Train Your Body to Burn Fat On Demand, By Getting Hungry!

Can this work for young teens as well, who have relatively low body fat? I am not anywhere close to being obese, and if I ever complain about being 'fat' most people will shake me and strangle me, calling me ridiculously stupid. This is because, ever since puberty, my stomach filled out a whole lot. Since then, no matter how many crunches I do (though I'll admit I have not tried those special ab-exercises you mentioned in an earlier article yet – forgot the name), I can't seem to burn off the excess fat on my stomach. It looks VERY strange when I am shirtless, because it appears as a beer-belly of sorts, while my arms and legs are perfectly skinny, even kind of fit because of weight training. Nobody really sees my stomach (except my gf), so if I mention to someone about my body fat, they flip out telling me I am crazy (all they see are my skinny arms and legs).

I just don't want to try this one meal a day, or a modified version of it, if it's more for the whole obese group of people or something. I weigh 135 and am 18 years of age, and attempt to work out regularly. I do not need to drop a 100's of pounds, I just need the body fat all over my stomach to burn.

This is also a problem for me because I know I have some ab muscles forming under my stomach fat, because if I flex long enough/hard enough, I can see them. It's so frustrating that my fat hides them!

I've been doing this few meals a day approach for a while and it works for me too! I like this theory it makes sense and not comlicated at all.

Jonneh, crunches are not going to get rid of your tummy. The only way to get rid of it is by burning more calories than you eat. And the best way to do that is by getting into cardio.

Jonneh,

You could probably get away with eating a more normal diet for now, since you sound like you really don't have any challenges staying lean. Once you get a bit older, you will want to switch to this diet…it isn't really just for obese people…it will help people get really lean and then stay that way.

It sounds to me like you need to increase the natural HGH levels in your body. This is what burns the stubborn body fat.

An Aerobic Workout Program that Forces the Body to Burn Fat

Read this post…this is what you need more than a change in your diet.

Rusty

Tyler,

It's funny how the simple things often work the best.

Rusty

C and Rusty,

Thank you both very much.
I may go ahead and give this one meal a day, at night, thing a try after awhile just to see how I like it and experiment with it. For now, since I am only 18, I think I will modify it a bit and have things around lunch, like a fuji apple and a soda or some water (nice idea Rusty!! keeps you full for awhile!) and then eat the big meal at night. I want to see how I think I'll like it when I am a bit older.

Rusty – I do not have many challenges when staying lean, except for my stomach. You know how people classify their bodies with "problem areas"? Well, my stomach would definitely be mine. My legs, while not very muscular, are a good thin size, and my arms are adequately muscular because of weight training, while staying a nicely thin size. My butt is not huge or anything, actually quite small and could probably use a workout as I don't work it out at all – and my chest needs a bit of work but I've been following your incline bench exercise suggestions and dumbell flye's to develop more square pecs. So, all in all, it's really my stomach that needs the most work done.

I've decided right at this very moment, thanks to your site nonetheless, to run on my treadmill in the basement once a day now. I have an old-fashioned one, so it doesn't count calories being burned or anything, so I'll just go by the amount of time I stay on it and the speed.

For working out you've mentioned that eating AFTER you workout is best – and I understand why. But this just got me thinking – what about running? Is it still better to run BEFORE I eat, or should I eat before I run?

Thanks again Rusty!

UPDATE:

I just read your "An Aerobic Workout Program that Forces the Body to Burn Fat" article and I am pumped! I'm really willing to give this a good try! Unfortunately, I'm a little unsure of how to go about this since, as mentioned in my previous comment, my treadmill does not tell me anything (like specific speed or amount of calories being burned), it just moves at the speed I set it and I either walk it, jog it, or run it.

My treadmill's speed settings are, from slowest to fastest, "Cool Down", "Fat Burn", "Aerobic", and "Performance".

Jonneh,

This isn't an exact science as far as how fast you have to go. Try alternating between "fat burn" and "performance", but maybe spend the first 5-6 minutes alternating between "fat burn" and "aerobic"…then switch the faster part of your interval to "performance" once you are warmed up.

