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Copyright © 2015 and Beyond
All rights Reserved
No portion of this book may be used, reproduced, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including fax, photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system by anyone but the purchaser for their own personal use. This manual may not be reproduced in any form without the express written permission of Brad Pilon, except in the case of a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages for the sake of a review written for inclusion in a magazine, newspaper, or journal, and all of these situations require the written approval of Brad Pilon prior to publication.
The information in this book is for educational purposes only. only. The information in this book is based on my own personal experiences and my own interpretation of available research. It is not medical advice and I am not a medical doctor.
The information within this book is meant for healthy adult individuals. You should consult with your physician to make sure it is appropriate for your individual circumstances. Keep in mind that nutritional needs vary from person to person, depending on age, sex, health status and total diet.
If you have any health issues or concerns please consult with your physician. physician. Always consult your physician before beginning or making any changes in your diet or exercise program, for diagnosis and treatment of illness and injuries, and for advice regarding medications.
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Copyright © 2015 and Beyond
All rights Reserved
No portion of this book may be used, reproduced, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including fax, photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system by anyone but the purchaser for their own personal use. This manual may not be reproduced in any form without the express written permission of Brad Pilon, except in the case of a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages for the sake of a review written for inclusion in a magazine, newspaper, or journal, and all of these situations require the written approval of Brad Pilon prior to publication.
The information in this book is for educational purposes only. only. The information in this book is based on my own personal experiences and my own interpretation of available research. It is not medical advice and I am not a medical doctor.
The information within this book is meant for healthy adult individuals. You should consult with your physician to make sure it is appropriate for your individual circumstances. Keep in mind that nutritional needs vary from person to person, depending on age, sex, health status and total diet.
If you have any health issues or concerns please consult with your physician. physician. Always consult your physician before beginning or making any changes in your diet or exercise program, for diagnosis and treatment of illness and injuries, and for advice regarding medications.
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What is “OPTIMIZED”? In the last five editions of Eat Stop Eat I have reported the science and research behind the use of intermittent fasting and resistance training for weight loss.
I have done my best to keep personal feelings, experiences, and anecdotes out of Eat Stop Eat in order to kept it as fact-based as possible.
However, over the last ten years I have been able to develop my own unique way of using Eat Stop Eat that allows me the best possible results with the least possible amount of complication and hassle. And while I don’t have a half-dozen scientific references for each point and technique, I still feel there is a large value in what I can share.
In short, if Eat Stop Eat is the facts on intermittent fasting from labs and clinical research, then Eat Stop Eat Optimized is the facts on intermittent fasting from personal experiences — the “in the trenches research” so to speak.
If Eat Stop Eat is the science behind this style of intermittent fasting, then Eat Stop Eat Optimized is the art behind the lifestyle.
My goal with Eat Stop Eat Optimized is to give you a “jump start” to get the best results possible by giving you an outline of the way I use the principles of Eat Stop Eat. The tricks and the hacks I have learned along the way that make the Eat Stop Eat lifestyle as effective, and as easy as possible.
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A SIX YEAR TRANSITION
The first picture was taken in 2006. At this time, I was 28 years old and in full “bodybuilder lifestyle” mode.
I ate well over 200 grams of protein per day (sometimes over 300), consumed countless supplements, planned my meals, and balanced my macronutrients.
To get ready for this photo I dieted for 5 months straight, did cardio in the morning, weights at lunch, and cardio again at night.
This approach worked, and I was in the best shape of my life.
This approach may sound like it was a well thought out methodical plan; but in reality, it was a combination of stress, anxiety, and the buckshot
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approach – I was doing every single thing possible to ensure I looked my best.
Keep in mind I was 28 years old, had no kids, worked in a company that had a gym I could use 24/7, and I had unlimited access to any and all forms of supplements you could imagine.
The bottom line is I had the time and ability to try it all and do it all. If I read it in a magazine, I did it. If I was told to eat something, I ate it. I took every single piece of diet and nutrition advice a nd combined them ALL into one frantic approach to fitness that ruled my life. My day-to-day activities, down to the hour, were dictated by my wanting to get lean. It It was all-consuming, my number one priority in life, and it was not sustainable.
Six months before that picture was taken I weighed over 200 pounds. In the picture above I was 168 pounds. Less than 10 weeks after that picture was taken I was back to weighing over 200 pounds.
Like I said — not sustainable.
The second picture was taken in early 2012. For this picture I didn’t really have to diet or change my training. I was eating around 100 grams of protein per day, fasting once or twice a week, and I weight trained 2-4 times a week.
This is enough to keep me close to this type of shape all year long. I no longer have to use the buckshot approach to get in shape. I do what works for me, and I ignore the rest.
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The last picture is was taken back in December of 2012. By this time, I had simplified my approach even further, relying on Eat Stop Eat and consistent effort in the gym to make the body I want, and ignoring ALL of the other fitness and nutrition advice you may read on a day-to-day basis.
Over the years I’ve continued to use these simplified approaches to maintain a physique that I am happy with, and that takes up minimal time and minimal priority in my life.
I’m not the biggest guy in the gym, nor am I the most shredded, but I do reap the rewards of a very flexible very sustainable lifestyle, with a body that makes me happy and without being obsessed with health, nutrition, and exercise.
This is my definition of “optimized” — using Eat Stop Eat in a way that allows you to not only get into great shape, but also maintain that shape with as little intrusion in your lifestyle as possible.
(Vacation, 2015) 6
FASTING OPTIMIZED
Over a decade since writing Eat Stop Eat, I still fast once or twice a week. Now, I know this statement normally trips people up since they always want to know if it’s once OR twice a week that I fast. The answer is I fast every 3-5 days so some weeks it’s twice, others it’s once.
