12/27/2025
I bumped a client from 1,400 calories to 1,900.
She lost more weight.
Not because "starvation mode" kicked in. That's not a thing.
Your body isn't hoarding fat because you're eating 1,674 calories instead of 2,000.
But here's what IS real:
She stopped white-knuckling every meal.
And when she stopped white-knuckling, she stopped doing the s**t that was actually derailing her progress.
The weekend "f**k it" moments? Gone.
The random handfuls of goldfish while making lunch? Gone.
The "I'm too exhausted to move" couch sessions? Gone.
She actually had energy. She stopped bailing three weeks in because it felt like grinding glass every day.
Here's the thing:
She was never actually at 1,400 calories.
She was at 2,200 - she just wasn't counting weekends, cooking oils, the "few bites" of her kid's mac and cheese, or that protein bar she decided was "basically just a snack."
I've watched this play out for 20+ years.
The people who get results long-term? They're not suffering through the most aggressive deficit possible.
They're the ones who found an approach they can sustain without losing their minds.
So before you drop your calories even lower:
β Are you actually hitting your target? Weekends included?
β Is everything in the log β the bites, the tastes, the oil, all of it?
β Is your protein high enough that you're not starving between meals?
If you're genuinely consistent at 1,674 and it's miserable?
Moving to 1,800-2,000 might be the move. It's choosing slower progress over another restart three months from now.
If you're tired of boom-bust cycles and Monday restarts β grab my free guide here:
https://jtmnutritioncoaching.lpages.co/anti-diet-fb/