What I Have Learned About Getting The Body You Want

By Thomas Galloway

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I am of the opinion that the vast majority of fitness advice on the internet emphasizes quick fixes. Naturally, these quick fixes involve diets and training routines that are unsustainable. What does that mean? You get in shape for two months in the summer, and then immediately quit. Who wants that? I believe it is better to adopt a sustainable approach that allows every person to achieve a great physique for a lifetime.

The fundamental principle behind this article is that obtaining your ideal physique is a marathon, not a sprint. With that principle in mind, this article emphasizes reasonable diets, warns against overtraining, and encourages low-impact methods to burn calories.

I am going to break this guide into three categories, by order of importance: (1) Diet; (2) Strength Training; and (3) Calorie Burn.

Diet

Let’s tackle eating! It is both the most difficult and the most important, so let’s get it out of the way.

Calories In, Calories Out:

While other information can be helpful, this is the only piece of knowledge that is necessary:

Calories In -Calories Out = Weight loss or gain

a) 2,200–2,000= weight gain

b) 2,200–2,400= weight loss

Theoretically, this is all you would need to know to lose weight. You could eat only chips all day, every day and still shed the pounds. However, as you may have guessed, this is not a very effective strategy. Because chips (and similar foods) are so calorie dense, you would reach your calorie limit long before you felt full and satisfied.

By eating “calorie efficient” foods, you can spread out your calories across the day. This will allow you to lose weight while remaining full. When evaluating my diet, my efforts focus around finding low-calorie versions of my favorite foods (ice cream, waffles, syrup, etc.).

Do Not Lose Weight Too Quickly

I, and many others, have made the critical mistake of losing weight too quickly. There are many reasons why this is a problem:

1. Discomfort: The lack of food on these diets can be unbearable. While you may feel extremely motivated the first few days, it will not last.
2. More Muscle Loss: Studies back this up. Muscle definition and/or mass is an important aspect of physique improvement. So why would we let our hard work melt away in a rush to see results on the scale?
3. Ruined Metabolism: When we drop calorie intake significantly, our body assumes that we are starving and goes into desperation mode. Our metabolism slows to accommodate the apparent lack of available food. This is why we see people plateau after a couple weeks of rapid fat loss, even at an extremely low calorie intake. This is also why those same people add weight back extremely quickly when they increase their calories again. The metabolism is entirely unprepared for an increase in food.

Additional Tips

Download MyFitnessPal: This app is the most popular of the calorie-trackers. You can set goals, create recipes, and track your progress with incredible accuracy.

Consider buying a food scale: It is much easier to get an accurate calorie count if you know the precise amount of each food that you consume. Even weighing your food for a week or two will improve your ability to accurately eyeball the amount of food you eat when at a restaurant. And, lastly, it is extremely satisfying (maybe that is just me).

Weigh yourself daily: For some reason, this is controversial advice. While weight can fluctuate daily, you will still get an accurate idea of your weight change. Weighing yourself only once a week, as some fitness people absurdly recommend, only increases the likelihood that a misleading weight fluctuation will occur on your one weigh-in each week.

Next Steps

1. Find Maintenance Calories: You can find a rough approximation through goal-setting in MyFitnessPal or a TDEE calculator. But to get more precise, track your calories diligently for a week or two. Find the calorie intake that will keep your weight steady.
2. Reduce Calories: After you have found your maintenance level, you can reduce this number to enter a calorie deficit. DO NOT BE IN A RUSH! Try to lose about ½ to 1 pound of weight each week. If your maintenance calories is 2,200, start by consuming 2,000–2,100 calories each day. Of course, if you burn more calories by exercising, you can eat more.
3. Reduce Again After Plateau: Eventually, your weight loss will plateau. Drop your calorie intake again by 100–200 calories.
4. Evaluate Depending on Goals: After multiple plateaus, I stopped dropping my calorie intake at 400 below maintenance. This left me at 1,800 calories per day. I would burn about 300 calories through exercise or sauna to give myself more calories to eat.

Final Note on Diet:

This may seem overly complex. I’m sure there are readers out there who have achieved six-packs and other physique goals without using any of these steps. But I would argue these individuals are genetically blessed and/or athletes who burn a ridiculous number of calories each day. The rest of us are envious of you. The steps I have provided are intended as a framework for anyone to make dramatic improvements to their physique.

Strength Training

Adding muscle definition and/or mass is one of the best ways to improve your physique. I’m certain very few of you are surprised to read this. Let’s get started!

