In three weeks I’m attending a beach party at a swanky hotel in Tulum, Mexico. The guest list is distinguished, comprised of people who are winners in life. People who understand looking good is part of the gig. There will be fitness models, e-celebs, writers, and plenty of other appropriately vain people, many coming from California. Lots of cameras.
No one would look at me and say I was fat. In fact, I look great in my clothes right now. Its fall where I am and with long sleeve shirts and jackets, I’m just looking big. But the truth comes out when the clothes come off.
The party is the beach side. There will be lots of semi-naked pool time.
The number one way to have fun at a party like this is to make sure you’re feeling great about yourself. Bringing self-doubt and insecurity would be a disaster.
I cannot say I am free of vanity and insecurity.
It’s part of what makes me, me. I like mirrors. I like to make sure I’m looking good. Tracking my progress just by looking at my reflection helps me stay the course. So I do it a lot.
Tracking the real stats, though, is essential. As we know, that which gets measured – gets improved. Body fat percentage, weight, actual measurements and how your clothes fit. These are the data that drive decisions….decisions to eat that donut or not.
Typically, I’ll eat that donut. I’ll eat those tacos. Cookies? Yum. Let’s eat. Put something in front of me and I’ll destroy it.
But I always watch the scale.
Weighing yourself every day is the single best tool in maintaining a healthy body weight.
And feeling good is the single best way to have fun, especially at a party where people will be contest ready, 8 packs blaring.
Thus, in order to have fun being around other half-naked sexy people in the sunshine, I watch what I eat and I get on the scale every day. Every. Day.
Look – I am vain. It’s the truth. I want to look good. I want to be objectified. I want women to want me just for the way I look. When they learn the rest, it just brings them in deeper.
No one expects to be surprised by the breadth and depth of a man who has a six-pack.
Being big and lean is just one part of the package, but it is essential for today’s individualist male.
Where I am now
The difference between looking good with your clothes on and with your clothes off is big. Most lean people don’t look huge when clothed. Right now I look pretty big with my clothes on, which means I’m not that lean. I am doing intermittent fasting every day and then basically just trying to eat smart while still having fun. This is what it looks like to enjoy life without worrying about vascularity.
I’ve been as low as 8% before. I’ve had veins in my abs. I’ve had an eight pack. That shit takes crazy work for a natural fat boy like me.
That which gets measured, gets improved.
Here are the actual real-time stats:
Weight: 245 lbs (I’m also 6’4″)
Body Fat %: 14.1 %.
Waist: 12.3mm
Chest: 5.1mm
Thigh: 4.3mm
Not too shabby right? But my six pack has washed away into a blurry two pack and only if the lighting is right. My “Fuck me “ cuts are there, but the V is slowly fading. The separation between my pecs and deltoids is disappearing. I’m big, but I’m not lean by any real standard. I’m also not fat. These are the differences between 14% and 10%.
So what am I going to do?
The following is my adaption of Lyle McDonald’s “Rapid Fat Loss Diet” which is in itself an adaption of a “Protein Sparing Modified Fast.”
Its basically a ketogenic diet without any fat.
We’re talking serious caloric deficit, no carbohydrates, few fats, and lots and lots of water.
This diet is so restrictive, “hot tea” is listed as a viable snack. Unsweetened hot water!
Ok with that teaser, how can you resist? Here are the details:
It’s gonna be bad, but not this bad. Just add some lean chicken breast to this plate and you’re all set.
How to lose ten lbs in two weeks:
Short Term. This diet is short term. This is not a sustainable diet. Please only do this if you are already healthy and trim, but need to lose weight quickly. Like in preparation for a photo shoot, or a wedding, or a beach party. Do not do this for more than a couple weeks at a time.
Intermittent Fasting. This is the foundation and core to my daily diet. Basically, each day wait as long as you can to eat. For me, that usually means waiting until around 1 pm. Lots has been written about this topic. It has hormonal advantages plus it makes the caloric restriction easier allowing for decent sized meals. Stop eating eight hours after you start. I have trouble with that part sometimes, as I like to snack into the night, but IF is the proper foundation for any fitness based diet, in my unscientific bro science opinion.
No sugars, processed food, or anything that comes in a box, bag, or wrapper. This should be common knowledge to all by now, but it takes repeating. Only meats and vegetables on this diet, guys and gals. No candy, no soda, no cookies, nada! This is only for a few weeks – you can do it.
Bacon and Eggs. Lots of eggs. Yes, eggs have fat. But you need some fat. I said this was a modification from Lyle’s diet and this is one of them. Eggs help fill me up. They are a super food. They taste fucking great. Couple pieces of bacon to go with them, and it doesn’t get any better than that. This is the meal that keeps me sane through this entire thing. Once a day, bacon and eggs. Cook them in a cast iron pan and you’ve really got something.
Lean meats. Chicken breast. You’re gonna be eating a lot of chicken breast. Tuna, mahi-mahi, halibut and other lean fish. No more ribeye for now. No more butter soaked salmon. Nothing fried.
