Shredded in 60 Report
Why?
This is an obvious question. Why in the world would anyone try such an experiment? A sane mind person would do the diet first and then report the results. This way there’s no chance of failure. If it’s not reported, then it didn’t really happen did it? Making my diet and transformation public was a risk…it would happen in real time on my Instagram account for the whole world to see. Instead of shying away, I embraced this idea. I’m a human being and dieting is difficult. That’s the point. Thousands of people try diets every day…often times following a fad that works temporarily or not at all. By sharing my journey, followers could see that even an experienced competitor and well-versed nutrition expert can encounter many of the same issues as a normal everyday person. I planned on dieting initially because I had a trip coming up the middle of December down south and I wanted to look “beach ready”. This undertaking seemed like the perfect opportunity to keep me accountable and teach those who were interested in learning some of the tips and tricks I use to lose body fat. Normally I would diet over a 12-16 week period, but I didn’t have that long before the trip…and Shredded in 60 had a nice ring to it. And so I embarked on the experiment. I call it an experiment because I’ve never dieted for 60 days before. I had an idea of what I could accomplish, but the results weren’t guaranteed. It would have been unfair to myself to say, “I’m going to lose X amount of weight in 60 days – watch me!” There was no way for me to know exactly what was going to happen…it really was an experiment.Leading up to it…
The previous eight weeks had been a blast. I had upped my carbohydrate intake quite dramatically and I was enjoying all of the benefits that go along with such a meal plan. I was feeling full (“swole” is what the bodybuilders call it) and the pumps in the gym were outrageous. My strength was increasing rather dramatically and my energy was quite good. At about the six-week point of this increased carb feeding I noticed something strange starting to happen. All of a sudden I felt more sluggish, my appetite began to wane and my pants started getting a little snugger. I had reached capacity. Think of carbohydrates like fuel in your car. You have a fuel tank and you can fill the tank until it’s capacity and then gasoline will start spilling out everywhere (beware of open flames!!!). Your muscles and liver can hold so much glycogen (carbohydrates) until they start to “spill over” and then the carbs are converted to fat. My gas tank was full. It was time to switch gears and get my metabolism racing again.The low carb approach.
60 days wasn’t much time to get in “near contest condition”. I had announced to the world that I was going to get “shredded” and that meant that I would have to dig deep in my bag of fat burning tricks right from the get go. One way to lose fat is to retrain your body to burn fat as an energy source rather than carbohydrates. The plan seemed obvious – remove the majority of my carbs and burn body fat for fuel. The “ketogenic diet” as it’s called had worked wonders for me in the past. I used it when I won my first national bodybuilding title back in 2010. For all of my contests from that point on I used variations of this diet to help me get in tip top shape, including when I turned IFBB Pro in the summer of 2014. This type of diet basically means eating protein (at least one gram per pound of lean body weight), good fats (like olive oil, macadamia nut oil, seed butters and some saturated fats – totaling ½ to ¾ gram per pound of lean body weight) and no carbs, except from fibrous sources, mainly green vegetables. Suitable vegetables include kale, spinach, asparagus, green beans, and cucumber. I would puree my veggies for easier digestion. I divide these amounts over five equal meals. I also upped my cardio. I had been doing three to four 30-minute sessions per week, just to keep my heart nice and healthy. I jumped that all the way up to 30 minutes twice per day, every day. This was probably a bit extreme. It’s usually my practice to make small changes to diet or cardio, but never the two at the same time. This is why taking 12-16 weeks for a contest type diet works best. But I only had 60 days…and everyone was watching. The first week was difficult, but more so because of the major food changes than anything else. I had eaten this way in the past so there were no real surprises, but I did miss the carbs. Studies show that carbohydrates can be addictive and the brain does prefer them as its source of energy over ketones. But once given enough time, the brain can function very well in their absence. This normally takes about three days. I like intra-workout nutrition. That’s why I created Battle Juice. It’s a complete intra-workout drink that contains everything you need to sustain and recover from a hard weight training session: easily digested carbohydrate and amino acids, electrolytes and a host of other (legal) performance enhancers. Speaking of performance enhancers…my other goal for this Shredded in 60 experiment was to do it without the aid of PEDs (performance enhancing drugs). The use of things like anabolic steroids and clenbuterol would have made my mission much easier, but I don’t think it would teach a very good lesson. I felt, and feel, that the experiment needed to be done with food and exercise alone…along with over the counter supplements that could be easily attained by everyone. Getting back to the Battle Juice…I decided to keep it in my supplement plan for as long as possible. Getting carbs in during my workout only would keep my performance up. I would burn everything during the workout, leaving a net glycogen balance near zero. However, if I stopped losing fat, it would be the next thing to be removed.Getting to the half-way point…