Typically, I do a lunch-to-lunch fast (2 pm to 2 pm). My fasts are almost always 24 hours long. See Eat Stop Eat for all details on my style of fasting.
The “Reset Principle”
Over the years I have found it best to switch up my fasting times from time to time. In general, I fast from lunch-to-lunch, but I try to do a dinner-to-dinner fast at least once or twice a month.
I believe that routinely switching your fasting start and stop times prevents you from developing the horrible habit of overeating after your fasts. Bottom line — if you follow too much of a routine for too long you will always find a way to overeat. So, I like the “reset” feeling I get when I switch up my fasting times.
On the odd occasion where I am under 10% body fat, I'll only fast once per week, but any other time it's once or twice a week that holds me between 10 and 12% body fat. If for some weird reason I sneak above 12%* then I increase my fasting back to twice a week.
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This style of eating has helped me maintain my weight at around 175 pounds for the last 6 years. If I get to close to 180 pounds, I increase my fasts, if I get too close to 170 pounds then I decrease my fasts. A simple approach that works wonders for long-term weight maintenance.
*NOTE: When I mention my body fat percentages these are true DXA measurements, which are typically 2-3% higher than skin fold measurements. They are also MUCH higher than “internet” measurements, which are typically just people guessing at what numbers sound right.
My “end goal” for anyone with fasting is to learn from their fasts and progress to the point where you are comfortable with the idea that it is okay to eat when you are hungry, but also okay to NOT eat when you are not hungry.
I also want people to embrace that it’s okay to wait for the meal you want rather than eating because food has been placed in front of you, or because it’s traditionally a time that you “should” eat.
Through fasting I’ve learned to eat the foods I like, when I like, and not to worry too much about the minutia of diet. This has allowed me to get lean and stay lean without overly complicating my life.
Another trick I’d like to share with you — I don’t always fast for 24 hours. Most of the time it’s pretty close to 24, but sometimes it’s 22, or even 20 hours. And here’s my super scientific reasoning behind why I occasionally allow for shorter fasts: sometimes I don’t want to fast for any longer.
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That’s it. And, this is the philosophy I want you to embrace. Twenty-four hours is the target, but anything within 20-24 is fantastic.
Think of it this way — even a 20 hour fast causes your body to move into the fasted state, burn a LOT of fat (the most you can burn without exercise) AND you do display some amazing control over your eating habits. Most people can’t fast more than 3 hours unless they are sleeping.
The bottom line is if you don’t feel like pushing to 24, that’s absolutely okay with me.
During your fast, do your best to stay busy but otherwise simply go about your day as you normally would had you not been fasting.
Once your fast is finished I want you to pretend that it never happened — no special post fast meal, no making up for lost calories or eating extra, just eat whatever you would normally eat at that time.
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WORKOUTS OPTIMIZED Weight training workouts are vital to the Eat Stop Eat approach. Typically, I train 3 to 4 times per week.
I have tried working out seven days per week. I have tried working out twice per day. From what I can tell, 3 to 4 days works best. It allows for recovery and rest, and keeps you from feeling burned out. It also allows you to organize your workouts so that you can always eat after your workout, regardless of your fasting schedule.
Most of my workouts are 30 - 60 minutes long, usually done in the midday while my kids are at school (somewhere between 10 am and 2 pm) or in evening after the kids are in bed (usually around 9 or 10 pm).
These workout times are the ones that fit my lifestyle the best, and that’s a really important lesson I have learned and want to share with you. Forget trying to figure out when the “best” time to train is based on your testosterone or catecholamine levels or body temperature; your best time is what fits into your schedule the best. In other words, the least intrusive, least distracted time is your best time.
Here’s another interesting point I want to share with you: I do my best to not workout in the middle of a fast. I’ll workout near the end of a fast, or even at the beginning of a fast, but rarely do I workout in the middle of a fast.
This really is minutia (super small details in the grand scheme of things), actually, it’s the minutia of minutia ; however, there is a possibility that working out mid-fast may interrupt or alter your a utophagic response to
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fasting (see the chapter on “Cellular Cleansing” in Eat Stop Eat for more details). The other big (not minutia) issue is I do think you need to eat somewhere around your workout for best long-term results. So, 3 to 4 hours after your workout is the longest I would recommend you go before eating.
Since I'm only fasting twice a week at the very most, and training 3-4 times per week, this is an easy compromise to make. If I can’t organize my week to avoid needing to train in the middle of a fast I’m either being too rigid with my fasting or with my workouts.
When it comes to weight training, I believe that above all else consistency of effort is the key.
When it comes to how much weight I lift I go by this general rule of thumb: I lift as much as I can while knowing that if I wanted to I could pause and hold the weight at any time during the exercise. This lets me know that the weight is just right. That I can control it throughout the entire range of motion.
I have also found that 5 - 6 exercises per workout allows me to focus on what’s important, instead of trying to do a little bit of everything while I’m in the gym.
As an example, here is a 3-times per week workout schedule using 6 exercises per workout. Typically, these workouts are performed on Monday, Wednesday, and either Friday or Saturday:
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Day 1
Day 2
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Chins Ups Cable Pull Downs Overhead Barbell Press Dumbbell Side Lateral raises Straight Leg Barbell Deadlifts Hamstring Curls
Squats Leg Extensions Dips Triceps Cable Pushdowns Dumbbell Shoulder Shrugs Rear Delt Dumbbell Flies
Day 3 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Bench Press Incline Chest Flies Dumbbell Rows Seated Rows Calf Raises Bicep Curls
You’ll notice most major muscle groups are trained each day, but with slight variations or different angles (horizontal versus vertical). It’s not complicated or even sophisticated but it works.
The purpose of my workouts is to build muscle. I’m not trying to burn calories or reduce myself to a puddle of sweat on the floor. I take 2-3 minute breaks in between my sets to make sure I have completely caught my breath before I start my next set. Exhaustion is not the priority, progress is.
