Rooster's Guide to Losing Weight
There’s a lot of weight loss content out there...
There’s claims of secrets and easy ways to lose the weight. Although some diets/workout programs are certainly better than others, most all of them are capable to get the pounds off your belly.
#1 Reason Why Diets Fail....You Quit.
It's not the diets that fail, it's the people.
Some get lazy, unable to create consistent habits, become overwhelmed, etc.
Several years ago I committed 100% to losing excess body fat, resulting in losing over 40 lb in 3 months. I didn't use any out of the ordinary diets, workout routines, or supplements.
You Need to Commit 100%
The first step is to completely commit. Make losing weight the highest priority.
Create a plan. List the steps you'll take. Write it down.
You'll need to give yourself as much time as possible.
This program will have you go very hard, and lose a lot of weight fast. Any other goals will likely end up being a distraction until you hit your goal weight.
- Do not go out every night with friends
- Do not skimp out on your diet
- Do not take extra shifts at work
- Do not take breaks from the gym
- Do not start any new hobbies
You'll need every advantage. The more you put on your plate, the likely you'll drop it.
Each day's main goal will be to consume the right amount of calories. If you achieve this, it's a successful day. Continue doing that each day, and you'll start to have some success in no time.
The Meal Plan
Purely calorie counting. Use a calorie counting tool to see out how many you should be consuming.
You're finding out how many calories to maintain your current weight, then minus 500. Since a pound of fat is around 3500 calories, you'll lose around 1lb/week.
You can go more aggressively like I did, but it's easy to burn out so ideally don't put yourself at too much of a deficit.
The nice thing is you can eat whatever you want.
Remember that eating healthy and eating to lose weight aren't mutually exclusive, though ideally most of the time you'll be doing both.
Check out subreddits like /r/volumeeating or /r/1200isplenty for ideas.
Personally I relied on a lot of chicken breasts, cucumber salads, puffed wheat, jello, and fresca (to help me feel full). Make sure you actually use an app to count calories though, it'll get easier once you have preset meals.
The Workout Plan
This workout program is based on Lee Labrada's 12 week weight loss program.
It has you go to the gym everyday.
(with every third day being 25 minutes of High Intensity Cardio).
Professional athletes like swimmers can have over 8000 calories per day, but they burn it and stay fit from working out hard.
The carbohydrates, instead of adding to your fat, gets turned into energy. You keep fueling the metabolism fire and you'll be losing weight in no time.
After I lost 40+ pounds, I had to take a break from the gym for a knee surgery. My metabolism was still a machine months afterwards (even when I wasn't eating the healthiest), and it's much easier to maintain without having to follow a super strict diet or workout schedule.
It's very important to note that it's not at all necessary to workout.
If you find maintaining your calories quota is difficult enough, then that's fine. I highly suggest once you hit your goal weight to start working out though.
What to Train
For your workouts, the day will either be: pushing, pulling, or legs.
Each workout should be 45 minutes to 1 hour (except for the cardio only days).
Each exercise has a total of 3 sets. First two are 10- 12 reps, third is to failure.
I find using a mix between free weights and machines to work well, and highly recommend you write down your sets, reps, and weight for each exercise (and to stretch before workouts).
Go through the numbers below in order. So starting fresh, you go #1, #2, Cardio, #3, #1, Cardio, etc.
- Pushing- Back, Biceps + Cardio
- Pulling- Chest, Shoulders, & Triceps
- Legs + Abbs
High Intensity Training (HITT)
There's 3 intervals of intensity (being the incline number), which you'll have to decide on yourself. 1st is easier, 2nd more difficult and 3rd is the most intense.
Make sure to note which incline numbers you set, as well as stay consistent with these workouts.
- 0- 2 minutes: interval one
- 2-5 minutes: interval two
- 5- 9 minutes: interval three
- 9-11 minutes: interval two
- 11- 15 minutes: interval three
- 15- 17 minutes: interval two
- 17- 21 minutes: interval three
- 21- 24 minutes: interval two
- 24- 26 minutes: interval one
Supplements
It's important to know supplements aren't necessary, but it can help.
It's difficult to consistently consume a gram of protein per pound of bodyweight from food alone. So, having some once per day get can make sure you hit your daily quota.
This weight loss program is only for the serious. It’s actually pretty difficult, and will likely screen some of you out sooner than later, but will yield the best and quickest results.
If your plate is already full with things you can't change (like school along with work) then you may want to try something less demanding.
Choose a weight loss goal, take progress pics, listen to motivating music at the gym, and always push through to go to the gym daily.
If you ever have any questions about the diet or the workout program, feel free to send me a message.
