What I do after my Fat Loss Phase + BIG ANNOUNCEMENT

My latest podcast episode covers the highs and lows of post-diet recovery and unveils a joint coaching venture with Alex.

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT #1

Alex and I officially have a team of coaches, and we are now opening spots for 1:1 coaching.

This coaching is for women who want to:

• Build a healthier relationship with food and fitness
• Stop starting over every Monday
• Create systems and routines that actually fit real life
• Improve mindset while still working hard toward physique goals
• Learn how to train and eat in a sustainable, intelligent way

We are only accepting 5 new clients right now.

Every time we open coaching, spots fill quickly, so if you’ve been thinking about getting support, book your call ASAP to see if this is the right fit for you.

BOOK HERE

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT #2

New training cycles officially start TODAY inside the LiftingLindsay Training App.

We now have: • 3x/week training programs • 4x/week training programs • Home workout alternatives • Full exercise guidance and training education

Inside the app, you also get: • Recipes • Courses • Community support • Science based training and nutrition education

The LiftingLindsay Training App is built for women who want to train smarter, eat smarter, build confidence, and optimize their results without falling into all or nothing thinking.

Because fitness should improve your life… not become your entire personality. Unless you’ve named your glutes. Then we might need to talk.

Join HERE

Creators and Guests

Host

Lindsay

Wife and mother of three. I have a deep passion for learning and teaching. I also really love lifting weights and fitness.

What is LiftingLindsay's More Than Fitness?

Dive into the joy of fitness with Lindsay and other guests exploring how it goes well and beyond the gym floor, the number on the scale, the size of your waist or the calories you're counting.

Speaker: Welcome, welcome to "Lifting
Lindsay Podcast." It's just me, guys.

I know some of you are very disappointed.

I have been loving having Alex,
honestly loving having Alex on,

um, the podcast more often with me.

It has been so, so, so much fun.

Um, we have such a fun
relationship and it's k- it's

fun to just sit and talk fitness.

But I'm gonna do a quick episode today,
a solo episode, going over my post-diet

recovery and just kind of going over that.

But I, I do want to kind of give you
a little sneak peek into something

really, really exciting that's happening.

So I have created and spent
so much time creating Lifting

Lindsay and my training app.

I, I love training.

It has brought me so much joy and I've
lo- loved learning how to train smart

and, uh, exercise selection and intensity
matters so much and, and I've loved

creating a, my community, my Be Strong
community, where I pour out, you know,

free courses to my app users and pour,
my recipes and look at form reviews and

all of these things are so, so wonderful.

And while I've been doing that,
I've stepped away from a lot

of my one-on-one coaching.

Over the past few years, really
I've only kept like one or two.

I just barely took on another one,
three, so right now I'm at three.

And to be honest, I've really,
really missed one-on-one coaching.

There's like a, there's a joy there
working, um, one-on-one and really

programming for the individual
and nutrition for the individual

and holding them accountable and
talking about mindset and systems.

And I talk about those a lot on,
um, Instagram and in my community.

But to get an individual, get them,
it just clicking in their lives,

and sometimes we need some extra
eyes on our lives and our situation.

So I'm really excited.

Alex and I are combining.

Um, he has been doing one-on-one
coaching for years, this whole entire

time, and I told him I really miss it.

And so we're actually combining,
his company, FitSpace Pro.

we're combining our efforts and we're
gonna start taking on one-on-one

clients, a lot more of them.

Um, and we have a team underneath us
of coaches who have been through our

coaching, who know the systems and,
who are, moms who have struggled with,

maybe disordered eating, um, getting
systems down, and all the way to physical

therapists who knows how to work with
individuals and their struggles and,

maybe aches and pains and stuff like that.

So I'm really excited about this
incredible team that we have under us.

So that is FitSpace Pro Transform,
and we are just really excited.

We have five more spots available.

So I will link in the bio, um, to that.