Since you can't really fine tune the speed, what you will need to do is adjust how long you run in "performance mode"…once it becomes easy, you will either have to run in performance mode longer, or walk in the fat burn mode for a shorter period of time.

The main thing is to aim for the shortness of breath and the "HGH Flush".

You should get awesome results!

Rusty

Jonneh,

Definitely you should Run before you eat, not after.

Rusty

Rusty,

I can not tell you how helpful you have been with this site and mainly just your personal comments. I think what you described above will work perfectly, and as you said, I will just have to fine tune the last part. So, basically, I aim for complete exhaustion, right? Haha But seriously, thanks again!

Just started reading your articles. I am confused you saying you only need three meals a day. I thought your energy levels go down and you store extra body fat if you dont eat every couple hours or you have to include protein in every meal. I do enjoy your site but if only eating two or three times a day works why does everyone insist. I just wonder the most is will you store extra body fat if you only eat 2 or three times the most

Simon,

You have to read this article I posted, you may change your mind!

Lose Body Fat by Eating Just One Meal Per Day

This will open your mind to a different approach to eating.

Rusty

Hey rusty I wanted to ask you a question help me answer it. I have been doing the 5 meal low calorie thing. I was around like 182. I ahve started doing the meal thing and after three days i have gained 3 lbs why do you think this is because ive been doing this 5 meal plan for so long or what?

the one meal plan i forgot to add i have been doing

Sebastian,

Two things could be happening,

1) This plan can be a bit anabolic (gaining muscle) for some people at first. You might put on a bit of muscle at first.

2) Or…you are eating too much for that one meal. You kind of have to figure out what the right amount of food is for your one meal.

Keep doing the diet and if you are still gaining weight 7 days later, back down on the amount you eat.

Ok i will take your advice and try it for now. I read and was like this makes sense and then i saw the scale and was like omg. But recommend getting results from the 1 meal approach or 2 or small ones i will keep trying it. By the way how much can you expect to lose weight per week

Hi Rusty,
I really enjoyed reading your posts here & I think it's fantastic that you are sharing your knowledge! I am a former personal trainer & fitness competitor/model and have always disagreed with the typical fitness/nutrition advice. Although I followed it myself on a few occasions for competitions & shoots, I was miserable & could never stay lean on these methods & knew I had to find a better way. I have read, researched & tried many things & I've recently gone back to something similar to what you describe here & "The Warrior diet". It has taken me some time to get my brain away from the "competition mode" of thinking – I still struggle with it at times. I really do feel the eating 6-8 a day & mountains of protein ages you & is disasterous for your organs.
I currently run in the mornings & do yoga when I don't run. I do some weights 4x a week in the evening (no more than 35 min). I'm having a bit of fruit in the morning, a plain large salad at lunch (maybe a bit of soy milk in coffee) & at dinner I start with another salad or steamed veggies, maybe a bit of soup, and a tofu product with sprouted grain complete protein bread or a piece of fish & rice or potato. (I'm vegetarian except I eat fish). I drink coffee & green tea through out the day. I'd love to get
your perspective on what I'm currently doing.
Thanks so much! (:

Val,

I went to your site. You are in outstanding shape, so obviously my advice is to continue doing what you are doing! Your resume obviously speaks for itself.

http://www.onemodelplace.com/member.cfm/ID/191739
(here is a site featuring tons of pictures of VAL along with the magazines she's been featured in and contest she has won, etc.)

Looking at your pictures, it looks like you have a really solid base of muscle. The great thing about this is that as you age, you will probably even look better…and now you don't need to concentrate on lifting as much.

You obviously have it down. Your diet looks great as well as your workout routine.

