I’ve always been a bigger guy. Not fat. Muscular. But not toned. I have broad shoulders and thick legs. I’ve been working out regularly since the age of 16. I met my wife when I was around 220 lbs. And I’ve tended to fluctuate from 215-240 lbs as far back as I can remember. Until recently, I was wearing size 40″ pants and shorts. My diet has been fairly consistent for the past decade: higher protein and veggies and not too much carbs (I don’t do pasta, rice or bread). My weaknesses include: vanilla ice cream and chicken wings. I typically eat out of a small bowl to manage caloric intake. At 5 fee 11 inches tall, all the research I’ve done indicates that my ideal weight should be 175! Complete B.S. because of my ‘thick bones’ and ‘dense muscles’. I figure a guy like me should be around 185-195 lbs and “shredded”.
In August, while I was running our dental mission trip in Grenada, I was around 233 lbs; today, I’m 208 and wearing size 36″ pants. So how did I drop 25 lbs in 2 months? It’s actually quite simple: I listened to Dr. Ming Yau. He was my roomie in Grenada. He’s also a health nut. He’s always talking to me about the latest and greatest diet, supplements I should be taking, exercise regime I should be doing, or technology I should be buying to bio-hack myself (like the Oura Ring from Finland which I bought for $400 and it took 2 months to arrive!).
So here are 10 things I started doing differently:
- Intermittent Fasting. You’ve all heard of this before. Basically, your organs have a lifespan of lets say 120 years. So why not give them a break by not using them all the time to digest food? Basically, you have your breakfast at 12:00 p.m. noon and then stop eating around 6:00 p.m.
- Keto. Yes, you’ve probably heard about this one before too. The idea is that, by training your body to use high quality FAT for energy / calories, it can continue to burn your OWN fat when you’re not eating. Best parts about Keto: you have energy ALL the time, you are NOT hungry ALL the time, you get to eat FAT and you don’t get fat. If you want to lose weight, it’s not as simple as burning more calories in a day than you consume. It’s about the QUALITY and SOURCE of those calories. This is where FAT is much better than SUGAR for your energy source.
- My Diet. A lot of people ask about my diet. It’s super simple and kinda boring. In the morning, I have a coffee with 2 big tablespoons of coconut oil and some heavy cream. There’s my FAT until noon. Then, for lunch, I’ll typically have an avocado with hot sauce and / or 2 big tablespoons of Almond Butter and / or 2 big tablespoons of real Mayo (I know this sounds gross, but I like it) OR 2 eggs. Plus a handful of nuts. Then, for dinner, I’ll have some kind of veggie like asparagus or broccoli or a salad. I may or may not have any meat (fish, steak or chicken preferred, in that order). Then, in terms of sugar and fruit, I will usually have a handful of grapes, blueberries, strawberries and / or blackberries. That’s my sugar for the day. There’s also some fibre in there too. But gone are all the processed foods that turn into sugar; no pasta, bread, rice, crackers, etc.
- Alcohol? Nope. It’s pretty much all sugar (except Vodka), but I need my calories from FAT and not much else.
- Supplements: I don’t know why, but I just feel better when I’m taking my daily dose of Vitamin C, Vitamin B complete, pro-biotics, Vitamin D, and sometimes a muli-vitamin. Sometimes, I also take fibre pills because Keto isn’t really high on fibre.
- Green Tea? Yes.
- Apple Cider Vinegar? Not that often, but yes.
- Exercise. I typically work out for 30 minutes a day; sometimes I feel like I have too much energy, so I end up working out for 2 x 30 minutes a day. My routine is Insanity or Insanity Max 30 (cardio, high intensity interval training) and I also throw in some weights. I lift 40 lbs dumbbells and that’s it.
- Sleep. This has become very tough for me. I have too much energy so I find myself waking up at 4 a.m. or 5 a.m. and ready to go. We should be getting 8 hours of sleep, but it’s hard when you have so much energy. I tend to sleep 6 hours now. And no, I’m not waking up early because I’m hungry. Remember: I’m never hungry! P.S. I do recommend the Oura Ring because it tells you a lot about yourself and offers guidance on what you can do to improve your sleep score (don’t eat late, don’t work out late, don’t eat too much sugar / salt throughout the day, go to bed on time and without screen distractions, etc.).
- Dancing. Yes. Lots of this. All the time. It forces you to move and burns all sorts of calories while triggering muscles you didn’t think you had!
Will I be able to get down to 190 lbs? Yes. When? Likely in the next 1-2 months if I keep up my regiment. But once I get there, what next? I dunno… but I’ll tell you something: it’s only going to be great. I love not being tired or groggy throughout the day. I love the clarity of mind. I love not having to worry about eating; not having to think I’m starving (because I never am) and not treating food as a reward or punishment to put into my temple. I love having abs and seeing muscles I haven’t seen in a while.
It’s also a great feeling putting holes in your belts and wearing / shopping for clothes that are a lot smaller than what you’re used to. It’ll bring a big smile to your face.
So, with proper medical supervision of course, I’d encourage everyone to change it up for the better.