So there's still Lifting Lindsay, and this
is-- And, and the app and training, and

this is really for self-coaching, right?

I give you these courses, even like
you can pay for nutrition plans.

I give you the exercises and,
and the workouts and the training

and, and your self-coaching.

So FitSpace Pro is for those that
are really, they need some extra

help, some extra eyes on them and
their situation to get this to

click, physically and mentally.

And so I'm really excited for Alex
and I to kind of join forces, if

you will, giving people incredible
programs, giving them mindset and

nutrition and all of that stuff.

So check out the link in the
bio if that's something that

you are really interested in.

If our methods and our view of
fitness have resonated with you,

those are the people that we're
excited to work with, right?

Okay.

So let's dive into my post-diet recovery.

So I'm doing this solo episode today
because I wanted to kind of go over,

um, and, and give you guys an idea of
what post-diet recovery looks like.

honestly, this phase is where I think
most people, men and women, struggle

the most mentally, not because their
body is changing dramatically, right?

It's just they, they just went
through this fat loss phase.

They, they got all of these results.

They're so excited to hang on to 'em.

But how did they get those results?

They got it from moving more and eating
less, and so they're like, "Oh, well,

if I wanna keep this results, I have
to keep moving more and eating less."

And so this idea of, "No, let's
get you to eat at maintenance,"

becomes really scary for them.

They think, "No, I'm gonna lose
everything." And they start telling

themselves stories, and I really
wanna talk about that today because

I, I do think one of the biggest
reasons why people stay stuck in

this cycle of over-restricting and
panicking and never truly actually

learning what true maintenance looks
like, like I-- that's what the...

They never learn that.

They never do because
they're so scared, so scared.

let me illustrate this with a story
of something that happened to me.

At the end of my cut, my average
weight My average weight was 125.5.

That was the average.

So I weighed myself all week that
last week, and that was the average.

Now, my actual weight, though,
on Saturday was 124.8, okay?

Keep these numbers in mind because
they mean something with this story.

So the very, like, last day of my
cut, I was weighing 124-ish, 124.8.

Two days into eating,
I, I jumped my calories.

My... Now, remember, during my cut,
calories on upper body and non-training

days were 1640, and on lower body,
body days, because I had a little bit

more volume, and I wanted to keep my
training intensity higher, my calories

were ab- around 1725 uh, to 1750.

That's about where they were.

So three days a week, that's,
they were up near 1750.

Steps were landing anywhere
between 14,000 to 18,000, and I was

training hard five times a week.

Protein was around, uh, 140 is
usually where it would land.

so yes, this was about a 25% deficit
between my foods and between my

energy out and activity level.

Then I transitioned in this,
to this post-diet recovery.

So I bumped calories up
to, the goal was 1950.

Looking back, I ended up averaging
around 1980, which that is

just shy of maintenance for me.

It still is under maintenance,
but I kept the systems the same.

I still planned my meals.

I still tracked.

I still prioritized protein.

I still trained and trained hard.

So the whole structure stayed the same.

and then two days later, after
eating more and moving less, 'cause

I dropped my steps to around 10,000.

'Cause when you're thinking about
maintenance, you've gotta think about

all, like, the energy out and the energy
in, and what do you want to maintain

and where do you wanna live, right?

So two days, actually it was, I
believe, three days of, of eating more.

The scale, I stepped on the
scale, and it went from, like,

a 124.8 and jumped up to 126.5.

And this is the moment
that I wanna talk about.

If you just went through a fat loss
phase and you worked so hard and you

hit 124-ish, in that range, and then
your coach tells you, "Okay, we've

got to maint- uh, get you eating more.

We've gotta bump up the calories."
And so you do, and then you step on

the scale and you see that, and this
is where the stories start. "Oh, no.

I ruined my progress.

I'm putting all the fat back on.

Reverse dieting or recovery, post-diet
recovery, it doesn't work for me.

Oh no, I can't eat as
much as everybody else."

And because you start believing
these stories, you react, and

you quickly, what do you do?

