Understanding Your Maintenance Phase for Long-Term Fitness Success

00:00Maintenance is where the magic happens, but it's also where the magic of sustainability happens. When you're in maintenance, it gives you the mental freedom to be like, ah, I can enjoy life. I don't need to be like 100%. Like you can focus on other areas where you're about feeling like you're constantly chasing some type of goal. What's going on, you guys? Hey, everyone. Welcome to The WarriorBabe Show with Nikkie Stott, co-founder of WarriorBabe. And on this podcast, we talk about mindset, methodologies, and tactics that will help you lose body fat, build muscle, be strong, and feel insanely confident.

00:39I am your host, Nikkie Stott, and welcome to today's episode, episode number 232. And today, I'm really excited to dive into the topic that I have on deck. But before I dive into the topic, I just want to give a huge thank you to every single one of you guys who listens to this podcast, who shares this podcast, who reviews this podcast. If you haven't yet reviewed it, please do because it literally helps these episodes and this whole podcast series go so much further than just me, one person can do.

01:15You guys help in so many ways to the fact that we're almost at 800,000 downloads since its birth back in January of 2023. Yeah. Wow. So we're coming up on a million downloads, 200,000 more to go. And that's because of you guys and for your dedication, your consistency for tuning into the episodes or sharing the episodes. So I just wanted to give a huge thank you. Thank you so much for helping spread these episodes in this podcast.

01:48Today, we're going to dive into talking about understanding your maintenance phase, because if you can, that is the key to long term fitness and the key to long term success. And I know some of you guys might be thinking like maintenance. Isn't that just like staying where you are? Isn't it just like a waste of time? Like, couldn't I be losing weight and cutting or couldn't I be focusing on maybe even like doing a build and adding more calories? And trust me, if you have ever thought that you are not alone, I hear it all the time.

02:21Why do I need to be in maintenance? Maintenance, I'm just staying where I'm at. I'm just holding my weight. Nothing is happening. The scale isn't going down. I'm not seeing much in like terms of progress photos. I've heard it. Our coaches in Warrior Babe have heard it. But here's the truth. And you guys know that I always speak the truth, even if it's not sexy, even if you don't want to hear it direct, no bullshit approach, real, raw, honest, because that's it's reality. OK, and I'm not going to fantasize dream. This is how you transform your body.

02:51OK, all of the episodes of what I'm talking about, and especially this one today. Maintenance is just as important, if not more so than your fat loss phase and your cutting phase or your muscle building phase. So today in this episode, what I want to break down with you guys is what exactly is maintenance. And maybe you've heard me talk about it before on episodes prior to this. I've definitely done an episode that was dedicated all around like when to go into maintenance, when to be in fat loss and X, Y and Z, what all the different phases are they. But I'm going to bring this one back because I think it's really important as we lead into the other components of the episode today.

03:28So we're going to talk about what the maintenance phase actually is, why it's so critical and crucial for your results and your overall health. We're going to talk about how to approach it intentionally. And then when to know when it's time to do a maintenance break and for how long. And before I even dive into these components of the episode today, I just want you to know that everybody individually is different. Some people can be in maintenance phase. Some people should be in a fat loss phase. Some people should be in a building phase. Today is just like talking about maybe you are hearing me like you've ever been stuck in a cycle of cutting and bulking and up and down.

04:02And you're afraid that maintaining means that you're going nowhere and you're losing progress. But maybe there's aspects of your metabolism that need a break. Or if you've been in a calorie deficit for way too long, maybe you're getting some signals that it's time and maybe you're not aware of these. And maybe these signals, what I'm going to talk about today, will help you know that to become more aware of it. And you may be like, oh, I need to be in maintenance. All in all, this episode is for you guys. And more so, maybe just for you guys to understand and learn and be educated on it. So you know what to look for and how to approach it or what to navigate

