I may have led you astray…

Most of the time I focus my content on health tips that are simple, practical, and quick. You’re busy and I want to give you something realistic and useful. 

I’m afraid that my spending too much time in this quick tip space has done you a disservice because we rarely talk about the bigger picture on these posting platforms.

The bigger picture is personal and can get complex, and sometimes uncomfortable to talk about. But if I’m being honest, the personal and sometimes uncomfortable truth is exactly what we need to talk about (and game plan for) to make a real shift in your health.

Don’t worry, I don’t plan to swing in the complete opposite direction and get super detailed but I do want to zoom out a bit and present you with a different way to think about your nutrition. 

Oftentimes when we want to make a change to the way we eat, our mind goes to eating less and losing weight. While it’s true you need to be in a calorie deficit (burn more than you consume) to lose weight, this is only part of the process. 

The pressure to constantly be in a fat-loss mode is strong but here’s the reality: Our bodies—and minds—aren’t built to be in a permanent calorie deficit. If you've ever felt stuck, burned out, or like your progress has stalled, chances are you've been in fat-loss mode for too long.

Whether you have 10lbs you want to drop or 100lbs, you should not be in a deficit all of the time. Instead, there should be phases in your plan. This is especially true if you want those changes to last. 

Nutritional phases not only help restore your metabolism, they help you stick to the plan for the long term and enable you to work around things like holidays, birthdays, travel, and other events that typically throw you off. 

Think of your nutrition like seasons; shift your approach to work with your body instead of fighting against it. 

Phase 1: Fat Loss (The Sprint)

Fat loss is often the first goal people set when they start a new plan. And while fat loss is a common goal, it’s important to treat it like a sprint—not a marathon. A fat-loss phase typically involves being in a calorie deficit, which means you’re consuming fewer calories than you burn.

But here's the catch: staying in this phase indefinitely will backfire. Prolonged periods of calorie restriction can lead to fatigue, hormonal imbalances, and even muscle loss. It’s essential to plan fat-loss phases strategically, keeping them short and targeted.

Phase 2: Diet Breaks (The Pit Stops)

Here’s where most people miss out: the diet break. Think of this as a pit stop in your journey. After a period of fat loss, your body needs to recover. This means giving it a break from calorie restriction and spending some time at maintenance calories (the number of calories you need to maintain your weight).

This isn’t about “cheating” or losing progress. In fact, strategic diet breaks help improve adherence to long-term fat loss goals by reducing hunger and fatigue, while also giving your metabolism a chance to reset. It’s like taking your foot off the gas just enough to refill your tank before the next leg of your journey.

Phase 3: Maintenance (The Steady Path)

Maintenance is arguably the most underrated and misunderstood phase. After you've lost weight or hit a fitness goal, staying in a maintenance phase allows you to solidify those results. It’s a time for your body to adjust to its new normal without the constant pressure of losing more.

This phase is also where you’ll see big wins when it comes to long-term success. It’s a chance to build sustainable habits, focus on performance, and maybe even improve your relationship with food. 

Maintenance is where we want to be, at our goal weight and feeling good, without fear of the scale creeping back up and without having to follow a strict set of food rules.  

Phase 4: Building (The Growth Season)

While you may not find yourself with a goal to build muscle when your mind is on weight loss, I highly encourage you to reconsider. The importance of developing strength now and as you move into later years cannot be emphasized enough. 

Muscle will help you feel younger for longer and also give you that “tone” or “lean” or even “jacked” look you’ve always wanted. 

Maybe you want to run faster, lift heavier, or just feel more energetic overall. Whatever the focus, this phase allows you to grow—both physically and mentally.

The Big Takeaway: Be Strategic & Plan in Phases

You don’t need to always be on a diet. In fact, you shouldn’t always be in a fat-loss phase. Cycling through different nutritional phases based on your goals will keep your body in balance, help prevent burnout, and support long-term success.

If you're in it for the long game (and trust me, you should be), embrace each phase for what it is: a step toward sustainable health and well-being. Whether you're shedding fat, maintaining progress, or building strength, these phases are like puzzle pieces that together form a bigger picture of better health.

So, the next time you catch yourself feeling stuck or feeling tempted to diet ‘harder’ by cutting even more calories, ask yourself: Is this really right for me? Has this worked before and would I be better served with a more strategic (and realistic) plan?

If you’re not sure which phase makes most sense for you, let’s talk about it. This is the part that gets to be personalized to what you need, not what your neighbor recommended or what you saw on TikTok.

And yes, it can be as simple and practical as those other tips I’ve shared in the past. We just get to be a little more strategic and holistic about it. :)