My Story
I am going to explain to you how to lose weight. The difference between my advice and other’s advice is that I’ve actually walked the walk. My first time around, losing roughly 70 pounds, was in college. Surprisingly, I credit a ton of weight loss back then to drinking Steel Reserve 40oz. You can read that story here.This second time around, cutting my body fat from mid 20% to around 11%, was done 16 years later. At the time of this writing I am 38 years old, I work full time, own a business and have my own family. I say this because I know, first hand, the older you get, the harder getting in shape becomes.
Time becomes more scarce. Metabolisms slow down and you have to balance the needs of your family with your own personal goals. Not to mention that your body doesn’t function or recover the way it used to. All that being said, it is still 100% possible to get in the best shape of your life no matter your age. This is simply the story of how I did it and I hope you can find some golden nuggets of knowledge to apply to your own approach.
The Quarantine Weight
Since my dramatic weight loss in college (roughly 70 pounds), I’ve pretty much looked and weighed the same. Roughly 175 pounds, decent shape, a little bit of chub. Not bad, but not great either. However, during the Covid lockdown in 2020 I started noticing that my clothes were getting a little more snug and I was getting soft. This feeling wasn’t unfamiliar to me. Since losing a ton of weight in college I would have periods of time where I gained weight and periods of time where I lost weight. I thought this was just another swing that I had experienced a million times before: you notice some extra weight and start working out a little more and eating better to drop the few pounds you gained.
This time was different though. I knew how to lose weight, but I was tired of bouncing back and forth between pudgy months and leaner months. I wanted another transformation, like the one I had in college. So, I turned old antiquated fitness advice upside down. Advice that I was not only following but had been dispensing as a personal trainer. I cranked up the intensity on everything from workouts, diet, lifestyle and even my dedication to good sleep.
I still hear some of the old bullshit fitness advice I used to follow on how to lose weight and it makes me want to scream. Bullshit like don’t weigh yourself everyday, skipping meals will destroy your metabolism, limit your fat intake, etc. I am going to go through and explain what I did and what I still do. These are things I actually did and what actually worked, not shit I read in a book and just regurgitated. Here we go.
Accountability
Weighing In
All the fitness experts out there say to weigh yourself once per week and no more and thats what I did for 15 years. The problem with this tactic is it doesn’t tell you how you’re progressing until 7 days later. Getting on the scale, to me, is my progress report. And when you’re making 100,000 decisions a day that affect your progress report, I don’t want to wait a week to find out how I did. The scale, above all other advice or measurements, will tell you how to lose weight.
Instead, I weigh myself every morning, under the same conditions, wearing the same thing. The theory against weighing yourself everyday is that your weight fluctuates. Experts don’t want you to beat yourself up if you go up one day, down one day, up one day, down one day, etc. Well, that’s exactly the kind of data I want to capture and you should too. The scale is truth serum. Every morning it tells you the previous day’s progress report. And since it was only yesterday, you can easily recall what foods you ate and when, how much water you drank and how intensely you worked out. If you only weigh yourself once per week and get a poor grade on the scale you have 7 days to look back on and figure out where you fucked up.
I’ll sometimes weigh myself twice or even three times per day. I am so dialed in that I know my post dinner weigh in is roughly 3 pounds heavier than I’ll be in the morning. If I overate during the day or at dinner, the scale will tell me. The key to success here, like you’ll see with other things I talk about, is doing it consistently. Yes there were plenty of times that I didn’t want to step on that scale and see the destruction I did the day before; but you have to do it anyway. Man up, step on the effin scale and get better.
Pictures
Take pictures! When I decided to turn up the intensity in May 2020 and lose that stubborn weight I posted my starting picture on my fridge at my house. That start picture is still there. It’s a constant reminder of what I don’t want my body to look like and the progress I’ve made. When I started out, next to that picture was a fitness model of a person I would like to look like. I’ve since replaced the fitness model with a current picture of myself side by side with my starting picture.
