Here Are My Results With
The Aggressive Fat Loss Bible...
By: Robb Marshall
June 1, 2015
July 1, 2015
Fat Loss Bible – Journal
Began Monday, June 1st.
178lbs. | 36” waist measurement (at belly button)
Ending Measurements
170.2lbs | 33” waist measurement (at belly button)
June 2, 2015
I’ve opted to follow Matt’s meal plan guidelines by eating mostly one big meal in the evenings. My one exception to this is that, since I work out first thing in the morning (5:30 a.m.), I will consume one protein shake post workout (2 scoops whey, ~320 calories). Other than that it’s just water, coffee and the occasional Coke Zero (I find that Coke Zero does a nice job of occupying my otherwise growling stomach during the day).
Day one is in the books and went well. I’m going to adjust my weight training a bit starting next week (I’ll follow Matt’s workout this week). I will probably move to a more full-body regimen, hitting almost all areas of the body 3x/week. I have plenty of experience lifting and find that I’m not getting enough in during these workouts.
The day’s fasting until dinner was ok, and I expect this to get better as time goes on. The “training day” meal was excellent, but I was unable to squeeze in the last few calories. I started with the 2.25 cups of Kashi Crisp w/Almond Milk, followed up by 7.5oz grilled sirloin (going with Turkey patties from now on, but I needed to use up that steak). After a bit I whipped up some Greek yogurt “mousse” – one large container of vanilla yogurt mixed with 1 scoop of chocolate whey protein. It was quite good, but after that I was totally stuffed – and my diet log called for one more container of yogurt! Oh well, I guess I’ll just be a bit short on calories this week.
June 4, 2015
Yesterday was a pretty long day, but I powered through it. It’s the first fast I’ve done in some time – and previous fasts were only 18-20 hours long. The adjustment for this first fast was challenging, but not insurmountable. I did have to adjust my fast vs. eating schedule this week due to some family functions. So for this week, I entered my fast right off of a low-carb day, and will break my fast on another low-carb day. So I think a combination of this, plus it being my first fast in a long while, lead to the challenges. Next week I’ll enter my fast after a high-carb day, and break the fast on another high-carb day.
However, this morning (currently at hour 36.5 of my fast as I write this) I woke up feeling good. My day so far has been great, plenty of energy. I won’t lie, though: I had fun packing my fast-breaking meal and come 3:00 p.m. today I’m digging in. But I’m feeling good on just water and a little coffee. It’s amazing how much better I feel today vs. yesterday. This gives me encouragement that the fasts will get easier in the weeks to come.
Since I work out in the early morning, my workout yesterday was fine – having eaten plenty the night before. It felt weird not having a post-workout meal, but it was easy to skip.
June 11, 2015
The week 2 fast is underway and I feel great. It’s mid-day on the first day of the fast and I can already tell this one will be easier than last week’s. Perhaps it’s related to the high-carb day yesterday? Not sure; I feel great, though, and am looking forward to powering through until Friday afternoon.
Not much to report in the days since my last journal entry. The meal plans work great, especially keeping meals down to 1 or 2 times per day. I have no problem hitting my low-carb day calorie goal, and I always have to push myself to meet the high-carb calorie goal. But all in all the days between fasts are pretty normal.
June 12, 2015
Got a little hungry last night but it wasn’t NEARLY as strong as last week’s pangs. Woke up fresh this morning, hit the gym at 5:30 for a delt workout and crushed it. I didn’t really feel any ill effects from fasting during my workout. I rarely eat in the mornings anyway, and I think the lower insulin levels were making me feel a lot less hungry. It is odd not taking a post-workout protein shake, but that’s more mental than anything. The best part about today is prepping my 3:00 meal (I’ll hit 44 hours at 3:00 today).
Next week it’s 2 44-hour fasts! WHEW! My family thinks I’m a little crazy, but they are supportive. I do feel leaner but I’m holding off on weighing and measuring until I hit the 2-week mark.
June 20, 2015
So I have completed the first week of 2 44-hour fasts; not really a problem at all. The challenge is mostly mental, as we have conditioned ourselves to graze and be constantly eating. So each time I found myself thinking about eating, I had some water or coffee or a Coke Zero. I can’t stress enough how helpful drinking LOTS of water is. It’s easy to just not take in anything, but then you start feeling “empty”. I was shooting for a gallon of water a day, and it REALLY helped stave off that “empty” feeling.
Other than that I haven’t felt the need to journal much. Stick to the meal plan, do your fasts, and that’s it. If I was feeling particularly distracted by not eating in the evening, I would read or spend time chatting with my kids. Matt talks about how easy it is to just sit and do nothing; get up and do things, read, watch some movies, chat – whatever. The distractions came pretty easy, really.
Best part after week 3: I actually think I see a leaner waist on myself! I will NOT take a measurement until I’m finished, but I swear I’m leaner, especially in my waist.
June 30, 2015
FINISHED! Took my measurements:
Weight 170.2 – so I lost about 7.8 lbs. This is pretty damn good for me. I’m a fairly lean person by nature, but I haven’t been below 175 lbs. in a LONG time.
Waist: 33”!!!!!! So I lost 3” in my waist measurement, taken around my belly button. That is AWESOME. To me, it’s this measurement that means the most. My weight is less important to me since I’ve always been a fairly lean ectomorph. BUT, I work a desk job and I’ve had that irritating muffin top / love handles / belly fat for YEARS. I used to be able to grab, literally, a handful of flab at my belly button. As of right now, I’m down to a small pinch in that same area. My pants/slacks not only fit better, but I’m going to need new ones! Some of my dress slacks are now too baggy to wear!
Now that I’ve reduced my waist to 33”, I’m going for the rest of it – I’m bringing out that lower part of my abs. Yep, going for that six-pack. Probably the most profound aspect of this program (for me) has been the confirmation that, at 43 years old, I CAN lose that belly fat and get lean. In addition to that, I’ve dug deeper into understanding the health benefits of fasting and now plan to perform 1 24-hour fast per week as a regular part of my regimen. The data re: fasting’s effects on autophagy alone are more than enough to convince me of this lifestyle change.
I found immediate benefits from this program (the last 30 days), but more importantly I feel like I’ve had a reset in how I think about my health and the habits that contribute to it. I went into this looking for that 30-day payoff – the leaner me. And I found it, for sure. But as I write this I’m convinced that my journey has not just ended, but is just beginning. Finishing this program is not ONLY about coming out leaner in 30 days (something you WILL accomplish), it’s about resetting your perception of how you can effectively manage your eating habits. I now have the tools/knowledge necessary to maintain and continue a lean lifestyle. Not to mention an avid interest in learning MORE and challenging myself to take things to the next level.