So, a little bit of background here...
For most of my life I was in decent shape, or at the very least had a "dad bod." Little bit of chub, but not enough that it affected my game or daily life. Never had six pack abs or any of that. However, my genetics suck in that I gain weight very easily.
Last year I put on some serious, serious weight. Bad weight. At 5'5, I ballooned up to like 245lbs and like a 42 waist. Giant gut, double chin, huffing and puffing as I walked up the stairs. XL - XXL shirt. This was mainly due to drinking too much, eating like shit, eating out too much, snacking, and stress. It affected every aspect of my life negatively. Snoring, my cold approaches all fell apart, and my suits were too tight. Both women and clients thought I looked like a fat slob.
Today I'm 180lbs, 32 / 33 waist, a M/L shirt, 16in neck and slim fitted dress shirts, with decent muscle mass.
People are like "Oh my God, you lost an entire person! That must have been so hard! And you did it so fast!"
In all honesty, it wasn't really hard...
I'm still not quite where I want to be (still got the dad bod and some pudge), but I'm much better off than before. I'd post pics if I didn't want to remain somewhat anonymous. Maybe I will tomorrow.
This what worked for me...
1. I used to follow the "6 meals a day to keep the fire burning" theory. When I would diet, this meant snacking all the time. Nuts, beef jerky, hard boiled eggs, tuna, etc. Every couple of hours I'd be downing a snack. Then I'd wonder why the scale wasn't moving even though I was eating tons of "small meals."
Too many calories, homie!
Snacking all day fucks up your diet. You really only need one or two meals a day, three at the most. This whole six meals a day thing is total bullshit.
Now I eat one or two meals a day, usually late in the day. Some days I don't eat anything.
Not only does it help with weight loss, but it makes my life way less complicated. I don't need to spend all day Sunday preparing meals, putting them in Tupperware, and stocking my desk with food that is non-perishable. I basically work all day, go to the gym, come home, and eat. (Suggested reading: Leangains, Eat, Stop Eat, The Warrior Diet).
My weekday schedule generally looks like this:
5am: Wake up, step on scale, take contrast shower. I check my weight every morning to monitor progress. Digital scales are cheap -- like $30 on Amazon. Mine charges on a USB.
6am: Drink macha green tea (Lipton makes some decent stuff for like $3.65). I'll usually make a giant pot of it and throw it in a pitcher so I can drink it chilled. I usually start my day with cold tea, and then switch to hot tea throughout the day. And black coffee or nitro brewed coffee.
7am: Either jiu jitsu (M, W mornings) or P90x in my basement. If you have a Smart TV you can get the entire BeachBody library for $99 a year, and the equipment needed to do the workouts is cheap. This is fantastic if you can't afford a gym membership or are short on time. Even cheaper is the book "Convict Conditioning".
9am: Stop by the local coffee shop and drink black coffee, hit on girls, read the news, and set my fantasy football lineups.
10am - 5pm: Work. I put a standing desk in my office. It cost me $60. Just put a standing desk on top of your regular desk; don't get anything too elaborate, it's a waste of money. Good, cheap standing desks are available on Amazon. If you're poor, just put a box on top of your desk or something. I stand most of the day, although I do have a chair in my office for client meetings.
6pm: jiu jitsu, kickboxing, or the gym. Phone goes on do not disturb. I do this stuff because I like it, and it's an hour or two to myself where I'm not getting bombarded by clients, courts, opposing counsel, etc.
8pm: Dinner. Often this is the only meal I eat. It's always very simple. Usually tuna on a lettuce wrap or wrapped in nori. Add coconut aminos. Maybe two or three hardboiled eggs.
9pm - 11:30pm: Red wine, fuck around on the internet, melatonin before bed
2. I love to cook, but variety sort of kills your diet. So does eating out. I got rid of all the shit in my house and limit the stuff in my house to the following:
- Eggs
- Boston lettuce (to use as wraps), and salad mix. Nori is also awesome for making wraps or sushi (with Shirataki rice).
- Canned wild tuna
- Canned wild sardines
- Canned organic chicken
- Coconut oil, butter (Kerrygold), good olive oil, coconut aminos (tastes like soy sauce)
- Shirataki noddles / rice for when I get carb cravings. You can pretty much make any pasta or rice dish with this stuff and it tastes the same, minus the carbs and calories. You can also do it with cauliflower or zucchini, but that is too much work and cleanup for me.
