HAVING A COACH THROUGH “MAINTENANCE MODE”: INSURANCE FOR LONG TERM NUTRITIONAL SUCCESS
So, you have just worked with a coach to obtain a fat loss goal. Now what? Fat loss can’t be a phase that lasts forever due to the physiological and psychological impacts it can have, nor would we want it to when the focus of intentionally eating at maintenance has so much to offer our “deep health.” But just because your goals are pivoting doesn’t mean that you should ditch your coach! Maintenance still requires attention -- a fact drastically overlooked based on how many people report regaining lost weight after achieving a weight loss goal–and having a coach alongside you to help find the type and amount of self-monitoring you will most benefit from and nurture the habits that led to your fat loss in the first place will ensure you’re not alone in that process.
First, to answer questions you may have around how long a fat loss phase should last, what signs you should look out for to tell if it’s time to exit a fat loss phase, and how long a maintenance phase can last, we have you covered in this blog post!
WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT TO EAT AT MAINTENANCE?
A maintenance phase is arguably the most important season of our nutrition since it’s where we can best focus on the habits that help us find harmony with our physical, mental, emotional, and social health. Without the prioritization of changing our bodies, the other aspects of our lives that we value can better be at the forefront.
However, that doesn’t mean that body composition can’t remain in the periphery. The foundational habits that we develop before or alongside a focused fat loss phase, with the goal of long-term physical change, continuously support small aesthetic changes over time. For example, by training hard and with intention while eating an adequate amount of protein and micronutrient-rich foods, we can build muscle and lose fat in tandem without necessarily being in a surplus or deficit. The process is a much slower one than if we were to align our nutrition with either goal, but happens often when those foundational habits continue to lead the charge.
Maintenance isn’t about staying the same; it’s about maximizing our ability to show up in the world as our best, most well-fueled selves, and that will inherently involve evolution.
HOW CAN A COACH HELP SUPPORT YOU IN A MAINTENANCE PHASE?
While “on paper” the foundational habit transition from fat loss to maintenance may sound easy, increasing calories to establish a baseline at maintenance can feel overwhelming in practice.
How many calories do you need to maintain your newly established weight/body composition?
What does that look like in terms of additional food?
Just where does the “threshold” of extra flexibility lie?
Am I even truly maintaining if I’m seeing the scale trend up a few pounds from where I ended my fat loss phase? (Yes, because your maintenance weight is inevitably going to be a little bit higher to account for how increases in food volume and carbohydrates work in the body!)
By continuing to seek guidance from a coach and work alongside them to understand your biofeedback markers in the context of maintenance, you two can establish “bumpers” to help you figure out just how flexible you can be with your choices in food quality, quantity, and frequency with an increase in either or both, as well as type and amount of self-monitoring that you participate in to confirm you are truly maintaining. Just as vital though is the mental and emotional support a coach can provide when you have moments of confusion, frustration, or worry – not unlike during a fat loss phase!
The goal as a nutrition coach is never to keep a client forever, but rather ensure they feel fully confident as they embark on their transition from fat loss to maintenance.
WHAT CAN SELF-MONITORING LOOK LIKE?
Even though the scientific literature focuses on scale weight as the primary self-monitoring approach (and fairly so: if one is aiming to maintain their body weight, checking it with some frequency would be wise), broadening our definition better serves us in that it provides more flexibility and opportunities for keeping tabs on behaviors and their outcomes. Some other ideas of what self-monitoring can encompass include:
Continuing to take progress photos
Assessing how clothes are fitting
Taking body measurements
Maintaining a routine around tracking your nutrition (e.g. tracking in full in your macro tracking app of choice a few days a week to check in on macro/calorie intake, weighing your food on a food scale without tracking in an app, transitioning to the hand portion method once you have an understanding of your maintenance portion size needs)
Tracking movement and/or formal exercise (e.g. steps, weight training workouts, minutes of aerobic activity per week), as there is a strong correlation between weight management and exercise.
You and your coach can collaboratively try on different methods or combinations of methods of self-monitoring for size to see which works best for you and feel sustainable long term.
Intentionally aiming to maintain our weight is a skill, and like all skills, our confidence in our abilities grows as we hone them. Scaling and practicing the goal-aligned behaviors that helped us reach our fat loss goals will ensure that we can tackle future fat loss and maintenance phases in the future solo (if we so choose – some people love having a coach’s outside set of eyes regardless of their experience and proficiency!), with the hope that long term/permanent maintenance becomes the embodiment of lifestyle change.
We believe that the best way to achieve your fat loss goals is by working with a coach who creates a plan specific to you - your needs, your preferences, and your goals. A sustainable approach to our nutrition is essential to long-term habits and success. For high-support coaching and guidance, apply for our 1:1 Nutrition Coaching here.