Every time I go to the kitchen I see these two pictures before deciding what to eat. Ask yourself, “Am I about to eat because I am actually hungry or am I just bored? Is what I am about to eat going to help my six pack or hurt it?” If you go to the kitchen for something to eat and look past the apple, you’re not hungry- you just have a craving.
Take your progress pictures at the same intervals and stay with it no matter what. My accountability picture is taken every 3 weeks like clockwork. My pictures are posted on my Instagram page. I keep my starting weight written on the starting picture and add my current weight to the new picture. I use the Pic Collage app to upload my two pictures and arrange them the way I want them to be laid out.
The key here is to take your picture at your determined interval NO MATTER WHAT. There were times over the last year when I know I didn’t have the best 3 week period since my last picture, but I took them anyway. Once you allow yourself to give up on an accountability function it snow balls into giving up on other areas and you quit all together. Take the damn picture and get better for the next one.
Nutrition
Eating Less
This was challenging. I kept telling myself, and still find myself doing this, that I am eating to live not living to eat. You DON’T need second servings! It’s okay, normal and perfectly normal to feel hunger. Wait to actually feel hunger before you eat. They say abs are made in the kitchen. Well I say abs are made by NOT going into the kitchen.
Here are some general rules, tips and guidelines I use:
Real Carbs Vs. Shitty Carbs
I do a lot of reading about nutrition and I can say that shitty carbohydrates are the root to almost all weight and fat gain. If you’re really serious about learning how to lose weight, start with learning about carbs. Almost every commercialized diet out there, if you really break them down, all have the common denominator of lower carb consumption. Carb consumption raises your blood sugar and prompts your body to produce insulin which prevents your body from burning fat as fuel. Keep it simple and eat mostly veggies and a little fruit. I call these the real carbs. Rarely to never will I eat the shitty carbs. The shitty carbs are pasta, rice (of all makes and varieties), potatoes (yes, even sweet), candy, cereal, etc. Shitty carbs causes you to be fat. Period.
On the rare occasions when I like to indulge with a starch or processed food as a side, my rule of thumb is that my real carb serving should look twice the size of my shitty carb serving. I’ve also found my body recovers better the earlier in the day I eat the shitty carbs. Don’t eat shitty carbs with dinner or later. If your family starts eating dessert, get up and start cleaning the dishes. Get your mind and eyes away from temptation.
Protein
For the longest time I always thought of protein as a free pass. I would allow myself huge servings of protein because I thought it was the ideal macronutrient. After all, protein builds muscle, makes you feel full and supports weight loss, right? Well, yes and no. On the scale of blood sugar spikes shitty carbs is still the winner, but protein is in second place. Eating a huge serving of protein also prompts an insulin response and thus promotes weight gain. If you’re catching on about how to lose weight, dramatic insulin responses is not something you want. In my opinion, Americans notoriously over estimate their protein requirements and eat way too much. Protein is still the anchor to every meal I eat, but I no longer see it as a free pass. It’s NOT ok to get second servings, even if its protein.
Fat
Of all the macronutrients, fat gets the worst rap. In the 70s, Ancel Keys created a grand breaking study called the China Study. It postured that the countries with the highest fat intake suffered the most cardiovascular disease. I won’t go into the flaws of the study, but they are there are there are lots of authors who agree.
Fat is not the enemy. Fat is the only macronutrient that has zero effect on your blood sugar. Fat is why people have success on the Keto diet. I don’t consider my fat intake at all. I eat bacon, eggs, drink whole milk, eat fatty pork, etc.
If you’re interested in learning more about the studies on this check out the books: The Big Fat Surprise or Why We Get Fat. These books changed my complete way of thinking.
Skipping Meals
When I was a trainer, this was one of the things you taught clients to NEVER do. If you ask most trainers or people who think they know what they’re talking about, skipping meals will crash your metabolism. BULLSHIT. I don’t give a damn what anyone says or what journal they read; skipping a few meals here and there isn’t going to kill you, crash your metabolism or make you go into cardiac arrest. It’s worked for me and I’ve taught myself how to strategically skip meals in order to lose weight. Skip dinner once per week and skip breakfast here and there and it will accelerate your leaning. On my shift days I skip breakfast altogether and have an apple at about 9:30/10:00. The key to skipping meals successfully is not making up for those missed calories at your next meal.
