How To Lose 30 Pounds In 3 Months And Keep It Off For Good
The Right Mindset
Losing weight and getting shredded starts with changing your mindset. Your mindset is a BIG part of the reason why you’re “here” in the first place…
It’s how you see the world, and how you decide what’s possible and what’s not. That’s why if you want to achieve something you’ve never done before (getting shredded), you need to CHANGE your mindset.
And one of the big problems is that most of us focus on the NEGATIVE. What do I mean?
Well, most people, when they think about losing weight and getting shredded, think about all the NEGATIVE aspects instead of the positive ones.
These people focus on all the pain and sacrifice they think they’ll have to deal with in order to achieve their goals.
But look, I’m going to be brutally honest with you here:
If you can’t find a way to shift your focus to the POSITIVE aspects of getting lean, you’ll never succeed.
Plain and simple.
Right now you are probably in the worst shape you will ever be in for the rest of your life if you are able to shift your mindset from how it is right now, to visualizing how amazing you are going to look and feel once you achieve your goals. You need to believe you can do this and I promise you, you will do it!! It starts with a shift in mindset and a true and very real belief from within. If you do not believe you will not achieve. Remember that!
So how do you shift your focus from what you might have to “give up” to what you’re going to GAIN by getting in shape?
You have to start influencing your subconscious mind!
A habit is a redundant set of automatic unconscious thoughts, behaviors, and emotions that develop through repetition. It’s when you’ve done something so many times that your body is programmed to become the mind. Over time, your body is dragging you to a predictable future based on what you’ve been doing in the past. Therefore, if you’re not in the present moment, you’re probably in a program.
And here’s exactly how to do it:
Step #1
Write out a Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-Oriented goal (S.M.A.R.T) like…
“I, [your name], am going to drop X kgs of body fat by [date]”
It must be challenging and it must be realistic at the same time!!
Step #2
Write out your S.M.A.R.T goal 10 times every single day.
DON’T write this out on a computer — you must write this out by hand.
You’ll be able to start influencing your subconscious mind, which will help you make the right decisions that align with your goal of getting in incredible shape each and every day.
Boost Your Motivation
Everybody wants to be shredded and have a carved out six-pack, but 99% of people will never get there.
Why?
Because they have NO idea how to increase their motivation!
The fact is you MUST know how to increase your motivation if you want to get in shape. Otherwise, you’ll just end up giving up and failing to reach your goal.
Motivation is the fuel that you need to turn NEW behaviors into habits.
Once you’ve turned a new behavior into a HABIT, whether it’s lifting regularly, eating
more protein, or getting to sleep earlier, it becomes EASIER by the day.
That’s because habits are things you do on “autopilot”. They require ZERO conscious brainpower.
And if you want to get shredded and get lean and live the life of your dreams, you have to slowly eliminate bad behaviors and turn a whole bunch of NEW behaviors into habits, and to do that, you need your motivation to be sky-high at ALL times!
So here’s what I want you to do:
Step #1
Write out at least 10 reasons why you want to lose weight/fat. Real reasons that actually mean something to you, deep and meaningful personal reasons of why you want to be in shape!
Step #2
Pick out the 3 most important reasons why you want to get in shape, and write out (by hand) on the page below WHY those reasons are important to you.
If one of your reasons is that you want to look good naked so you can find an attractive partner, write out why that’s important to you. Did you get rejected in the past because of your body? Are you tired of being afraid to take your shirt off in front of someone? It is ok to feel this way it happens, it sucks and I want to help you. Be honest with yourself, be true to what you want, write it down every day and your behaviors will start to change because I know you don’t want to feel that pain any more and you don’t deserve to either!
If you want to get in shape just to prove it to yourself, write out why that matters to you. Why do you need to prove it to yourself? Where did you fail in the past? Whatever the reason, be honest, be real and write it down!
Step #3
Put the piece of paper with your 3 reasons on it somewhere you will see it every single day. Put it on your fridge or put it on your bathroom mirror. Put it where you will see it every day!
You need to remind yourself of these reasons every single day to keep your motivation sky-high or it will all seem to hard.
You need to tie all of your daily behaviors BACK to those 3 reasons.
Every single decision you make today, tomorrow and from every day forward needs to tie back to those 3 reasons.
