Introduction
This post is for all of M2’s past, present and future clients that had a harder road than what they envisioned their nutrition journey would look like. We’re going to talk about the whole process from the point of view of someone that is just starting their journey, but in reality, this represents many people that we are currently working with, that might be struggling with the recommendation to eat more, sleep more, and to exercise a little differently. We know its hard and we really LOVE that you’re giving a different approach a shot even though it’s not easy. We love you all and we are here for you.
For all the future M2 clients out there reading this, nutrition is a journey and the road can be kind of bumpy! We are in it for the long haul. If any of the symptoms, experiences, or feelings described below resonate with you, I hope if nothing else you recognize that real change takes time. More time than you imagined. More patience than you thought you had in you. But that’s the thing, YOU have it in you. And at some point along this journey, you’re going to stop focusing SO MUCH on the space between your ribs and your waistline, and start focusing on the things that matter: to perform at home, to perform in your athletic pursuits, to perform at work…. To perform at life.
The Hardest Type of "Transformation"
Isn’t that why you signed up with us? To make a transformation? I mean, it might have been a combo of a few things...needing more direction with your nutrition, wanting an accountability partner, being aware that your hormones were "a little off" and not sure how to make them better, etc. But let’s be REALLY REALLY real for a second... at some point you probably dreamed of having one of those crazy transformation pictures that makes all your friends jealous.
At M2, we get to work with tons of clients every day, all unique and special in their own way and all with different goals and visions of their future selves. In our on-boarding questionnaire, we ask people to identify their primary goal: Performance, Leaning out, Losing Weight or Overall Health.
We’d be lying if we said that every client who marked down PERFORMANCE or OVERALL HEALTH never reached out to us disappointed or confused that they didn’t “look the part,” or that they haven’t lost any weight, or that they put on their jeans the other day and the thighs actually felt a little tighter.
Being completely transparent...YES, sometimes clients put on weight to become healthier versions of themselves… and YES, sometimes this pisses them off.
Imagine This...
You hop on Google looking for some potential help with your eating, and stumble across M2 Performance Nutrition Coaching.
>>Click<<
You visit our testimonials tab first, because you have to see the goods for yourself.
You sign up. Good on you ;)
Here’s you, the client...
- You’re a 5’6, 33 year old female, 150 lbs.
- You train six days a week for about 60-90 minutes sessions.
- You’re currently eating about 1400 calories, maybe more when you give in to your appetite. Sometimes it’s just a little extra food and sometimes you eat the whole pint of Halo Top.
- You have two kids, which usually means you’re not in bed until 11:00pm, and you hit the 6:00am class at your local box; so you have to be up at 5:15am every morning. But “it’s okay,” because you don’t sleep that well when you’re actually in bed, so you don’t mind that you don’t get enough of it.
- You’ve been on birth control since you were 22 because you had irregular periods. (That stuff was effective!) Regularity of your “cycle” came back a few months after starting on the pill, but OOF when it comes, it comes in swinging. Your cramps usually call for a few extra rest days that week, your skin breaks out, and you are extra susceptible to sweet cravings.
Your chosen goal: Lean out
Your desired body weight: 135 lbs
Okay... maybe this case sounds a bit extreme, but it's not as uncommon as you think. Does ANY of it sound familiar to you? Maybe a family member, or a friend? I know I can relate. I know a number of our coaches can relate at some point in time.
Here's the Deal
From what we read… you are under eating, by A LOT. The inverse of that, you are completely over training in comparison to your fuel and recovery.
Hormonal birth control has pretty much replaced all natural production of your hormones, and has been doing so for a long time. Your period symptoms have you in PAIN, sleeping even worse, feeling like dog shit in the gym, and keeping you from being your best self to your loved ones.
Your sleep habits are in fact NOT okay, no matter how long you’ve “functioned” on that little sleep. Depending how long you’ve been living like this, the reality is that we have some time before “leaning out” is anywhere near a healthy or SAFE goal for you.
Isn't It Just Simple Math?
At this point, I’m sure some of you are thinking “What are you talking about?? This is simple math… calories in and calories out. Eat less and move more.”
Could you drop to 1000 calories and “lose weight?” Yep… but I bet you’re going to be F-ing miserable, end up injured or sick and probably have a similar body fat percentage (or worse) than you have now.
Essentially, what we have to do is get you OUT of the restrict/binge routine that you’ve been in for the last 5 years and realign some lifestyle factors. Hopefully this will get your thyroid, liver and adrenal glands doing what they were designed to do. Basically, eat more, sleep more, stress less, fix your hormones. If you do ALL this for 3+ months, THEN we can see where you’re at and figure out if your body is ready to handle a calorie deficit to lose some body-fat (notice I didn’t say weight.)
Self-Advocate
That's right...we are pretty much asking you to cool the hustle, stop trying to handle everything, stop being the person who has everyone and everything else as their #1 priority.
You want to be the best mom, dad, husband, wife, partner, coach, boss you can be? Great! Start being your own advocate and take care of yourself first.
Back to Our "Imaginary Client-Friend"
As part of our on-boarding process, we have you answer about 35 questions which we use to pair you up with the best coach for your goals and build an initial Nutrition & Lifestyle Plan as you get up & running with your new coach.
At first, it’s pretty easy to agree to the plan. You’ve put a lot of trust in us and maybe for these beginning moments it feels exciting to be doing something totally different; even if it is scary.