04:34or just have better understanding and awareness to this concept. So let's dive in. First, I want to talk about the basics. Okay, what is a maintenance phase? And it is exactly as it sounds to be. It is a period where you eat enough to maintain your current body weight and composition. And I know I'm going to talk broadly, but there's a little aspect to this. Some of you guys could be in maintenance, especially if like you're retraining your metabolism, which I've talked about on previous episodes, where you could lose weight as you're eating more

05:08food because your body is like, oh, thank you. I've needed this for years. Um, but overall, broadly speaking, it is a period of time where you eat enough to maintain your current body weight and composition. You're no longer in a calorie deficit. You're no longer cutting or you're no longer in a calorie surplus where you're building. Instead, you're just fueling your body at the level it needs to sustain where you're currently at. And here's the kicker. Maintenance isn't about like you stagnating.

05:40It's not a plateau. It's an intentional phase where you give your body and your mind a break from the intensity of constantly being in a calorie deficit or constantly chasing some type of goal. Like you need a break from that. If not, you're going to experience burnout and you're going to experience frustration and you're going to experience being, you know, feeling defeated. This is intentional. I know there's a lot of worry. It's like, if you listen to this episode right now and you're in maintenance and you're like,

06:11this is boring. I'm not doing anything. I'm not moving. I'm in a plateau. I'm stagnating. Not seeing any progress. If you're working with a worry boot coach, then just know from their point of view, that is an intentional phase where you are giving your body a break from maybe the years and years of calorie deficits or you're in between a fat loss and maybe going to build more muscle and you need a break because you were constantly chasing some type of goal.

06:43So just think about it like this. Think about it one from that perspective and think about it as like the foundation that literally supports everything else that you want to do. And what I mean by that is that without it, your progress, whether it's fat loss or whether it's muscle growth will not stick. Maintenance is where the magic happens, but it's also where the magic of sustainability happens. So I want you guys to bring that awareness and have that perspective that it is literally the foundation that will hold your entire house together.

07:16It is the foundation that of which everything that you want to do moving forward, whether it be going back into a fat loss or going into a building phase is going to help your progress stick. And I'm going to dive into why now, because now that you know what maintenance is, why is it so important? One of the biggest reasons why people struggle with long-term success is because they're constantly jumping from one goal to the next.

07:47They're constantly losing weight and then they're constantly gaining it back. And then they're constantly losing it again. They're constantly gaining it back and they're constantly losing it, whether it be that that's intentional and you're going from diet to diet to diet and you lose it and you gain it and you lose it. Or if you do understand these phases and you're going from one goal to the next, you're constantly cutting and bulking and cutting again and over and over again without ever taking time to let your body recalibrate. Here's the thing. And for so many years, I will say, I have said that your body is a machine in terms of that

08:20it needs food in order to function. But in this respect, your body isn't a machine. It needs periods of balance. It needs periods, periods of recovery. It needs periods to function at its best. When you're in a calorie deficit for an extended period of time, your metabolism naturally will slow down. It will naturally because that's your body's way of like adapting to what it perceives as less energy coming in. And maintenance phase is where it helps to reverse some of that metabolic adaptation by

08:54giving your body the fuel that it needs to be optimally working again for you instead of against you. OK, like a lot of people are in a constant calorie deficit. They're constantly not eating enough. They're constantly having their body adapt to less energy. And then therefore, they're meant to. And again, these things are intangible. You can't see them. But this is what's happening internally to your body and wondering why you're not getting anywhere. This is why your body is adapted to low caloric intake. Your metabolism is slowed down because this is it perceiving that this is just less energy

09:25coming in or people want to call it starvation mode or whatever you want to call it. But this is what's happening. And when you are able to give your body a like think of it like this, like a reset button for your metabolism, you're teaching your body that it's safe and that it doesn't need to hold on to fat for survival and that it can trust you to provide consistent fuel. Another thing for women, especially long periods of dieting or extreme calorie deficits can

09:55wreak havoc on your hormones like estrogen, like progesterone and cortisol. And these hormones play a huge role in everything from energy levels to mood to your ability to build and maintain lean muscle as you continue to age and go through life. And when you're in maintenance, your body has a chance to finally rebalance those hormones, which not only helps you to feel better, but it also supports you to have better results

10:26and better performance when you're working out and in the long run. And also, let's be real here, cutting and bulking, like doing that one goal of focusing on a calorie deficit and feeling like you're tired and hungry and you're irritable. And then on the flip side of that, if you're in bulking and you're feeling stuffed and you're feeling like, oh God, I got to eat another meal. And you're feeling like you're kind of, you know, a little fluffy. That can be mentally and both emotionally draining, mentally and emotionally draining.

