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toning program
THE
GODDESS
TONING
PROGRAM
Chapter 1
Why You Want To Have A Toned,
Fit Body & Why Most Programs
For Women Suck
1
I probably don’t have to say that the open arms.
same is true for women! When you get
up in the morning and feel proud of the You now believe you can have what you
want. There is no greater gift than that.
body you created, your confidence will
When you believe that you deserve
be sky high! good things, good things will come.
I’m not talking about the type of When you feel that you don’t deserve
confidence that comes from just looking good opportunities, experiences and
sexy. I’m talking about the type of people, then you will unconsciously
confidence that is rooted far deeper. push away and sabotage anything good
The confidence that stems from the that comes to you.
fact that you conquered one of the most
commonly fleeting goals. Why most fitness
approaches suck
Conquering Your Physique
to Conquer Your Self Plain and simple, most fitness
approaches suck. These so-called
You could be in a room with 100 people ‘fitness experts’ have lost sight of what
and almost every single one of them it actually takes to get into great shape.
would want to look better and be fitter. Instead they focus on a misguided
outlook promoting that more time
By taking your health and your body in the gym must be better. While
to peak physical condition, you have demonizing foods and macronutrients
accomplished what so many people in the process.
desire, yet so few have.
Fitness has turned into an art of
No amount of money, fame or extremism. The more you workout the
connections can give you a fit body. You better. The less you eat the better.
must work for it. When you start eating
healthier and pushing yourself in the We’ve all heard it before. Fat makes you
gym - you become much more centred fat, no carbs make you fat, no sugar
in yourself. You develop a strong makes you fat... Obsession has been in
realization of what you are truly capable and sensibility has been out.
of. You get used to pushing yourself,
excelling and nourishing your body. Well I’m here to bring sensibility back
Other goals that you seemed to push into the game. I’ll be the first to say
away before are now welcomed with with a straight face that getting in
2
great shape is downright enjoyable. Why Build an Amazing
In fact, I’ve been imbuing hundreds of Body
thousands of people with this skill on
my Road to Ripped podcast. Every single Let’s be honest, we don’t just want to be
week new, fresh emails come in from strong, fit and healthy. We want to look
people thanking me for allowing them like a million bucks too! I mean there’s
to get in amazing shape while enjoying just no getting around this fact.
the process.
We can tell ourselves that we are just
What is the key to looking great? For doing this for ‘higher’ reasons, but
most people all it comes down to is ultimately, our most powerful motivator
this - they look good but they feel is the desire to be attractive. This is
miserable, are hungry, deprived how we’re wired and unless you want
and overtrained. To me, fitness is about to change your DNA, there’s really no
enriching your life; looking amazing but getting around it.
feeling far better! I have my cake and I
revel in it too. So embrace the fact that you want to
look sexy as hell! I mean why wouldn’t
In this course, I will be showing you you want to look great? If working
how getting into mind blowing shape out and eating healthy made you
is just a simple process. Working out less attractive would you still do it?
intelligently and nourishing your body Probably not! Lucky for us, exercise and
is what it comes down to. Depriving healthy eating will make you radiate
yourself of fats or carbs, eating bland vibrant health and youthfulness.
foods and exercising excessively is not
only unnecessary, it will kill I can craft together workouts for
your efforts. different goals and aesthetics. I have
been doing this for the last four years
The balanced approach is the key to - helping men and women build the
getting into your best shape ever and ‘Hollywood body’.
absolutely loving the process. You’re
not going to transform your body Unfortunately, the fitness industry
overnight. But every week you will look hasn’t caught up. Weight training
better, feel better and become more fit. programs are designed to add the
maximum amount of mass without any
This is the secret of the fittest people on thought on how it will change your
the planet - consistent weekly progress body shape.
that’s sustainable.
3
Even those so called ‘high rep tone jeans and an absolutely perky butt. As
routines’ are no better either. They well, your upperbody will be very fit,
make you feel like you’re doing a lot of toned and compact. This comes down
work, but in reality, nothing is actually to adding the perfect amount of muscle
happening. while holding a good looking level of
body fat.
You can’t tone a muscle, you can
simply make it bigger and stronger.
Reducing the fat around a muscle
with proper nutrition will make your
muscles more toned (this comes mostly
from nutrition, something we will be
covering later).
4
Chapter 2
What Building a Downright Sexy Body
Comes Down To, Everyone Gets This Wrong
A great looking body comes down to down your nutrition. When you blend
two things; the right amount of muscle these two variables together,
development and a low level of body fat.
beautiful things happen.
Contrary to what you may have heard
in Shape Magazine, you can’t train a You will begin to see positive changes
muscle to look bulky or toned. each and every week. You will become
slimmer, tighter and more taut. Your
You can train a muscle to become muscles will become more
bigger and stronger, that’s it. If you firm and compact.
want to have great tone and very good
looking muscle shape, you need to build
a good level of strength while staying
pretty lean. You’ll even start to get a little
separation so your shoulders and arms
The most efficient way to achieve the are no longer one entity. This is the sign
perfect amount of muscle development of a girl who is in awesome shape. Slim,
is with proper strength training. fit and strong, but not overdone. Toned
The most efficient way to achieve body status baby!
a low level of body fat is by nailing
5
Reving Up Your Results The Key to a Fit, Slim &
Toned Body
You can rev up your results with some
strategic cardio to accelerate fat loss. Building a slim and fit body is not just a
But unless your nutrition is dialled in, it matter of gaining muscle while getting
will be of little use. If you’re not fuelling lean. What is equally important is
and nourishing your body properly, where that muscle goes.
intense exercise will just make you
hungrier and promote excessive eating. The idea is to gain muscle in a way that
maximizes sex appeal while promoting
So the idea is that your nutrition a fit, athletic and strong body. You
and strength training will allow for a want to look feminine, look stunning in
consistent increase in leanness each clothes and even hotter out of them.
and every week. Adding in some
cardio/brisk walking on rest days Unfortunately, very few programs
will just speed up the process. geared towards women address this
or even know how to address this.
This is the most sensible way to go
about utilizing fat burning exercise. The key is keeping the legs slim and
Nutrition and strength training is your fit and really building up the butt. This
greatest leverage point to build the requires an emphasis on exercises that
body you want. Don’t lose sight of this. really hits the butt hard. Box squats,
sumo deadlifts, forward lunges and
The good news is that even if life gets step-ups are incredible at working
super busy and you only have time to do the glutes.
the strength training and proper eating,
you will still make great results. When you build up your strength on
these four movements there will be
So there’s really never any excuse to a noticeable and direct improvement
regress. No matter what’s going on, or in the shape, firmness and perk
what your situation is, you can always in your butt.
push the ball forward.
6
I don’t care how flat or non-existent strong, there’s no getting around it.
your butt may be, these four exercises Push the ball forward.
will reliably and dramatically bring your
butt up. Creating a Slim and Toned
Upperbody
You will have to work hard on these
exercises and push yourself and work Building strength and tone on the
up to some challenging weights. That upperbody is very important. If you
said, you will be blown away at how slim down to a low body fat without
effective these movements are. training your upperbody, you will end
up losing muscle and becoming soft.
Don’t worry about building up your
thighs too much. If you do these Not exactly what you’re after now is it?
exercises properly, your legs will remain By strengthening your upperbody you
slim and fit. will be firmer and better proportioned.
