Fitness competitor and coach Pernilla is exactly one month out from her bodybuilding competition, and she’s documenting every detail of her aggressive cut while maintaining muscle mass on just 1,600 calories per day.
Her approach challenges everything you think you know about dieting.
She’s eating six massive, protein-packed meals daily while getting over 200 grams of protein, training seven days a week, and somehow not walking around starving.
Here’s exactly how she’s doing it, along with her favorite training hacks, meal prep strategies, and the surprising solution that eliminated her bloating.
Jump to:
- The Foundation: Volume Eating on a Deficit
- Protein-Packed Snacks Under 200 Calories
- Training Seven Days a Week Without Burning Out
- The Mindset Shift That Changes Everything
- Solving the Bloating Problem
- Sample Meal Plan: Six Meals on 1,600 Calories
- Training Hacks for Maximum Muscle Retention
- Staying Consistent: Just Stick to the Plan
- Smart Strategies for Eating Out
- The Happiness Factor
The Foundation: Volume Eating on a Deficit
Pernilla’s secret weapon isn’t deprivation—it’s volume. By making strategic ingredient swaps and focusing on whole foods, she creates meals that fill her up without breaking her calorie budget.
The way I eat, the volume of my food is so big that it helps me stay full and not really feel like I’m in that big of a deficit.
Her morning oatmeal demonstrates this perfectly. She starts with regular oats but adds half a cup of egg whites to increase the protein content and create a fluffier texture. Then comes cocoa powder, half a scoop of chocolate peanut butter protein powder, raspberries, a touch of peanut butter for essential fats, and sugar-free chocolate syrup.
If you want something simple that actually works, this is one of the most effective tools I’ve used to build strength, conditioning, and endurance without needing a full gym setup.
- Full-body training with one weight using swings, squats, and presses
- Solid cast iron build that feels stable and lasts for years
- Comfortable grip that makes high-rep workouts easier to handle
The result? A massive, satisfying breakfast that fits her macros.
Protein-Packed Snacks Under 200 Calories
Between meals, Pernilla preps what she calls “probably the lowest calorie cheesecake, highest protein cheesecake you’ve ever come across.” The recipe is deceptively simple: Greek yogurt, monk fruit sweetener, sugar-free vanilla Jell-O, protein powder, and fresh strawberries.
Under 200 calories, packed with protein. Post-workout snack. Oh! Cheesecake for the win! Wow! See? It’s easy.
This snack exemplifies her philosophy: being on a cut doesn’t mean suffering. It means getting creative.
Training Seven Days a Week Without Burning Out
While most fitness professionals recommend rest days, Pernilla trains every single day of the week. Before you dismiss this as unsustainable, she’s quick to clarify her approach.
I actually train 7 days a week. Now, if I need a day where it’s lighter and it’s like shoulders and abs or something, cool, I’ll do it. I listen to my body.
Her strategy prioritizes resistance training first, with cardio coming second. This ensures she’s preserving muscle mass during her cut.
She completes 50 minutes of cardio daily, typically on the stair climber, and averages around 15,000 steps per day. But here’s the key: she makes cardio productive rather than boring.
If you want something simple that actually works, this is one of the most effective tools I’ve used to build strength, conditioning, and endurance without needing a full gym setup.
- Full-body training with one weight using swings, squats, and presses
- Solid cast iron build that feels stable and lasts for years
- Comfortable grip that makes high-rep workouts easier to handle
Making Cardio Sustainable
Pernilla responds to coaching clients while doing stairs, listens to voice notes while roller skating, and stays mentally engaged throughout. This transforms cardio from a chore into productive time.
The hack to incorporating cardio into your routine without it feeling like it sucks is keep yourself productive.
The Mindset Shift That Changes Everything
Perhaps most importantly, Pernilla credits her success to deliberate mindset work. She believes at least 70-90% of perceived weakness during a deficit is mental rather than physical.
Before heavy lifts, she visualizes herself with exaggerated muscle development in the area she’s training.
Pretend that you have the biggest ass in the world before lifting or biggest legs if you’re doing squats or biggest back if you’re doing pull-ups, whatever. Like really step into that. I promise you you’re going to be at least 20-30% stronger.
She also reframes challenges as opportunities. Instead of saying “this cut is going to be hard,” she tells herself it will be easy because she knows exactly how to make ingredient swaps and hit her macros without hunger.
Solving the Bloating Problem
Pernilla struggled with bloating until she discovered her triggers through strategic elimination. Her visceral fat reading now sits at one—an exceptionally healthy level.
How did you get rid of bloating?
Her solution came down to moderation and identifying personal sensitivities:
If you want something simple that actually works, this is one of the most effective tools I’ve used to build strength, conditioning, and endurance without needing a full gym setup.
