Ummm How about NO it isn't? Saturated fats have NEVER been unhealthy.

My guess is that you are probably a bit confused because I also talk about the Warrior Diet.

I have to be quick, because I have many more questions to get to. Here are the basics…

Just cycle days of low carbs with days of higher carbs. If you have a lot of weight to lose do many more low carb days…as you get closer to your ideal weight, do a bit more moderate carb days. When you reach your ideal weight, you can include more moderate carb days vs. low carb days.

It is completely flexible depending upon what your goals are.

Hope that helps!

Rusty

That advice I gave to Mike would be good advice for you as well. If you look pretty darn good in clothes then you are really close to hitting your goal. Get ripped and you will have the build of a ripped Pro Beach Volleyball player. Women dig those guys!

Read this post as well…since you are close, this will help you if you ever get stuck at a certain body fat percentage.

Perceived Effort and Fat Loss

Cheers,

Rusty

Very interesting advice you gave Mike up above as I'm in a similar situation myself. I am also 6'4" and currently weigh 200 lbs. Prior to focusing on getting lean, my weight was typically in the 220-225 lbs. range (I was much stronger but did not look particularly "fit"). I primarily used spinning classes at the gym to bring by weight down after deciding to pursue the lean look.

The only problem with my current situation is that at 200 lbs. my bf % remains at approx. 18% (I say approx. because it's been measured by the electronic household scale and I question it's accuracy). My frame is definetely a medium and not a small. One of my more hardcore bodybuilding friends refers to my current physique as "skinny fat guy".

My question is whether it is actually possible with the advice you gave Mike up above to burn off another 10% or so of my remaining body fat while gaining back some of my lost muscle as well?

Thanks and keep up the good work.

p.s.
I still prefer my so called "skinny fat guy" look to my previous "bulked-up" look. I'm lucky enough to have the "Orlando Bloom" type look you described earlier and when wearing nice clothes I just look like a normal, thin, healthy guy. I am interested in getting the ripped look more for beach season and for the sense of accomplishment.

The Warrior Diet is very interesting. When you fast for a short period of time your body increases its ability to absorb nutrients. The book goes into crazy detail about why this works, but Ori also addresses the fact that this is controversial. He looks down upon eating too little of calories every day, because that is when the body goes into a catabolic mode.

I feel wonderful when I eat this way, but I know this diet doesn't work for everybody. This is a big reason I am jazzed about writing this 2 part diet plan article. It will work well for everyone, no matter how many meals they would like to eat.

Rusty

You can have certain vegetables on a low carb day. You could even possibly include a tiny bit of fruit. More details to come!

David,

I love hearing that you guys are getting great results! This keeps me hitting this hard and giving it my all. I have to go workout and then I'm going to spend a couple hours on part II. You will like it for sure!

Rusty

Mike,

I would recommend basing your workout around High Intensity Interval Training. That will boost your HGH (burn fat while gaining a bit of muscle if done in a certain way). Don't do any extended amount of cardio, because you are trying to gain muscle as well. Do HIIT for 15-20 minutes after every workout. Drink a high quality protein shake right after the workout and eat a healthy balanced meal right after that. Always workout on an empty stomach.

As far as lifting goes…I'm a big fan of the 2 days split. Divide your body up and work 1/2 your body one day and 1/2 your body the other day. I still think 5 sets of 5 would be the way to go, but if you badly need quite a bit more mass do pyramid sets (12, 10, 8, 6 reps on every exercise). In your case I would also do more total sets for each body part…maybe 12 or so.

This will give you quick results as long as you push your HIIT hard and do all of this on an empty stomach. As far as eating the rest of the day. Protein shake in morning, one mid day, workout 4 hours later, shake right after, followed by a really healthy meal with plenty of fruits. Once you get lean, follow the advice that I give the majority of the time on this site…low reps, lots of cardio, etc.

Hulbs,

I'm totally jealous buddy! I want to go to Thailand in a major way. Great job at getting in amazing shape. In our lifetime how many trips like this do we go on? Not many! You may as well look amazing. Vacations like this are great motivation.