10:58Maintenance gives you the freedom, the mental freedom to like, kind of like take a step back, enjoy life. Like in maintenance, while you don't need to be, and this is what I've told clients that I've worked with, is that you don't need to be like as intentionally focused in maintenance as you are in a cut or a build. Like you have goals in those two arenas. You have goals to build more muscle, which needs your consistent effort and you have in building. And then you have, uh, you wanting to decrease body fat and look more tone, which needs your

11:29consistent effort. And you need to show up consistently in both of those regards. Hey, while you're listening, if you're getting value from this episode, take a moment to tap that review button or share this podcast with a friend. It's a small gesture that goes a long way in helping more women find their way to feeling stronger and more confident in their skin. I appreciate you so much for taking the time to support this show. When you're in maintenance, it gives you the mental freedom to be like, ah, I can enjoy life. I don't need to be like a hundred percent. Like you can focus on other areas of your health without feeling like you're constantly

12:00chasing some type of goal. Like maintenance isn't a pause button. Think about it like this, like as a key takeaway, it's more a tool for long-term success. It, it, it helps you to take a break and to not like there's, it's intentional to your progress moving forward and it resets and it gives your body to rebalance and it allows your, your mind to refocus. And, and then that way, like when you're still eating a decent amount of calories, which should be upwards of an, it's different for everyone, but 1800, 2000, 2200, even more eating that

12:35consistently, maybe not as consistent as a fat loss or a cut, but it's still eating it consistently will literally allow you to then when you're done that again, it sets the foundation to support the things that you're going to do in the future. So how would you approach a maintenance phase? Cause the key here is to be intentional with it first and foremost, and you can either do this with a calculator, but I wouldn't, I wouldn't recommend it because there's so many other things that calculators don't take into account, which is your lifestyle and your buyer feedback and any maybe things that you're dealing with, with your metabolism, how long

13:09you've been in a calorie deficit or X, Y, and Z. Like it just takes the basics, your height, your aging, your weight. And you're, if you're sedentary active or not. Ladies, are you feeling frustrated with body changes you're experiencing during menopause? It's time to take control. If you're between 45 and 65 years old and tired of struggling with body fat and muscle loss, warrior babe is here for you at warrior B we've helped over 18,000 women, just like you lose

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14:18It doesn't know if you're going through menopause. It doesn't know how much muscle mass you have on your body. Like this is why I recommend working with a coach to figure this out because at least in warrior babe, like they're, they're supposed to look at your body. They're supposed to have an onboarding call, gather all of this biofeedback about your body, what you've gone through, how, what you've been through your lifestyle. Take a look at how much muscle mass you have via pictures, like all of this kind of stuff and be able to get to know where you're at in your journey. Calculator isn't going to be able to do that, but to be intentional with it, you do need to

14:48determine where your mount maintenance calorie level is. And that again is like the calorie numbers of which your body needs to sustain your current weight. I would recommend working with a coach to figure this out, but remember, even if you do try to do this on your own, it is just a starting point and 1000% you're going to need to adjust those calories, those macros based on how your body responds. So like, yes, like you could figure it out and maybe start at 2000 calories, but let's say you either start to gain more weight after that, well, then that isn't necessarily your

15:22maintenance level, or if you're losing weight, that's not necessarily your maintenance level, right? Because it's what your body needs to sustain your current weight. And that's why it's just to take the guesswork out of it and work with a coach. And if you want to check out warrior babe, highly recommend that you guys do. We just got a new website. It looks so freaking good. I'm so proud of the team and everyone's efforts that put into, to making it look as beautiful as it does. And if you go to the meet the coaches page, literally, it's honestly my favorite page. It's so pretty. All of our coaches look so incredible.