I keep my workout intensity and volume flexible based on my needs. I go with the flow so to speak. Some days, when I just “don’t have it” I’ll just get the workouts done. But, on other days, when I “in the zone” I may do a couple extra sets, or think of a new way to challenge myself, or test my strength.
Just like with your fasting and your diets, I want you to be flexible with your workouts. If you are in the zone, take advantage of it; if you’re not, just get the minimum done and get out of the gym. Working out is all about consistency of effort, but it also needs you to be realistic about what you can and cannot do on any given day.
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I also like to challenge myself with the occasional 2 to 3-month period of over-reaching. So, during the winter months I may train more often, as much as 5 times a week, and during the summer I may only train twice a week. So in a way, I perform a certain style of workout-volume cycling, depending on the Canadian weather.
I’ve read all the arguments about different volumes, frequencies, or rep ranges and just about everything else. I’ve also tried every single training style you can imagine. I can tell you that consistency plus progression is the secret to weight training.
If you’re getting better, you are progressing. And, if you are staying the same, but doing less work and spending less time in the gym then you are also progressing.
I don’t want you to obsess about your weight training. In fact, I want it out of your mind completely for the majority of the time. Then, in the 45 to 75 minutes you are in the gym, I want you to focus, and do one thing very, very well: push yourself to stimulate an d challenge the muscles you are trying to stimulate and challenge.
If you were to ask me the entire “trick” to building muscle, I would tell you muscle building is the result of “consistency of effort ”.
Finally, make sure you track your workouts. Write them down. My gym is in my basement, so I write down my workouts on my walls. There are years of workouts recorded on the walls of my gym. You may not be able to do this, but at the very least write them down on a piece of paper. It does not have to be anything excessively detailed. The name of the exercise the amount of weight used and the amount of sets and repetitions is a great bare-bones way to record progress. 13
Other than my weight training workouts, I make every attempt to walk and play when I'm fasting, but other than that movement I'm really trying to view my fasting time as recovery and productivity time.
I've never been a fan of scheduled cardio (See chapter in Eat Stop Eat on “Cardio for weight loss”), or the idea of sitting inside on a bike or treadmill — so I rarely do it. Not even to get ready for a photo shoot.
The arguments over fasted versus fed state cardio is another example of arguing the minutia. Most of this argument is based on the percentage of body fat being burned in an hour-long period of exercise. And, while the difference is “clinically significant” it’s hardly real-world relevant. At most the difference between fed or fasted cardio might be 10-15 grams of body fat in an hour, and this difference is only in the short-term period immediately after the workout.
When it comes to weight loss, it’s the long-term calorie balance that matters. In other words, it’s the mundane aspects of your daily life that matters the most. If you want to do cardio, do it when it’s most convenient for you and fits into your daily routine. This is a much better approach than restructuring your life to get a morning cardio session in just because some magazine says it's the “best time” to do cardio.
My final thought on cardio for weight loss is that the people who successfully do cardio are the ones who do it so that they can eat, not so they can create a larger deficit.
From this standpoint, cardio typically is a good idea for sh orter women who have come to realize that the amount of calories that they need to
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eat to lose weight is so low (sometimes in the 800-1,000 calorie range) that they simply cannot ever eat truly satisfying meals.
For these women adding an hour of cardio may help create a 200-300 calorie buffer that they can add to their day so they can actually have a satisfying 600-800 calorie meal at least once a day.
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RESULTS OPTIMIZED If I can share with you one piece of wisdom it is this: if you want results, you have to measure. Or more bluntly, if you’re not measuring then you are not progressing. In fact, if you’re not measuring you have no idea WHAT you are doing.
Here’s why…
Muscle grows very slowly. After the initial 10-15% increase in muscle growth that most people see within the first couple years of serious training, muscle growth can become almost stagnant. So, to assess results it's imperative to get a DEXA scan once or twice a year and BodPods throughout.
Do NOT rely on your friend telling you that you look bigger or smaller, and do not trust the scale — it may tell you your current weight, but that alone is not enough to tell you about your progress.
Instead I recommend a DEXA scan before starting any sort of transformation.
What’s a DXA?
DXA stands for Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry. Getting a DXA scan is a painless, non-invasive procedure. A DXA uses two different photon energies, or X-ray beams, to measure soft tissue and bone. Currently, it is the most widely used method to measure bone mineral density.
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While scanning, DEXA directs alternating X-ray energy from two separate sources towards your body at a set frequency. These two sources of X-ray energy transmit measurements of density through a filter onto a photon counter that is part of the DEXA machine.
This is a very accurate way to measure body fat, lean mass, and bone mass. Done even once a year a DEXA will give you an accurate idea of how much fat mass you have, how much lean mass you have, and most importantly, the location of this fat and lean mass.
TIP: Make sure you are consistent with what you eat and drink before you take your DEXA or BODPOD. In both of these methods, FOOD and LIQUID will record as lean body mass. So, make sure that you eat or drink the same amount of the same foods before you take your measurements.
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NOTE: To find a lab that provides DXA scans simply go to google and search "DXA + Your location".
So why do I recommend DEXA scans so highly? Well here's the kicker with this entire fitness industry — everybody wants to make changes, but nobody wants to measure anything.
It’s really easy to just use the scale and guess. For example, you can overeat, see the scale go up, and assume it’s muscle; or you can under eat, see the scale go down, and assume it’s fat loss.
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Here's the beauty of the DEXA — once you have your measurements you can conduct an ongoing experiment with your body. Like I said earlier, a DEXA scan not only gives you a measurement of lean mass, bone mass, and fat mass but it also gives it to you by compartment. So, you will know with good accuracy the amount of lean mass and fat mass in your arms, legs, and torso.