Jason,

Isometrics can get you toned, but I like regular lifting for the most part. I do think isometrics are the way to go for great abs. I do nothing but planks, and my abs look as ripped as they ever have.

Yavor,

Yes, I am going to sit down for a couple of hours and finish the article tonight. I think this will be extremely beneficial to a lot of people.

Cheers!

Rusty

About that diet of one or two meals a day, i have some questions that have to do with health. I don't question the results obtained, if you say it works i believe you, but i have questions about the side effects. It has to do with the limited capacity of our body to absorb nutrients and calories in each meal, most nutritionists say that one of the reasons we need to eat several meals a day is because we can't absorb all the things we need in just one meal, because the body has a limit, and the things you eat that aren't absorbed, won't be kept to be used later. They say that if you skip meals, the body won't burn just fat, but also muscle and organ tissues, we also have to remember that the heart is a muscle, and a few days ago a nutritionist was saying on tv that it´s very common to see people that have the habit of being lots of hours without eating during the day, with heart problems due to the loss of tissue. Of course this is something they do for years, maybe it has no problem if done only for a few weeks. I still believe in 5 small meals a day, to gain muscle or to lose weight, the main difference is in calories. I would like to know what do you think about this?

Thanks Rusty.

That being said, I know quite a few ripped hard core low carbers at my gym who are quite healthy, vital, strong, with normal breath, etc.

Can't wait for the article

Thanks awesome site

I'll be interested to compare this with what i've already been doing (thanks to your tips!) with results i could never have dreamed of.

Like Graeme I'm also quite close to a beach bod to be proud of thanks again to your tips! My wife Sarah and i are off overseas in 6 weeks time with the last 3 days of that trip being at a luxurious Thailand Beach resort where I'll proudly show off my new hot bod!

ABOUT ME: I'm a 28-year-old guy who has never really focused on fitness but did some high school sports/training. I'm 6'4" and about 205 lbs right now, but to be quite honest not very strong and not very muscled. I'm recently done with business school, work has calmed down, and I'm ready to focus on fitness — as much time, money, dedication as needed — this is how I've done successfully moved thru career and grad school in the past.

WHERE I AM NOW: I eat very healthy but am ready to cut out the unnecessary french fries etc. I'm not a gym member but could be; I have easy access to a treadmill and elliptical and my wife has a ball and full set of dumbbells.

MY PLAN: Originally I was thinking I should hit the treadmill/elliptical for the next 6/7 weeks and try to drop an easy 15 pounds of fat. Then I thought I'd hit the weights and go high-protein and pick up another 15-20 pounds of muscle. Then I thought I would drop back on the weights and protein and try to "get cut." Finally I want to get into a routine of maintaining tone and doing aerobic exercise to stay lean.

MY PROBLEM: I realize everyone wants to look like McConnaughey overnight, but I am hoping for reasonably fast results (months not years) and am willing to put in whatever's needed — gym twice a day, specialized foods, etc. I saw your recommendation to do 5 reps x 5 sets to slowly bulk up and maintain tone. To be honest, I'd rather bulk up fast and tone later — but you're the pro here.

The consensus seems to be that if you want to make major improvements to your body, you have to go all cardio or all weights. To maintain good shape, you want to mix them. Hence my plan for cardio to drop fat, weights to bulk up, get cut, then maintain with both (assuming I'll need to join a gym vs. wife's array of treadmill, elliptical, dumbbells and ball — right?).

In other words my good man, what would you recommend if I came to you and said, "I'm a Hollywood actor with a flexible schedule and decent finances. I need to look great shirtless in a movie in 5 months. I'll give you all the time you need… just tell me what to do?"

When you say it involves "cycling" of sorts, It sounds kind of like the way I eat already! Some days I'll eat a lot more carbs and snack a bit. Other days I'll head to my mom's place and eat an awesome fatty meal.

Weekends, I try to eat little during the day so I can drink lots and eat awesome bar food when I'm out with friends, rather than have to worry about having too many calories for the day.

That said, all this stuff I'm talking about is thanks to you man. I'm on my way to getting that beach bod you've been talking about recently thanks to some great diet tips you've given on this site.

Looking forward to part II!