The #1 reason why most guys fail to get in incredible shape in the first place is because when they have to give up their favorite fast food meal in favor of something healthier, all they think about is the “giving up” part.
They forget about WHY they want to get shredded in the first place, and why that specific reason is MUCH more important than the short-term pleasure of eating some crappy junk food.
I know for a fact junk food and whatever it is you eat that you shouldn’t be doesn’t make you happy, I know this for a fact. You eat it and it is delicious and it is amazing and it is joyful and then 20 minutes later you are ridden with guilt and frustration that you broke your diet and wasted an entire day.
We are going to stop this from happening to you over and over again and it starts now!! Please do everything I am asking you to do because promise you it will be worth it!
The Five Steps To Fat Loss
Step #1
Keep Your Calories As HIGH As Possible While Dieting
When you start your fat loss diet, you need to keep your calories as HIGH as possible
(including carbohydrates).
This helps keep your metabolism up and your thyroid hormones primed for fat burning.
One of the most common mistakes guys make when they’re trying to get shredded is they immediately SLASH their intake.
This is possibly the WORST thing you could do!
Now, I’m not saying to stuff your face with junk food, because you’ll never get shredded that way.
What I am saying is that you’ve got to eat as MUCH as possible of the right foods.
This will help you manage your hunger, keep your hormone levels up, and get your metabolic furnace roaring at all times.
PLUS…
If you cut your calories HARD right away, then you’ve got no room to play with if you stall out or plateau…
That’s why you’ve got to keep your calories as HIGH as possible while dieting.
Your body NEEDS to adjust to a high amount of calories before you start dieting, so that it is fully prepared and ready to start dropping body fat quickly.
Step #2
Eat Protein At Every Single Meal Throughout The Day
I touched on this earlier but I am going to say it again because it is really important! Getting shredded isn’t just about losing fat, it’s also about BUILDING muscle.
And to build muscle, you need to eat LOTS of protein.
That’s why you need to eat protein in EVERY single meal throughout the day.
Anytime you even think about putting food in your mouth, there needs to be a big serving of protein in there.
Now, If you don’t eat much protein right now, this is going to feel like a LOT more food than you’re comfortable with, but it’s 100% necessary. Food is your friend. Well, the right food is your friend!
Here are a few more reasons why protein is the king of all macronutrients:
- Excess calories from protein are more likely to go towards repair/retention of lean mass (vs calories from carbs or fat)
- Protein makes you feel FULLER for longer (compared to carbs or fat)
- Protein has a Thermic Effect of Food (TEF) of 20–35%, which means that 20–35% of the total calories you take in from protein get burned up just to break down the food you eat (vs carbs and fat which are both below 10% TEF)
- Good sources of protein are things like extra lean ground beef, chicken, turkey, fish, and eggs.
Step #3
Cut Your Carb Intake Gradually Over Time
One of the most important secrets to getting shredded is cutting your carb intake
gradually.
When you start out, you should be eating 7 meals per day with carbs at EVERY meal.
This will allow your body to adjust to a HIGH amount of food, and will speed up your metabolism because you’re forcing your body to adapt to that higher level of intake.
Once your bodyweight has stabilized on this initial base diet (usually after 2 weeks), then you will cut carbs from just ONE meal the following week…
Then, the week after, you could expect to drop ~1 kg, and you should keep your carbs the same (at 6 out of 7 meals each day).
That week, instead of cutting your carbs again, add in one cardio session. You’ll probably drop another 500g — 1 kg.
Then, after you’ve been eating carbs at 6 out of 7 meals for 2 weeks, you will cut carbs from another meal, dropping it to 5 out of 7 meals per day.
The next week, you would maintain that same level of carb intake, but add another hour of cardio to allow your body to adjust.
Can you see how this works?
The important point is that it’s GRADUAL…
You don’t cut them all at once! That is how you plateau!
You do it slowly and gradually over time, allowing your body to adjust for 1–2 weeks before you cut any more carbs from your diet.
Step #4
Increase Your Output
Increasing your energy output is essential for getting shredded.
You need to be performing high-intensity weight lifting workouts if you want to strip away all the excess body fat you’re carrying around with you right now.