You lower calories back in, or
maybe you get in and do more cardio.

You tighten everything back up.

You go into restriction.

You go back into the diet.

But here's the problem.

The story you're telling
yourself was never true.

Because guess what
happened the very next day?

I kept eating.

I didn't change anything.

I kept eating more, and the very
next day I stepped on the scale

and it dropped down to 124.1.

Now let's stop and think
logically for a second.

It is physiologically impossible
for me to gain almost two pounds of

body fat overnight from eating just
shy of maintenance for two days.

It's impossible.

So if that's true, then
the story can't be true.

That story of, "Well, oh, I, I ate
more and then I gained two pounds

of body fat," almost two, right?

But this is what people do.

They tell themselves these stories and
then usually what I see women do is the

scale bumps up to 126, they freak out,
they think, like I said, "I ruined my

progress, put all the body fat back on.
We're going in the wrong direction. I'm

going to go back into the cut." So they
go back into the cut that day, and then

the next day they step on the scale
and see something like I did, 124.1.

If I had done that, then what
that 124.1 would've done, it

would've reinforced that story.

"See?

You can't eat more.

You have to eat lower.

Because you ate lower, now I'm lower."
Does this sound familiar, guys?

This is what I wish
more people understood.

The scale is not a
direct body fat scanner.

Your weight can fluctuate from glycogen
replenishment, more food volume, sodium,

hormonal shifts, digestion, water
retention, especially after a cut.

You're very prone to seeing much higher,
I guess, reactions of all of that.

When you increase calories after dieting,
your body is naturally going to hold

onto a bit more water and glycogen.

Again, that is not failure.

That is not fat gain.

Okay?

This is just how the body works.

But most people never give their body
enough time to stabilize because they

panic too early, and that's why people
end up stuck in chronic restriction,

not because maintenance doesn't work,
but because fear makes them abandon it

before their body even has time to adapt.

This is where I think we really need to
redefine maintenance altogether, because

when I think about maintenance, I don't
just think, "What body fat percentage is

the lowest that I can possibly maintain?"

I actually think, "What lifestyle
can I actually maintain?

Can I sleep like this forever?

Can I train like this forever?

Can I move like this forever?

Can I eat like this forever?" These
are really important questions.

Because if your so-called maintenance
requires exhausting step counts,

obs- constant obsession with food,
white-knuckling hunger, feeling

mentally drained... that's probably
not true maintenance then, one.

That's just survival mode.

This is where I think people get confused.

They want to maintain the body
fat percentage, but they don't

want to maintain the lifestyle
required to stay there.

Those two things are connected.

So let's think about this.

For me, during my cut, I was
hitting 14 to 18,000 steps a day.

Could I do that forever?

No.

Actually not, realistically.

Now I've brought things down to around
10 to 12,000 steps, and honestly,

That is so sustainable for me.

Talking about me, not you, me.

Why?

Because I have a walking desk.

I enjoy movement.

I like walks after dinner.

So this feels like a lifestyle.

14, 18,000 steps, those... That
was not a lifestyle for me.

10,000 steps?

Yeah.

Yeah, that's lifestyle.

That I can do forever.

That matters.

Same thing with my food systems.

Every Sunday, I sit down and
I plan my meals for the week.

I've shared this so much with you guys.

Now, was that hard at first?

Oh, absolutely.

But so are a lot of things
before we practice them enough.

I think about deadlifting.

I remember pulling 260 pounds felt,
at one point, felt massive to me.

Now?

Well, it's still hard, but it's
kind of like a different...

It's an easy hard.

Does that make sense?

Or I, I think a better
example would be pull-ups.

I remember working so freaking
hard for that, first pull-up.

Mind you, the first time I
achieved a pull-up, I was at a

rec center in Herriman, Utah, and
I was all by myself, and I was so

excited that I started jumping up.

Saying yay.

