sustain your results – and best of all, you’ll keep your sanity! 

Would you like a customized road map for your own macro phasing journey? I’ve helped hundreds of women customize a plan that works for their lives! If you’re ready for clarity and a personalized plan, take a look at my Macro Consultation or One-On-One Coaching options here!