Another great way to increase your output is by performing High Intensity Interval Training, or H.I.I.T for short.
This high-intensity style of training can be done with traditional cardio equipment (treadmills, bikes, ellipticals, etc) or with bodyweight exercises (squats, lunges, pushups, burpees, etc.)
For example:
A H.I.I.T workout on the treadmill could be 10 rounds of 30 seconds of sprinting followed by 30 seconds of rest.
A H.I.I.T workout with bodyweight exercises could be the same 10 rounds with 30 seconds of work followed by 30 seconds of rest, but instead of sprinting on the treadmill, you do burpees, squats, lunges, kettlebell swings, or pushups.
This style of training will JACK UP your metabolism and help you burn more fat throughout the day. I prefer HIIT cardio and recommend it because it not only increases your metabolism, but it is also time effective compared to traditional steady state cardio. If you prefer steady state then that will work too. Just get that body moving and as a result the excess body fat will start to shift as well!
Step #5
Be Accurate And Consistent
If you want to get shredded, you must be both accurate AND consistent with your program.
You need accurate numbers for things like:
- How much food you are consuming each and every day!
- Sets/reps/weight lifted in the gym
- Weight/photos/tape measurements
You can’t improve something until you start TRACKING it. And tracking something allows you to improve your consistency.
The simple fact is that most guys know what they have to do to get shredded — they just can’t stick to their plan, and they end up giving up, and having even LESS motivation to try it again.
That’s why you MUST be sure to track everything you eat (follow a meal plan so you aren’t guessing) everything you do in the gym, and all the changes your body goes through as you start to drop body fat and lean out.
Count Your Calories and Macros
Counting calories and macros has two important functions:
- An awareness tool. Much like stepping on the scale and weighing yourself on a regular basis, counting calories and macros helps you develop an awareness of how much and what type of foods you are eating. Counting calories/macros is essentially a form of self-monitoring, and self-monitoring has been shown to be an important component of fat loss success.
- A tracking/diagnostic/adjustment tool. As your coach, the more information I have, the better I can help you succeed. Since nutrition is at least half of the fat loss or muscle gain battle, it’s important that I know your calorie and macronutrient breakdowns. It will help me diagnose where problems may lie, and make adjustments to your dietary strategies when necessary.
What Tools Can I Use to Count Macros?
There are many tools available on the web to count calories and macros. Here are some:
Eatthismuch.com (also helps with meal planning)
How to read food labels
When counting macros, we are interested in four things:
- Calories
- Protein
- Carbohydrate
- Fat
The following picture is an example of a U.S. food label. I’ve circled the components that we are counting. It is important to pay attention to the serving size; in this example, the values you see are for 2/3 of a cup of this particular food.
Is There A Hierarchy of Importance for Macros?
Yes. Calories are the most important. The bottom line is, if you want to lose fat, the best training program in the world isn’t going to help if you are not in a calorie deficit (you are expending more energy than you are taking in). It is total calorie intake, in relation to calorie expenditure (how much you are burning each day), that ultimately determines whether your weight goes up, down, or remains stable. Protein is the next most important component. Protein helps build muscle. It helps keep you feel fuller if you are on a diet. It helps you maintain muscle while you are losing fat on a diet. This is why I always set calories and protein first for myself and for my clients. Carbohydrates and fat will then make up the remainder of your calorie intake. The proportion of each is largely a matter of your overall training volume and personal preference. The more you train, the more carbs you will need at the expense of fat. I tend to favor a higher carb and lower fat intake for most clients simply because fat is very energy dense, and it is easier to overeat on it compared to carbs. Still, it will depend upon what you can consistently adhere to, and adherence and consistency are by far the best predictors of success.
What Are Common Errors People Make When Counting?
The biggest mistakes that people make when counting is not correctly assessing portion sizes, and not considering the amount of energy that fat can add to the diet. For example, 2 tablespoons of peanut butter is 190 calories. Many people will scoop out big rounded tablespoons (which in fact will be more than 2 tablespoons), which can quickly lead to double the calories they think that they’re eating. Or, people will not count the dressing that was on their salad. Extra calories can sneak their way into your diet in a lot of ways and it’s important to be aware.
How Accurate Do I Need to Be?