Within the first week I was able to drop my weight lifting belt size by a full notch! This was encouraging – a combination of a little bit of fat loss, but mainly water weight. Carbs bind to water and with minimal carbs in my system, water loss was inevitable. This is why some people can lose up to 12 pounds in their first week on a carb free diet. It is a combination of water weight and reduction in inflammation. By week three things had just started to slow down so I removed the Battle Juice from my plan. (I’ll include a full list of the supplements I used at the end of the report). I was still doing cardio twice per day and training with weights three times per week, alternating upper body with lower body. For one week I tried upping my workout to four times per week (which I think is optimal for most people), but my body didn’t like it much so I went back to three. I noticed that my muscles were starting to flatten, but strength was staying consistent. The New Brunswick bodybuilding show in Fredericton came and I made the four hour trek from Halifax to attend and work the Advanced Genetics booth. I was exhausted that weekend and had my first carb up day. Normally I only have a single carb up meal, but I was feeling extra depleted. The carb meal helped a lot, but my energy was low. Things were not feeling normal… At the halfway point I had lost eight and half pounds and just over an inch off of my waist (where I tend to hold the majority of my fat). I added 1 scoop of Battle Juice back into my plan…I found that training without it had become seemingly impossible. My body had changed from my previous diets. In the past I was able to achieve great pumps without carbs and my energy levels didn’t dip. For some reason I wasn’t the same person. This is important to note as many people find that their bodies and metabolism change over time. A diet that worked for you a year ago may not work today. The body is always in a state of flux. The skin you have today will be completely different in a few months time. This goes for all the cells in your body. It does make some sense then that adjustments will always have to be made to work with the body you have NOW, as opposed to the one you had last year. I had the opportunity to meet one of the top IFBB pros of our day, Justin Compton, at a meet and great at New Beginnings Gym in Truro. He gave a Q&A and then trained there for all who attended to watch and learn from. My mind is always racing and hungry to learn. I was feeling especially lethargic that day and almost left right after the Q&A. My “gut” told me to stay. Learning to listen to one’s intuition is one of the greatest gifts you can give to yourself. Instead of going home I put on my workout gear and attempted a lower body workout. Despite the great equipment and hardcore environment the workout was lackluster at best. I waited for the appropriate moment and approached Justin and asked him for some advice. He suggested turning my diet completely upside down and using carbs instead of fats for energy. I felt that my progress had really started to slow down and I knew my body had fallen out of balance. My moods and energy were all over the place, my sleep was poor and things just didn’t feel “right”. I was ready for a change and Justin had come into my life for a reason.A new hope.
Times were not as desperate as the title may make it seem (any excuse to make Star Wars reference is a good one). Following Justin’s advice I upped my carbohydrates, adding some in to every meal and adding a little more to my pre and post-workout meals. This was exactly how I had been eating before I started the Shredded in 60 experiment, except this time my fats were low. Within a couple of days I noticed the changes. My muscles became rounded again and my workouts were more inspired. I was surprised that my appetite stayed under control. Fats and proteins keep insulin levels even throughout the day. This allows for consistent energy, lack of hunger and creates a superior environment for fat loss (all due to low and consistent insulin levels). This is why no carbs often works better then a few carbs in a diet plan. Some people will try having carbohydrates in one meal per day only, often at breakfast, which I feel is a recipe for disaster. Once the brain gets a taste for carbs it hungers for them continually which can make the dieting process a nightmare. My body was experiencing none of this and I felt great. My weight did go up by a couple of pounds, but I stayed on course, recognizing this as more of a water thing than actual fat gain. Eventually it leveled off and I ended up dropping weight again. At day 42 I was down a total of 10.5 pounds. My cardio had become a little less consistent so I upped the fasted morning cardio to 45 minutes. If I missed a second cardio session on workout days, it wasn’t the end of the world. Eventually I added a little bit of fat back into my plan, but only with meals that contained none. For example, when my protein source was chicken or turkey breast (both of which have virtually zero fat) I added a half-tablespoon of oil to the meal. Sometimes I’d have a tablespoon of seed butter with my egg white and oatmeal shakes. I was eating more veggies (of all colors) and concentrating on making sure I was getting the appropriate amount of sleep each night. I had found “balance”. This was perhaps the most important lesson I learned during the experiment. With adequate nutrition (that fitted my body for the moment) and sleep, I could operate at a much higher level both physically and mentally. Running my business became less of a struggle and interacting with people was easy again. I knew that my fat loss would slow down, but I was okay with that. I wasn’t prepping for a show and the “get lean at all costs” was no longer at the forefront of my thinking.The end result.
By day 60 I lost an additional two pounds for a grand total of 12.5 pounds and over two inches off of my waist. Overall my strength had improved (according to my log book), my posture got better and I was feeling great. The goal now is to simply maintain this balance and enjoy life to its fullest. Overall I’d say this experiment was a huge success. I’ll consider it an even bigger success if you are able to get something out of it. Please let me know by sending me a message via Facebook, Instagram or email.
Final Results
Lessons learned:
- It takes me longer than 60 days to get into contest shape.
- My body changes and I have to adjust accordingly. What worked last time may not work this time.
- Balance is the key to happiness. Barring exceptional circumstances, getting out of balance is not worth it.