- Bottled peppers, artichoke hearts, banana peppers, etc.
- Olives
- Bone broth protein shakes (which I will mix with El-Glutamine and creatine)
- Frozen blueberries / raspberries
- Hot sauce
- Bone broth (throw random vegetables in there if you feel like cooking, maybe with coconut oil). Or just drink it raw.
- Fruit (apples, oranges, avocados)
- Greek yogurt (full fat) / cottage cheese
- Yams (for workout days)
Seasoning: turmeric, salt, pepper, hot sauce, olive oil, vinegar, garlic, etc.
Everything is super easy and fast to make. While I love to cook, I don't have time for it, along with the cleanup. I used to consider cooking elaborate meals, and then decide it would be easier to just do UberEats. Not good.
Now I just throw a bit of tuna in a bowl, throw in coconut aminos, maybe hardboiled eggs, some bottled peppers, put it on a lettuce wrap, and then the plate gets rinsed off and put in the dishwasher. Blam, hunger is gone.
I try and eat mostly pescatarian, with chicken and limited amounts of beef. I do not eat pork, though I doubt it would mess up your diet. I prefer fish for the most part.
Do not let people (or your girlfriend) put shit snacks in your house. No crackers, cookies, ice cream, bagels, bread, muffins, etc. For some reason, most women have shit diets, and when you start dating long term, they like to put their crap food in your place. ("But it's Special-K! TV Told me it's healthy! It's got the American Heart Association symbol on it!")
Don't let them invade your house with crap. If there are easy temptations in your house, you'll eventually eat it.
3. Traditional cardio fucking sucks. I hate the treadmill and running. Instead, I do stuff I like. Riding my bike, walking places, jiu jitsu, kickboxing, hiking, kayaking, etc. This morning I rode my bike to work, walked about a mile to the post office, and then did jiu jitsu in the evening. The scale moved a pound.
Your cardio should be part of your routine. If you don't like it, you won't do it.
4. I've experimented with cheat days and cheat meals. I have found that a cheat day once a week throws a wrench in my progress. Every other week seems to cause no harm, but it makes me feel like shit after. I have also found that a cheat meal once a week seems to fuck up progress, but once every other week is fine.
Generally I feel best and most productive in a fasted state, or at least eating low carb. I'm most energetic when I haven't eaten.
5. If you want to try fasting / intermittent, fasting, which is the absolute quickest way to lose weight, I would start by going straight keto first. That means for a month going as close to zero carbs a day as you can without watching your calories. Your body will shift from using carbs as energy to fat.
At first you can basically eat all the protein / fat you want and will probably lose a few pounds, but at the end of the day, yes, calories do count. You can't eat 4000 calories of bacon a day and expect to lose weight (unless you're running marathons or something).
However, if you try fasting and your body isn't used to ketosis, you will get lightheaded, you'll feel hungry all the time, and you will just be miserable. It's important to get fat adapted first.
I'd start by going super low carb for a month, getting used to ketosis, and then work into fasting. You'll get the carb flu at first, it will suck, and then you'll feel great.
This week I had a cheat day on Saturday, and then didn't eat anything or drink alcohol on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. I broke my fast Wednesday (this morning) with tuna on a lettuce wrap mixed with coconut aminos, washed down with wine and blueberries. Earlier in the week, I felt awesome in a fasted state, and still managed to ride my bike, do jiu jitsu, swim, etc.
I've found that being in a fasted state, once fat adapted, feels better than a fed state.
6. Drinking alcohol - I drink wine almost every night before bed, unless I am on a strict fast. Usually a few glasses of red wine with blueberries in it. Beer kills my progress. Sometimes I drink tequila, but now I can't really hold my liquor anymore. Liquor also increases temptation to eat shit food.
Alcohol is calories, but can be consumed in moderation when losing weight. Just avoid beer.
7. Eliminate sugars, artificial sweeteners, and carbohydrates. Even "diet" drinks and fruit juice is shit for you.
Instead, drink water, black coffee, and plain tea. Drinking calories adds up really quickly.
Even drinking "non-calorie" drinks is bad for you. I used to spend all day drinking diet Coke -- we're talking almost a case a day. Not good.