The level of accuracy you need is dependent on your goals. The leaner you want to get, the more precise you want to be. If you are overweight and just trying to get in shape, you have much more leeway then if you are trying to get ripped. I recommend shooting for 10% of either side of your macro targets each day, 90% of the time (just make sure you aren’t binge eating the other 10% of the time). If you are looking to be in the single digits for body fat percentage and are prepping for a contest or photo shoot, then I recommend 5% on either side. Keep in mind, however, that it’s impossible to be 100% precise. Foods naturally vary in their calorie/macronutrient content from what might be listed on a label or food database, and there will always be human error in estimating portion sizes. However, this error will even out over time if you are consistent in the way that you count. The idea is that we don’t want to have huge errors or variances day to day.
Social Protocol (The Weekends)
If this lifestyle is going to last long enough to make a real difference, it needs to be sustainable. Thatmeans you need to enjoy it. No one is unhappy and successful for years on end. We need day-to-daysatisfaction and contentedness to be strong, and to be creative.
ALCOHOL
Is, unfortunately, central to much of modern societies social protocol. Meeting your friends tonight? You will more than likely be, ‘going for a drink.’ Now, alcohol is NOT IDEAL for making progress with your training. Physically, it decreases testosterone levels, and elevates estrogen, and mentally, it shifts all thinking back to the lizard brain up top… Poor clarity of thought leads to poor judgments.
DAMAGE LIMITATION
We need to limit damage to our training, if the circumstances mean drinking is inevitable. It loves generating unwanted adipose tissue, and, with all those supplements and that food your eating, your liver and kidneys need all the TLC they can get. Alcohol, for the most part derives from fruit extract mixed with a ton of sugar. If we avoid these kinds of drinks, we can make things a little easier for ourselves.
BEFORE YOU GO OUT
Prep one green shake and leave it beside your bed in case you stumble in, in a drunken state. (Compensates for alcohols acidity, and to re-align your pH balance.) Have your Huperzine-A and 5HTP to help maximize a restful night sleep, as alcohol reduces REM sleep.
Recoving From A Cheat Day
CHEATING
By no means do we condone or accept cheating on your diet. It isn’t hard to stick to. You eat enough. It tastes good. You look amazing. BUT, I realize there are times in all our lives where things may get a little too much, and the result, all too often, is comfort eating/bandwagon ejector seating…
THE SCENARIO
Your rabbit just died. In floods of tears you devour a 14- inch meat feast. Horrified, you look up in dismay; your hands stained in red from the tomatoes, and a brutal combination of oil and tears streaming down your chin. The horizon looks bleak. Your gains are vanishing before your swollen eyes, and you can feel your cheeks holding onto every ml of water it can in an attempt to punish you..
WHAT NOW?
The next day looks like a zero carb one for you my friend. This is going to limit further water retention and create the calorie deficit needed to combat fat gains. And, to rehydrate and flush out unwanted water retention, your going to water load..
Nutritional Terms You Need To Know For Weight Loss
Energy:
1. Energy is the power recieved from electricity, fuel, food and other sources in order to work or produce motion.
2. Energy is the physical or mental strength of a person that can be directed towards some activity.
Cell:
A cell is the basic unit of all living organisms. Some living organisms exist only as a single cell. An average-size man contains 60 to 100 trillion cells. Cells keep themselves alive, produce energy, exchange information with neighboring cells, multiply, and eventually die when their time has come. Each cell is a small contaniner of chemicals and water wrapped up by a thin sheet of material.
Tissue:
Tissue is body material in animals and plants that’s made up of large numbers of cells that are similar in form and function.
Muscle:
Muscles are masses of tissue in the body, often attached to bones, that can tighten and relax to produce movement.
Fat:
- Fat is naturally oily or greasy extra flesh in the body kept under the skin.
- Fat is a substance of this type made from plant products that’s used in cooking. Some fats are important nutrients for the body to use in building cells and accomplishing other bodily activities.
Gram:
A gram is a unit of weight in the metric system. One pound is about 454 grams.
Kilogram:
A kilogram is equal to a thousand grams. There are a little more than two pounds to every kilogram.
Milligram:
A milligram is one thousandth of a gram. There are one thousand milligrams in a gram.