If you want to know how a new workout will affect your muscle mass or fat mass, the only way to know for sure is to get a DEXA scan before you start the workout. Then give the workout a solid go for 4-6 months, and then get another DEXA scan. This will be the only way to know for sure if the workout had a muscle building or fat loss effect. No more guessing. No more need for advanced scientific explanations of why something does or doesn’t work. At the end of the day all that matters are results.
IF YOU ARE NOT MEASURING YOU ARE NOT PROGRESSING — YOU ARE GUESSING.
If you have these types of measurements then it makes understanding nutrition so much easier. You become immune to mass media fear mongering. As an example, I have 5 years of DEXA measurements and almost 10 years of BodPods. I also have my measurements since I was 25 years old.
During this time, my lean body mass has gone up. During this time, I have also been fasting once or twice a week for more than a decade. Because I have these measurements I can ignore articles about fasting causing you to lose muscle. Fasting incorrectly may cause you to lose muscle, but I’m confident that the way I apply the principles of Eat Stop Eat has not resulted in muscle loss in over 10 years of practice.
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I also know that occasionally I can take more than two weeks off from training without losing measurable amounts of muscle mass. And, I know that you can absolutely target a muscle with weight training. If you want a muscle to be larger you can make it a priority in your training and it will grow.
Relying on the mirror and the scale only can be devastating to your results, as they will allow you to second guess your approach to weight loss.
Your scale weight will increase or decrease by 2-3 pounds in any given day. Add in the fact that the scale itself may vary by a pound or two every day and you can see how the scale can really mess with your head. And don’t even get me started on the mirror. The right pose, the right lighting, the right mirror… we all know the tricks the mirror can play.
So, trust me. Measurements remove a great deal of stress from the process.
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What is a BodPod?
A “BodPod” is a method for determining both your lean body mass and fat mass. The BOD POD is a computerized, egg-shaped chamber that uses the same whole-body measurement principle as underwater weighing, only with the BodPod instead of using wa ter displacement we use air displacement.
Basically, the BOD POD measures your mass and volume and uses these two values to determine your whole-body density. It then uses a computer to calculate your body fat and lean muscle mass using standard equations.
The results of a BOD POD aren't perfect (none of these devices are) but it's been validated to be within approx 1-2% of the values you will get from a DEXA scan. The real benefits of a BodPod are that it provides a quick measurement of bodyfat and lean body mass, and it's about half
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the cost of a DEXA scan. From my experience, the bod pod was very accurate when compared to a DEXA. I had both scans done within 10 days of each other and my results are as follows:
DEXA 12.3 % bodyfat
BOD POD 12 % bodyfat
I have found that with both DEXA and BodPod, the actual number you get in your results is fairly irrelevant (unless you want to get into a “who has the lowest body fat percentage” argument on-line). Instead, I look for consistency.
As long as the numbers are TRENDING in the direction I want, then I am okay with the results and my progress. As a reminder, don’t get too caught up on percentages. In the end, it’s how you look and if you are progressing that matters.
These are the only two methods of body composition analysis I currently recommend. I find the major drawback of skin fold calipers is they are dependent on the skill of the person taking the measurements, and I find bioelectrical impedance analysis to be borderline useless.
What is Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis?
Bio Electrical Impedance or BIA for short is the form of analysis that you often find in high-end bathroom scales.
It measures total electrical impedance through your body to estimate your total body water, and then uses your total body water to estimate your fat and lean mass.
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Unfortunately, total body water can fluctuate in a person who exercises and fasts on a consistent basis and this fluctuation can cause giant swings in BIA estimation of your body fat levels.
I simply cannot recommend this type of measurement since for many people it causes a large degree of stress. If you believe these readings to be true then you will become convinced that both your lean body mass and your fat mass is prone to rapid swings throughout a week.
This simply is not the case, and isn’t even possible.
Bottom line, BIA is a measurement technique that has it’s uses in some populations or scientific studies, and is great for measu ring hydration status, but it is simply not valid enough to be used to track lean body mass and fat mass changes in an active person who also regularly fasts.
Using BIA, it was estimated that my body fat percentage was over 22%. This was the day before I took this picture:
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(I don’t think this is 22% body fat)
Other than the BodPod and DEXA there are other extremely important measurements I take on a weekly basis: circumferences.
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Circumferences If you are going to track the changes in your body, circumferences are an excellent way to figure out WHERE changes are happening. In other words, they are a great system for measuring and tracking your progress that you can do at home, and that tells you MUCH more about your body than simply measuring your weight on a scale.
This process is relatively easy. I want you to get a measuring tape and keep a detailed log of the shape of your body. These measurements, combined with your strength and bodyweight will give you a true accurate picture of what is happening to your body.
If you combine a record of your measurements with your weight you will eventually create an excellent “map” outlining how your body responds to various types of exercise or dieting. And it allows you to easily realize when something is, or is not working for you.
In total, I want you to measure 13 different circumferences. These measurements are to be taken as accurately as possible. Try your best to measure them in the same manner each and every time.
These 13 circumferences will be your new metrics, and combined with your weight and strength, they are what will guide you through this process.
•
Neck Measurement
•
Shoulders at their widest point (halfway up above your nipples and below your collar bone)
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•
Chest (measuring tape right across your nipples an d under your arms)
•
Waist 3 inches above your bellybutton*
•
Waist at your belly button
•
Waist 3 inches below your belly button*
•
Hips at their widest point
•
Thigh 9 inches above the top of your kneecap*
•
Thigh 6 inches above the top of your kneecap*
•
Thigh 3 inches above the top of your kneecap*
•
Calf at its widest point
•
Bicep (flexed) measure the widest point
•
Forearm at its widest point.