- Full-body training with one weight using swings, squats, and presses
- Solid cast iron build that feels stable and lasts for years
- Comfortable grip that makes high-rep workouts easier to handle
- Too much fruit caused bloating
- Excessive vegetables left her feeling uncomfortably full
- Too much dairy triggered inflammation
- Sugar alcohols (like erythritol) disrupted her digestion
She still eats fruit, vegetables, and dairy—just in controlled amounts. She completed an AIP (Autoimmune Protocol) diet to reset her gut, then slowly reintroduced foods to identify what worked for her body.
She now uses pure monk fruit or stevia instead of blends containing sugar alcohols, even though the taste isn’t as pleasant. The trade-off is worth it for how she feels.
Sample Meal Plan: Six Meals on 1,600 Calories
Meal 1: Chocolate Protein Oatmeal
- Oats with half cup egg whites
- Cocoa powder
- Half scoop chocolate peanut butter protein powder
- Monk fruit sweetener
- Peanut butter
- Raspberries
- Sugar-free chocolate syrup
Meal 2: Protein Cheesecake Snack
- Greek yogurt
- Protein powder
- Sugar-free vanilla Jell-O
- Monk fruit
- Strawberries
Meal 3: Turkey Wrap
- Low-carb, high-protein lavash bread
- 8 oz ground turkey with taco seasoning
- Mushrooms and onions
- Greek yogurt sauce with mustard and poppy seed dressing
- Tomato, cucumber, lettuce
Meal 4: Turkey Salad
- Remaining turkey from meal prep
- Bagged lettuce
- Mustard (saving 130+ calories versus ranch dressing)
Meal 5: Sweet Potato Stir-Fry
Meal 6: Ninja Creami Ice Cream
Under 150 calories using her signature Ninja Creami recipe.
Training Hacks for Maximum Muscle Retention
Beyond her leg and glute workout, Pernilla shared several training techniques she swears by during competition prep.
Drop Sets for Intensity
On her final set of each exercise, she performs drop sets: lifting to failure, immediately reducing weight, lifting to failure again, and repeating three to four times. This maximizes muscle fiber recruitment without requiring heavier loads.
Walking Lunges With a Pulse
Twenty steps in one direction, twenty back, with a double pulse on every single step. That’s 40 reps times three sets—a leg destroyer she only uses strategically because of the intense soreness it creates.
If you want something simple that actually works, this is one of the most effective tools I’ve used to build strength, conditioning, and endurance without needing a full gym setup.
- Full-body training with one weight using swings, squats, and presses
- Solid cast iron build that feels stable and lasts for years
- Comfortable grip that makes high-rep workouts easier to handle
Prone Glute Kicks on Smith Machine
I think it’s the single exercise where I have the most mind muscle connection to my glutes.
Despite looking awkward, she considers this the best exercise for feeling her glutes work. She encourages others not to worry about looking silly—everyone at the gym focuses on themselves anyway.
The Deadlift Pulse
If you struggle feeling glutes during deadlifts, try adding a small pulse at the bottom before lifting. This helps build mind-muscle connection while emphasizing the hip hinge pattern.
Staying Consistent: Just Stick to the Plan
Pernilla’s philosophy boils down to one simple rule: stick to the plan. When she doesn’t feel like roller skating after work, she does it anyway because she planned to. When motivation doesn’t show up, she shows up regardless.
Don’t rely on motivation. Just show up. That is literally a rule you got to live by.
She writes detailed to-do lists every morning, including how she wants to feel. This allows her to move seamlessly from task to task while staying present and productive.
She also journals regularly to process emotions, identify limiting beliefs, and continuously step into the highest version of herself.
Smart Strategies for Eating Out
Even during competition prep, Pernilla maintains social connections by eating out—she just makes strategic choices. Her go-to approach: lean protein first, vegetables second, and requesting grilled preparation instead of fried.
If you want something simple that actually works, this is one of the most effective tools I’ve used to build strength, conditioning, and endurance without needing a full gym setup.
- Full-body training with one weight using swings, squats, and presses
- Solid cast iron build that feels stable and lasts for years
- Comfortable grip that makes high-rep workouts easier to handle
She recently ordered plain chicken breast with ketchup at a restaurant and found it delicious. Simplicity works when your relationship with food is healthy.
The Happiness Factor
When asked if she’s happy, Pernilla’s answer was immediate and emphatic. After returning from Denmark where she evaluated her life from a distance, she feels more grateful than ever.
I really am so freaking grateful. I love my life.
She acknowledges having massive goals she’s working toward, but emphasizes living in the present and creating a life worth loving right now. Her struggles aren’t obstacles—they’re simply things she’s working on and improving.
This mindset shift transforms the entire experience of competition prep from suffering through a diet to optimizing performance while enjoying the process.
With one month until competition, Pernilla proves aggressive cuts don’t require misery. Through volume eating, strategic training, productive cardio, and relentless mindset work, she’s getting leaner while maintaining muscle and actually enjoying her life.
