You know that you need a caloric deficit to lose fat and you have done the math to work out your starting calories.
 
Great stuff.
 
Fast forward a few weeks: You’ve been dieting hardcore and you’ve seen some losses… but now it looks like you’ve hit a plateau.
 
Well then, time to lower calories.
 
Wait a second! Is this really your best option?
 
It’s true: When fat loss plateaus, increasing the calories you burn or reducing the calories you eat will help you kickstart the process again.
 
However, opting to lower calories as soon as the weight on the scale stops moving might be overkill. So, in this article, I’m going to cover:
 

• What is a plateau?
• What tweaks can you make to get un-stuck before you lower calories? 

 
More often than not, these tweaks will help my clients see a change without touching their food.
 
So strap in and let’s get into it.

Regular readers of this blog will already know that fat loss requires a caloric deficit.
 
In most cases, if you are not seeing any fat loss, the reason is that you are not in a deficit. And yet, what if you have been dieting for some time and you have seen results, but they have just stopped coming?
 
Maybe the solution is not to diet harder, lower calories, and increase activity levels, even though this can sometimes be a viable strategy to get out of a plateau.
 
Maybe this time the solution is – gasp! – to take a break from the diet and enter a maintenance phase. Counterintuitive much? Hear me out.
 
In this article, I will do my best to cover:
 

• What maintenance is
• Why it is so important and when to do it
• Who can benefit the most from a maintenance phase

​“Peri-workout nutrition” is a science-y term for the food you eat before, during, and after your training sessions.
 
Enhancing this aspect of your diet can have the following benefits:
 

• Increased training performance
• Better recovery
• As a result of the above, improved long-term fitness achievements

 
In this article, I will consider three different time windows – pre, post, and intra-workout – and cover when to eat, what to eat, and why to eat it whether you are an endurance athlete or a physique trainee.
 
For both types of athlete, carbohydrate and protein are going to be the most important macronutrients to consider.
 
An important caveat is that the overall quantity of both carbohydrate and protein consumed within a 24-hour window is going to affect your performance far more than individual meals. So ensure that this is always your first priority.
 
With that said, let’s dive into today’s hot topic.

​Have you ever avoided dinner with friends because you didn’t know how to track your calories?
 
I did.
 
More recently, as a coach, I have helped many clients overcome the same fear whilst still crushing their fitness goals.
 
In this article, I’m going to tell you exactly how, so you don’t have to be afraid that one meal will ruin all of your hard work.

One month on testosterone therapy versus three months

Useful Links: April 2020 Update | July 2019 Update | One Month Update | Three Months Update
​

​In this month’s update on my journey as a transgender bodybuilding trainee, I’m going to talk about my experience with medical transition from female to male and the effects this has had so far on my training, nutrition, and body composition.
 
At the time of writing, I have been medically transitioning for four months, from March 13th 2020, but I will primarily reflect on the first three months.
 
The aim of the article is to cover:
 

• What is medical transition?
• What does my medical transition look like?
• How has this affected me in relation to bodybuilding so far?
• How has my approach to training and nutrition changed, if at all?

 
The purpose of this piece is to share my experience in order to educate transgender and non-transgender individuals alike, and to provide anecdotes and observations on how medical transition can change training, nutrition, and body composition in a transgender person who trains to improve their physique.
 
As a final disclaimer, I want to point out that this is only my experience.
 
I am not a medical professional, so I am not going to offer any form of advice.
 
Anything I share in this article is personal, individualised to me, and meant to inform, not make recommendations.
 
Without further ado, let’s delve into the update.