We bump your calories up by several hundred to start getting you out of the deficit you've been in. We also agree to move from six days a week of training to four, and ask you to use the other days to just go for a nice walk without looking at your phone.
We come up with some awesome tactics to get you into bed earlier and even give you some tools we love to get you sleeping deeper. We even spark the conversation of transitioning off birth control, but you’re still getting comfortable with that, and that’s okay.
Little Did You Know, the "Transformation" You're About To Experience Is Nothing Like You Had Imagined...
That first month is HARD. Years of under eating, low sleep, and intense stress plus extra food lead to some weight gain. It could be be upwards of 5-6 lbs... and no, it’s not shredded muscle, but it is pretty normal to see, and it is part of the process.
When you go shopping, you have been desperately trying to stay calm as you buy a size up. You start to worry what others are thinking… this isn’t what social media told you the process was going to be like.
(Honestly, if we’ve contributed to that too, we’re sorry. We’re always working to be better just like you guys.)
As Coaches, We're Extremely Prepared for What Happens Next
....but it still hurts.
For a split second, a day or even a week, you’re mad at us. Not the kind of mad where you fire us and tell us we ruined your life. Instead, the kind of mad that comes through in a series of panicked test messages recalling how you “used to be healthier,” how you “should look different,” how you “need to get this under control.”
Tough Love & Reminders
The problem here is that again, your idea of health, has been completely skewed, so that the bar you’re aiming for is so far away from a place where you can thrive as a human.
So when sh*t hits the fan, we remind you that there are SO MANY good things going on that can’t be seen in the mirror or the scale.
The scale can’t tell you that in the past two months you started sleeping again. Not just a moderate six hours, sometimes interrupted by a couple moments of tossing and turning, but instead close to 8 hours every night.
The scale also can't tell you that you actually look forward to meals because your appetite reflects one of someone who is thriving and fueling their activity properly vs someone who has tricked their bodies into eating less and doing more.
What’s that? Your hungrier even though you’re eating more food than you used to??? A good sign...
The scale nor your pant size can tell that you have all the energy in the world. No more crashes mid day or not wanting to get out of bed. And even though you’re still only hitting high intensity workouts 3-4 days a week you’re absolutely SMOKING previous performances, and even beating some of the people you used to chase.
You are a MACHINE. Not the kind of machine romanticized by our shared sports that train 3+ hours a day. But the kind of machine that is excited to come home to the kids for play time after a long day of work. The machine that enjoys getting to bed and doesn’t dread the sleepless nights staring at the ceiling. YOU are the kind of machine that exemplifies beauty through the TRUE measures health.
You Are a Different Person.
You’re not the same. You don’t train as much as you used to or run on empty all week long and make jokes about it like you once did.
You probably don’t have a six pack... but damn you feel GOOD. If those around you or the social media that you follow make you believe that this new version of yourself is anything but remarkable, then you’re definitely hanging out on the wrong playground.
"Moments of Weakness"
All of this is not to say that everything is always "gravy" post "transformation"... you'll still have "moments of weakness" and that's completely normal - you're not alone.
We are privileged to work with some of the most bad-ass athletes on planet earth. Women with 200+ lb snatches and men with 600 lb deadlifts. Olympic medalists and models.
You know what? Sometimes they still struggle with their image too. You’d never know it based on what your Instagram feed shows you, but they cry when they feel fluffy when “Aunt Flo” comes for her monthly visit, they see all the supposed imperfections that no one else does. They’re about as focused as it comes and they still have moments of wanting a different result.
This is a battle that each of us will continue to fight until society chooses to respect what we can do instead of how we look doing it.
The Silver Lining
Your body isn’t immune to change. It is however incapable of changing under the wrong circumstances and in unhealthy environments. Just like anything in the world, it loses its ability to grow, morph, or progress in any direction you desire if it feels in general it’s well-being is threatened. Can you blame it?
Building a "New Home"
Our end goal is to build a new home for your body. One it trusts, thrives in, and believes you’re going to keep showing up for.
This process is different for every-single-body. Sometimes it’s a few months to create that foundation, for others we see it last much longer. But we can say this- if you are trusting in the process and patient with the things we ask of you, after a ton of consistency doing what is truly best and healthiest for YOU, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and change is possible.
More Than Anything..
I will make you a promise. No one will remember how much weight you lifted or whether you had six abs or zero, but they will remember how you made them feel when they were around you.
If you need a reminder of just how awesome you can be, hit us up. We’ll be waiting.
In part 2, we're going to talk with Mekenzie Riley about her "transformation" took significantly longer than she expected, how she felt about it then, and how she feels about it now 4 months pregnant with her first kiddo on the way. Here's a quick excerpt.
"I came to Mike at 5'5", 155-160 lbs eating 1600-1800 calories, training 3+ hours a day 5 days a week. I had a decade of disordered eating under my belt including anorexia, bulimia, and a serious restrict/binge/guilt cycler. While qualifying for the Crossfit Games FOUR times, I sent mike countless progress pictures where I would swear looked all the same and get discouraged I wasn't lean enough or complain about how Im not lean enough and want to feel fitter when I stand next to the field. I had the dream that countless women wanted... but it was HARD to let go of that image in my head of what my transformation was supposed to look like."