Why I'm Not Dieting For a Year

I have been seriously into fitness for four years now.

I’ve made a lot of mistakes in that time.

One of the worst ones has been that I’ve spent the entire time not eating a fucking normal amount of food.

You know, just eating the amount of food my body needs to function at its best.

Instead, I fell for the trap that gets many people when they start in fitness.

Bulking and cutting.

Bulking and cutting should be reserved for bodybuilders, not regular people who want to build some muscle and be healthy.

It seems bizarre to me that bulking and cutting have caught on and become mainstream techniques.

You would never adopt the practices of an Olympic swimmer or Decathlete unless you planned on competing in these sports.

But many people will, without question, adopt the extreme practice of bulking and cutting even though they have no aspiration of becoming a bodybuilder.

The significant risk with bulking and cutting is that you never exist in the sweet spot. 

You alternate between two extremes: carrying too much fat, eating everything in sight, and making yourself miserable by restricting your favorite foods.

If your goal is to win a medal in a competition, then fair enough.

But if your goal is to be happy and healthy in a body you love, this is crazy talk. You do not need to alternate between force-feeding and dieting. There is a third option:

Eating at maintenance.

My big goal for 2023 is to get stronger and build muscle without bulking and dieting.

I’m going to train hard at maintenance.

My previous four years have been spent alternating between dieting and “bulking,” though my bulks were mostly an excuse for me to let my diet go to complete shit for a while.

In the last four years, I haven’t simply eaten the amount of food my body needs, which has been a colossal mistake.

The best part is that you can still build muscle at maintenance.

As long as you drink water, eat lots of protein, train hard, and recover well, you don’t have to add extra fat to be able to build muscle.

And then you avoid the negative consequences of bulking like force-feeding, increased heart rate, expanding waistline, etc.

I’m not saying that you should never go on a diet to lose fat — for some people, this is the best option.

But there is a risk in fitness that you adopt the bad habit of constantly alternating between the extremes of bulking and cutting.

I think the beautiful place to exist is when you can permanently live in a body that makes you feel good.

This is why I’m not dieting in 2023.

I’m eating the amount my body needs to fuel my activity.

Not more, not less.

I’m going to build muscle and get stronger in this phase, and I’m going to feel much better than I did on a “bulk,” and it won’t have to be followed by a painful diet.

If you’ve been planning on whether you should bulk or cut, consider option 3.

Consider just training at maintenance and giving your body the energy it needs.

I’ll leave you with a video from Coach Greg Doucette, a Canadian Bodybuilder who advocates for this approach.

Good luck with your fitness goals in 2023!