Now it's just water, tea, coffee, and wine in the evening. I like fruit infused water, where you basically put fruit, ice, and water into a pitcher. It tastes good with none of the calories.
8. Eating out is a challenge; ask what is in your meal. You have no idea what is in the food you're eating if you don't. Even if it seems low carb, it usually has sugar in it.
For instance, tonight I was out with clients and went to get wings, which I figured were low carb. I asked what was in the sauce, and it turns out there was sugar in them. There was basically sugar in everything on the menu.
Your best bet is usually a salad, no croutons, dressing on the side. Then ask for a side of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
9. Saturated fat isn't bad for you, but it's also high calorie. I love coconut oil, olive oil, palm oil, etc. Plus a few tablespoons of fish oil a day, too.
Generally I get my fat from sardines, avocado, and shredded coconut. (You can brown shredded coconut in coconut oil in a frying pan and it's absolutely delicious; way tastier than hash browns). But don't go straight up Atkins and eat a package of bacon each morning for breakfast, because those calories add up quickly.
My diet is mostly protein, some fat, and low carb. Emphasis is on protein.
10. Most importantly, don't psych yourself out.
My biggest problem was thinking that losing weight would be so hard, I'd have to run all the time, live off raw arugula, and dream of ice cream, only to lose a pound a week.
Ergo, I would always decide to "start next week" or "start on Monday", after this last cheesesteak and fries. "I"ll go to the gym next week", "I can skip BJJ tonight", "It's easier to drive than ride my bike or walk, and I'm in a time crunch." Rinse, repeat.
Once you commit to it, losing weight is easy and the process doesn't suck. Eventually it becomes part of your routine and you don't think about it. It's also faster than you think - the first month I dropped like 20lbs and it was minimal work. The next month, another 20lbs. After 40lbs, people like "Whoa!"
Start keto. You'll feel good after a few weeks. Gradually eat less. Exercise is actually optional, in my opinion, but you'll have a lot of energy and probably want to do it after a point.
Bottom line: the key to losing weight is (a) eating less; and (b) reducing the amount of carbohydrates you eat, depending on the intensity of your workouts. Do exercise you like.
For most of my life I was in decent shape, or at the very least had a "dad bod." Little bit of chub, but not enough that it affected my game or daily life. Never had six pack abs or any of that. However, my genetics suck in that I gain weight very easily.
Last year I put on some serious, serious weight. Bad weight. At 5'5, I ballooned up to like 245lbs and like a 42 waist. Giant gut, double chin, huffing and puffing as I walked up the stairs. XL - XXL shirt. This was mainly due to drinking too much, eating like shit, eating out too much, snacking, and stress. It affected every aspect of my life negatively. Snoring, my cold approaches all fell apart, and my suits were too tight. Both women and clients thought I looked like a fat slob.
Today I'm 180lbs, 32 / 33 waist, a M/L shirt, 16in neck and slim fitted dress shirts, with decent muscle mass.
People are like "Oh my God, you lost an entire person! That must have been so hard! And you did it so fast!"
In all honesty, it wasn't really hard...
I'm still not quite where I want to be (still got the dad bod and some pudge), but I'm much better off than before. I'd post pics if I didn't want to remain somewhat anonymous. Maybe I will tomorrow.
This what worked for me...
1. I used to follow the "6 meals a day to keep the fire burning" theory. When I would diet, this meant snacking all the time. Nuts, beef jerky, hard boiled eggs, tuna, etc. Every couple of hours I'd be downing a snack. Then I'd wonder why the scale wasn't moving even though I was eating tons of "small meals."
Too many calories, homie!
Snacking all day fucks up your diet. You really only need one or two meals a day, three at the most. This whole six meals a day thing is total bullshit.
Now I eat one or two meals a day, usually late in the day. Some days I don't eat anything.
Not only does it help with weight loss, but it makes my life way less complicated. I don't need to spend all day Sunday preparing meals, putting them in Tupperware, and stocking my desk with food that is non-perishable. I basically work all day, go to the gym, come home, and eat. (Suggested reading: Leangains, Eat, Stop Eat, The Warrior Diet).
My weekday schedule generally looks like this:
5am: Wake up, step on scale, take contrast shower. I check my weight every morning to monitor progress. Digital scales are cheap -- like $30 on Amazon. Mine charges on a USB.