Depending on your height, you may want to use 2 inch intervals instead. As a rough guess, I’d say that anyone under 5’6” should use 2 inch instead of 3 inch intervals. After you have been measuring for a while and you have a good understanding of your body’s normal fluctuations in circumferences, you can decrease the amount of measurements you take weekly to: •
Shoulders
•
Chest
•
Waist (at belly button for men, at narrowest point for women)
•
Hips
•
Thigh at 9 inches and 3 inches
•
Calves
•
Upper arms
But remember to take the full 13 measurements every month or so, just so you have a record to look back on.
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Finally, I highly recommend having a photo shoot done at the same time as you have your DXA scans done. This will allow you to visually assess the how the changes in your fat mass and lean mass change the way your body looks.
While this may sound like “overkill” it is goal-oriented strategy that will prevent you from slipping too far from your idea look.
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2006
2012
2009
2013
2011
2015
(Photo shoots from 2006 to the end of 2015)
The very knowledge that you have a photo shoot booked in the not-todistant future will keep you on target and will act as a constant reminder that the decisions you make regarding how much you eat and how much you train will have a direct result on how good you look in those photos.
But the photo shoot isn’t just a scare tactic.
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The combination of DEXA scans, measuring my circumferences and planned photo shoots has allowed me to compare changes in my diet and training with changes in the way my body has looked over the years.
The final result is that I know what my body fat percentage was for each photo, and I know all of my circumferences.
As an example, I know my arms were the biggest in picture one, my chest was the biggest in picture 2 and my shoulder circumference was the largest in picture 3. I know my weights for each picture and my body fat percent.
AGAIN, PLEASE REMEMBER: IF YOU AREN'T TRACKING, YOU ARE JUST GUESSING AT PROGRESSING.
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PROTEIN OPTIMIZED Since writing “How Much Protein” in 2008 my protein intake has been roughly 100 grams per day. Sometimes I eat as low as 70 grams of protein on fasting days, sometimes over 120 grams on non-fasting days.
While I do not obsess about protein intake, I do pay attention to it. Specifically, it’s timing. Truth be told, this is the only macronutrient I pay attention to in my diet.
After all of my research and experimenting, I have found that aiming for roughly 2 to 4 protein meals per day — spaced at least 4 hours apart (6 or more usually) has given me the best results.
This style of eating also fits well with my fasting schedule. On the days when I am starting or stopping one of my fasts, I can still almost always fit at least two protein meals in and they can still be spaced at least 4 hours apart.
I don’t snack on protein in-between these larger meals. In fact, I avoid protein at these times. I still usually m anage at least 70 grams of protein per day (even on my toughest fasting day), and most of the time I eat above 100 grams on any given day.
Here is the quick and dirty explanation for my protein recommendations.
YES, eating protein does affect protein synthesis; but to build muscle (much more complex than simply protein synthesis), it NEEDS the stimulus of a workout.
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The funny thing is after my review of the research I’ve realized that while your workouts are a fundamentally important part of muscle growth, they don’t actually build muscle on their own. They serve as the initiator to the muscle building process. In other words, your workout is the “on” signal. The ignition, but not the engine.
I’ll admit that at first it seems like the same concept, but when you really think about it, it’s a complete “about face” from how we normally view the muscle building process.
From reviewing the available research on protein a nd muscle growth, I’ve realized it’s not that eating protein makes our workouts “anabolic” but rather that working out makes eating protein “ anabolic”.
It is the subtle shift caused by weight training that sensitizes your muscles to allow them to grow. The affect is small, but after many repeated protein feedings and many repeated workouts the net result is an increase in muscle size.
Weight training is not the entire muscle building process; it is what turns the process “on”. It is the switch that allows protein feedings to become “anabolic”.
Obviously, this is hypothetical, and probably controversial, but this is my take on the current research on muscle building and protein intake, and I think it can be used to our advantage to reap better results from our workouts.
My goal is to stimulate my muscles with my workout, then feed them as many times as logical in between my workouts. 31
If you stimulate your muscles with a weight-training workout then eating protein will build muscle (at least to the extent that you can build muscle). It does this through pathways that are regulated by the signaling protein mTOR.
What is mTOR?
mTOR is short for “Mammalian Target Of Rapamyacin” so let’s stick with the short form of the name “mTOR” from now on. It’s a protein signaling molecule that is present in all the cells of your body and is responsible for turning on cellular growth.
mTOR is maximally stimulated by 2-3 grams of leucine, 4-5 grams of BCAAs, or 8-10 grams of essential amino acids — about the amount found in 20-30 grams of protein.
The funny thing is 20-30 of a decent quality protein contains about 8-10 grams of essential amino acids (EAAs), which contains about 4-5 grams of BCAAs which contain about 2-3 grams of leucine. So, we’re really taking about the same dose of the same thing here. 32
25 grams high quality protein = 8-10 grams of EAA = 4-5 grams of BCAA = 2-3 grams of Leucine
This amount is similar for the young and elderly, and is similar at rest and after exercise. So, bottom line is 20-30 grams of good quality protein is enough to maximally stimulate protein synthesis.
Once mTOR has been maximally stimulated, adding more protein doesn't cause more growth stimulation. In fact, after mTOR has been stimulated there is a 4-6 hour refractory period where mTOR cannot be stimulated again (it's been working hard and needs a rest).
So, based on these facts it becomes apparent that 20 to 30 grams of protein is enough to maximally stimulate muscle protein synthesis, and after that “dose” any extra protein does little in the name of muscle growth.
I’m starting to think while the difference is small, over the long run regular large protein meals spaced 4-8 hours apart is probably the best approach to supporting muscle growth.
Chronically ingesting higher doses of protein on a frequent basis does lead to an increased level of amino acid oxidation, suggesting much of the excess amino acids are not used for amino acid requiring processes in the body — they are simply burned as a fuel source. However, while protein oxidation is increased, it isn’t increased enough to account for all the extra protein you have eaten.