It’s okay to be hungry
Conventional fitness advice says to eat every 3 hours to “keep your metabolism running hot and lose weight”. Personally, I always thought it sounded kinda stupid, but I did it anyway, because who doesn’t like eating? I’ve found that being hungry is ok, makes you feel human and might actually be good for you. Somedays I skip breakfast completely and somedays I skip dinner in leiu of a liquid dinner like a protein shake or a smoothie. I found one of the quickest ways to lose weight was by simply going to bed hungry a night or two per week. It’s not going to kill you. Either way you do it- don’t just eat because its time to eat or because its been 3 hours or whatever you’re used to doing. Eat because you are actually hungry.
The 20 Minute Rule
Everyone has heard that it takes 20 minutes after eating to feel full. I am not sure if this is the exact window of time or not, but I do think there is something to be said for feeling satiated after a meal. For me, my trigger is dinner time. I used to and could still eat a huge meal at dinner time. I commonly would get up for seconds. Dinner is a pivotal meal for weight loss. What I frequently do now is put what I need on my plate and eat slow.
If I’m finished before the rest of my family or if I want another serving of food I get up and make myself busy. I stay engaged with the family, but I am cleaning dishes, sweeping the floor, or tiding up something. I keep my mind off that second helping, get the kids to bed and eat my triple zero or carb master yogurt (see below). That’s it. My body, nor yours, doesn’t need 2 or 3 plates of food; your body just WANTS 2 or 3 plates of food. If you want to lose weight, you gotta skip the extra servings.
The Nighttime Sweet Tooth
Most people enjoy something sweet after dinner or when the kids are in bed or when you’re just chillin out after a long day. On the nights where I must have something sweet I usually go for a triple zero yogurt or a carb master yogurt from Kroger or Harris Teeter. On some occasions, I’ll pour a small glass of whole milk and add a scoop of chocolate protein powder. I definitely prefer the taste of MuscleTech Protein Powder. If chocolate is what you desire, keep the portion small and sensible and dark chocolate has less sugar than white or milk chocolate.
Staple Foods
Have a bullpen of staple foods that you rely on day in and day out. For me its eggs, an apple (usually HoneyCrisp), 1 Quest bar, a smoothie and a bagged salad. I don’t eat all my staple foods everyday, but I definitely try to have them on hand at all times. Once you get hungry and decide you’re going to eat, not having your staple foods around will usually lead to poor nutritional decisions. It costs money and time to make frequent trips to the grocery store, but its worth it. Build your meals around your staple foods.
Healthy Smoothies
I look forward to the smoothie I make. I reward myself with it after a tough workout and sometimes as a meal replacement. When I was starting out as a personal trainer, I didn’t have health insurance so I called my smoothie Alternative Health Insurance. Click here to see what goes into it.
Apples and Salads
I cut my apple into small slices to make it last longer; thereby actually getting the chance to actually feel full. As for the bagged salad- my go to is Kroger’s Bacon Cesar Salad. I use all of the dressing, cheese and bacon that comes with it. I’ll usually crush an entire bag for lunch along with some protein.
Quest Bars
Quest bars are fucking amazing and the only protein bar I trust. My trust and dependence on the Quest brand cannot be overstated. Their protein bars have been and still are a cornerstone to my fitness and nutrition. If you have any doubt on their nutritional standing, especially compared with other “protein” bars, click on the next sentence. See my post sizing up a few protein bars for more.
Eggs are just an amazing food. Eat them in the morning, eat them at night. They are nothing but goodness.