6am: Drink macha green tea (Lipton makes some decent stuff for like $3.65). I'll usually make a giant pot of it and throw it in a pitcher so I can drink it chilled. I usually start my day with cold tea, and then switch to hot tea throughout the day. And black coffee or nitro brewed coffee.
7am: Either jiu jitsu (M, W mornings) or P90x in my basement. If you have a Smart TV you can get the entire BeachBody library for $99 a year, and the equipment needed to do the workouts is cheap. This is fantastic if you can't afford a gym membership or are short on time. Even cheaper is the book "Convict Conditioning".
9am: Stop by the local coffee shop and drink black coffee, hit on girls, read the news, and set my fantasy football lineups.
10am - 5pm: Work. I put a standing desk in my office. It cost me $60. Just put a standing desk on top of your regular desk; don't get anything too elaborate, it's a waste of money. Good, cheap standing desks are available on Amazon. If you're poor, just put a box on top of your desk or something. I stand most of the day, although I do have a chair in my office for client meetings.
6pm: jiu jitsu, kickboxing, or the gym. Phone goes on do not disturb. I do this stuff because I like it, and it's an hour or two to myself where I'm not getting bombarded by clients, courts, opposing counsel, etc.
8pm: Dinner. Often this is the only meal I eat. It's always very simple. Usually tuna on a lettuce wrap or wrapped in nori. Add coconut aminos. Maybe two or three hardboiled eggs.
9pm - 11:30pm: Red wine, fuck around on the internet, melatonin before bed
2. I love to cook, but variety sort of kills your diet. So does eating out. I got rid of all the shit in my house and limit the stuff in my house to the following:
- Eggs
- Boston lettuce (to use as wraps), and salad mix. Nori is also awesome for making wraps or sushi (with Shirataki rice).
- Canned wild tuna
- Canned wild sardines
- Canned organic chicken
- Coconut oil, butter (Kerrygold), good olive oil, coconut aminos (tastes like soy sauce)
- Shirataki noddles / rice for when I get carb cravings. You can pretty much make any pasta or rice dish with this stuff and it tastes the same, minus the carbs and calories. You can also do it with cauliflower or zucchini, but that is too much work and cleanup for me.
- Bottled peppers, artichoke hearts, banana peppers, etc.
- Olives
- Bone broth protein shakes (which I will mix with El-Glutamine and creatine)
- Frozen blueberries / raspberries
- Hot sauce
- Bone broth (throw random vegetables in there if you feel like cooking, maybe with coconut oil). Or just drink it raw.
- Fruit (apples, oranges, avocados)
- Greek yogurt (full fat) / cottage cheese
- Yams (for workout days)
Seasoning: turmeric, salt, pepper, hot sauce, olive oil, vinegar, garlic, etc.
Everything is super easy and fast to make. While I love to cook, I don't have time for it, along with the cleanup. I used to consider cooking elaborate meals, and then decide it would be easier to just do UberEats. Not good.
Now I just throw a bit of tuna in a bowl, throw in coconut aminos, maybe hardboiled eggs, some bottled peppers, put it on a lettuce wrap, and then the plate gets rinsed off and put in the dishwasher. Blam, hunger is gone.
I try and eat mostly pescatarian, with chicken and limited amounts of beef. I do not eat pork, though I doubt it would mess up your diet. I prefer fish for the most part.
Do not let people (or your girlfriend) put shit snacks in your house. No crackers, cookies, ice cream, bagels, bread, muffins, etc. For some reason, most women have shit diets, and when you start dating long term, they like to put their crap food in your place. ("But it's Special-K! TV Told me it's healthy! It's got the American Heart Association symbol on it!")
Don't let them invade your house with crap. If there are easy temptations in your house, you'll eventually eat it.
3. Traditional cardio fucking sucks. I hate the treadmill and running. Instead, I do stuff I like. Riding my bike, walking places, jiu jitsu, kickboxing, hiking, kayaking, etc. This morning I rode my bike to work, walked about a mile to the post office, and then did jiu jitsu in the evening. The scale moved a pound.
Your cardio should be part of your routine. If you don't like it, you won't do it.