For this reason, I've approached protein with the mindset that 20-30 grams is the minimal dose, and anything extra is “gravy”. 33
I should also note that with Eat Stop Eat you kind of fall into a natural version of “protein cycling”, where you may have 0 grams of protein over a 24-hour period while you fast, then all the way up to 120 or more grams in a 24-hour period while you are eating.
(To learn more about protein and muscle building, see How Much Protein. If you need a copy, please visit Http://www.CLKbooks.com/HMP )
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CALORIES OPTIMIZED Calories. There is nothing more confusing about diet and nutrition than calories. We argue their importance; we argue their role in weight loss and weight gain. Heck, we even argue whether or not a calorie is a calorie (figure that one out). Calories are an overly confusing topic that does NOT need to be complicated. Here is my approach to keeping my calories in check.
Firstly, I completely guesstimate my calorie needs.
I spent 4 years in an honors program studying nutrition and metabolism, then I spent 6 years working in research and development in the nutrition industry. After that I spent another 2 years doing my graduate degree in Human Nutrition, then finally I have spent the last decade making a living as a nutritional author and I STILL don’t pretend that I know exactly how many calories I eat, or how many I burn in any given day.
We can always have a rough idea of how many calories we eat, but we must always guesstimate at the amount and typically we guesstimate high.
Based on this knowledge I’m going to tell you what has worked for me over the years, but keep in mind, any calorie numbers I give you are rough guesses (just like everybody else).
I eat most of my calories in the evening, even on the days I'm not fasting. I rarely eat after 10 PM and if I eat before 10 AM it is something light. I find this practice keeps my night times from turning into a chance to
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overeat, and keeps my mornings from becoming hectic. Plus, to be honest if I start eating after 10 PM I usually end up staying up later than I should.
I'm also not a big breakfast eater. Don’t get me wrong, I love breakfast, and I especially love breakfast foods. In fact, I eat breakfast almost every day I’m not fasting, but I like my breakfasts LIGHT. My first “big” mea l is usually around lunch time (noon to 2 pm).
Not only am I not a natural big breakfast eater, but I’m also an evening “snacker” by nature. So instead of fighting it, I simply embraced this as my style of eating, and I encourage you to do the same. This comes right back to the original Eat Stop Eat philosophy of learning to eat when you are hungry and to not eat when you are not hungry.
So, on non-fasting days I will typically 200-400 calories at breakfast, then consume 600 - 800 cals at lunch (usually this is my bigger protein meal), then another 1000 - 1200 cals between 5 and 11 pm. Add in 200500 calories from unplanned snacks and maybe a pint of Guinness and that’s my calorie total for the day.
This creates a daily intake on the days that I am not fasting that can be as low as 2,000 calories and as high (rarely) as 2,900.
My calories are typically a BIT higher on my workout days, and on weekends, maybe 250-400 calories higher, but I would be surprised if they are ever over 3,000 calories in any given day.
Right now, with a 32-inch waist, 49.5-inch shoulders and a body weight of around 175 pounds my “suggested” calorie intake is around 2400 per
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day. When I get leaner, I up my calories slightly, and if I gain fat then I decrease my calories slightly.
Finally, when I’m happy with my weight and my look, my calories will hover around the 2,500 – 2,800 range. This is another critical part to my approach – realizing that eating for maintenance is a lot different than eating for weight loss. Simply, if you can lose weight at 1,800 calories, it doesn’t mean you maintain at 1,801 calories. You can go a lot higher and not see any major increases for a while. And, once you do see an increase, you immediately know how to fix it.
Just like protein, in an odd sort of way you could say that I also practice a natural form of calorie cycling, going from 0, all the way up to 2,400 or even 2,900 sometimes, and with everything in-between depending on the day.
When people ask me, “How many calories do you eat?” my answer is usually “Somewhere between 1,700 and 2,700 calories in a day.”
The fundamental difference between my approach and most other approaches is I let my measurements dictate how much I eat.
If my waist measurement is going up, but none of my other measurements are (a key indicator of fat gain), then I know I’m gaining fat and should reduce the amount I am eating.
If my waist is going down, but my arms, legs, chest and shoulders are also going down (an indicator that I am also losing muscle) then I know I’m not eating enough calories or protein and I slightly increase how much I am eating.
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If my waist is staying within an inch of where I want it, I feel great, and am having good workouts and great sleeps then the amount I am eating is perfect and there is absolutely no reason to change it.
I recommend you use the same approach. If you take one piece of advice away from Eat Stop Eat Optimized it is this: take your measurements and let your measurements (not some random online equation), dictate how much you eat in a day.
Finally, let’s discuss where to start. Here’s how I figure out a starting point: Take your height in centimeters and multiply it by 10 for women and 14 for men. This is a nice starting guesstimate for calorie intake, but it’s only a guesstimate — adjust from this n umber based on your weight and your circumferences. Remember that goal is to either eat as much as you can while still losing weight, or eat as much as you can while not gaining weight, depending if you are trying to lose weight or maintain your current weight.
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SUPPLEMENTS OPTIMIZED Contrary to what you may have read on the internet, I am not antisupplements and yes, I do have supplements in my house.
Supplements are a useful tool because of their convenience, and sometimes their taste.
That being said, it has been my finding that there is very little research on the benefits of supplementation in people who are fasting. So, what I intend to do in the next few pages is provide you with supplement recommendations along with the theory to support these recommendations, with a stern reminder that the need or use of supplements is still controversial and often not backed as strongly by published science as we would like.
If you're in a calorie deficit for long periods of time, I find that having protein powder in the house makes for a convenient protein source… especially if you’re a chocaholic like me.
Protein powder is the one supplement I use on a regular basis.