You may add a little bit of muscle to Don’t worry about getting huge, it just
your legs, but it will be the perfect won’t happen. Women, due to their
amount. This is what I call lowerbody genetic differences, have a very limited
proportion training. Because these capacity to gain upperbody muscle size.
exercises will hit your glutes the
hardest, you can get that perfect By getting your upperbody strong, you
butt without overdoing your will add the perfect amount of muscle
leg development. while still being compact. If you get
to the point where you simply want to
Most fitness experts and trainers maintain your shape, we’ll show you
don’t understand this crucial concept. exactly how to do this.
Those that ‘get it’ focus on the wrong
exercises. Fire hydrant circles, butt But the point is, women need to
raises and leg kicks for very high reps. strength train to look their best! The
The butt does not respond to banging only way you’ll end up looking big is
out 50 reps for the burn. You must get if you use drugs (aka steroids) or if
7
you don’t lean down. At a lower body Although, you need to be fairly lean for
fat level, it’s very hard to hold a lot of this to happen, otherwise any excess fat
muscle, especially for women. you have will blur and obscure muscle
definition.
Why is this? Well because we are wired
for survival. If you were to have a lot Most women go about training their
of metabolically costly muscle tissue core the completely wrong way. They
with very little fat, you wouldn’t last favor long drawn out ab workouts
very long in the event of a famine. So that include countless repetitions of
your body wants to remain as efficient elementary movements.
as possible. Staying at a good looking
body fat level and doing proper For abs training to have any impact you
strength training will ensure you look need to challenge yourself. This doesn’t
good and stay fit and firm. mean doing an exercise 50 times until
it starts to hurt. It means working on
Tying it Together exercises that are challenging within
the first 10-15 reps.
The last piece of the puzzle is the core.
Having a flat stomach with just a hint of If 15 reps is easy, then you just about
abs definition is a great sign that you’re milked as much out of that exercise
in top shape and you take care that you’re ever going to get. The
of yourself. next step is to move to more
challenging exercises.
It’s what every women is after. Now you
can slim down and have a flat stomach, Why is this? Well because after 20
but that doesn’t mean it’s going to look reps or so, you’ll just be increasing
good or be exceptionally firm. endurance, this will have little to no
impact on your muscle development.
To have a great core you need to work
it. By doing so, you can develop some We need to get the muscle stronger for
definition and make your stomach it to become better developed.
harder and more compact. So say goodbye to the marathon crunch
8
workouts. And get ready for some
movements that are going to challenge
the heck out of you.
9
Chapter 3
Why You Must Strength Train To Look
Awesome In a Bikini & Your Favorite Outfit
Strength training is the single most is starting to be uncovered for what it
important component of a solid fitness really is - utter nonsense.
program. Not just for improving health,
strength and overall fitness - but for To get that sleek and sexy body, a
creating an awe inspiring, woman must strength train to add
fit and sexy body. a little muscle in the right areas to
enhance her shape.
Unfortunately, most women steer clear
of strength training. Little do they know You can’t properly build this essential
that they are passing up on the most muscle with cardio and ultra high rep
powerful tool in their proverbial tool exercises and circuits. Your muscles
box for drastically improving need a reason to grow. Pushing them
their appearance. to become stronger and handle more
resistance works. Teaching them to
Go to any fitness club and what do you do elementary activities for extended
see? 80% of the cardio area is women periods of time does not.
and 90%+ of the free weight training
area is men. Thankfully this is starting A properly designed strength training
to change, albeit very, very slowly. program for women will support the
sexy and feminine shape that she is
Strength Training Makes after. It will add just enough muscle
You Bulky? to her body to make her look fit,
toned and athletic.
For a long time, I was convinced that
training with weights would make a She will look strong and capable, yet
women bulky and ruin her feminine feminine and beautiful. A combination
shape. And instead, girls should hit the that projects independence and
treadmills and ellipticals to stay petite commands attention.
and sexy. With the help of common
sense and science, this painful myth
10
Why Strength Training retain lean body mass.
Will Improve Fat Loss
Someone who has lost 20 lbs in 4
There is a common misconception that months may have very well lost only
for each pound of muscle gained, you 15 lbs of fat and 5 lbs of muscle.
will burn an additional 50 calories per Conversely, someone who was
day at rest. performing proper strength training
during those 5 months more likely
Many personal trainers use this ‘myth’ would have dropped 20 lbs in scale
to convince their female clients that if weight but lost 25 lbs of fat and gained
they strength train, they will be able to 5 lbs of muscle.
eat a lot more.
On the scale, these two women would
The reality is that the true number is a appear identical. However, they would
lot less than 50 calories and more along look completely different. The one that
the lines of 6-10 calories. So gaining did strength training would appear
some muscle hardly has any impact on much more defined, taut and fit. The
fat loss from that angle. one that didn’t perform strength
training would look skinny fat.
That said, there is an incredible
mechanism that makes strength Maintaining Leanness with
training very effective for achieving Strength Training
leanness.
Now let’s imagine you’re on the
You see, if you begin to adjust your diet holidays and for a couple weeks you’re
for fat loss, you will naturally lose a going to be eating a lot more food than
good chunk of muscle. Our bodies are usual. In this instance, strength training
wired towards efficiency and this means can be a valuable tool to limit any
losing a combination of fat and muscle. fat gain.
The only way to ensure you retain When you perform proper strength
or even increase muscle mass is by training, you improve something known
performing strength training. This as nutrient partitioning. This signals
signals to your body that you need to your body to divert and store calories
11
into your muscle tissues over fat stores. supports. This, my friend, is the
waist-to-hip ratio.
So if two people overfed for two weeks,
one did cardio and one did strength In fact, this simple ratio is so powerful,
training, the one that did strength if you look back at all the Playboy
training would come out on top. centerfolds, you will find a waist-to-hip
ratio of approximately 1:1.4.
Even if they gained the same amount
of weight, the lifter would end up with When you just slim down with diet and
more muscle and less fat. cardio you lose weight everywhere.
Your body doesn’t discriminate.
If they both wanted to dial in their
nutrition and get back to their previous So as your waist slims down so does
body fat percentage the lifter would your hips and bust. You get slimmer but
have less fat to lose and a much easier you don’t necessarily get sexier.
time doing so.
To build a very attractive body that
Looking Great in and out looks ravishing in and out of your
of a sexy outfit favorite outfits, you must exercise
to support these key ratios. This way,
There are many women that simply when you lean down, you end up with
focus on doing lots of cardio and a butt that turns yourself on! You have
dieting to achieve a slim shape. This a round perky butt and you strengthen
unfortunately is a very rough process the upperbody - improving posture
that requires a lot of sheer willpower while keeping your chest perked up and
and sacrifice. a little more prominent.
12
Moreover, when you add a little muscle
to the chest, you will give your breasts a
little push up that will make them stick
up a little more. Furthermore, when the
upper chest is strong, you will help get
your boobs to sit a little higher.
13
Chapter 4
The Best Exercises for Building a
Slim, Fit & Toned Body
14
Jessica Biel is an example of a girl with breasts more support.
a great V shape, it looks feminine and
sexy, not overdone. You may notice they hold a little higher
and they are slightly more prominent.
