How Derrick Lost 20 Pounds In Two Months (By Working Out Less Than One Hour/Week)
“Despise” is a word that stops you in your tracks. It’s a whole lot more serious than “dislike” or even “hate.”
My new client, Derrick - who hired me to consult him on his health - dropped the bomb that he was not happy. He made 3 facts very clear:
He needed to change his life now. He was dangerously close to developing diabetes and had three months to turn things around.
He was willing to change how he ate and exercised
He was not going to enjoy any part of this
Derrick explained, “John, I’m going to be 100% honest. I absolutely despise working out. I always have and I always will. There is nothing you can do to change my mind on this.”
After I had finished taking a fearful gulp and my widened eyes returned to their normal size, I regained my composure.
Well, here goes nothing. I replied, “I hear you loud and clear. I have good news, too. We only need one hour a week. Can you give me that?
Skeptical would be an understatement. Despite not believing a single word that came out of my mouth, Derick reluctantly accepted the terms.
The next thing he knew - in less than two months, with less than 1 hour of working out each week - Derick was down over 20 pounds.
Here’s how he did it.
“What’s more important for fat loss? Diet or working out?”
I hate this question because it’s like asking, “What’s more important for pizza? Cheese or dough?” Both are integral to the process.*
*Unless you’re like my cousin, Peter, who rips the cheese off his pizza, sets it aside, eats the plain, saucy bread, and eats the cheese last. If you do this, you can stop reading now. You are beyond help.
In a perfect world we are able to pull both levers. The optimal approach is manipulating both diet and workouts to build strength while losing fat.
The only problem was Derick was not living in a perfect world. Nobody does.
Not a single one of my clients in my six year coaching career has had everything perfectly dialed in (except maybe Eshan. That dude was pretty locked in).
And that’s OK! We don’t need perfection to make progress. Derick is evidence of this.
The majority of Derrick's fat loss was driven by the changes he made to his diet. Don’t get me wrong, he didn’t just sit on his butt all day with his feet kicked up watching “Succession.” His new workouts would not have even made a dent in his weight without the drastic overhaul he made to his diet.
I’m about to tell you exactly what Derick changed to lose 20 pounds in two months.
DISCLAIMER- I am not suggesting that these are the changes you make at all and this is what works for Derick. You’re unique and will need to find what works for you. If you’d like help figuring it all out - and by “it” I mean how you should eat, work out, and recover to get in the best shape of your life - you know who to call.
SCHEDULE YOUR FREE CONSULT CALL TODAY
Derrick’s Workouts and Diet
Derrick’s workouts were extremely simple:
Monday - Walk
Tuesday - 30 minute resistance training (at home)
Including a 5 minute warm up and 2-3 sets each of a push, pull, squat, hinge, and core/arm exercise
Wednesday - Walk
Thursday - 30 minute resistance training (at home)
Including a 5 minute warm up and 2-3 sets each of a push, pull, squat, hinge, and core/arm exercise
Friday - Walk
Weekends - Rest
The changes he made to his diet were even simpler:
He added more fruits and vegetables
He focused on including protein (mostly eggs/chicken/pork/beef) and healthy fats (a LOT of avocado, olive oil, hummus, and nut butters) in every meal
He drastically reduced his intake of added sugars and hyper palatable, high calorie foods
He listened to his body, ate slowly and mindfully, and always ate to the point of feeling satisfied but not stuffed
He continued to enjoy a few nights out at restaurants with his partner each week. He didn’t stress about the calories/macros of these meals because they made up <5% of his total intake for the week
Derrick’s approach was excruciatingly simple, but that’s the beauty of it. He made a few key changes that helped him move more and eat less in a way that felt do-able for him.
Simple and effective always trumps unneeded complexity. Don’t take my word for it. The proof is in the pudding (Sorry for analogizing you to pudding, Derrick!)
What's the point?*
*I treat this older patient in the PT clinic. Picture an old fashioned Texas oil business man. He’ll ramble on for a while, sometimes a few seconds, other times a few minutes, and then, acknowledging he’s gone off topic long ago, will restore purpose to his anecdote with a pointed and almost angry-with-himself “Well, what’s the point? The point is…” It is absolutely hilarious but extremely effective for tying up the loose ends of his ramblings.
Here’s my best impression of “What’s the point?” for Derrick’s incredible and rapid progress.
The primary point is that you don’t need to spend your life in the gym to transform your health and physique. With a good, no nonsense exercise program, you can knock out the highest “bang for your buck” and see results fast.
The secondary point is don’t be afraid to get after it. What I mean is, if you have a lot of weight to lose or need to make changes fast, you can do things in a way that is not sustainable - for a short time.
This totally flies in the face of my entire approach of “Make slow and steady changes that you can do for the rest of your life.” In certain situations, it makes sense to go fast and hard (cue the “that’s what she said” jokes.)
We even have studies that show rapid weight loss at the start of a diet is one of the best ways to stick with it. It makes sense. If you have 100 pounds to lose, losing .5-1lb/week will not be as seeing the number on the scale plummet.
The caveat here is that you will not (and should not!) keep up that pace for long.
Derrick will not lose 10+ pounds/month for the duration of his diet. If he did, he would risk excess muscle loss and other negative changes. After a few months, it’s best to take a more conservative approach closer to that .5-2 lbs lost/week.
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
Derrick knocked it out of the park. 99% of his results can be attributed to his hard work, sacrifice, and diligence.
That last 1% can be chalked up to one hugely important decision Derrick made. Enlisting help and support.
That same study I referenced above found that the other predictors of diet success include, “personalized feedback and positive reinforcement in the clinical setting combined with ongoing support from friends and family members.”
Derrick recruited a team - which included myself, his dietician, his physician, and his partner - to support him along his journey.
If you need to make a change to your health, you will see the best results if you have the support of a team. Not only to help you decide what changes to make, but to hold you accountable and give you a push when things get tough (as they tend to do).
If you’d like to take the first step toward losing fat fast - without spending every waking hour in the gym or sacrificing your favorite foods - you can schedule a FREE, laid back consult call with me today.