15:54And so go check it out, warriorbabe.com. Also, so when you calculate your maintenance numbers and you're doing this intentionally, just because you're in maintenance doesn't mean that it's a free for all. As I just mentioned, like it's not as, you don't need to be as consistent, but it's not a free for all. It's not like you're going to go two days of tracking or paying attention to what you're eating. And then you're going to go five days, not paying attention. This is still your chance to focus on nutrient dense foods that are going to fuel your body. You should still always prioritize protein, healthy fats, complex carbs to keep your energy

16:25levels and your performance high. And then another thing that I would say here to be more intentional with it too, is to track your performance, not just your weight. Like during maintenance, shift your focus from the scale to your performance and your wellbeing inside of the gym. And on a day-to-day basis, like asking yourself questions. Are you feeling stronger in your workouts? Is your energy better? Are you sleeping better? These are wins to celebrate that will go further than just focusing on anything that is tied to

16:59the number on the scale. Because two, know this, that you may not maintain, and I need to say this for those that are like perfection mindsets, you may not maintain the same exact weight number when you're in maintenance. You will fluctuate given daily things that you eat, consume, hydrate, all the workout. You may fluctuate from two to five pounds in your maintenance, up or down. So just keep that in mind if you're going to try and do this yourself. But again, like I keep saying, I just, it just takes the guesswork out of it.

17:32Am I doing this right? Is this enough food? Maybe you need to be held accountable to staying in maintenance because you've never done it yourself and you just want to be in a cut or a build, right? All of this would be handled with your coach if you were to work with one. Now let's talk about timing because I think this is also really important. Like how do you know when it's time to enter a maintenance phase? There's actually a really good podcast on this. I believe in this. It's in the 100s. If you guys go to themacrowhour.com and you just like on your desktop, maybe you can do

18:03this on your phone. It's easier to scroll through there because the titles are a little bit bigger than on Apple or Spotify. But if you're on your desktop, you can just hit control F and type in maintenance and like all of the episodes of me talking about maintenance will come up. It will highlight those titles. There's a really good episode on like maintenance and entering into fat loss and then doing the reverse and going from maintenance to fat loss. But anyway, when to enter maintenance in short would be if you've been in a calorie deficit for a significant period of time when your body needs a break. So that would be like after a fat loss phase or after a bulking phase.

18:35Maintenance helps you to solidify the muscle that you've built without adding more fat. So you go from fat loss to maintenance or from building back down to maintenance and then from maintenance, you can go into a fat loss phase. That was very like broadly speaking. There's also areas of which with Warrior Bay, what we do with a retraining, like if you've been in a calorie deficit, when you come into Warrior Bay, which is, you know, at least probably 80% of women where they've been eating less and eating less and eating less and their body's adapted to the low caloric intake.

19:05Well, we can't have them eat less because their metabolism is not going to help us. Even when people are 200 pounds and they're eating less, sometimes us telling them that they need to eat more. I know it doesn't make sense to the brains of someone that's 200 pounds, but we literally can't put someone in a caloric deficit. Sometimes it's different for everyone because their body is going to be like, yo, I'm tired of being eating less. Like I'm going to keep gaining more weight. And that's what happens when people are 200 pounds and they're eating less, eating less

19:38and eating less and why they keep gaining weight. It's because their body's adapted to 500 calories, 800 calories, because it's all you're giving in a daily basis. And then somebody eats 1200 calories or 1400 calories in a day. And then the next day in the next week, and that's more calories in the 700. So you see what I'm saying? So that's how you gain fat, even though you're 200 pounds, you need to give your body a consistent, steady influx of calories on a daily basis for it to recognize what you want it to do. It's, it's, it's in that regard, it is a machine because it needs to have consistent fuel.