I am flattered that you like my blog,

Rusty

Hi Rusty,

I just want to start off by saying how amazed I am to have found your site. I started eating this way a few years ago when I noticed I had put on more than a few pounds I didn't care for. To be honest, this way of eating just felt more natural to me. I'd rather work hard all day and eat what I want at night. Sometimes that meal is super healthy and other times it isn't at all. I usually just ate whatever my body was craving. Since then, I allowed myself to be convinced by others that I needed to eat more times per day. That by not eating often and by sometimes getting hungry I was slowing down my metabolism. So, I started eating "normally" again. Guess what? I've gained like 10 pounds in a year and a half! Not good. I started running a few months ago (I didn't work out at all before) and I've gotten to the point where I can run 3-4 miles 4 times per week. This hasn't taken the weight off at all so I am going back to the one meal a day lifestyle. I've only been doing it for three days and I've already lost 2.5 pounds which is great! My question is this: during this first week when I occasionally get lightheaded I am worried I will have trouble running. Do you think it would be smart to take it easy on working out this week (maybe just fast walking?) or should I try to push through? Will my running suffer with a week off? Thanks Rusty for your amazing site. I'm so glad to see that other people consider this a normal healthy way of living.

~Laura

Laura,

I love it when people tell me to eat 6 times per day…"or else". I still get people telling me that and they are usually the people with quite a bit of weight to lose.

As far as running…it wouldn't kill you to take a week off. You might want to try drinking 2-3 cups of Green Tea and see if that makes you want to run.

I think this way of eating is great for a lot of us, but some people probably do really well eating 6 times per day…I just hate eating nothing but low-cal foods all the time…and I enjoy a few beers every now and then!

Glad you like the site!

Rusty

Rusty,

I drank a large cup of green tea and ate half of a banana (no apples around) and was able to get through my run pretty well. Thanks for the tip!

I have another question for you, though if you don't mind. How often do you usually work out? Is it neccessary to work out daily? What about strength training for the arms, core, etc.? I've taken a look at a lot of your workout recommendations and plan to start doing hill sprints at least one or two days a week to get that HIIT, but I'm just not sure how much I should be working out overall. Again, thanks for all of the great information!

Laura,

I'm going to have to dedicate an entire post or two to answer that question…I can't believe I've had this site up for almost 3 months and I haven't addressed this yet!

Thanks for reminding me that I need to talk about this ASAP. I'll get to this within the next 2-3 days.

Glad you decided to run…BTW! Good for you…I bet you are going to notice great results quickly.

Rusty

Hi Rusty,
Thanks so much for the compliments! (: You're right about the weight -training – I do ALOT less than I used to and I've been training since I was 18 (I'm 34). I love the freedom of doing more activities I enjoy like yoga, and not being trapped by the 5-8 meals a day. I used to eat alot of tuna and asparagus. I like tuna and asparagus but not for 3 of my meals a day! Prior to my fitness competitions, I ate more or less the warrior way and was quite lean & light without really trying (I was active but not killing myself in the gym) or stressing over it. Eating 6x a day my weight fluctuated wildly and I was pretty irritable. . I'm really happy to be back on a more natural regime! (:
I will be a regular visitor to your site here Rusty, thank you for sharing!
Val

Hey man I've been reading your articles and I like the info. I've been losing 1 to 2 pounds a week by doing 5 meal thing such as otmeal w.strawbeey 2nd apple 3rd chick salad 4 proteoin shake 5 grilled chickrn salad . What would u do? I am having success and I only have like 4 lbs to go but what would u do switch to 2 or 3

Ryan,

If something works, why mess with it? You are doing great! If you get to a sticking point, it is time to adjust…otherwise just keep on losing weight.

Good Job!

Rusty

Im thinking of trying your 1 meal a day routine but im gonna ease my way into it…i currently eat branflakes in the morning and something with protein after my weights session which is around 12pm, the thing is will i still burn a good amount of bodyfat if i eat nothing until my last meal at 6 – 7 pm

ps, i run twice a day too!

Mark,

I'm always a little hesitant to give advice to people who are exceptionally acitve like you. If I could monitor your weight loss avery day, I would feel better about it…but since I can't do that…make sure you track how much weight you lose.

Good Idea to ease into this slowly…and Yes…you will burn a ton of bodyfat if you don't eat anything until 7. I just don't want you to be under-nourished…so ease into it slowly.