Chin-ups or lat pull downs will help
build this beautifully. Seated DB Shoulder Press
The shoulder press is a great movement
to strengthen your shoulders and
triceps (back of the arms). The shoulder
press will also help support your v
shape from your shoulders to your
waist.
As well, you will develop more tone in
your shoulders and arms. You will also
create a little separation between your
shoulders and arms.
This will make you look more fit and
toned, instead of just skinny.
15
This workout program will focus on When people get injured from lifting
a variety of lower body movements objects off the ground, it’s because they
that hit the butt the hardest. This will lift with a rounded back.
accomplish the goal of having slim fit
and athletic legs combined with a great Forward Lunges or Step-Ups
booty. Forward lunges or step-ups are great
exercises to do because they build
Sumo Deadlifts single leg strength and stability.
The sumo deadlift is performed by
assuming a sumo stance (feet wide It forces you to keep both legs of equal
apart), and lifting a barbell off the strength. Moreover, these two exercises
ground with straight arms. hit the butt very hard, if you do them
This movement hits your legs, butt correctly.
and lowerback. It will really build the
posterior chain the most - hamstrings, The key is to keep the weight on the
butt and lower back. Sumo deads heel of the foot. This will activate the
are one of the best movements to glutes the hardest.
strengthen the posterior chain.
This is a tough lift, but if you Goblet box squats, sumo deadlifts and
work hard at it, you will build lunges/step-ups will build an incredible
an incredible butt. fit and sexy looking lowerbody.
16
What about the core? Planks and side planks will develop
your TVA (transversus abdominis
I can already hear you saying, “But, muscle). This is your deep core muscle
but, but, what about the abs?” Haha, it’s that acts as your inner corset.
okay. We’ll be working those too, quite A weak TVA leads to a sloppy droopy
hard I might add. gut. When you become strong at planks
your core will be more firm and taut.
But first, let’s not forget, looking great
is mostly a matter of a low body fat As well, a strong TVA will injury-proof
and a strong body. your body and improve your posture.
Lying leg raises and hanging knee
This creates a slim and defined waist. raises will strengthen your entire core,
That being said, we can improve the from top to bottom.
definition and firmness of our abs by
strengthening them with core exercises. As well, you’ll build flexibility along the
back of your legs. Leg raise variations
Keep in mind, most of your results also promote a strong low back.
will come from nailing your nutrition,
proper cardio and strength training. Finally, I recommend including a hip
bridge to promote great posture, teach
Training your abs is like the extra 5-10%. your butt how to fire and to develop
Unfortunately, most people go about solid flexibility through your quads,
abs training completely wrong. hip flexors and abs. If you get really
good at this and build strength, you can
They kill their posture from tons of even work up to a full bridge. A great
crunches and sit ups, and if there’s exercise and advanced yoga movement.
anything I can attest to, it’s that there is
nothing more attractive than a girl with A great abs workout is as simple as
great posture. performing a few sets of lying leg raises
or hanging knee raises and 2 sets of a
The best exercises to perform for the plank hold and finishing off with a one
abs are planks and side planks and minute hip bridge.
lying leg raises and hanging
knee raises.
17
Core
Workouts
Core Workout A
Core Workout B
Notes
Rest 60-90 seconds between sets.
You can perform hanging knee raises hanging
from a pull up bar or in a captain chair.
18
Chapter 5
19
When you focus on getting stronger
on key exercises you will build more
muscle density. You will increase the
size of the contractual filaments of the
muscle - this is known as myofibrillar
hypertrophy. Myofibrillar hypertrophy
from lower volume strength training
(as we will be doing in this program)
will make your muscles stronger,
harder and more compact.
20
MONDAY Legs, Shoulders, Abs.
DB Forward Lunges 2m
Rest
3 sets x 6-10 reps
Core Workout A
Plank Hold 1m
Rest
2 sets x 30-90 seconds
Pushup Variation 2m
Rest
3 sets x quality set
Cable Rows 2m
Rest
3 sets x 8-12 reps
22
FRIDAY Legs & Arms
Step Ups 2m
Rest
3 sets x 6-10 reps
Alternating DB Curl 2m
Rest
3 sets x 6-10 reps
Core Workout B
Progression
24
Chapter 6
Hollywood Secrets To Add Tone
Without Adding Size
When a girl has been training for We can maintain your muscle size
several months, or a few years, there on a particular muscle group, while
comes a point in time when she starts to improving it’s strength and tone with a
be happy with her muscle development key strategy.
in certain areas. We can use certain
principles to continue increasing The strategy involves using a weight
strength and muscle firmness without you can lift 8-10 times until muscle
triggering muscle hypertrophy (muscle failure, and just do sets of 5-6 reps.
growth). By stopping a few reps shy of failure,
you can firm up your muscles, without
Now I will preface by saying that when triggering muscle growth.
you maintain a relatively low body fat
it’s hard to hold onto a lot of muscle, In fact, this is a strategy I have been
let alone build it.This is true for men, using with overwhelming success
but especially myself. My legs and back tend to grow
true for women. When women focus very easily.
on strength training while maintaining To avoid spilling out of my jackets and
a low body fat, they will invariably pants, I will focus on stopping several
end up with a great and proportionate reps shy of failure on my back and leg
looking body. exercises.
That said, to keep improving my
However, sometimes you can end up strength and athleticism, I will generate
adding more muscle than you like. maximum force during each rep.
If you were to keep training hard, that So if I’m doing 5 reps of goblet squats
muscle would likely get a little bigger. with a weight that I can do 10x, I will
explode up as fast as possible.
25
your nervous system and muscular maximum force out of the muscle size
coordination - the ability to generate you do have.
maximum force out of the muscle size
you do have. A strong nervous system can send
A strong nervous system can send more powerful nerve impulses into
more powerful nerve impulses into the muscles. As well, there will be
the muscles. As well, there will be greater ionic flow across the muscle cell
greater ionic flow across the muscle cell
membranes. More ionic flow, leads to
membranes. your muscles maintaining more tension
in a relaxed state. This extra tension
More ionic flow, leads to your muscles during rest leads to a firmer body
maintaining more tension in a relaxed (assuming body fat levels are kept low).
state. If you’ve ever seen two people around
This extra tension during rest leads to the same body fat level, but one has
a firmer body (assuming body fat levels a harder body, it’s because they have
are kept low). If you’ve ever seen two greater ionic flow and muscle strength.
people around the same body fat level,
but one has a harder body, it’s because Hands down, the athlete will have a fit
they have greater ionic flow and muscle and firmer body. It’s not enough to be
strength. skinny, you need to be strong and slim
to have a hard body with firm muscles.
Hands down, the athlete will have a fit
and firmer body. It’s not enough to be Example of how it looks!
skinny, you need to be strong and slim
to have a hard body with firm muscles. Let’s say your chest and legs are getting
too big. Here’s how you would do
So if I’m doing 5 reps of goblet squats exercises for these muscle groups to
with a weight that I can do 10x, I will improve strength and firmness without
explode up as fast as possible. adding muscle size.
26
Incline DB Bench Press: 2 sets of 6 reps
(use a weight you can do between 8-10x.
Rest 2 mins between sets)
27
Chapter 7
How to use Cardio to
Accelerate Fat Loss
28
levels, motivation….