4. I've experimented with cheat days and cheat meals. I have found that a cheat day once a week throws a wrench in my progress. Every other week seems to cause no harm, but it makes me feel like shit after. I have also found that a cheat meal once a week seems to fuck up progress, but once every other week is fine.
Generally I feel best and most productive in a fasted state, or at least eating low carb. I'm most energetic when I haven't eaten.
5. If you want to try fasting / intermittent, fasting, which is the absolute quickest way to lose weight, I would start by going straight keto first. That means for a month going as close to zero carbs a day as you can without watching your calories. Your body will shift from using carbs as energy to fat.
At first you can basically eat all the protein / fat you want and will probably lose a few pounds, but at the end of the day, yes, calories do count. You can't eat 4000 calories of bacon a day and expect to lose weight (unless you're running marathons or something).
However, if you try fasting and your body isn't used to ketosis, you will get lightheaded, you'll feel hungry all the time, and you will just be miserable. It's important to get fat adapted first.
I'd start by going super low carb for a month, getting used to ketosis, and then work into fasting. You'll get the carb flu at first, it will suck, and then you'll feel great.
This week I had a cheat day on Saturday, and then didn't eat anything or drink alcohol on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. I broke my fast Wednesday (this morning) with tuna on a lettuce wrap mixed with coconut aminos, washed down with wine and blueberries. Earlier in the week, I felt awesome in a fasted state, and still managed to ride my bike, do jiu jitsu, swim, etc.
I've found that being in a fasted state, once fat adapted, feels better than a fed state.
6. Drinking alcohol - I drink wine almost every night before bed, unless I am on a strict fast. Usually a few glasses of red wine with blueberries in it. Beer kills my progress. Sometimes I drink tequila, but now I can't really hold my liquor anymore. Liquor also increases temptation to eat shit food.
Alcohol is calories, but can be consumed in moderation when losing weight. Just avoid beer.
7. Eliminate sugars, artificial sweeteners, and carbohydrates. Even "diet" drinks and fruit juice is shit for you.
Instead, drink water, black coffee, and plain tea. Drinking calories adds up really quickly.
Even drinking "non-calorie" drinks is bad for you. I used to spend all day drinking diet Coke -- we're talking almost a case a day. Not good.
Now it's just water, tea, coffee, and wine in the evening. I like fruit infused water, where you basically put fruit, ice, and water into a pitcher. It tastes good with none of the calories.
8. Eating out is a challenge; ask what is in your meal. You have no idea what is in the food you're eating if you don't. Even if it seems low carb, it usually has sugar in it.
For instance, tonight I was out with clients and went to get wings, which I figured were low carb. I asked what was in the sauce, and it turns out there was sugar in them. There was basically sugar in everything on the menu.
Your best bet is usually a salad, no croutons, dressing on the side. Then ask for a side of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
9. Saturated fat isn't bad for you, but it's also high calorie. I love coconut oil, olive oil, palm oil, etc. Plus a few tablespoons of fish oil a day, too.
Generally I get my fat from sardines, avocado, and shredded coconut. (You can brown shredded coconut in coconut oil in a frying pan and it's absolutely delicious; way tastier than hash browns). But don't go straight up Atkins and eat a package of bacon each morning for breakfast, because those calories add up quickly.
My diet is mostly protein, some fat, and low carb. Emphasis is on protein.
10. Most importantly, don't psych yourself out.
My biggest problem was thinking that losing weight would be so hard, I'd have to run all the time, live off raw arugula, and dream of ice cream, only to lose a pound a week.
Ergo, I would always decide to "start next week" or "start on Monday", after this last cheesesteak and fries. "I"ll go to the gym next week", "I can skip BJJ tonight", "It's easier to drive than ride my bike or walk, and I'm in a time crunch." Rinse, repeat.
Once you commit to it, losing weight is easy and the process doesn't suck. Eventually it becomes part of your routine and you don't think about it. It's also faster than you think - the first month I dropped like 20lbs and it was minimal work. The next month, another 20lbs. After 40lbs, people like "Whoa!"
Start keto. You'll feel good after a few weeks. Gradually eat less. Exercise is actually optional, in my opinion, but you'll have a lot of energy and probably want to do it after a point.
Bottom line: the key to losing weight is (a) eating less; and (b) reducing the amount of carbohydrates you eat, depending on the intensity of your workouts. Do exercise you like.