How’s it going ladies and gents! Today we are excited to share our client and friend, Amanda Maddelena’s 21 week Dieting journey. Amanda came to us after having a bad experience with a past coach she found on Instagram . Her past coach had Amanda following a set meal plan with zero variety, doing countless hours of cardio and zero science behind her Training routine.
We knew with some structure, guidance, science, and accountability Amanda would thrive under our coaching guidance! So we set her up using flexible dieting for her daily nutrition, programmed her a properly periodized strength training protocol, strategically implemented cardio throughout her 21 week dieting phase, and she dropped a great amount of body fat, while gaining muscle as well and she gained a ton mentally!
Week 1-
125 lbs.
1,625 calories
Waist circumference 33 inches
Week 21-
111.5 lbs.
1,100 calories
Waist circumference 25 inches
We like to show these stats because too often we see misleading information about weight loss success stories. The moral of Amanda’s story is she lost a significant amount of body fat, gained some lean body mass, and never had to deprive herself from foods she enjoyed. She accomplished her goals without making her life miserable and gained a ton of confidence after and was much happier with her body composition.
Amanda is now reverse dieting while feeling stronger, more energetic, eating more, having better relationships with food, building muscle mass, enjoying life, Working hard in school, and doing things the right way so that when it comes time to diet again or possibly do a bikini show she will not have to diet as long and as hard.
We’re extremely proud of Amanda and it’s been an honor coaching her and being a part of her journey.
See what Amanda has to say about her 21 week dieting phase …
Being an athlete all throughout middle/high school, I began training in the weight room with my dad. Beginning the next stage of my life (college) knowing I wasn’t going to further my athletic career I had to find something to continue my competitive edge. I wanted to continue my love for sports and all of the behind the scenes training involved. That is when I fell in love with the gym. I found myself continuously researching different exercises and diets for hours and hours on end. I knew I wanted to enhance my knowledge on the subject and create the best physique I could!
This led me to Instagram accounts, I found a bunch of females who were competing and thought to myself that this was something I would potentially enjoy. The countless amounts of training and dieting working towards stepping on that stage with the best physique. So, I found a coach via Instagram (AWFUL IDEA) and followed a typical bro diet. I ate the same thing every day for weeks, months even. It was not realistic. Did I drop weight? Yes. Did I binge and gain the weight all back absolutely. Not only did it have a huge negative impact on my physique, but it took a toll on my mentality too. This was not a lifestyle for me. Not a healthy way to live in my opinion.
After all of this I still had a love for the gym. I wanted to prove to myself that I could cut down and become lean a healthy way. I wanted a lifestyle change. That is when I began searching for coaches online. Doing as much research as I could to avoid what had happened in the past. When I found team DDT I had emailed them that I was interested and when receiving a response back offering a phone call to discuss my options I was ecstatic. A phone call was never offered to me from any other coaches. After speaking on the phone with coach I was eager to begin and wanted to start working with them ASAP. I’m not going to lie I was not sure how IIFYM would work for me. I did have my doubts, but the amount of research and knowledge that coach provided me with taught me SO much!
I mentioned to Eric on the phone that I was moving away for the summer to work at a camp and wasn’t sure how well I could adhere to this plan. He had no doubt in his mind that I could do this. He believed in me and helped me through it step by step. Throughout this prep there was not one time I felt restricted nor did I binge. I made huge improvements in my physique! I have lost over 10 pounds and have gained a good amount of muscle. But, the amount of mental progress that I have made is unreal. I have made a lifestyle change, which was my main goal from the start. I may not have stepped on stage, but I am confident and proud of the body that I have built over these last 20 weeks. Coach Eric has helped me tremendously throughout my prep and now beginning my reverse dieting phase. Choosing team DDT has by far been the best decision that I have made.
-Amanda Maddalena