Rusty

The thing is my BMI index is around 30 which for my height puts me overweight, i have well defined legs & arms and the weight i carry (40 lbs) i put on in the space of 6 months. Ive always bin slim & muscular and what with the bodyfat i carry i tend to look out of shape "i have strong abdominal muscles and this tends to push out my stomach". I carry alot of weight above my hips and on my stomach and although i jog 2 x 3 miles a day i just cant seem to shift the bodyfat! Could you advise me when is a good time to do my weights, runs and eat my meals for maximum fat burning….any advice is appreciated!

Mark,

A lot of guys put the weight on their mid-section. The best thing for you to do to burn this "stubborn" fat…is to mix in High Intensity Interval Training into your workout.

Here is an article I wrote on that:
An Aerobic Workout Program That Forces Your Body To Burn Body Fat

If you can do your weights at night followed by running, before your night time meal you will get maximum benefits. You can really make a dramatic impact on your physique quickly if you work out on an empty stomach. The food you eat after your run will go towards re-fueling your muscles and it very unlikely to be turned into fat.

As far as your stomach sticking out. You, in paticular, shouldn't do direct ab work like situps and crunches.

Here is an article I wrote about this: Great Six Pack Ab Video Shows You How to Get Extemely Toned Abs

Here is another good one: Bruce Lee's Secret Six Pack Ab Exercise

Hope that helps!

Rusty

I have read alot of conflicting information on the net the past few days such as eating 1 meal a day and especially at night its more than likley that the body will lose muscle tissue and water before it loses body fat. ive lost a couple of lbs already and i dont feel any weaker! Why do websites (specialists in nutrition) say these things advising people to "do what they say calling it good advice if it's not true ?"

Mark,

It IS very confusing. You will get mixed messages about fitness…the reason why is that there are a lot of approaches that work!

I do my best to find ones that work well, but don't get mentioned enough. Plus just because something works…doesn't mean it is the best approach…there could be a much more effective way to reach a specific goal.

There are a lot of nutrition specialists that give approaches that are completely different than what I recommend. I really do my best to dig deep and look at the science behind one approach versus another. What I often times find is that scientific studies will show benefits of two completely different approaches.

My advice…try both approaches and see what works for you. The great thing is that my goal is to find the newest approaches and expose all the readers to these approaches.

Hope I didn't confuse you more…LOL!

Rusty

My girlfriend has booked us a table for dinner next friday and i cant get out of it….will my hard work of only eating in the morning & late evening be ruined if i go…or should i just try and add a little more cardio through this week before we eat out ?

Mark,

You have to be flexible, there are certainly days where you can't follow the diet. Enjoy dinner with your girlfriend. Things in life like that are very important.

Just add cardio this week, like you mentioned…but more importantly…enjoy the dinner!

Have a great one!

Rusty

300X 6 or 1800×1 ..its all the same at the end of the day…..no? it all comes down to ..expell more than consume=weight loss! but it sounds more logical for the 1 meal deal if the person is overweight and mutiple meals for a fit person….one always needing fuel and the other always needing to burn fuel…..just my opinion, anyway great site rusty…o I tried planks for time..OMG ..if done right the 2 minutes seems like a hour.I add upward motions with my butt at the end for more pain.Have a nice day..

I LOVE your site and how everything blends together, alot of other websites I visit has conflicting information and I end up more confused when I leave then when I enter.

Im going to being the Warrior Diet (might as well call it a way of life at this point) since it'll fit in perfectly with my lifestyle.

The proof is in the pudding, and that's all the convincing I need.

Keep up the fabulous work and THANK YOU!!

Tee,

Thanks for the compliment. There is a lot of good information on many websites, but I think they try to please too many people. All I am focusing on is to help people get that lean and slim "Hollywood" look. I don't focus on bulking up, bodybuilding, powerlifting, etc. Since I have narrowed it down it makes it more helpful for people trying to attain this look.

Thanks for enjoying!

Rusty

Deanowe,

The one meal per day approach works really well for fit or overweight people. I think the one person it wouldn't be as effective for would be for someone trying to put on weight. Great for everyone else.

Rusty