I can confidently say this diet worked.
In case you missed any of the background information on the 3-Phase Diet Plan, how it was structured, what my training looked like, and how my nutrition strategy came together, check out the following links:
Rather than talk all about the visual results you see at the top of this article, I want to first focus on how I FEEL. Too often we get caught up the exterior results and disregard how we look and feel INTERNALLY.
We focus on the answers to these questions entirely:
- How much weight did you lose?
- Did you get a 6-pack?
- Will people be impressed with how you look?
Unfortunately, even if you ring off “yes” to each of those questions, it’s not going to make you happy for longer than a few days. Trust me. I’ve learned it myself when my focus was out of whack.
The most important part of dieting down is how you feel on the inside. Answering these questions instead is what’s going to tell you if you’ve truly transformed:
- Do you feel accomplished?
- Are you satisfied with your work ethic?
- Do you have a good relationship with food and your body image?
So let’s dive into those first, and then we’ll get to the specifics regarding how much weight I lost and other metrics.
Sustainable & Realistic
This diet was unlike any other I’ve done, and that’s because it was rooted in sustainability and feasibility. I set this thing up in three phases in order to see the progress I was looking for, but also provide flexibility in regards to the approach for achieving that goal.
To recap, I wanted to lose about 10 pounds, but that figure was kind of a moving target. Mostly, I wanted to drop body fat and feel leaner and more athletic. I figured 10 pounds was reasonable and something to shoot for in order to see the reductions in body fat I was after.
All told, this diet ran for a total of nine weeks. That’s 63 days. And here’s the awesome part.
Out of 63 total days of dieting, I was only in a calorie deficit for 42 of them. (A calorie deficit is when you’re burning more calories than you’re consuming on a daily basis. You need to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight.)
It was incredible. Yes, the phases where I was in a calorie deficit were aggressive. And yes, getting started with the diet on an aggressive calorie deficit was an adjustment — starting any type of new diet routine is going to be a challenge — but after about a week or so I was in a groove and the rest of the process felt… dare I say easy?
It was tremendously motivating knowing there was a light at the middle of the tunnel — not the end of the tunnel like most diet programs. I had a structured break, and within it I knew I would still have just that: structure.
Then, it was back to the aggressive calorie deficit to polish things off before the true light at the end of the tunnel.
I feel absolutely amazing. This was the easiest diet I’ve ever gone through. I don’t feel drained. I don’t feel starved. I’m not in a worse place than when I started.
It’s the complete opposite. I feel energized. I have a great relationship with food and don’t feel the need for a post-diet free-for-all. I’m ready to move on to the next phase with confidence and structure.
I can’t recommend the 3-Phase Diet Plan enough.
The Physical Results
In terms of the results you’re probably most interested in… I lost just over 10 pounds. That’s 10 pounds lost in technically six weeks of dieting, which is a perfectly healthy and appropriate rate of fat loss.
I talked about this a bit on social media last week that weight loss should be a slow-and-steady approach. There are mountains of evidence to prove why this is the way to go, and it’s rooted in something we’ve already talked a lot about: sustainability.
Too many diets that have a name attached to them (keto, carnivore, 21-day fix, etc.) are designed to get you quick and easy results, but they don’t teach you anything other than that restriction will help you lose weight. That’s no way to live, which is why so many people have trouble keeping the weight off after running one of those diet plans.
You’re better off taking extra time, learning about your relationship with the foods you eat, and building a sustainable lifestyle within the framework of your diet.
The scale also says I lost somewhere between 3-4% body fat. Body fat readings are highly error-prone and in my opinion not all that important, and honestly to a certain extent you could say the same about your weight.
I think weighing yourself on a regular basis is extremely important, and having a healthy body weight is associated with better overall long-term health, but it shouldn’t be the only factor you’re worried about. If you get into the habit of eating healthier and exercising regularly and you feel great, well that’s just as important as any other metric.
If you feel great but the scale says you “only” lost five pounds, you shouldn’t let that get you down. That doesn’t mean your diet and efforts are a waste. Keep things in perspective.
On A Personal Note
I’ve always wanted to try a diet like this, and the timing necessitated a phased approach.
That’s because right in the middle of the diet my wife and I welcomed our first child into our family. I knew I wanted to drop body fat, but I also knew that dieting was going to be almost impossible for a few weeks around our baby’s due date.
So the 3-Phase Diet Plan was born (along with our baby girl!), and it worked like a charm.
I dieted aggressively for three weeks prior to our baby’s arrival, then had three weeks of flexibility to welcome her into the world and get acclimated to a new lifestyle as a family.
Once we started to develop a routine, I hopped back into an aggressive calorie deficit for three more weeks to finish things off.
No, I did not do everything perfectly, but I stuck with it. For example, I was not able to do nearly the amount of cardio for Phase 3 that I did in Phase 1. There were just too many demands on my time.
That’s OK, though. The calorie deficit was aggressive enough that I continued to lose weight in Phase 3, just at a slower pace than initially.
Hopefully that’s a lesson for you that diets don’t ever go perfectly as planned. But they can go great, or pretty good, or even just old fashioned OK and still be very effective!
Also, you can maintain your pursuit of a goal regardless of the circumstances. If I can lose weight while at the same time becoming a father for the first time, you can achieve whatever you want. Your health and fitness goals are separate from other factors in your life, and one doesn’t necessarily have to impact the other.
Coaching Cues
Don’t put a hard deadline on your goals. Understand that you have a goal(s) and you want to accomplish it. You can set up a feasible plan that gets you there, and it may take a while to accomplish, but if you focus on learning about yourself and your relationship with fitness and food you’ll be so much better off in the end.
Prioritize sustainability and feasibility over quick results, because if you’re focused on quick results you may find yourself yo-yo dieting for years.
And focus just as much on the internal as you do the external.
I’ll be sharing much more about this diet plan later in the year. I plan to release an E-Book that guides you through the process of setting up your own 3-Phase Diet Plan, and I can’t wait to release it to the world!
I think it’s really going to help people become happier, healthier, and stronger 🙂 .
Thanks for reading!
—
CGF