Man I love fried chicken.
Vegetables. Greens. Broccoli. Salads. Spinach. Lots and lots. Accompany every meal with a salad dressed only with vinegar, balsamic works best. And no cheese in that salad. Or nuts. Yes I’m talking to you @the_red_hen.
Water. Drink more water than you ever have before. Period. Like a gallon a day. Pee clear all day. This is really important to keep headaches away.
Supplements. Lyle McDonald and others suggest a few supplements to get you through this period, but eh. Its only a couple of weeks, perhaps fish oil would be good for the cardiovascular benefits of good fats plus to help keep your head clear. Going carb free can make you feel a little dumb for a minute, adding fats helps. But otherwise, whatever. Its just a few weeks.
Meal frequency. Start eating as late in the day as you can. Then eat two or three more times after that. Protein should be the size of your hand. Salad is infinite. Do this four times total with your one bacon and eggs meal in there too if you like.
Calories. I have spent vast amounts of time counting and tracking calories. I have measured and weighed everything that went into my mouth for months on end. It works. It is also a total fucking pain in the ass. If you follow these basic guidelines above, you shouldn’t have any trouble being in a caloric deficit if you’re a normal sized human. 4 oz of chicken breast = 100 calories and 25 grams protein. Eat a half lb of chicken three times a day plus salad and you’ve got 600 calories and 75 grams of protein right there.
Protein. If you are already a serious bodybuilder and know your body, you will add protein as you see fit. Personally, I’ve yet to see much difference between 150 g of protein per day and 300. But that’s just me. Either way, this is short-term and you’re basically starving yourself. Eat a Quest Bar or two. Have an extra protein shake with nothing added. You’ll get protein if you need it.
No booze. There will be plenty of time to drink at the party. Dry times ahead until then.
Testosterone / Steroids. I use TRT. I inject testosterone every week. This will help me. Not going to fake. It will help me keep more muscle than without and it will help me with nutrient partitioning. It will make this diet easier.
This sucks. Yep! This diet sucks.
This is not a lifestyle.
This is the antithesis of healthy eating habits and lifelong changes.
This is short-term in nature.
This is a crash diet.
This is real talk on how to drop fat quickly.
Wrap up
I’m posting this information as a way to share techniques which have worked for me in the past and to hold myself accountable publicly. I’ll be more motivated to stick to it in order to show my amazing results in three weeks.
I plan to always share the real data with you guys. Too many fakers out there talking trash but never posting stats, data or what they are really doing.
Stay tuned. Let’s see if I can get beach party ripped in three weeks or less….that actually sounds like a great click-bait headline – if I was into those sort of things.
Thanks for reading!
Jack
PS: Post your experiences in the comments. What worked for you?
Great advice for those looking to lean out. It can’t be emphasized enough that the super cut pictures you see from guys do not come from sustainable life styles. It’s all lighting, severe diet, 500 push ups, etc right before the photo is taken.
My basic diet plan: IF, no processed shit, low-ish carbs, healthy fats – that keeps me around 13-14% without much effort at all – while enjoying good foods as they come up. I get to live life and feel good. But to get photo ready? Thats unsustainable and it aint fun. But it sure is fun being lean around other sexy people! Makes it worth a couple weeks of hell.
Sounds tough and it probably is but best of luck on your way to a good looking body! Shouldn’t be to hard since you already had good packs and muscles overall.
Weighed in at 236 this morning. To be fair, at 245 I was coming off Halloween weekend with more sugar consumption than usual and a little post weekend bloat. Most of this weight is water weight, and thats ok.
When people dis diets by saying, oh all you lost was water weight – thats bullshit. Because water was part of your fat bloated problem in the first place. Cutting that water is part of the process and means you’re on the right path.
9 lbs of water and prob a couple lbs of fat given my caloric deficit, extreme caloric deficit so far.
My body is crazy sensitive to carbs.
Maybe I’ll get back down to sub 230 before I leave, that would be something.
The biggest for thing that’s helping me drop body fat (45 pounds so far) is weighing myself daily. It’s the only thing that’s kept me honest and keeps motivated to keep on my IF, low carb, high fat diet. And when I slip up I can instantly see that 1 to 2 pounds gain in water weight on the scale the very next day.
My body is the same way. Crazy sensitive to carbs.
Keep up the good work, and keep weighing yourself. Its the easiest and most reliable way to keep on track.
I’m not a doctor, but something I’ve been noticing is that most naturally fat people are very insulin resistant / carb sensitive. The minute I started pretending I was as allergic to carbs as someone with a nut allergy was to nuts, the bodyfat just melted off and stayed off. It went even faster when I threw in the occasional 3 day and 5 day fast. I tried everything to lose the fat and nothing else worked. But now it’s been insanely easy to drop the fat and keep it off. And my libido is like it was when I was in my twenties… WTF?! 🙂
The best approach for diets is to try things until you find what works. For many / most of us are carb sensitive like that. They really do pack it on and retain water on most of us. My life is a struggle to stay away…love me some carbs.