I have experimented with branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) for years. Based on the available research they are possibly just as effective as a protein supplement for muscle building; yet to be honest, I haven’t personally found much difference taking BCAAs during my fasts or after my workouts, but you can experiment if you wish.
Another supplement I use on a regular basis is creatine monohydrate. I really like creatine and I think it offers much more value than simply
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muscle building. The research on creatine and health is impressive, and perhaps it’s time we stop thinking of creatine as only a “muscle builder”. My recommendation is 2 - 5 grams of creatine monohydrate after every workout. It can be mixed in water, juice or in your protein shake. You don’t need carb mega-doses and you do not need any of the fancy forms of creatine. Good old plain creatine monohydrate will do the trick.
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EATING OPTIMIZED The way I approach eating is laid out perfectly in the “How to Eat” chapter of Eat Stop Eat. Basically eat what you want, just be aware of why you are eating and how much you are eating, and try not to stress about your food choices.
Do everything possible to avoid restrained eating (see Eat Stop Eat for details). EVERY TIME that I have fallen into the restrained eating trap, whether it was thinking a food was “important for fat loss” or simply trying to rule out foods that were “bad for me” I have had difficulty losing weight or even maintaining my current body weight.
When I am flexible and open to all foods, then maintaining and even getting lean is easy for me. Weight loss is stressful enough without adding rules that only serve to complicate the process.
So, I urge to you give up on good foods and bad foods. Stop separating things - enjoy your food, just eat less of it.
You do have to eat like an adult. Eat your broccoli but also eat chocolate. Remember it’s about balance and not thinking some foods have more “magical properties than others”.
Drink Water. Yes, the 8 glasses a day is not based on science, but every time I increase my water intake to 4 liters per day, I look and feel much better. I typically drink a liter during my workout, an d probably a liter afterwards. This is one of those “not proven by science, but really seems to help” things. I am less headache-y, less cranky, and have less cravings when I drink enough water.
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In fact, upping your water intake is a nice ritual to get you into a more “diet friendly” frame of mind WITHOUT leading you down the path of restrained eating. As cliché as it sounds, starting the day off with a tall glass of water really does seem to help set the mood for the rest of the day. It helps with hunger, getting rid of morning cobwebs, and could slightly improve the way you look.
Eat lightly during the day, even when you’re not fasting. I like saving my calories for later in the day. My first big meal is usually lunch, then it's light again until my wife and kids get home. Bottom line, I like eating with my family, and I enjoy eating at night — so why fight it. Go with your natural tendencies.
Consciously but not obsessively add fruits and ve getables to your diet. When the option is there, add them in. And please, don’t be afraid of fruit; the idea that fruit causes you to gain fat is nonsense. Apples, oranges, pears, mangos, bananas, and berries are all part of my regular diet.
Recognize your hot button foods. We ALL have foods that are hard to resist. I’m bad with cookies, ice cream, and pretty much any baked good. I don't avoid these foods, I just stay aware that these are the foods that typically lead me to overeat. There are days where I decide, I’m going to eat a brownie , and there are days I decide, I’m going to eat ALL THE BROWNIES . I have learned to just go with it. Through years of trial and error I have learned that eating less is much easier when you are doing so without limiting the types of foods you eat. Allow yourself to eat the foods you love, just eat a little less of them.
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GET and STAY LEAN – Once you’ve lost weight, aim to always keep your waist circumference less than 50% of your height.
When you are lean you can see changes in your body that are indicative of overeating, but when you are already heavy it is very difficult to tell what is going on. As an example, a 150-pound woman can notice a 2 to 3 -pound change in weight, whereas a 205-pound woman may not.
Women can also gain and lose 3-4 pounds of water weight as a result of their menstrual cycle (another reason why knowing your measurements is so important), however you should also be a ble to maintain a weight within 5 pounds in either direction of their ideal weight regardless of this monthly water fluctuation.
If you’ve read my theories on inflammation and muscle growth, you know that I believe that chronic low-grade inflamma tion can actually prevent muscle growth and impact your health. So, it really doesn’t matter if your goal is fat loss, muscle building, or weight m aintenance, there is not good reason to actually try and gain large amounts fat. Don’t get fooled into bulking or gaining fat in the name of muscle. Keep your waist circumference to less than half your height.
Here's the deal with coffee, tea, pop, and water: drink WATER when you are thirsty and pop when you feel like you want the taste of pop. And we all know why we drink coffee and tea. And, no the aspartame and sucralose in soda is not enough to prevent fat loss or increase insulin to any significant degree. In many of the original scientific studies on fasting, aspartame sweetened beverages were often used during the fasting periods.
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Finally, here’s some photos of the foods I ate in the two weeks leading up to one of my more recent photoshoots. You will notice that I am not a gourmet chef and that some of this food was fast food. And, while my tastes have changed over the years, this is still a fair representation of some of the types of meals I eat.
(Please note: I did not eat all of these in one day. They are about one week’s worth of examples of what I MAY have at each time during a typical day.)
(Lunch - about 800 Calories, 30 grams of protein)
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(Another lunch - about 500 Calories, 30 grams of protein)
(Dinner - 900 Calories, 50 grams of protein)
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(Snack - 300 Calories, no real protein)
(Before bed/after workout – 500 Calories, 50 grams protein)
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(Snack [shake] - 200 Calories, 50 grams of protein)
(Lunch - 300 Calories, 30 grams of protein)
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(Snack [brownie] - 300 Calories, no real protein)
(Post Workout Snack - 200 Calories, 35 grams protein)
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(Dinner - 1,000 Calories, 60 grams protein)
(Snack [Cheesecake] - 700 Calories, 15 grams protein)
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(Alcohol [2-3 a week Scotch, Rum, Guinness, or Banks] – 120200 Calories)
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PRIORITIES OPTIMIZED After years of research, experimenting, helping people in real life, and helping people solve problems in the virtual internet world, I’ve come across a very simple set of priorities for weight loss and muscle building.