Real Food
Real food is what is normally found on the perimeter of the grocery store. The stuff in the aisles is mostly shit. Real food shouldn’t require an ingredient label or make health claims. The only things I consume that have ingredient labels are generally barbecue sauces and salad dressings. And even when buying these things, I avoid high fructose corn syrup and anything with the word hydrogenated in it at all cost. High fructose corn syrup not only spikes blood sugar, but is metabolized in your liver. Not good. Hydrogenated oils are trans fats. Trans fats are also not good, but you probably already knew that.
Other Healthy Stuff
Vitamins
Vitamins play a vital role in body function. Certain vitamins are crucial to how our bodies regulate our metabolism and hormones. Some of these vitamins I take in gummy form so it feels like I am eating a treat and look forward to it every morning. I take a baby asprin, zinc, multi vitamin, Vitamin C, Vitamin D and fish oil.
Hormones
I am not going to fake the funk and pretend getting my hormones at above optimal didn’t have anything to do with my success. I visited a Dr. Arbuckle at The Fountain of You and learned my Testosterone levels were low. I got an a TRT (testosterone replacement therapy) plan with him and I credit a huge portion of my success to it. As a matter of fact, I personally think the combination of TRT while listening to David Goggin’s book: Can’t Hurt Me was the equivalent of placing bilateral large bore IVs into my arms and hanging a huge bag of motivation from one and inspiration from the other with the drip set to wide the fuck open.
Alcohol
I’ll keep this one simple. I don’t drink alcohol unless it’s a special occasion. Alcohol destroys your sleep which messes up the whole next day. Alcohol and poor sleep affects every single decision you make the next day. Your workout, if you have one, is usually lame. Your desire to eat healthy is trumped by eating comfort foods. Alcohol adds calories with no added nutrition. You may find a way to have your alcohol and your results, but I did not. For me, it was much easier to just give it up. Yes, there will be times in the future when I do drink, but I can guarantee it will be for special occasions only.
Sleep
Sleep is important to success in any endeavor, especially fitness. Knowing this is valuable, but so is also knowing what a shitty night’s sleep can do. Shitty sleep leads to poor nutrition decisions and decreased motivation to workout. Understand this fact and plan accordingly. Take melatonin, use blue light blocking glasses at night and getting into the same night time routine are all great hacks to getting in a regular sleep pattern.
Fitness
Throughout the past year, I averaged running 15 miles a week and lifted 3-4 times per week. I am blessed with a job that encourages fitness. When on duty, I’ll aim to get in a 5 mile run on the treadmill, but 2 miles is my absolute minimum. When I am off duty, I hit One Life Fitness for the weights. I usually lift for about an hour and a half. I usually do a simple split of upper body one day and lower body the next with a little bit of core work everyday. Occasionally, on my off duty days, if I have a busy day making deliveries for my business, I’ll wake up early and lift at the station before getting off. You have to prioritize working out and build your day around that.
Cardio Importance
For a lot of people, running is not their thing. Maybe you prefer the bike or the rower. Whatever you do, do it with at least moderate intensity, but preferably high intensity. Don’t pay any attention to the fat burning zone or the aerobic zone. If you want to lost weight, work hard and sweat your ass off. For a lot of people, cardio is not their thing. While that’s generally okay, if your goal is weight loss cardio is pretty damn important so my advice is to suck it up and do it. Find a good playlist or watch a motivating show. Listen to Can’t Hurt Me. However you can swallow that pill, do it.
Conclusion
Losing and keeping weight off is fuckin hard. If it were easy, we wouldn’t have the obseity epidemic we have in the world. The bitter truth is that I still want to eat like my inner fat kid. I’ve just realized that looking and feeling good feels better than shitty food tastes. Many people see eating as one of life’s greatest pleasures. I don’t. I see pleasure in other things.
Working out just has to become a habit. It’s become such a habit for me that it’s hard for me to take a rest day. My body just doesn’t want one. I’ve stressed the importance of cardio, but weights are equally important. If you follow how I eat, you will not get bulky. I don’t know a whole lot about what it takes to get “big”, but I do know that the nutrition plan I follow and have laid out here will not lead to weight gain, no matter how heavy you are lifting.
Should you need any advice, get in touch.
Good Luck!
