i’m in a calorie deficit

… and it’s my least favorite thing to talk about. ⁣⁣
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But, I recognize there aren’t many women modeling how to lose fat in a safe, sustainable, and enjoyable (?) way these days so here are some deets:⁣⁣
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How long? I set a finite end date to my fat loss phase – not a goal scale weight, not a goal leanness, not a goal size. To keep metabolism healthy and hormones happy, fat loss phases should make up the minority of your year. I will roughly spend 12 total weeks in this deficit, ending around my January birthday. ⁣⁣
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Expectations? I predict I’ll lose about 8-12 pounds in that time but truly, I have no idea. I am married to the process, not the outcome. My attitude very much is: let’s see how much I can accomplish over 12 weeks and have zero expectations for what’s to come. ⁣⁣
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Workouts? My summer was full of Crossfit classes, swimming, hiking, Peloton, Sunday bike rides, random 5Ks. In effort to reduce the amount of variables and better predict fat loss and lean muscle maintenance, I’ve moved to 3-4 days of structured lifting and 1 Crossfit class a week.⁣ Crossfit is my social hour – keeping it in my schedule is less about the workout and more about the friends.⁣
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Nerves? I anticipate my biggest struggle will be navigating my social life. You guys… I go out. I eat out often. To me, it’s always felt disingenuous to hear single, kidless Trainer Chad call fat loss “easy” when he lives in the gym, preps all his meals ahead of time, goes to bed at 9 PM and never goes out. I don’t live that way and I’m not gonna start now. I’ll take the challenge and shows you some BTS.⁣
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Macros? I’ve dropped macros down in a slight deficit because drastic deficits are not necessary, nor are they fun or sustainable. I hate being hungry and I certainly need to fire on all cylinders to continue to serve my clients at a high level. I’ll try to be transparent about how I attempt to reduce hunger and low energy variables as much as possible.⁣
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You know I love a good growth arch in my story. And aside from what I’ll accomplish aesthetically, it’s gonna be good for me to put myself in the shoes of many of my clients!