The Fat Loss Advantage of Lastly, this amount of cardio shouldn’t
Cardio have too much of an impact on your
appetite and hunger.
By increasing our movement and giving
our bodies 35-45 minutes of low to Too much of a good thing
moderate intensity exercise, we can
burn 250-300 calories. There’s always the risk that someone
will think a moderate amount of cardio
This gives us much more room to work is beneficial, therefore an extreme
within our diet. As well, getting exercise amount of cardio will be even more
on a daily basis helps with dietary effective. This train of thinking is
adherence. People are more likely to flawed and leads to doing more harm
follow through with their diet if they are than good. With too much cardio you
exercising that day. I have found that can cause what is known as cardio
for sedentary individuals, getting 30-45 compensation. This is where you reach
minutes of exercise on non-lifting days a point where any additional calories
can help tremendously. burned will result in a proportional
increase in hunger.
You’ll be much more satisfied as you’ll
be able to consume considerably more This is much more apparent during
food and lose weight. If you were to skip longer 1-2 hour cardio workouts. These
this exercise on your rest days, you’d marathon long cardio sessions tend to
have to drop your calories down by 250- create an insatiable appetite. What’s
300 to be at the same calorie deficit. more, very long cardio sessions can cut
into recovery and negatively impact
In addition, 30-45 minutes of cardio is strength gains and muscle mass.
relatively short. That’s like one episode
of television. How many of us watch Putting Cardio into
a few hours of TV each day? Not to Perspective
mention, getting exercise on a daily
basis helps with mood, energy One of the reasons why cardio gets
29
such a bad rep is because it’s so easy Let’s say that you’re an average
to undo an entire cardio session if female who isn’t very active aside
you’re not careful. from 3 strength workouts per week.
On your lift days your maintenance
Let’s say that you did cardio for one calorie requirements are around
hour and burned 400 calories. A serving 2100. However, on your rest days
of dessert after dinner could completely your maintenance requirements are
off set that one hour of cardio. considerably less at only 1800.
In this scenario your 60 minutes in the On your lifting days you can consume
gym was traded for the few minutes of 1600-1700 calories and lose close to a
pleasure from a dessert. This scenario pound of fat per week. Unfortunately
is common with people who solely use on your rest days you would need to cut
cardio to stay lean and let the chips fall calories down to 1300-1400 to be at that
where they may on their diet. Obviously same 400-500 calorie deficit. Wouldn’t
this is not an ideal strategy for body it be far more enjoyable to exercise at a
composition. comfortable intensity for 30-40 minutes
and consume 1600-1700 calories than
However, this is not the approach I have to eat very low calories? If you feel
am suggesting. My preference is to this way then cardio is probably for you!
pay close attention to your diet and to
use cardio synergistically. This is the So ultimately, with cardio, you should
ultimate fat loss plan. It’s a two vs one already be eating under your calorie
fight: [Cardio + Diet] v. Body fat requirements. Cardio will help increase
that calorie deficit so that you can lose
Why Cardio Should Be fat at an appreciable rate.
Used
Toned Body Cardio
Let me give you a perspective on cardio Recommendations
that will help you understand why I
value cardio training and how I like to If you’re doing cardio to get lean
use it. then it’s a matter of burning calories
while side-stepping overtraining and
increased hunger. Don’t let the allure of
30
a turbo charged metabolic rate fool you. Now for the sake of simplicity and
That’s a myth, a marketing ploy. The convenience I will outline a fun cardio
after burn effect of intense exercise protocol that you can do at your gym.
is at best, a mere 15% of calories burned. The goal of the session is to burn
Now that we have that out in the open, calories, increase fat loss and avoid
let’s proceed with the workout... boredom.
31
will build up the speed. like to go at a low to moderate intensity
Depending on how I’m feeling I might for active recovery and fat burning,
go up by 0.5 or 1 mph each interval. So somewhere around 60-70% of your
I might do 6-7-8-9-9.5-10. If the diet is maximal heart rate.
getting to me or I don’t have the energy
I might just jog at 6 or 6.5 during the Again the options are endless for
running portion of the interval. this: I like to hit up an elliptical style
machine, the one with the handles that
Nothing is 100% set in stone with you can push. I opt to avoid the bike
cardio workouts so you can take the and the rower for a couple of reasons:
ball and run with it or walk with it. Much of my day is spent in the seated,
This is completely different than spine compressing position, why add
how I approach my strength training to that while exercising? As well, I can
workouts, which are very structured, burn significantly more calories on the
goal oriented and maximal effort. elliptical machine.
Note: We’ll be tracking calories during
cardio. Make sure to manually enter My favorite modalities for this part of
your weight into the machine for a more the cardio workout include: jumping
accurate calorie burn reading. rope, elliptical (pushing handles) and
incline walking. For incline walking
2.) Steady State Cardio I will pyramid the incline for fun.
10-20 minutes So I will walk at 3.8mph and increase
the incline by 1 each minute until the
During the first portion of the workout, half way point. Then I’ll decrease
the intervals, you should have been able the incline by 1 each minute until
to burn around 150-200+ calories. This I’m finished.
is largely dependent on your weight,
cardiovascular shape and level of
exertion. Calorie Targets
During the second portion of the I’d recommend aiming to burn about
workout you will aim to burn the 2 calories per pound of bodyweight.
remainder of your calorie target off. I So if you’re 150 lbs, you’d aim to burn
300 calories per session. This is a
32
reasonable amount, shouldn’t take Now I should mention that walking is
too long to complete and will result great when the weather is nice.
in a proportionally smaller increase During the cold and rainy season,
in appetite than calories burned. So going for a walk isn’t exactly alluring.
you might find that it’s just as easy Therefore it may be preferable to hit
to consume 1600 calories per day on the cardio machines at your gym or
complete rest days as cardio days. play some indoor sports.
33
Chapter 8
Mastering A Calorie Deficit
Having a low body fat is the key to You are much less likely to overeat
looking awesome! In order to reach a because you know exactly how much
low body fat it is essential that you eat to eat and when to stop. With smart
at a caloric deficit. By consuming fewer phones, it is absolutely effortless to
calories than your body burns, it will track your calories and macronutrients.
be forced to use stored energy (body I use the iPhone app MyNetDiary to
fat) for fuel. However, this is much track my calorie and macronutrient
easier said than done. Current nutrition intake.
wisdom makes it very difficult to eat at
a caloric deficit. All you require is a digital food scale
In this chapter I am going to discuss to get the proper weight of a particular
the most effective tactics to master food. Then you can find the food in the
eating at a deficit. In addition, many of app, enter the serving size and it will
these tactics will also serve to maximize add the calories and macros to your
lean body mass retention and boost daily total.
mental performance. Let’s get started!
When you track your calorie intake, you
Track Calories learn vital metrics, such as what foods
fill you up and satisfy you the best.
You wouldn’t try to save money As well as which foods are problematic.
without tracking your expenses. So By problematic, I mean which foods are
why would you try to lose body fat simply not worth the calorie intake
without tracking your calorie intake? they hit you with.
When you have no idea how many
calories you are taking in, losing body Now, don’t fear that you’re going to
fat becomes much more difficult. have to track calories for the rest of
Therefore it is critical that you track your life. It only takes about two weeks
your calorie intake. In addition, to get the feel for it, then you can eye
by tracking your calories, dietary ball it and only track the calories for
adherence becomes much greater. new foods that you’re not accustomed
34
to tracking.
