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9 Fitness Flops That Taught Me Everything About Body Recomp

Cori Lefkowith

13,941 views

I ate so clean during my first cut that I made myself sick on vacation. One spicy sangria and some Mexican food later, it was bad news bears. Then I couldn't get back on track for weeks, because that's exactly what happens when your approach is too rigid for real life.

That was fitness flop number one. And after almost two decades in this industry, coaching thousands of women through their own body recomp journeys while also testing everything on myself, I have made just about every mistake in the book. Some of them were obvious in hindsight. Others took me years to fully understand.

In this episode, I'm pulling back the curtain and sharing 10 of my biggest fitness flops. These weren't really failures, they were experiences that taught me something important, but they still cost me time, energy, and results I can't get back. Some of these lessons are about training. Some are about nutrition and tracking. A lot of them, honestly, come down to mindset, stress, and the stories we tell ourselves about what discipline is supposed to look like.

If you've ever felt like you're starting over every January, caught yourself saying "I'm not being that bad" while quietly sliding off track, or found yourself stuck in that exhausting all or nothing cycle, this episode was made for you. I'm walking through what went wrong, why it went wrong, and what I do differently now, so that you can shortcut the process and skip straight to the results.

This is almost 20 years of trial and error condensed into one conversation. Grab your headphones, go for a walk or get comfy on the couch, and let's get into it.
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12 Comments

@CBCami22 1 month ago (edited)

I know it very well that If I try to go "all in", try to eat clean all the time and workout like a freak, etc., I'll end up feeling overwhelmed and not being able to keep it in the long run. I've been there and done that with other activities. So I like to "test the waters" and then I dive deeper as I feel more comfortable and confident. Slowly, I adjusted my calories. I never thought I could be able to eat 3000+kcal a day! But slowly I got there, always listening to my body. Recently I got injured from my workouts (even while being moderated, not "wrecking" my body at every workout, but giving my best each day), so I had to slow down, but I'm still staying strong and consistent. I love your videos Cori! Thanks for sharing so much! ❤

@jandmag3405 1 month ago

I gave this video a thumbs up right when you said "Bad News Bears." Thanks for keeping that alive! 🤣

@MamasonaMission 1 month ago

Thank you Cori 🙏🏻 All very true!

@jilliacobellithistle4954 1 month ago

"'I'm not being that bad." - 1% - I understand this!!!

@ojyochan 9 days ago

Word, i need to track because i can undereat, too. I don't want to waste my lifting by underfueling!

@lucycartwright9053 1 month ago

Yes to tracking as a way to make sure I eat enough - left to my own devices I tend to undereat and then get ravenously hungry after a few days and then eat everything, so the combined effect is being too tired to train on the undereating days, in a sugar coma on the overeating days and overall eating too many calories and far too little protein. Tracking helps me stay balanced with my eating and also eat enough protein.

@melaniehegewald1930 1 month ago

I kept getting caught up in wanting far too much, training too hard, and at some point during the year I simply couldn’t muster the strength to keep pushing myself to the extreme in my training. Then my eating habits went downhill too, and I felt utterly doomed.

When tracking my food, I was always worried that I was too fixated on control. Some doctors advised me against it (due to my history of anorexia and bulimia).

Now here’s the big BUT… when I gave tracking and energy-efficient training – suitable for everyday life – a chance, a whole new world opened up to me.

Through tracking, I realised I was eating far too little, which led to extreme binge-eating episodes that I couldn’t control. When I massively increased my calorie intake, I suddenly had almost no more binge-eating episodes and all the pressure around food disappeared. I’ve gained so much more freedom through tracking. As you said, you can plan your favourite foods into your diet.

I’ve also been able to keep up with my training for two years without a break, without burning out, and I still enjoy it so much.
I love my body and i'm in the best shape ever.
But yes, alongside sport, I also exist as a mum, wife and friend. I love my faith in Jesus, I love food, I love fellowship, and so on. All of that can now have its place without me feeling guilty.

So the points you mention in the video are brilliant. I also believe that everyone needs time to move away from extremes and find their own path. It has also a lot to do, i think, with let go in what You belived first.

@StevenB4 1 month ago

Cori says, “Helping thousands of women”… and men too!

@sterlgirlceline 1 month ago

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

@DCPTrucking 1 month ago

Ok Cori, I need help.... I'm eating perfectly throughout the day, but at night, it's like I go crazy and binge, then I immediately regret it. What should I do?