Calorie:
A calorie is a measurement unit of the amount of energy that can be produced by food. One calorie is enough energy to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree celsius. Thus, when you’re referring to the calories contanined in food, you’re referring to the potential energy stored in the food.
Nutrient:
A nutrient is a substance that gives a living body something that it needs to live and grow.
Food:
Food is material taken into the body to provide it with the nutrients it needs for energy and growth. Food is fuel for the body.
Protein:
Proteins are naturally occuring compounds that are used for growth and repair in the body and to build cells and tissues. Muscle tissue contains lots of protein. Protein keeps you strong and makes your bones last. It is essential nutrient for life.
Amino Acid:
Amino acids are very small units of material that protein is built out of.
Carbohydrate:
Carbohydrates are molecules composed of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen. Carbohydrates are important nutrients for energy and for buiding cells in the body. The word carbohydrate is formed by carbo- which means carbon, and -hydrate which means water.
Digestion:
Digestion is the process of breaking down food so that it can be absorbed and used by the body.
Enzyme:
An enzyme is a substance produced by organisms that help cause specific chemical reactions.
Metabolism:
Metabolism is the term for the series of processes by which molecules from food are broken down to release energy, which is then used to fuel the cells in the body and to create more complex molecules used for bulding new cells. Metabolism is necessary for life and is how the body creates and maintains the cells that make it up.
Anabolism:
Anabolism is a metabolic process in which energy is used to make more complex substances(such as tissue) from simpler ones.
Catabolism:
Catabolism is the production of energy through the conversion of complex molecules(such as muscle or fat) into simpler ones.
Nutrient:
A nutrient is a substance that provides nourishment essential for life and growth.
Nutrition:
Nutrition is the process of getting nourishment , especially the process of getting food and nutrients and utilizing them to stay healthy, grow, and build and replace tissues.
Diet:
- One’s diet is the food and drink that he or she usually consumes.
- A diet is a special course of controlled or restricted intake of food or drink for a particular purpose, such as losing weight, supporting exercise, or for medical maintenance.
Sugar:
Sugar is a class of sweet-tasting carbohydrates that come various plants, fruits, honey, and other sources.
Sucrose:
Sucrose is the kind of sugar most commonly called “table sugar”. It is usually in the form of a white powder and is used as a sweetener. It is most often taken from natural sources but can be made artificially as well.
Glucose:
Glucose is a very simple sugar that is an important energy source in living things. Most carbohydrates are broken down in the body into glucose, which is the main source of fuel for all cells.
Glycogen:
Glycogen is a substance found in bodily tissues that acts as a store of carbohydrates.
Simple Carbohydrate:
A simple carbohydrate is a very simple form of sugar that is usually sweet tasting and is broken down into glucose very quickly.
Complex Carbohydrate:
A complex carbohydrate is a carbohydrate that is made up of many molecules of “simple carbohydrate” linked together. Because of this, it takes the body longer to break it down into glucose.
Starch:
Starch is a complex carbohydrate that is a found naturally in many fruits and vegetables and is sometimes added to ther foods to thicken them. In its pure form it is a white powder. Although starch is a complex carbohydrate, some particular foods high in starch break down into glucose quickly, like a simple carbohydrate would.
Insulin:
Insulin is a hormone that consists of protein and is made in the organ known as the pancreas. When you eat food, your body breaks it down into nutrients that are released into the bloodstream. The body also produces insulin, which causes muscles, organs, and fat tissue to take up nutrents and either use them or store them as body fat.
Glycemic Index:
The glycemic index (or GI) is a scale that measures the effect of different carbohydrates on one’s blood sugar levels. Carbohydrates that break down slowly and release glucose into the blood slowly are low on the glycemic index. Carbohydrates that break down quickly will release glucose into the blood quickly, causing insulinlevels to suddenly spike; these are high on the glycemic index. Below 55 on the GI is considered low, and above 70 is considered high.
Fiber:
Fiber is a substance found in some grains, fruit, and vegetables that cannot be digested. Fiber serves to soak up extra water and push other food through the digestive system. It helps push useless food waste out of the body, preventing it from sitting it the system and clogging it. Fiber is considered to play a role in the prevention of many diseases of the digestive tract.
