Don't Be Scared to Eat More
‘Life has an odd way of making things work out when you need
them’
By the end of the summer I had pretty much achieved what I
set out to. I had had my adventures, I felt much more comfortable with my food
habits and most of all, I had worked super hard to build a strong body I felt pleased
with when I looked in the mirror. The only issue was that after 3 months of the
same programme, I was starting to get a little bit bored. Other than continuing
to get stronger, I didn’t really know what else I could do or what more I could
achieve in the gym. I worried for my motivation and what in turn that would do to
all my hard work over the summer, especially considering I was going to have to
become an early morning/late evening gymmer once I started full time work.
But things have a funny way of popping up when you need
them…
Those of you who used to read my blog, may very well
remember Michael Bell, the PT I owe my love for, my knowledge of and basically
my everything gym related to. Well I happened to see on social media that he
was in the process of building up his PT portfolio, creating his own website
and writing people training and nutrition plans. I got in contact within a
heartbeat and signed up for a 12 week programme, including a food plan,
training schedule and constant advice and support.
I seriously debated over whether I needed the diet plan from
Michael, as I had been feeling pretty confident with my food. However, looking
back through MyFitness Pal, I realised a huge issue. My goal all summer had
been to lose weight and in the process I had dropped my calories to an average
of 1200 a day. But that meant that if I wanted to continue losing body fat, I
was going to have to drop them even lower and 1200 calories fundamentally
wasn’t a healthy, sustainable amount. Alarm bells rang loud and I put my trust
in Michael to help me sort it out.
Sort it out, he did. We basically set up a long-term reverse
dieting plan, consisting of carb cycles that matched up against my training
programme. High carbs on big, heavy lifting days and low carbs on rest/ low
intensity workout days. As the weeks went on and the training focus changed, we
updated the cycles, increasing my overall calorie intake as my body got used to
everything and my metabolism sped up. At times, the calorie increase scared me,
as I was certain that eating more would just make me gain fat quickly like it
had done in the past. But Michael was always there for me, constantly assuring
me it was only going to fuel my training and it was good for me.
I mean the proof was in the pudding and it was hard not to trust
him when the results were so consistently amazing. The body fat fell off me
and, after 5 months of working with Michael I am the leanest I have ever been.
My metabolism has racked up so much that I can happily eat, and do eat around
2000 calories a day, without worrying about gaining fat. This increase in
calories also means I am the strongest I have ever been, setting new PBs week
on week as my food intake fuels my workouts and allows me to push harder.
I couldn’t be more grateful for Michael’s help and more
impressed by what we have achieved together in such a short space of time. I
can squat and deadlift 100kg, I can power clean 5/6 of my body weight, I can do
strict chin ups, I can eat large quantities of the food I want and not feel
guilty about gaining fat, I can eat a piece of cake and not feel an
overwhelming need to eat another 2, and most importantly, I can look in the
mirror and love what I see!
Michael Bell, you are a fitness genius!
Get in touch with Michael:
Instagram: michaelbell_pt
Email me: nextstopfit@hotmail.com
Instagram: nextstopfit4
Twitter: nextstopfit4
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