Why You Should Lift Weights

For those who are still resistant, here are a few of the most compelling reasons to start (or restart) weight training:

1. Increase Strength: Of course! In the first few months of training, beginners can put forth minimal effort and achieve significant results. Increased strength will improve athletic performance, raise confidence levels, and more.
2. Improve Aesthetic: A subjective claim — please forgive me. For men, a proper weight training program will broaden your shoulders, increase arm size, and spark other similar improvements. Women will typically see less of a bulking effect and more of a toning effect. The concern women sometimes have about becoming too bulky has been dispelled time and time again.
3. Increase Calorie Burn: Simple. More muscle mass = increased metabolism = greater calorie burn.

Strength Training Programs

I have tried, and enjoyed, a variety of workout programs. I have put them here below. I should note that these are only a small fraction of the options out there.

1. 3 Days Full-Body: A great beginner routine to get you in the gym but prevent overtraining. It also enables you to complete a full workout with only a handful of different movements.
2. 2 Days Upper Body; 2 Days Lower Body: A fantastic routine for those who love doing legs (congrats!).
3. 2 Days Chest, Back, & Triceps; 2 Days Legs, Shoulders, & Biceps: A twist on the previous routine for those who do not love legs.
4. 2 Days Legs & Shoulders; 2 Days Chest & Triceps; 2 Days Back & Biceps: This 6-day schedule is perfect for those who have more time to be in the gym. However, you do risk overtraining, so be aware of what your body can handle.
5. (My Current Routine) 2 Days Chest, Biceps, Triceps; 2 Days Legs, Shoulders, Back (with Kettlebells): Lately, I have been alternating between kettlebell workouts and barbell/dumbbell/machine workouts. While the kettlebell workouts are phenomenal at targeting the entire body, my routine primarily hits the legs, shoulders, and back. This allows me to use traditional methods for the chest and arms. So far, it is the perfect balance and keeps my workouts engaging.

Note on overtraining: I subscribe to the principle of 10–20 sets per body part per week. However, you will undoubtedly see plans, or have friends, that recommend more than 20 sets per body part per week. You are, of course, welcome to try out these plans. But as you do, consider a few questions: How much energy do you have for those “extra” sets? Are they actually intense? Are they truly adding to your training? Is this level of intensity sustainable over decades? If your answers to these questions cause you no concern, then I will shut up! Not every recommendation applies to everyone.

Calorie Burn

Last section — let’s go! While diet is priority #1, burning calories is a fantastic way to supplement these efforts.

Why?

Here are a few reasons you should want to burn additional calories.

1. Eat more: Obviously! Burn more calories, eat more food.
2. Heart health: Lighten your heart’s workload! I’ll let the doctors explain.
3. Well-Rounded Athlete: As you know by now, this article is about achieving your desired physique. But there is nothing more embarrassing than rolling up to a pickup basketball game looking shredded but being winded after two minutes. This result is entirely possible if you follow most of the advice in this article but fail to stay in cardiovascular shape. Avoid this scenario.

Methods of Burning Calories

1. Walking: Walking is a fantastic, low-impact method of burning calories. Spend time with others or go solo with a podcast or music.
2. Sauna: Another low-impact method. If longevity is an emphasis (and it should be — who wants the ideal body for only a summer?), you should want to do as much low-impact cardio as possible.
3. Biking: For me, the best thing about biking is finding great views — very few forms of cardio can take you as far as biking. The worst: avoiding being run down by cars who are incapable of avoiding the bike lane.
4. Elliptical/StairMaster™️ I’m putting these two gym classics together. Both are great methods to burn calories, particularly during the colder months.
5. Standing Desk: When I enter the intense periods of cutting, standing provides me with a valuable source of burning calories. During these weeks, you will be looking for every advantage you can find.
6. Running: Depending on your own history, this word either brings you immense joy or intense terrors. I would only encourage this method for those who truly love it. If you have injury issues or poor form, opt for one of the alternatives above.

What to do Next

1. Start, restart, or continue strength training. Find a plan that you like doing and you will stick to it.
2. Follow “Next Steps” in the Diet section above — find maintenance calories and then progressively drop calories. If you are just starting weight training, consider not dropping calories for a few months to achieve maximum progress in the gym.
3. Burn calories as desired. While it is not necessary to do cardio or other methods of calorie burn, it will undoubtedly make the process easier and your body healthier.

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