20:12And then your body will recognize, okay, like now I can do the work of what this human wants me to do in order to lose weight. I'm actually getting the food that is needed for me to not just survive, but also to perform and do so much more. So that was the retraining process. And what we do for women when they come into worry bay, which essentially is us working their way up to maintenance because we want to give their body that break that it needs because it's been in a calorie deficit for so freaking long. So, and then another one would be if you're feeling burned out, like if you're mentally

20:43or physically exhausted, maintenance is a really good area that you can give your body the reset that it needs. And then how to stay, how long to stay maintenance. There's like no one size fits all answer here. Everyone's completely different, but like a good rule of thumb is to spend at least as much time maintenance as you did, um, in your previous phase. And some of you guys may not like me saying that, but cause you've probably been in a calorie deficit for the last five, 10 years, not eating enough. And you're like, that means I need to be in a maintenance phase for five, 10 years.

21:14That's not the case, especially if you're working with a coach, because we're going to be able to speed up the process a little bit more. We know what we're doing. Um, but if you have been eat, like just to put it in perspective, if you have been in a deficit for that long or not feeding your body, what it needs, then you may need to spend a little bit more time resetting your metabolism and retraining it and getting it to work with you instead of against you so that you can spend a little bit more time in maintenance. And it goes back to what I said earlier, you're laying the foundation down for you to have like

21:44a successful, sustainable fat loss after that. You know, another example would be if like you're in a 12 week cut plan to spend at least like 12 weeks in maintenance and maintenance. And, but it's, again, there's no one size fits answer there and it's very different for everyone. But bottom line, like maintenance isn't wasted, isn't a wasted phase. It's one of the most important tools in your fitness journey. And it's where sustainability happens. I like to say, and our coaches like to say this too, it's maintenance is where the magic happens.

22:15By giving your body and your mind, like the chance to recalibrate, you are literally setting yourself up for better results in the long run. And it does not feel like it in the moment. As I said earlier, if you're somebody who is saying, you know, maintenance feels like I'm not making any progress. I'm bored. I want to see results. Just try and take like a 30,000 foot view down on you and like recognizing if you are somebody that's been in the calorie deficit for way too long, or if you are someone that's been

22:46in a cut and a build and a cut and a build intentionally or unintentionally, your body needs a break. So try and just bring more newfound awareness to the situation that you're in. If you are in maintenance and you're recognizing from this episode, maybe why you're in it and understanding it from the perspectives I'm sharing with you that you are literally protecting your metabolism here. You're supporting your hormones and you're creating foundation that's going to carry you through every phase to come moving forward. So whether you're, you know, as I said, coming out of a bulk or coming out of a cut and you

23:17feel like you need a break, then I encourage you to embrace a maintenance phase. It's not about being in a plateau or feeling stagnant. It's about setting yourself up to thrive in the future. Okay. All right, my friends. I was actually probably one of my favorite episodes that I've recorded so far. So if this episode resonated with you, share it with someone who might need to hear the message. I really appreciate you guys like being able to spread the podcast because I'm one person and we post it and we share it. But, you know, five of you, 10 of you guys could share this episode and it could get to,

23:51like you share it with two people, then you're doubling that, get to 20 people. So I just ask that you guys do that. Leave a review if you haven't yet already. Take 30 seconds following this episode and do that on Apple or Spotify. Appreciate it so much. It helps that this episode, these episodes get pushed out, but also helps the podcast platform be recognized more so that it can be put in front of other women that need to hear this. All right. And if you guys need and want some more help diving into your fitness journey and want that personalized support, check out Worry Babe.

24:22We're so happy to help you in every step of the way moving forward. Worrybebe.com. And if not, if you don't want to check it out, just check out the website because it's so freaking good. But anyway, until next time, you guys appreciate you guys. Stay strong, stay consistent, and I'll see you in the next episode. Peace out. Real quick. If this episode resonated with you or gave you the push that you needed, I'd love for you to pay it forward. Drop a quick rating and review, share the podcast with someone who might need it and help me keep spreading the word. Your feedback not only helps the show grow, but it might just be the nudge someone else

24:56needs to kickstart their transformation. Thank you so, so, so much for your support.

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