In 3 months (6/11/14-9/10/14), I was able to increase my calories from 947 to 1650 (700+) without gaining weight or body fat. Here is my final reverse diet data graphed out. As you can see, as my calories increase at a slow and steady rate, body fat and weight remain constant.

I realize there are different beliefs/opinions about the "optimal" speed of reverse dieting. It's actually quite the hot topic right now. My personal belief is this: Everyone is unique with individual goals and physical/psychological states. Therefore, "optimal" approaches to meet goals will vary. For instance, I had been in a severe caloric deficit for 6 years straight so my goal in reverse dieting was mainly to be able to eat more without gaining excess body fat. I had some major physical and psychological issues. Of course, a seasoned bodybuilder may have different goals or at least a different prioritization of goals than me. 

The fact of the matter is there is currently (as of 12/3/2014) no peer-reviewed research on reverse dieting. That was my entire premise of this experiment. Not that this compares AT ALL to peer-reviewed research, but I am so passionate about helping others with similar issues and fears as I once had. I believe this experiment will achieve that goal. :) I plan on discussing this speed of reverse dieting issue in a later post, but for right now I just wanted to update the graph.

I also did some major updates to the "about" and "metab rehab" sections of the blog. Feel free to check it out. My goals have changed somewhat and I am now focusing on gaining strength and building up muscle. Therefore, my stats updates on the blog are going to be a little different from now on because I don't necessarily consider this reverse dieting anymore. It's more just straight up lean gaining and adjusting macros based on that--a task I am entrusting to my amazing coach Jose at Alpha Training Protocols. I will continue to check in with these stats but I do want to rely less on the scale and more on progress photos, so I will be weighing myself less frequently. It has been amazing for me mentally so far. :)

Hope you have an awesome week my friends!

Much love,
- C

PS: Macro tip of the day -- some days it's fun to save room for an epic carb/fat treat like this creation I made last night. <3

Helloooooo from sunny Orlando, Florida! Random fact about me -- I'm finishing up grad school right now in speech pathology and presenting some research at the ASHA (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association) convention… so I'm here with a group of girls from my grad school class for the rest of the week. I made sure to pack all the essentials so I can be on point with my macros -- quest and cliff builder bars, protein powder, PB2, cocoa powder, stevia, almonds, beef jerky, rice cakes, and fiber one brownies. I'm going to try to get some greek yogurt and mix in whey/cocoa powder/PB2/stevia. It's not really that hard to stay on track with your macros while on vacation or out of town. I made a post about it a while back,  so check it.

Also, I've decided to follow the advice of my coach and take a break from the scale. I need it. I'll be taking at least a week's break from it.

My life has been pretty insane the past two months, but that is about to change drastically. I will have a lot more time to devote to song writing, blogging, etc. Lots more to come soon! <3

- C