In partnership with
Set-Point Theory and Reverse Dieting.
You've lost weight. Congratulations. But your body doesn't know you're happier and healthier. It just knows that for the last several months, energy has been scarce. It is waiting for you to "go back to normal" so it can pounce and regain the weight to protect you from the next famine
Set-Point Theory: Your body has a comfortable weight range it likes to defend. When you drop below that range, it fights back by lowering metabolism and increasing hunger hormones (ghrelin).
Reverse Dieting (The Exit Strategy): If you suddenly jump back to eating 3,000 calories a day after dieting on 2,000, your suppressed metabolism cannot handle that surplus. You will regain fat rapidly. Reverse dieting is the gradual increase of calories (usually from carbs and fats) to "coax" your metabolism back up to a higher baseline without packing on fat.
The Goal: We want to find your new True Maintenance Calories—the number of calories you can eat every day without gaining or losing weight. This number is likely lower than it was before you started, but we can slowly raise it over time.
Pharmacist Note: Think of your metabolism like a campfire. A deficit is you letting the fire die down to embers (low energy burn). Maintenance is adding one log at a time to build the fire back up without smothering it. If you dump a whole pile of logs on at once (crash diet ending abruptly), you kill the fire.
🥋 Black Belt Move
“Position Before Submission”
In BJJ, white belts often try to jump straight for a submission (the win) from a weak position. They get reversed and end up on bottom. Black Belts know you must first secure the position (side control, mount) before you even attempt the submission. Once the position is solid, the submission is inevitable.
You have been fighting for many weeks to get to this new weight. Do not try to "win" by immediately testing how much you can eat. First, secure the position. Hold the weight. Defend it. Prove to your body that this is the new normal. Then, once maintenance is secure, you can decide if you want to push for more loss or focus on performance.
The Technique: The Maintenance Phase
For the next 2-4 weeks (or longer), your goal is not to lose a single pound. Your goal is to eat more food while keeping the scale stable.
The Pivot: Shift your focus from the scale to performance, energy, sleep, and libido.
The Increase: Add 100-150 calories back into your daily intake (start with carbs, especially around workouts).
The Observation: Watch the scale for a week. If it stays stable, add another 100-150 calories the next week. If it creeps up, hold steady at that calorie level until it stabilises.
Patient Experience
Consistency is key..
Susan (58) walked into the consultation room with a smile I hadn't seen in three years. She sat down, placed her hands on the counter, and said: "I'm not here for a review. I'm here to say thank you." When I first met Susan, she was on three blood pressure medications, prediabetic, and struggling to walk up the stairs to her flat without stopping. She had tried every diet the magazines sold her. She had lost and regained the same 20 pounds more times than she could count. "I thought I was broken," she told me that first day. We didn't start with a diet. We started with one habit—drinking 500ml of water before breakfast. Then we added protein at breakfast. Then the 10-minute walk. Slowly, sustainably, she rebuilt her relationship with food and movement.
Eighteen months later, Susan is down 42 pounds. She's off one blood pressure medication entirely and her GP is talking about reducing a second. Her HbA1c is back in the normal range. But the numbers aren't what matter to her. "I sleep through the night," she told me. "I can get on the floor to play with my grandchildren without planning how to get back up." She still has hard days. She still eats cake at birthdays. But she no longer treats a single meal as a catastrophe. She practices—not perfectly, but consistently. And that consistency, she says, has given her something she never expected: freedom. "I don't fight my body anymore," she said. "I just listen to it." That's the goal. Not a number on the scale. A life lived without the war.
Wisdom from the Sensei:
“Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food."
Action point!
This Week's Drill: Calculate and Test True Maintenance.
This week's action is to establish your baseline.
Step 1: Calculate a Starting Point
Use a formula (like Mifflin-St Jeor) or a simple multiplier based on activity:
Sedentary (little exercise): Weight (lbs) x 12-13
Lightly Active (1-3 days/week): Weight (lbs) x 13-14
Very Active (4-6 days/week): Weight (lbs) x 14-16
Example: 170 lbs x 14 = 2,380 calories (estimated maintenance).
Step 2: The Reality Test
For one week:
Eat at your estimated maintenance calories every day.
Weigh yourself daily (same time, morning, after bathroom).
Track your average weight for the week.
Step 3: Interpret the Data
Weight stayed the same: Congratulations. You found your true maintenance. This is your new baseline.
Weight went up: Your metabolism is still suppressed. Drop calories by 100-150 and try again next week. (Or accept that some initial weight gain is water/carbs and wait another week).
Weight went down: You underestimated. You are still in a deficit. Add 100-200 calories.
The Challenge
Do not restrict. This week, your mission is to hit your calculated maintenance calories. If you are used to dieting, this will feel uncomfortable—like you are "cheating." You are not. You are healing your metabolism.
Track diligently. Use an app or a journal. You cannot guess on maintenance; you must know.
Embrace the plateau. A plateau in weight loss is a failure. A plateau in weight maintenance is a massive success. Celebrate holding the line.
You have fought to get here. Now, secure the position. Build the fire back up. The next move is yours, but only once you have a solid base under you.
By incorporating these tips and tricks into your routine, you can cultivate a happy and healthy lifestyle.
Until next time, Rich.
Gray Hair and Beard? One Spray. No Dye. No Mess.
Most gray hair solutions only work on your head. Or they're designed for women. Or they're dye — which means gray roots, a bad smell, and a hairline that stops looking real. Particle Anti-Gray Serum is different. One product, five seconds a day, works on both hair and beard. It targets the root cause of graying and gradually restores your natural color — no dye, no mess, no routine that takes over your morning. Results that look natural because they are. Thirty-day money-back guarantee. Over a million men trust Particle. Get 20% off and free shipping now with code BH20.