It may feel uncomfortable at first, to
Eliminate Snacks and only eat a few meals per day, but after a
Caloric Beverages few days your body will adapt and you’ll
experience a hunger blunting effect by
When eating at a deficit it is imperative giving your body longer periods of time
that you cut all unnecessary snacks between meals.
and caloric beverages out of your diet.
Snacks between meals add to your Skip Breakfast or Light
caloric intake without raising your Breakfast to Maximize Fat
satiety to any meaningful degree. Burning
Any caloric drinks should be cut out
of the diet because they don’t increase Upon waking, your body is in the
fullness. The only drinks you should perfect fat burning state as there is no
have are water, coffee and tea. more food energy left in your system
and insulin levels are very low. This is
The only exception here is if you are the ideal scenario for fat burning.
going to be having a couple of alcoholic
drinks on the weekend. After all, you If you push your first meal later into the
have to live a little! day – 4-5 hours after rising – you will be
burning body fat the whole time.
There is one exception to the no Don’t worry, this isn’t as hard as it
snacking rule and that is fruit. A piece seems. Throw a cup or two of black
of fruit is a great option that will coffee in there during your fast and give
actually fill you up nicely. it a few days to adapt and you’ll start to
feel awesome.
Fruit is high in fructose, the ideal
sugar for replenishing liver glycogen. What’s more, when you are in the fasted
Replenishing low liver glycogen can state, your body’s sympathetic nervous
help stave off hunger. system dominates.
That said, the worst thing you can
do is to mindlessly snack on food This gives you an adrenalin boost,
between meals. enhances mental performance and
increases energy.
35
considerably full and satisfied while
Moreover, fasting boosts growth staying in a calorie deficit.
hormone which spares muscle protein
and enhances fat burning. The myth Food Choice
that skipping breakfast makes you
store more fat is exactly that, a myth. When eating at a caloric deficit, food
choice is very important. You must
The only way to store more fat is to choose the foods with the greatest
eat more calories. If skipping breakfast ‘fullness factor’.
helps you control your calorie intake
then skipping breakfast is an invaluable Lean protein and veggies are very
tool for getting and staying lean. satiating. As well, carbohydrate sources
After a few weeks your body will like potatoes and sweet potatoes are
adapt to skipping breakfast and notoriously high on the satiety index.
you will no longer get hungry during Meaning they are able to keep you
the fast. With that said, some women full for a very long time compared to
do not like skipping breakfast and other foods of equal calories. Crunchy
perform best on a light breakfast. fruits like apples also do a beautiful job
satisfying hunger and cravings.
In this case I’d recommend a protein
based breakfast of egg/egg white Very fatty meats, nuts, rice, juices,
scramble or some greek yogurt and protein shakes, crackers, cookies and
nuts. many packaged foods tend to do a poor
job at raising satiety.
As long as you limit your breakfast
to about 300 calories you’ll still have I recommend paying close attention
plenty of room to work with later in the to the fullness effect of the foods you
day. include in your diet on a regular basis.
During the first few weeks of this
This approach of skipping breakfast program, ask yourself if this food is
and pushing your first meal later in worth the calories and something you
the day (or eating a light breakfast) want to eat on a regular basis.
allows you to eat big meals and feel
36
If not, find a better food that you instead focus on how well a food fills
enjoy more without the heavy you up and satisfies you.
calorie hit. Make no mistake, I
indulge regularly on delicious foods Glycemic index has no bearing on fat
and sweets. I just gravitate to the loss. Moreover, when you are eating
foods that give me more bang for carbs with protein, veggies and fat,
the buck (calories). the absorption of the carb food is
automatically reduced, rendering the
Frozen yogurt ice cream with chocolate glycemic index useless.
chips is my favorite. I also love to make
cheese quesadillas with low fat cheese Another interesting note is that some
to get my ‘pizza fix’. women find that just a few small
squares of dark chocolate kicks their
Low fat cheese is also another great sugar cravings. In this case, chocolate
option at raising satiety. Moreover, can definitely be included into your
dairy protein sources like low fat daily meal plan in moderation.
cheese have been shown to improve
fat loss on a diet. I mean after all, if just 100-200 calories
of chocolate is all it takes to keep you
As well, I’ll say that adding a ‘small satisfied and happy on your diet, then
amount’ of fat to foods like veggies, by all means, include it.
chicken breast and potatoes can greatly
increase the satisfaction and fullness However, other people can’t possibly
factor of said food. eat enough sweet or chocolate to
satisfy them and have an easier time
This is as simple as cooking chicken completely avoiding it. In this case, I’d
or veggies in a pan with a teaspoon of recommend leaving it out.
coconut oil, delicious.
Or using a little butter on your baked There is a lesson here, be conscious and
potatoes or making potato wedges with learn what works best for you. What
a few teaspoons of oil. foods best help you control your calorie
intake and what foods to include on a
Finally I urge you to let go of the regular basis and omit most of the time.
obsession of the glycemic index and
37
Make no mistake, any food you enjoy always outperform lower protein diets
can be worked into your diet on a daily of equal calories. I recommend setting
basis, so long that you can hit the right protein intake at around 35% of total
amount of calories. calories when eating at a moderate
deficit. This is will make dieting
As we discussed earlier, it’s not foods much more enjoyable.
that make you fat, it’s over eating in
general that leads to weight gain. Carbohydrates
You could eat nothing but Oreo cookies,
but if you’re eating less calories than Carbohydrates have largely been
you’re burning, you will drop fat. demonized in the last two decades.
Obviously I’m not suggesting the Oreo But what these diet guru’s fail to realize
diet, but it’s just something is that people have been getting lean on
to remember. high carbs and they have been getting
lean on low carbs. It’s the calorie
Importance of Protein deficit that dictates fat loss, not your
carbohydrate intake. Going extremely
When dieting, protein plays the most low in carbohydrates is not necessary
important role in your diet because to get lean. In fact, when you restrict
it is the most filling nutrient. carbohydrates too heavily to try to
If you’re eating a low calorie diet, with lose fat, you compromise training
low protein, it will be an absolutely performance, sleep quality, mood and
miserable experience. However, when hormonal functioning.
you keep protein intake in check, it is
much easier to stay full. The theme is to maintain balanced
macros while eating at a moderate
Protein will also help build and repair calorie deficit.
muscle tissue. This will lead to greater
fat loss and more muscle retention on a I recommend keeping carbs around
cut compared to lower protein diets. 35-40% of total calories. Once per week,
ideally on a lifting day, carbs can and
For these reasons, higher protein diets should be increased. This will help with
38
growth and repair of your depleted calories seems to be the most effective.
muscles. Below 25% and it can be difficult to feel
full and satisfied. Over 30% and carbs
Furthermore, an elevation in carbs will have to be decreased and food volume
increase the hormone leptin, which in is lowered significantly.
turn will prevent your metabolism from
declining and on top of that, it will also The Power of Coffee
keep your hunger levels under control.
This will make the subsequent low Coffee (or rather caffeine) is a highly
calorie days much more manageable. useful stimulant when on a diet.
