I was raised by two hard working parents who provided for me to the best of their abilities. I grew up with a lot of deep fried, fast food. Hot dogs, french fries, and pizza were no strangers at the dinner table. Needless to say, I was kind of a chubby kid growing up. I didn’t really think about it much. For the most part I was active and happy. I spent most of my childhood performing in plays or playing soccer. But, something happened to me when I was in the fourth grade. I sat beside this kid. He was a skinny, athletic kid who always outperformed me in sports. We were friends, but every day he would call me “fat ass”. It was two little words that stung more than any other insult I had received and I spent most of my life after that trying to prove him wrong.
I started pushing weights before I got my braces on. I should’ve been playing with my friends but instead I was stealing muscle magazines from my cousin feeding my obsession with pictures of men drowning in steroids. No one would dare call these guys fat and no one will dare call me fat again. Every year I worked harder to push my body to its limits.
In high school I signed up for a weight training class and would spend my spare periods running up and down stairs. I would spend my evenings training in martial arts and gymnastics, anything to break a sweat and burn more fat. I was never truly satisfied, the more gains I made the more desperate I became because it was never enough. It was in university that I learned about dieting and my obsession crossed the line into danger.
I went to see a nutritionist. She spent an hour talking to me about the breakdown of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats and how they affect the body. I didn’t even know what a calorie was before I met this woman. Every thing I ate after that meeting I meticulously wrote down into a little notebook. This was a typical day in 2006:
6:45am - wake up
7:00am - 1 cup egg whites. 1 cup oatmeal. 2 teaspoons of flaxseed. ½ broccoli
8:30am - 2 scoops nitric oxide
9:00am - workout
10:00am - protein shake (32 grams of protein)
10:15am - 2 cans of tuna fish, 1 cup of broccolli, 1 cup brown rice
1:00pm - 8 oz steak, green pepper
4:00pm - 8 oz steak, ½ cup broc ½ cauliflower
6:00pm - 45 minute run
7:00pm - 1 cup eggwhites, mixed vegetables
10:00pm - protein shake.
This was my life, every day, the same thing over and over again. I started dating a fitness trainer to make me feel normal for my behaviour and we pushed ourselves to dangerous levels. Since 2004 I have experimented with every diet I could get my hands on. I have tried low carb, high protein, low and high calorie, calorie cycling, temporal fasting, I was a strict vegan for 4 months, I have simply starved myself and would regularly over hydrate myself. Yes you read that right I OVER hydrated myself. I would drink a minimum of 10 litres of water a day, marking each 500ml with a tick on my wrist. Do not do this, this is dangerous. It got to the point where I fell down the stairs coming home from the gym.
I have since calmed down and stopped putting myself into such dangerous situations. I feel like I am in more control. I know what to do and what not to do and how to do it safely. All body types are sexy and worthwhile. I have since concentrated on living a healthy and fit life and if you do the same, you will be amazed by the benefits that follow.
I am going to share with you 5 rules that you can follow to lose fat, gain muscle and most importantly feel great. I have boiled down my decades of experimentation down to the basics so that you can get onto the fast track and start seeing results today without hurting yourself. If you find that you are having difficulty incorporating some of these suggestions into your life, start off small and slowly add more as you go.
80/20 Principle
If you follow the rules I have outlined below you will get 80% of the results for doing 20% of the work. You work hard enough as is it, don’t bust your ass trying to fit back into those jeans from two summers ago. With very little effort on your part you can make drastic changes that will improve every aspect of your life. If we are going to start you on your path to feeling good we have to tackle our diets.
Diet is one of the most difficult things for people to wrap their heads around. With so much information being shoved down your throat it is understandably overwhelming and confusing. So I am going to make it as easy as I can for you. No calorie counting, no fasting or hunger, I’m only interested in giving you the steps you need to achieve the results you are looking for.
Print out the following rules and tack it to your fridge. Just follow 5 rules. How difficult is that?
Rule #1 - Ask Yourself “Can I find this in the wild?”
The more processed food becomes the worse it generally is for you. I want you to start putting fresh, clean food into your body. If it had to be made by a machine or a person, stay away from it the best you can. Breads, cereal, pop all of these items are no nos.
Rule #2 - Every meal should have PVN: (lean)Protein, Vegetables and Nuts or Seeds
Lean Protein
ex/ chicken or turkey breast, fish, seafood, eggs, steak, venison,
If you are a vegetarian
ex/ whey protein, tofu (delicious), Pea Protein isolate, soy Protein Isolate.
Vegetables
Most vegetables are great for you. A good rule of thumb is stick with fresh greens. Stay away from potatoes and corn.
ex/ brocoli, brussel sprouts, celery, kale, spinach, asparagus, peppers, cucumbers, raw watercress. Find your favourite vegetables and just go crazy.
Nuts or Seeds
ex/ almonds, sunflower seeds, cashews, walnuts, brazil nuts, Legumes, Lentils, pumpkins seeds, avocados.
Rule #3 - Stay away from sugar like it is your job
Sugar is the devil. You don’t need it, you don’t want it anymore so stop it. Stay away from pop, stop putting sugar in your coffee in the morning, stop eating that candy. If you are someone with a lot of sugar in your diet currently, I hate to break the news to you but you are addicted to a drug. It is harmful and addictive and your life will improve once you throw it away. Your taste buds will actually change after a couple of weeks and I promise you will stop craving this poison.
Rule #4 - Drink more water
No juice, no pop, no milk. Drink water! Coffee and tea or fine, but remember rule 3 and calm down with the sugar.
Rule #5 - Stop eating fruit!
I always get a lot of pushback when I introduce this rule, but just trust me. Stop eating fruit, you don’t need it. It is full of sugar and you should get your vitamins and minerals from vegetables instead. I’m not going to lecture you on why, just stop eating fruit. When people at work are commenting on how good you look you can thank me.
Starting today I want you to start following these five rules for the next 4 weeks. Write it down onto your calendar, or type it into your phone! You have nothing to lose (except for those stubborn pounds) and everything to gain. Take progress pictures every week so you can track and let me know if you need help!
Next time I will talk about the three exercises you will need to get people’s head turning when you walk down the street.