And these two girls look over at me,
and I ran over, um, to them, total

strangers, and I was like, "I just
got my first pull-up." And they were

like, "Oh, that's exciting." And they
were probably just being nice, but I

was so excited, and I needed somebody.

I needed somebody to cheer with.

But anyways, I remember working so,
so, so, so hard for that first pull-up.

Now I can do 13 wide grip
pull-ups and not blink an eye.

I can... I mean, I can even
strap 25 pounds around my

waist and do weighted pull-ups.

What was once so hard, as I continued
doing it and mastering it, became easier

and easier and easier through repetition.

And, and I do think we forget that
applies to everything in life.

Um, it applies to nutrition too.

Just because something feels hard
right now doesn't mean it always will.

So I do wanna give you hope, right?

Systems become easier when we
practice them consistently.

So now meal planning isn't this
overwhelming thing for me to face.

it's just part of my week.

And those systems really are what
actually allow maintenance to happen.

Not fear, not over-restriction,
not panic, it's systems.

And yes, over time, sometimes
weight slowly can kind of

creep back up a little bit.

That's life.

Vacations happen.

Maybe you move into a build
phase, season changes.

Sometimes once a year I just do kind of
a four to six-week tightening up phase.

It's not punishment.

I'm not starting all over again.

I'm not like, "Woe is me."
It's just like, "No, I'm gonna

tighten up a little bit." Right?

Kind of like taking your
car in for an oil change.

You're not rebuilding the entire engine.

We're just tightening up
things a little bit, okay?

So that's how I, I kind of view
these phases, is even when I

do move into maintenance, and
I don't track for forever.

I do right now during post-diet recovery
because hormones, ghrelin, leptin, they're

kind of all over the place, and so we
can't trust them for a good few months.

And so I do track during this time,
and then I move into mindful eating.

My app users know all about that because
I have a free course in, um, my app that

goes over systems and mindful eating
and how to step away from tracking,

'cause I do think it can be a crutch.

And I do think long term
the goal is mindful eating.

Honestly, I think we would all be
healthier physically and mentally

if we stopped attaching dramatic
stories To normal physiological

fluctuation, fluctuations, fluctuations.

But seriously, uh, the, the
let the body kind of fluctuate

a little bit, and it's normal.

The scale going from 124.8 to 126.5
overnight did not mean I gained body fat.

The scale dropping back down to
124.1 the next day didn't mean I

suddenly fixed myself by eating less
and lost two pounds of body fat.

Neither story was true,
and that's the point.

And the more we can stop reacting
emotionally to short-term fluctuations,

the more successful we become long-term.

I really, really want you to hear me on
that because that is so, so, so important.

. Let's go back to talking about a
post-diet recovery, talking about what I

did, and how I'm moving things forward.

So I do want to answer this question
'cause I get this one a lot.

I increase my calories quickly, but
I don't jump all the way back to

what I think is my full maintenance.

Instead, I do jump just shy.

I do that very intentionally.

During your fat loss phase, your
body adapts, not in a scary your

metabolism is broken way, but just
in a very normal protective way.

So when calories are lowered,
your body becomes more efficient

with the energy it has.

So a few things can happen.

You may subconsciously move less
throughout the day Your overall cal--

and that's why we get, you know, a,
a, a step count to just try to keep

you moving, keep energy out higher.

But also, your overall calorie
burn can come down slightly too.

Hunger hormones increase, fullness
signals decrease, training performance

and recovery can all take a very,
a small hit, and your body gets

better at conserving energy.

Your body gets better at doing what it
needs to with less energy coming in.

So the idea of a reverse diet or
post-diet recovery is we don't wanna

overshoot maintenance, we want to find it.

Now, post-diet recovery,
we find it faster.

Reverse dieting people tend to do that
ridiculously slow, and what I actually

think about most ideas of reverse dieting
is that people are s- actually staying

in cut calories just way too long.

The purpose of a reverse diet is
actually to get hormones and, and all

of the benefits of being at maintenance.

