The Lifestyle...
I just started this thread to catalogue some of the issues I've been experiencing since I've made fitness an important part of my life again. I say again because I've always been an active guy. But it's been years since I've been as disciplined as I am now. It used to be that it didn't require half the discipline to get quick and real results (whether it was strength, size or leanness that I sought). If I started getting soft I could run a few nights in a row (usually 2 or 3 miles) and my body bounced right back. Now, at 35 years old, I would judge that it genuinely takes about 10 times the effort to achieve the same results. But I'm not moaning. Not even close. The work I'm doing for myself gives me an immense sense of pride in myself. My confidence is just skyrocketing and it imforms every aspect of my life (professional, creative, my relationships, my sex life, the list goes on and on). I have lost 80 lbs since Jan 1st, 2008. When I'm at the gym I look at those 45 lb plates and I think, "Fuck! I was carrying around almost the equivalent of two of those ALL DAY, EVERY DAY!" It feels really great to be free of that stress on my body. Here are things that I struggle with, though: Nutrition. Does anyone here eat cheat meals? I have reduced my cheat meals to 2 a month. And to be honest, those cheat meals aren't all that much of a "cheat". It usually means a bowl of popcorn with hot sauce on it instead of butter and 2 or 3 beers! I no longer eat fast food, fried food, refined sugar, or starchy foods. Ever. Not even on cheat days. (I will say this, in a pinch, when I'm on the road, if I need food I will go to McDonalds and order a couple grilled chicken snack wraps WITHOUT dressing. Not ideal, but you could do A LOT worse). As you know, I've been doing prebreakfast runs about 5 times a week for 2-4 miles. These are low intensity workouts. It is unclear to me if I should increase the intensity of these workouts. I know I'm not going to get much in terms of performance with an empty stomach, but it may accelerate my fat burn. I will try it as an experiment and post my results. I had to reduce my number of HIITs during the week. 4 HIITs is the absolute max in a week. I still do moderately intense steady state cardio (70% of max HR), but not those agonizing HIITs. I was doing them everyday. And while it gave my progress a powerful shot in the arm, there was no way I could maintain that intensity consistently. Anyway, my point I guess is that 14 weeks ago I made a commitment that has improved my life in ways great and small. I feel fantastic.

SShhhhh! Don't want to let everyone know the secret! You are one of the fortunate few who have discovered the true Fountain of Youth. Enjoy and reap the rewards. I gotta say though that 35 is very young Dave. Especially in the fitness world. At 35 you should not have felt any onset of aging yet. (Unless you have illness, injuries, or really abused your body in the past.) I am going to be 34 in 4 months and feel like I am 18. Lee Apperson is 50 in 2 weeks and he said despite recovery slowing a bit and having to warm-up longer he has not felt anything drastic yet either. You can eat more than 2 cheat meals a month. Have one or two a week to maintain your sanity. I eat cheat foods quite a bit, but only small amounts and they are still relatively healthy. (But, I have a lightning fast metabolism and am currently eating 4500 cals/day to gain muscle.) I had a big bowl of ice cream last night while watching a movie. I just don't eat ice cream every night. If you are training bust-ass hard you can eat, and cheat too. Don't sweat that too much. 80 pounds lost since Jan. 1st is awesome. Whatever you are doing is working - but that rate of fat loss is twice as fast as recommended - so, be careful of rebound. In short: STICK WITH your training and a healthy diet. It's a no brainer: if you stop and slip back to your old diet you will gain weight. That's great you took it off fast, and in time for summer, now keep and off - never stop training. Now you can work on adding muscle and shape. T

It's absolutely true that I feel like I'm 20 years old. Now, everytime I buy wine at restaurants or wine shops, I get carded. I feel like my weight loss has been rapid, but I don't feel like I've been doing it unsafely or recklessly. Sure my diet has gotten very strict, but I'm feeding the machine good, clean nutrients regularly. I think the important thing is that I'm thinking "lifestyle" with this. I'm in no hurry. I realize that it takes a long time to get that fitness model physique and I'm having a good time chipping away. Sure, I have my short-term goals, and 3 and a half months ago I was in a BIG hurry to shed fat, but I'm happy with my progress and am in this for the long, long haul. I'm still gunning for 5% body fat. I'm having fun and I feel great. And the ladies like my results, too. It's an all around win-win! And it is very encouraging to know that you eat cheat meals! Fast metabolism or no, it feels good to know that there are others who think about these things in a serious manner. I appreciate that Todd.

The last time I ever heard about anyone losing that much weight in so little time (with exercise/nutrition as opposed to having cancer or some shit) was when I was in Marine Corps Recruit Training. One guy, Recruit Cassidy, lost 60lbs in one month. Now, exactly/precisely how did you pull this off?

Intense, regular exercise and a strict diet. Very low carb intake and high protein intake. All the food I ingest is strictly fuel. I choose the absolute cleanest, most nutritious foods I can. My caloric intake never exceeded 2000 calories a day. And If I'm going to be perfectly honest, it never really exceeded 1500 a day. That's why the food I did eat really counted to fuel my workouts. Nobody here knows more about nutrition and training than Todd, so I followed all of his advice and he never steered my wrong. Staple foods included tons of tuna, tons of protein shakes (I prefer muscle milk), tons of cruciferous veggies like broccoli and spinach. NO SUGAR. None. Natural peanut butter with omega 3 and flax seed oil. Bananas If I'm going to eat carbs they have to be low on the glycemic index and they have to be eaten early in the day. You can check out my training log for my workouts.

Alright...but how much muscle did you lose in addition to losing fat and water weight? And, how did you space those meals out--I once heard that about 80% of all weight loss is due to diet and not exercise.

I eat a meal every 2 hours or so... three meals a day--my first meal, one around 3pm and another around 5:30 are fist-sized. The meals in between are quite smaller than the size of my fist or they are in the form of a protein shake. I have actually gained a great deal of muscle, due to my high protein intake and my regular, intense weight lifting. I would agree that you can control the level of fat in your body strictly through diet. However, I personally want what is revealed by the disappearance of fat to have a certain level of awesomeness--therefore, regular intesive exercise is the order of the day. But let's set vanity aside, it is far healthier to combine exercise and diet in a consistent, long term manner. FAR HEALTHIER!