Diet
>
Sleep > Weight Training > Cardio > The Rest
Here’s how you use this little chart.
First, diet means everything to weight loss, so it’s the most important part of any weight loss program. It’s also the most important part of any weight maintenance program, and it’s the most important part of your health that you can actually control.
It doesn’t matter if you have the world’s best weight training program, cardio program, or supplement program — if your diet is horrible you are not going to be losing weight.
Next is sleep. Sounds funny, but I’ve seen really well-designed programs fall apart due to lack of sleep. And, since sleep trumps weights or cardio then it is counterproductive to lose sleep to work out. 4 AM wake up calls for firm-your-booty boot camp makes little sense unless you are ASLEEP by 8 PM the night before.
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NOTE: This does not mean “going to bed” or “getting ready for bed” but actually being asleep by 8 PM.
This rule also applies to late night workouts. Even though I may occasionally workout at 9 or 10 at night, I’m in bed and asleep by 11:30 PM, 12 AM latest. Given my current life situation, I am also usually waking up between 7:30 AM and 8 AM.
Bottom line — do your best to get 8 hours of sleep each and every night. It may not be possible for everyone, but do your best. I cannot stress enough how important sleep is to your weight loss success. In fact, getting enough sleep should be a priority for the sake of your overall health in general.
Next, resistance training trumps cardio. If you only have an hour to workout, I’d rather you spend 60 minutes doing resistance training. Out of all my photoshoots, I’ve only ever used cardio for the first one. Since then I simply haven’t found any benefit. I’ve even planned on doing cardio, then stopped about 4 weeks out. To me it seems silly — if I have time to waste in the gym I should either be lifting, or I should just go home and hang out with my family.
Finally, let’s discuss the minutia. Supplements, breathing techniques, cold water emersion baths, or whatever else is en vogue, it comes AFTER the previous points. It’s absolutely okay to play with these things, to amuse yourself with them, and even to search and see if something CAN actually help you reach your goals, but ONLY if everything else is in order.
To be clear, I do this from time to time. If a supplement catches my eye I will try it; the same goes for a new training style or whatever. The benefit 52
is that since I have all my metrics, I can easily assess whether or not something is working in a way that I find valuable. I encourage you to do the same.
If something catches your fancy, simply assign a pass or fail grade — based on your metrics. Give it a timeline. If it doesn’t make a noticeable change in the time you’ve given it, then write it off as a waste.
Here are some examples.
Let’s say a supplement is saying it can help me gain muscle. I know that as a general rule for most grown adults (both men and women) each inch increase in your waist circumference is equivalent to about 5 pounds of fat gain.
If I take the supplement for 2 months and my weight goes up by 8 pounds. My arm, forearm, or calf measurements don’t change and my waist goes up by almost 2 inches — then I know the product was a failure and I simply gained fat.
If my weight goes up by 8 pounds, my waist only went up by half an inch, and I gained size on my arms and calves; well then, we’d have a winner (hasn’t happened yet).
By using metrics, you can take the guess work out of deciding whether a supplement is working or not.
Keeping things in-line and in priority will make your weight loss easier and less complicated.
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CONCLUSIONS OPTIMIZED There are hundreds, probably thousands of weight loss diets. Many can be effective, but the key to weight loss isn’t just weight loss. It’s wh at you do after, rather how sustainable the diet and lifestyle is for you. The previous chapters are an exact rundown of how I have optimized Eat Stop Eat for my own personal needs over the last decade.
Yes, at its core most people see Eat Stop Eat as fasting, but that’s not all it is. In fact, I view fasting as only one component of Eat Stop Eat. The other components are weight training, the prioritization of protein, learning to eat when hungry and to not eat when not hungry, and above all else flexibility.
The goal is to make this all feel effortless most of the time . It will be effortful in the gym, and at times your diet will require effort, like when you’ve fallen off track or are at a special event like a wedding. The rest of the time I want you to feel as if you are NOT a health junkie or a gym warrior or anything along those lines.
There is no right way to fast and no right way to do Eat Stop Eat — there is only the way that works for you. This is what I want you to do: try to tweak and optimize using the guidelines I have given you so that you too can get results as easily as possible while being as flexible as possible.
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ACTION STEPS OPTIMIZED
1. Fasting Optimized •
Fast once or twice a week.
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Switch your fasting times occasionally.
2. Workouts Optimized •
Workout when it is most convenient for you.
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Remember that consistency and effort (and consistency OF effort) are the keys to progress.
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Three to four workouts per week seem to work best for most people.
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Consider using fasting as rest days (only train on non-fasting days).
3. Results Optimized •
Get a DEXA scan so you have an accurate estimation of the amount of muscle and body fat you currently have; then get a DEXA scan every 6 months to a year to monitor progress.
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Prepare for a photo shoot during the same time as your DEXA scan to get an idea of how your “look” corresponds to your body fat and lean body mass changes.
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Most importantly, learn to track your circumferences.
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4. Protein Optimized •
Aim for roughly 100 grams of protein per day; you can go higher, but try your best not to go lower.
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Divide your protein into 2 to 4 “doses” per day.
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Space your protein intake by at least 4-6 hours.
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This can be as simple as making sure you have protein at breakfast, lunch, or dinner and after your workout.
5. Calories Optimized •
Eat as much as you can while still losing weight.
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Eat the most calories when you like eating the most (evening snacker, breakfast eater, or all-day eater).
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Let your measurements guide your calorie intake; if your waist circumference increases by more than an inch, decrease your calorie intake.
6. Supplements Optimized •
I find protein powder to be useful for its convenience and taste.
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I’ve experienced good results with creatine monohydrate.
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Consider them as “supplements” not magic, they can help only if you’re on point with your diet and workout.
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