Why You Can't Lose Weight on 1200 Calories (And What To Do About It) | Ep 387

Ready to escape the low-calorie trap and eat 400-800+ more calories while maintaining your body composition? Join the 10-Week Recovery Diet Workshop on Tuesday, October 21st at 12pm Eastern and get the complete protocol workbook plus 30 days in Physique University for just $27: https://live.witsandweights.com -- Are eating very low calories, yet the scale won't budge, your energy is in the tank, and you're terrified to eat more? Discover what's going on with your metabolism, why "just eat less and move more" stopped working months ago, and the precise protocol for escaping this trap without gaining fat. Learn why reverse dieting doesn't work plus the 5 foundations that determine whether increasing calories will succeed or backfire. Main Takeaways Metabolic suppression isn't "damage" How eating less leads to fewer calories, reduced training performance, and hormonal downregulation 5 critical foundations must be in place before increasing calories Recovery dieting vs. reverse dieting and how long it takes to truly recover Episode Resources Join the 10-Week Recovery Diet Workshop – Tuesday, October 21st at 12pm Eastern ($27, includes replay, 20-page protocol workbook, and your first month in Physique University) at https://live.witsandweights.com Timestamps 0:00 - Why eating less stopped working 0:49 - Recovery vs. reverse dieting 4:56 - The Suppression Spiral explained 8:17 - Five foundations you must fix first 19:12 - How a recovery diet actually works 24:33 - Common failure points to avoid 27:55 - Do you really need recovery? 30:16 - Workshop invite and final takeaways Support the show 📱 Get Fitness Lab - Philip’s science-based AI app for fat loss, muscle building, and strength training for people over 40. It adapts to your nutrition, recovery, and training to improve body composition without guesswork. 🎓 Try Physique University - Evidence-based nutrition coaching and strength training to help you lose fat, build muscle, and master your metabolism with support and accountability (free custom nutrition plan with code FREEPLAN ). 👥 Join our Facebook community - Free fat loss, muscle building, and body recomposition strategies for adults over 40 who want practical, science-backed fitness guidance. 👋 Ask a question or find Philip Pape on Instagram