We want to move into that
f- like a lot faster.

We don't wanna just stay in the calorie
deficit 'cause then we're just drawing

out all those, those adaptations
I just spoke of, uh, spoke of.

We're just drawing those out longer.

So what we want to do is we want to
get to eating more faster because then

we start, you know, recovering better,
uh, training better, less diet fatigue,

um, better chances of, you know, sleep,
hunger regulation coming back faster,

hormonal, thyroid, all of those, those
things that dips that happen, we're

getting them, the body revved up faster.

So that's why I like calling
it a post-diet recovery.

I don't want it to be confused with
this reverse diet where you're slowly,

slowly, slowly are like giving...
Staying in a diet longer actually,

and then finally you're, you know,
after two months you're finally

moved closer to maintenance numbers.

I just think that people are
ridiculous when they do that.

We don't need to do that.

We can-- There is a slight dip that seems
to happen in maintenance, so we want to

jump calories just shy of that so that we
stay under that, and then as the body kind

of revs up, things start moving and, and
normalizing, then we, you know, a week or

two later are bumping calories up again.

So that's what I was doing.

I jumped calories up just shy of
maintenance Now, when I look back at all

of the numbers, my calories, uh, went up.

We're averaging 1980.

Protein was averaging about 134.

Steps were around 11,000, and sleep was
at seven and a half hours, and I want

seven and a half to be minimum for me.

Uh, sleep is ridiculously important.

So, um, what, what happened during
that time, like I said, I was

averaging at the end of my cut 125.5.

After a week, um, I was averaging 125.7,
and so I was feeling really, really good.

Um, my, my body composition
is relatively the same.

Like I, I'm still really lean.

My arms still have their leanness.

My stomach still does.

Now, there is one thing that I have
noticed, and that's because I'm eating

so much more that, you know, in the
afternoons and evenings, my belly's

bigger because I have more food in my gut.

I wanna talk about that.

I wanna pause and talk about that for
a minute because I feel like people

think that they want to compare
their depleted state of a cut where

there's n- like hardly any food
moving through their digestive tract.

They want to compare that to a fuller,
you're getting more volume of food,

and you think that if there's any sh-
stomach stretch because of that food,

that, oh, it maintenance, reverse
dieting, whatever, doesn't work for me.

Better drop my calories back down
so that towards the end of the day

I still feel super, super flat.

But that's not realistic.

Those of us who are healthy mind and body,
with a healthy relationship with food

and fitness long term, I love that I have
to preface it with all of these things.

We know by the end... I, sorry, I, I say
preface it because I, I do think that

there are people who are in the fitness
industry who are under-consuming, who

are in unhealthy body fat percentages,
who are not thriving physically, but

they show these pictures of themselves
at nine o'clock at night, once again,

not healthy body and mind, and they're
glorified on social media and people

are like, "Oh, uh, that's what I
should look like if I'm doing it right.

If I'm doing it right, then I never get
bloated and at the end of the night I

don't have a food belly." No, no, no.

If you're doing it right, you still do.

You do.

By the end of the night
you're eating more.

There's more in there.

Okay?

Don't fear that.

Don't think that you're doing
something wrong because of that.

So yes, that is something that I've
noticed change, 'cause when I'm not

eating as much, then at nighttime
I'm still going to feel leaner.

But th- but that's me comparing
a fed state to a depleted state.

We never want to do that.

We always want to compare our
maintenance, our fed state to where

we were when the cut first started.

That's what we're comparing to.

Do... Is there success between
that starting point and now?

Am I holding on to that difference?

Yes, I am.

Don't compare your fed state
to your depleted state.

I wish I could grab women
and shake 'em and get them to

understand that more, okay?

So, like I said, the goal is
not to stay in a diet longer.

The goal is also not to swing the
doors wide open and hope for the best.

The goal is a controlled transition
to eating more, to getting your

body in... Revving up and working
well and everything's top-notch, on

point while you maintain, uh, body
composition, while you maintain

how you're fitting in your clothes.

