Fueling the Fire: How I Healed My Metabolism and What I Eat Now

For a long time, I thought I was doing everything "right." I was training hard and eating what I thought was a "healthy" amount. In reality, I was inadvertently starving my body.

I was eating an unhealthily low amount of calories for months on end, and my body did exactly what it was designed to do to survive: it slowed down. My metabolism hit the brakes because it didn't have enough fuel to keep up with my activity.

It took years of consistency to get my metabolism back on track, but I finally landed in a healthy, sustainable range. If you feel like you're working out 5 days a week but seeing zero progress, this might be why.

Understanding Your Expenditure

My daily caloric expenditure (what my body actually burns just by living and training) is anywhere between 2000 – 2500 calories.

When you don’t fuel accordingly, your metabolism doesn't just "stay fast", it adapts to the low energy you’re giving it. Now, I aim to eat within that 2000 – 2500 range every single day. If my workload in the gym is exceptionally high or I’m extra active outside of my workout, I’ll eat even more.

My Daily Macro Targets

I don't believe in perfection, but I do believe in ranges. Depending on the day and the intensity of my MetCon, here is what I aim for:

• Protein: 80–120g (The building blocks for muscle recovery)
• Fats: 60–80g (Crucial for hormonal health)
• Carbs: 225–300g (The high-octane fuel for those spicy MetCons!)

These aren't strict rules I bend over backwards to hit. I view them as healthy targets that help me feel energized, sleep better, and hit PRs in the gym.

The Tools I Use

Keeping track of macros can feel overwhelming, but I’ve used Renaissance Periodization (RP) since 2019 to keep me balanced. Their macro diet app takes the guesswork out of it, especially when I'm busy programming for Team TLA.

Pro-Tip: If you want to try the RP app or templates yourself, you can use my code ALEXIS for a discount!