How’s it going ladies and gents! Today we are excited to share our client and friend, Kristen Steele’s 20 week Reverse Diet Success and Journey. Kristen first came to us with the goals of wanting to increase her calorie intake, build muscle, and increase strength. Kristen was a bit timid at first about the concept of adding in food over the course of 20 weeks. With a very flexible game plan we were able to guide Kristen to all of her goals and then some!
We knew with some structure, guidance, science, and accountability Kristen would flourish! So we set her up using flexible dieting for her daily nutrition, programmed her a properly periodized strength training protocol that emphasized Glute Training and heavy lifting based around Squats, Deadlifts, and Bench Press, with very limited cardio and Kristen really improved her overall body composition. It was truly amazing watching her get leaner each week with more added calories.
Week 1-
139.7 lbs.
1,290 calories
Waist circumference 29 inches
Week 20-
135.7 lbs.
2,000 calories
Waist circumference 26.75 inches
We like to show these stats because too often we see misleading information about weight loss or weight gains. The moral of Kristen’s story is she lost a good amount of body fat, increased lean body mass, Strength, and built he overall metabolic capacity and never had to deprive herself from foods she enjoyed during the 20 week journey. As coaches, we would never sit here and say that every person that does a calorie building phase will lose body fat and gain lean body mass. This comes down to genetics and body types but Kristen worked her ass of each and every day while being a mom of 3, a wife, and working. Nothing is impossible ladies and gentleman!
We’re extremely proud of Kristen and it’s been an honor coaching her and being a part of her journey.
See what Kristen has to say about her 20 week Journey …
I came upon DDT back in Nov of 2013 from following @kaliforndee on IG. I had followed her journey for a while and saw she had worked with them. I just had my third baby in that timeframe, and was training for my 2nd half marathon, so at that time I was in no position to take on reverse dieting or lifting. All my training was running (and I HATED it). Once I was done with that final race in May of 2014, I took some time to focus on me, did lots of restorative things for my body and got myself to a place where I did not hurt all the time from running. I am an RD, have my MS in Clinical Nutrition and also am a Group Fitness Instructor/CPT- and I only mention this because a big part of me for some time thought I did not “need” or “deserve” a coach because I should know what/how to get to where I wanted to go. But I realized that I was at the point where I needed a coach for myself and was ready, finally, in Jan of this year.
I grew up a dancer and have always been in great shape. I am grateful that I have the ability and capacity to train/workout and after each baby got back to where I wanted to be. I eat well and am, appreciatively, very healthy. However, to change my body, grow some lean muscle and overall go a bit further, I knew I needed to eat more. And, I needed a coach to do that. So I contacted DDT, where I decided to have Eric be my coach. We talked about my goals, lifestyle, how many classes I teach, how I have 3 small children and a busy life. He listened, was honest yet was not condescending. No talk of any harsh ways of working, safety, long term progress and consistency was his priority along with educating.
He put me on a reverse diet plan to stimulate my metabolism and build up my calorie intake, along with a proper periodized training program. We hit the ground running. I won’t lie, I was soooooo nervous! I was eating around 1400-1600 kcal. When I started w/ DDT, he set my macros at 1395. And I tracked… and I was HUNGRY! I could not wait to get more food, but every time he increased I would tell him how nervous I was and he would say “don’t worry Kristen, just trust me. Your body is a machine and it will be fine”. And I did. And every time I added food, I dropped weight, inches, looked different and before I knew it things were really changing and taking shape. Now, 20 weeks later, I am eating over 200g carbs and over 2000 kcals! I increased my metabolic capacity more than I ever thought I would. My strength has gone through the roof and most importantly my body has changed more than I thought would be possible. Best part to me was losing approx. 6% body fat and hearing the feedback / compliments from people, friends, and strangers alike.
I am heading into a small cut for a vacation in August and I cannot wait to see how things change again. It’s all about science, trusting yourself and your coaches, working hard and being consistent. It is really amazing stuff and I am grateful for having the opportunity to work with Eric and DDT!
-Kristen Steele
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR SERVICES AND HOW WE CAN DESIGN YOU A INDIVIDUALIZED PERIODIZED TRAINING PROTOCOL AND A FLEXIBLE NUTRITION PROGRAM AROUND YOUR GOALS, SCHEDULE, PREFERENCES, ETC. PLEASE VISIT US HERE OR CONTACT US HERE FOR A FREE PHONE CONSULTATION.