Caffeine elevates your metabolic rate,
Fats blunts your appetite and increases your
energy. This makes dieting much more
Lastly we have our fats! Fats are very effective.
calorie dense nutrients with 9 calories
per gram (protein and carbs only have I have had the best results having 2
4). Therefore our fat intake needs to cups of coffee or 200mg of caffeine
be kept in check when eating a lower during the fasting portion of the day
calorie diet. If you don’t pay attention to (or with a light breakfast). This makes
your fat intake then your calorie intake complete sense given that the first 4-6
will accumulate very quickly. A handful hours of the day you will be without
of nuts, a few tablespoons of fat or a few food or running on a relatively light
ounces of fatty meat and you’re looking breakfast.
at a few hundred calories.
Therefore, having coffee during
With that said, we can’t reduce fat this period will make the fast more
too significantly. Doing so, your body enjoyable and effective. After the fast
will be in a constant state of hunger you will be eating your first substantial
and adequate fat intake is necessary meal. You won’t need to use caffeine/
for proper hormonal functioning. As coffee as an appetite suppressant.
a result, I always include a moderate
amount of fat with all my meals. An Not to mention, limiting your
overall fat intake of 25-30% of total coffee/caffeine intake will improve
your sleep, which is of vital importance.
39
If you were to drink several cups
of coffee per day then your ability So if you start to get hungry before
to sleep would likely suffer. your first meal, you can have an apple
or some berries. If you’re hungry before
If you enjoy coffee then have 2 cups dinner you can snack on a piece of fruit.
per day! Make sure not to add any milk, Including 2-3 servings of fruit into
sugar or crème. Learn to drink your your diet will only add about 160-240
coffee black. If you do not like coffee calories. That said, it will make eating
then you can take a 200mg tablet of only two meals per day, infinitely easier.
caffeine. These are usually sold at most
supplement stores. For this reason, the couple hundred
additional calories from having 2-3
Putting it together pieces of fruit per day, will actually help
you control calorie intake. Quite well I
To make dieting for fat loss as effortless might add.
as possible, the approach we will be
using is to wake up and have black For the women that don’t want to skip
coffee or tea in the morning. Plenty breakfast, have no fear. You can have
of water should be consumed a ‘light breakfast’ of an egg/egg white
throughout the entire day, never scramble or some greek yogurt
let yourself go thirsty. with nuts.
We will then be having two big meals This will only be about 250-300 calories
per day: lunch and dinner. Meals should and should fill you up quite nicely.
consist of filling protein, veggies, If you do decide to eat a morning
potatoes and added oils/fats to hit your breakfast, avoid eating plenty of carbs
fat numbers. in the morning.
40
you’ll feel incredibly relaxed and from being depleted, you can stave off
chilled out in the evening. hunger quite well. A serving of fruit
should equate to about 80 calories.
Don’t worry about eating carbs at night. Adapt this plan to your own schedule.
The only way to store fat is to eat more You can eat lunch later or earlier and
calories than your body burns. Since same with dinner.
you’ll be in a deficit, it won’t matter
one bit that you’ll be eating carbs The main idea is to push your first meal
with dinner. 4-6 hours after rising in the morning.
Then eat your dinner at your personal
Your body will use these carbs for preference and fill in two servings of
energy and to replenish glycogen while fruit into your day to make dieting as
you continue to burn off body fat. effortless as possible.
41
night eating and growth hormone (GH). large meals. After all, breakfast will be
kept small and you’ll have two decent
GH is secreted in a pulse like fashion sized meals to fit the rest
and late night eating does not mess of your calories into.
with nocturnal GH pulses in normal
circumstances. If you’re used to the traditional dieting
approach, this will be a breath of fresh
Breakfast Option air. In the breakfast example, you’d
Morning: Protein breakfast and coffee eat breakfast upon rising or slightly
Lunch: Lean Protein, Veggies, Potatoes thereafter. A coffee with breakfast or
or Sweet Potatoes sometime before lunch is desired to
Dinner: Lean Protein, Veggies, Potatoes blunt appetite and boost energy.
or Sweet Potatoes
Fruit Snacks: 2 servings of fruit when Drinking coffee is one more reason to
desired keep carbs low for breakfast. Coffee
helps stimulate your sympathetic
In the next chapter we will be nervous system and get fat burning.
discussing how to set your calories and Eating carbs with breakfast will shut
macros. If you want to do the breakfast down the fat burning process to some
option, you will get just as good results, degree. It’s better to get your carbs in
as long as you stick to the same calorie later in the day and at night. Stay sharp
intake. You should pick whichever and focused early in the day and feel
option is more enjoyable to stick with. relaxed and loose in the evening.
For me and many other people, skipping
breakfast is liberating because we can For your protein breakfast, best options
eat two huge meals today and it doesn’t include egg white scramble with 1-2
feel like we’re dieting. whole eggs or 2% plain Greek yogurt
with a small handful of almonds.
Plus, fasting with some black coffee
becomes effortless and enjoyable once
you adapt to it.
That said, some women would rather
eat first thing in the morning. Make no
mistake, you’ll still be able to eat fairly
42
Chapter 9
Toning Program Cutting Plan
Every successful diet plan has to be lose about 1 lb of fat per week. It is at
simple and easy to follow. If a diet is this rate of fat loss that you will be able
overly complicated, requires too much to stay satisfied, gain strength, maintain
time cooking/preparing/cleaning and all of your muscle and possibly even
is expensive then you probably won’t gain some muscle in key areas to
stick with it. look fit and sexy.
Conversely, if a diet is simple, Those that try to lose 2 lbs or more per
straightforward and convenient then it week on crash diets are the ones that
is much more likely you will see the diet lose strength and muscle and break
all the way through. Dieting needs to be their diets gaining all of the weight
something that blends in with your life back.
and doesn’t consume it. This is why I
like my approach to intermittent fasting Keep in mind: it is likely that you will
(or a light protein breakfast) with a big lose 2-3 pounds or more the first week
lunch and dinner and a couple pieces of of dieting. Some of this is going to be
fruit. It’s damn easy to follow and highly water weight that your body will have
rewarding. dropped due to eating lower calories.
After the first 1-2 weeks the rate of
In this chapter I am going to help you weight loss should stabilize around 1
determine how many calories and pound per week
protein you should be consuming and
how to adjust the diet plan to fit you. Losing 1 lb of fat per week requires
an average daily caloric deficit of 500
How much fat can I lose calories. This is a moderate deficit but
per week? definitely manageable, especially when
employing my diet approach.
This diet plan is tailored so that you
43
Calculating Your Macros For some people this number
may underestimate their energy
Step 1: Determine Your Maintenance expenditure, and they may lose fat
Level Calories a little faster than expected. This is
Your maintenance level of calories is completely fine, and you can simply add
the number of calories (on average), 200-300 calories to this number to keep
that you require to maintain your fat loss in the 1-1.5 lbs per week range.
weight.
Bodyweight in pounds x 15
If you eat below this number you will Example: 140 lbs x 15 = 2100 calories
lose weight and if you consistently eat burned per day.
above this number, you will end up
gaining weight. Step 2: Set Your Calorie Intake
Now that you know your maintenance
Now, there are all sorts of complicated level calories you can now set your
calculators and formulas to determine calorie intake for fat loss. I recommend
your maintenance level calories. using a 20-25% calorie deficit. This is
However, most of these calculators a moderate deficit and will allow you
seem to overestimate your daily to stay relatively full and satisfied on a
energy expenditure quite severely. cutting program.