Um, all of these things, okay?

So because after a week of around
1980, the scale barely, barely

moving up, I have bumped it up
again to about 2050, so 2,050.

And what I do is I have minimums.

So I have, um, well, I have maximum
for calories is around 2050, okay?

Um, and then I have minimums for protein,
which is minimum of 120, but I usually

land higher than that, just that's a
total preference thing, and I let carbs

and fats fall where they may, okay?

So I'm really excited.

Um, uh, honestly, one thing that
I've, I've noticed is, Over the past

week, I've seen some good bumps in
strength, so energy levels are going up.

Uh, I still feel as lean, um, and
I've also noticed better pumps in the

gym, so we're getting some really good
nutrient partitioning, and it just

also feels really good to eat more.

Now, I do wanna address one thing.

Um, I have noticed, especially, uh,
yesterday and today, it's kind of funny

eating more, um, and I have noticed m- I,
my hunger is actually a lot higher today.

So- This is an interesting one.

People are like, "Well, you should
be listening to that, uh, because

you need to honor your hunger."

Remember s- that, that wording, honor your
hunger, that stems from mindful eating.

There's nothing wrong with mindful
eating, I think that... Or intuitive

eating, I guess that's the m- the,
the, the phrase that people use more.

The book, "Intuitive Eating," that's where
that stems from, honoring your hunger.

So that book is not about fat loss.

It's about freeing yourself from
the restrictive mindset around food.

It is not, it, it is not taking
into account the fact that you were

just in a calorie deficit where
hunger and satiety hormones shifted.

So with, like I've said many times,
with that shift, for the first, like,

one, possibly even two, maybe even
three, depending on how aggressive and

how long you were in a fat loss phase,
those hunger, those, uh, hormones can

still be dysregulated, so we do kind of
have to wait for those to, to regulate.

So right now, if I, quote-unquote,
"honored my hunger," I would just

eat whatever and I would overshoot my
maintenance because right now those

hormones', uh, signaling is off, and
so they can't necessarily be trusted.

So it's not like they won't ever
be, it's just for a short timeframe.

So like I said, I believe that tracking in
and of itself is a tool to be used wisely.

I don't think it's the end-all.

I think that mindful eating is
actually w- where we should be landing.

And when we have appropriate systems
in place, it is easier for us to

make that transition and kind of
graduate out of tracking macros

for a time, um, and leaning in and
spending more time in mindful eating.

And then if you have a specific goal
that requires more, fine-tuning, then

tracking calories and protein can come
back into play and can be utilized.

Uh, once again, it's a tool, right?

I've said this many times.

A hammer is a great tool, but I'm
not gonna use a hammer to cut a

straight line in wood when I'm trying
to build a bookshelf if I ever, you

know, tried to build a bookshelf.

I've never tried.

I've never tried, but if I were,
I've, I've... You've got to use

the appropriate tool, right?

So I'm really excited over the next,
um... I'm actually half-- Like I- I'm

three days now into eating at 2050,
and I'm feeling really, really good.

Um, I saw a huge um, jump in
strength in my deep split squats,

um, in some step-ups, and I even,
um, hit a 305-pound deadlift.

So things are going in the
right direction, and I'm excited

to continue to fuel my body.

Because remember, when we're thinking
about maintenance and what we want to

maintain, it is important to think, "Can
I maintain this structure around food?

Can I maintain this energy out?

Can I maintain this training?

Can I..." And we have to appropriately
match all of those with the physique

that you've worked hard for.

And like I said, if that's
something that you struggle with,

uh, reach out to me and Alex.

Let us help you.

or our-- someone on our team help
you so that you can really master

the, the mindset and, um, and
just, yeah, just create a healthy

life, healthy life for yourself.

Anyways, you guys are amazing.

Hopefully this, uh, week one recap
of my post-site recovery is helpful.

You guys have a wonderful week.