The most accurate method I have found Going into a bigger deficit than this
for determining your maintenance level will increase hunger, negatively impact
calories is to take your bodyweight in mood and impair workout performance.
pounds and multiply it by 15.
The simplest thing would be to take
This is assuming you get an hour of your current bodyweight in pounds and
exercise per day (one hour of walking multiply it by 12.
or one hour of strength training). This
is just a starting point; it may require Bodyweight in pounds x 12
adjusting in the future depending on Example: 140 lbs x 12 = 1680
your rate of fat loss. (420+ calorie deficit)
44
Step 3: Set Your Protein Intake Example: 1680 calories x 0.27 = 453 fat
Protein should make up about 35% of calories
your total calories when eating at a 453 / 9 = 50.33 grams of fat per day
deficit. This will keep you the most full Round this number to the nearest
and will optimize the retention of lean multiple of 5. So in this case you will
mass, while also leaving ample room for consume 50g of fat per day.
fats and carbs in your diet. So if you’re
eating 1680 calories per day then you’d Step 5: Set Your Carb Intake
multiply this number by 0.35. Carbs will be making up the rest of your
calorie intake. So in this case they’ll be
Example: 1680 x 0.35 = 588 protein calories set at about 38% of total calories.
Example: 588 / 4 = 147g of protein per day Example: 1680 calories x 0.38 = 638.4 carb
Round this number to the nearest calories
multiple of 5. So in this case you will 648.4 / 4 = 162.1 grams of carbs per day
consume 145g of protein per day. Round this number to the nearest
multiple of 5. So in this case you will
Step 4: Set Your Fat Intake consume 160g of carbs per day.
Fat should be set at 25-30% of total
calories. To find this number you Put it together:
will need to take your daily calories Calories = 1680
and multiply it by 0.27 (27% of total Protein = 145 grams
calories). This will give you the number Fats = 50 grams
of calories from fat. Divide this number Carbs = 160 grams
by 9 to get the amount of fat in grams
(fat has 9 calories per gram). Adjust as you go along.
45
This is just an estimate and likely won’t The first step is to give yourself room
be 100% accurate. On the third week of for two servings of fruit per day.
dieting if you are losing 2 lbs or more All you have to do is cut your
per week, you can bump up calories by carb intake by 40g.
200 per day. Or, if you’re experiencing
a lot of hunger after 3 days of the diet So if you’re consuming 160g of carbs
(the time it takes to adapt to the new per day and you’re eating two servings
calorie intake), then bump up calories of fruit, you would have 120g of carbs to
by 200. A lot of hunger on a well work with in your two meals.
constructed diet is a sign that
you’re not eating enough. The rest of your macro intake you will
divide into two meals as so:
On the other hand if you are losing less Fruits (160 caloreis)
than 1 lb per week, you may need to cut 40g of carbs
calories by 200. Two meals (1520 calories)
120g carbs
I’d recommend leaving protein 145g protein
untouched and adjusting fats or carbs 50g of fat
depending on your preference. Some
people naturally prefer more fat; The next step is to divide this into two
on the other hand, other people to get your macros for each meal:
prefer more carbs. Macros for lunch and dinner (680 cals)
60g carbs
Creating the Meal Plan 70-75g protein
25g of fat
Once you have determined your daily
calorie and macronutrient intake then This meal can consist of one big potato
you can begin to set up your meal plan. or sweet potato around 300g. 350g of
This is as simple as distributing your lean meat (uncooked weight). And 1-4
total calorie and macro intake across teaspoons of oil/butter for cooking or
your 2-3 meals. taste to hit your fat numbers.
46
Alternatively, you could go to Chipotle The beauty of this meal plan is that it’s
and get double chicken, a half scoop of really hard to screw up badly. You’ll
rice, a half scoop of beans with either have a good amount of room to work
cheese or guacamole. with in both of your meals, that if you
overdo your calories, you’ll probably
Another option would be to go to just end up eating maintenance.
a restaurant and order a lean protein
like a chicken breast or sirloin steak What this means is that, there’s really
with a baked potato or a small serving no two steps forward one step back
of fries and side of veggies or greens approach. Or worse, running around in
salad with vinaigrette dressing. circles.
As you can see, by eating two large Even if you’re not perfect, you’ll still
meals per day, you have plenty of make steady progress.
room to eat filling, wholesome
meals at restaurants. How about breakfast?
The key is really to stick to your guns If you’re going to be eating breakfast,
most of the time. Your guns are lean you’ll want to reduce your lunch and
protein sources, potatoes and veggies. dinner meals to give you some room for
With a little bit of fat for taste. These breakfast.
types of meals do the best job at
triggering feelings of fullness. I suggest eating around 240-300
calories for breakfast. This can be as
Don’t obsess about simple as making an egg scramble
being perfect with two whole eggs (140 calories),
half a cup of egg whites (60 calories),
Don’t worry about hitting your macros and one teaspoon of butter or coconut
spot on. As long as you get close to the oil for cooking (40 calories).
calorie numbers you will get the fat loss Total = 240 calories.
benefits. Getting in the ballpark of your
macros will help keep you full and feel Alternatively, you could have 1 cup
your absolute best. or 250g of plain 0% greek yogurt 130
(calories) with 20g of almonds
47
(116 calories). 246 calories total. Binge eating is a result of a few things.
Not accepting yourself, feeling guilty
Depending on your daily calorie intake, about eating and trying to stick to an
this should give you room for two extreme crash diet or exercise program.
servings of fruit during the day (160
calories) and two 500-600 calorie meals. All of these work together and
compound on each other to drive you
Once Per Week Refeed Day into a self-hating binge eating session.
Once per week ladies, I encourage that When you are no longer obsessed with
you enjoy a refeed day. Now make no getting to some arbitrary goal. When
mistake, this is not a cheat day. Throw you can fully love and accept yourself
the word cheat out of your vernacular. no matter what size jeans you wear or
the number on the scale. When you can
There is no cheating. You can eat foods allow yourself to be human, not to be
that you love, whether they be treats, perfect all the time. And when you can
desserts or fatty goodness. This isn’t enjoy the process, without trying to kill
cheating, it’s being human. yourself to get to your goal. Well then
as if by some form of magic, the desire
The idea is to teach you how to enjoy for binge eating disappears.
food, without going into the deep end.
You enjoy food more without the guilt,
So you’ll be adhering to a few rules while eating in moderation rather
to replenish your body without effortlessly I might add.
overdoing it.
Why bother with refeed
A word on binge eating days
I’ll be the first to say, I dealt with binge The goal isn’t to get you lean as fast as
eating for a few years. It was a painful possible. Let’s be honest, we’ve all tried
part of my life, but it’s no longer a part that before. And maybe it works once,
of my life. but it’s temporary.
48
We end up reverting to our old ways But it’s not just about the psycholgical
and gaining the weight back. Instead, release. It will help kick up leptin
the goal is to teach you how to get slim into high gear.
and lean and make it far more enjoyable
than ever before. You see, after several days of eating
at a deficit, leptin (the hormone that
Once you crack this code, or rather let controls your appetite), metabolism and
me crack it for you :), then getting lean energy levels starts to drop.
is just a matter of time.
Boosting calories and carbs, specifically,
And guess what, that’s okay! Because once per week can send leptin into
there is no rush. When you accept high gear.
yourself fully, all that stress, urgency
and burden washes away. This will make the subsequent days
of dieting more enjoyable. Now, after
And you can fully enjoy the process a day of higher calorie eating, it’s
to your goal. So refeed days will possible you might gain a couple
help psychologically. pounds on the scale.
You can go out with your girls and enjoy This alone is enough to add a couple
extra food or drinks. After all, it’s just of pounds to the scale. But it’s a good
once per week. couple of pounds. It’s the couple of
pounds that will go away in a few days
You can take a trip to a frozen yogurt and give you the momentum to hit
shop and enjoy a big helping! There’s an all time low in weight.
simply quite a lot of room to work with
on these days. In fact, many times when girls get stuck
and can’t lose anymore weight, one of
49
these refeed days will help them break pizza and drinks. Or maybe you eat a
through a plateau. healthy meal and enjoy a big portion of
dessert.
Make no mistake, there’s no need to
obsess with your bodyweight. If you The only thing I ask is that you enjoy
want to weigh yourself that’s fine. your meals without feeling guilty.
If you don’t that’s fine too. So when you feel full and satisfied,
then stop eating.
But don’t let the scale make you feel
better or worse. It’s just a reading, It’s the feeling that you blew your diet
that’s it. Weight fluctuates. and screwed up and are worthless that
makes you want to keep going back into
When to do your refeed the cupboard or freezer.
and how to eat on
a refeed But this is no longer part of the
equation. So it’s no longer an issue.
I recommend placing your refeed day As a general rule, I recommend eating
on Friday, your last strength training about 600 calories over your normal
workout for the week. calorie intake.
In the past I would give set rules for This is quite a bit, but if you treat it
exactly how many calories and carbs as a cheat day and go out of your way
to eat on refeed days, but I find this to keep eating, there’s no question you
unnecessary and unproductive. will go way over. And have to spend the
next few days getting back to
Instead I say, enjoy yourself. Absolutely square one.
guilt-free. Stick to your normal meal
plan as scheduled for the first part This is one of the problems with the
of the day. conventional, ‘anything goes’ cheat day.
It doesn’t teach you how to enjoy food
Then at dinnertime enjoy something while supporting your goals.
off the menu. Maybe you go out for
50
It only teaches you how to deprive
yourself and stuff yourself.
51
Chapter 10
Flexible Dieting
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Fitting Dessert into your You see, the more you obsess about
meal plan your workout and diet, the more likely
you are to screw up. But when you
If you want to have a dessert after blend your fitness and dieting efforts
dinner you can cut out the serving of into your life, the journey is much more
potatoes and any additional added fats. rewarding and smooth.
This should give you 250-300 calories
to enjoy a small serving of dessert. So by all means go out and have drinks
a couple of times per week. Letting
Maybe it’s some frozen yogurt icecream, loose, having fun and enjoying the
chocolate, treats or skinnypop (low progress you made that week will
calorie popcorn). only bring you more happiness,
fulfillment and further motivation.
What about alcohol? It doesn’t have to be a trade off!
You don’t have to choose between going
What’s the point of looking fantastic out and getting in shape or eating
if you can’t enjoy it? That’s crazy! Your dessert and having abs.
fitness and nutrition program should
be a part of your lifestyle, not the focal By implementing the tactic below, you
point of it. will be able to enjoy yourself while
waking up even leaner the next day!
Getting in fantastic shape is totally
awesome, but it’s not everything. Going Get out of the “binge
out and socializing does not have to be drinking” mentality
put on hold until you reach your goal.
That logic is absurd and it will only end For this to work and for you to have the
up biting you in the ass. best possible success, I want to get you
out of the ‘binge drinking’ mentality.
You’ll invariably put much more For many of us, we drink to excess for
attention and mental energy into your one of two reasons. The first reason
fitness and nutrition than needed. is that we have deprived ourselves of
alcohol for many weeks or months so
This will lead to a lack of motivation when we finally drink we have very
and inevitable burnout. little self-control. When you realize that
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alcohol does not have to negatively Is it any wonder why alcohol is such
impact your fitness goals, this will no an integral part of our culture? We
longer be an issue. walk through life stuck in our head,
suppressing our true selves. It’s not
The second reason why we binge drink that we lack the confidence. It’s that
is to get into state. This was actually we are way too tied to our ego mind
a huge one for me. Going out to bars, and we care way too much about how
clubs and parties can be intimidating we perceive ourselves and how other
if you’re dead sober. This is especially people perceive us.
true if you’re meeting new people.
By getting hammered, we throw When you can forget about your ‘self’
our inhibitions to the wind and and simply ‘be’ then you will have
we effectively become un-stifled. entered into this incredible state. You
Conversely, when we’re sober, we tend have all the positive effects of being
to be stuck in our head and physically hammered, without the negative ones.
paralyzed, unable to take action. So You’re sharp, poised and focused while
what’s going on here? being able to live in the moment.
The only thing that alcohol is doing When you’re no longer drinking alcohol
is helping us get outside of our head for liquid confidence then you can start
and helping us become more ‘present.’ to incorporate alcohol into a fitness
When you’re drunk, you just don’t give lifestyle. Having 2-4 drinks, 2-3 times
a fuck! You no longer care what people per week is perfectly fine. You’ll just
think of you and you no longer judge need to drop your carbs/fats to leave
yourself. You just want to have fun. As a bit of room for the alcohol calories. I
you become more and more inebriated recommend drinking primarily liquor
this self-judgment and insecurity on the rocks or liquor with club soda
disappears and you can finally begin for the least amount of calories. My
to honestly express yourself, albeit in a personal favorite is vodka clubs. Wine
very sloppy manner. is also another decent choice.
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What’s interesting is that a low to 1. Do Alcohol Calories Count
moderate intake of alcohol is not http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
detrimental to your progress. 2. Alcohol and Immune System
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
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At first, you might have to go through You may wish to eliminate carbs from
this process each night you go out. your lunch meal or you may prefer to
cut back on carbs with dinner. Either
Generally speaking, the first few strategy will work.
interactions of any night will feel
awkward and you’ll be stuck in your Your personal preference should dictate
head. As you plow through, your brain what strategy you follow. If I’m only
will realize that this is happening and having 2-3 drinks and I am going to
instead of trying to hold you back it will be going out, there’s a good chance I’ll
be on your team. burn through the alcohol calories from
walking, dancing and being generally
One thing that really helped me was more active.
the audiotape, Practicing the Power of Now
by Eckhart Tolle. Listening to that audio If this is the case for you, consider
on a daily basis is insanely powerful keeping the meal plan the same as
at developing the ability to be normal to see if you can get away with
present and alive in the now. 2-3 drinks without hindering fat loss.
If possible, I’d recommend listening to This of course is the ideal scenario. The
it every morning for 20 minutes for two most important thing is to avoid high
weeks straight. You will be blown away calorie alcoholic beverages and to avoid
by how much more present, relaxed and high calorie eating after drinking. This
comfortable you become. is a recipe for a disaster.
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Chapter 11
Getting Started
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