Skinny fat founder strips for launch of startup (opens in new tab)

If you want to understand what's what in fat loss, Alwyn Cosgrove's "Hierarchy of Fat Loss": http://alwyncosgrove.com/2010/01/hierarchy-of-fat-loss/

TL;DR: fat loss is about diet. Yes, diet. Strength training builds/retains muscle, so do it. HIIT cardio helps some, steady state cardio a bit as well. But really, it's mostly diet.

If you want to understand more about this, you could look into starvation literature. On a reduced-calorie-only approach, about 25% of your weight loss comes not from fat but muscle. Which is among the key reasons diet-only approaches fail. Among exercises, it's strength training which builds muscle, not cardio, which is why a running-only exercise approach won't get you ripped either.

This is also a major reason why I find the emphasis on "weight" loss in both mainstream and medical literature immensely frustrating. What really matters is the relationship between two tissue types, subcutaneous fat and skeletal muscle. They're gained and lost through very different mechanisms, and play very different roles in body function. Confounding both as "weight" is an immense disservice.

For a plan putting this together, there's The New Rules of Lifting, or for the gals, The New Rules of Lifting for Women. Exercise plan, diet, lifting, cardio, a ton of info on what goes into fitness. http://www.amazon.com/New-Rules-Lifting-Maximum-Muscle/dp/15... and http://www.amazon.com/New-Rules-Lifting-Women-Goddess/dp/158...

If you want a simpler, and IMO more effective beginner's program, Mark Rippetoe's Starting Strength: http://www.amazon.com/Starting-Strength-2nd-Mark-Rippetoe/dp...

That's based on a classic 5x5 lifting program. It's simple. It's effective. After the first few weeks, it's pretty brutal. But for a novice trainee there's hardly anything more effective.

Being in shape is a lifestyle issue. It's not something that happens overnight or that you can do in one go, it requires a fundamental change in how you approach living. I'm not trying to discourage you, but to steer you away from the "you can fix it quick with no effort" snake oil that abounds.

My advice:

1. Become your own expert. Learn how your body works, how nutrition works, how exercise works, how ... I've found that reddit's fitness community [1] has some great places to start. There's a ridiculous amount of good information out there. (Protip: most of the good info can cite studies, less than half of the bad even bothers)

2. Make it fun. Learn new recipes, try activities you've always wanted to do, do anything but force yourself to change. After a while the causation between "not fun" exercises or diet changes and their benefits will sink into your brain and make things easier, but to start if it sucks you'll probably quit.

3. Don't agonize over the scale. Your body weight fluctuates throughout the day and various activities. It's not uncommon to see a single day +/- 6lb change just in the water your body is holding. Aim for feeling better (or looking better, if that's your goal) not a number on a scale. Weigh yourself when you start, then come back after three months.

4. Be persistent. You're talking about a lifestyle change here. These don't happen overnight. You'll probably spend a long time being disappointed at apparent non-progress then wake up one day wondering when things changed. Do your homework and learn what you need to do, then start doing it and trust that the results will come. In a world where we can use our phones to identify and buy the song that's playing right now, results in this come agonizingly slow.

[1] http://www.reddit.com/help/faqs/Fitness

Take a cue from to OP's site and do a 12-week challenge. During the 12 weeks eat the best eating plan you can manage for at least 5 days/week and don't go crazy on weekends. Keep workouts intense, short, and keep challenging yourself. After the 12 weeks reassess -- maybe you'll be willing to spend some money.

At 1-2 two pounds of fat/week for 12 weeks (very doable) your body will look a lot different -- even if you don't exactly get the results shown here.

http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/www/hackdiet.html

I found that when I got up to 208 lbs six or seven years ago, I now weigh 159. (I'm 6'3".)

Couch to 5k if you've never ran before http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

If you're a geek get an app like Livestrong's which makes it really easy to count calories. There's several online calculators which will give you a good guess on a caloric intake for weight loss though a visit to a nutritionist would get you a more personalized number.

If you don't like counting calories the low carb solutions are a little more "livable" you can go out with friends and get a salad pretty much anywhere. But bread is tasty.

I spent most of January trying to get an already flat(ish) stomach to the next level in terms of abs/reduced body fat.

I found my low-carb, high-protein diet took the edge off my brain which made programming or doing any thought-intensive task sluggish. I wasn't passing out or unsafe to drive, but I just didn't like the feeling that my brain wasn't firing on all cylinders.

I couldn't justify the productivity hit so concluded by Feb.

Exercise: skip endurance exercises - they waste muscle. Do some weight exercises 3 times a week, or chins/dips/pushups if you prefer bodyweight exercises.

Keep workouts short: 30-45 minutes. Always warm up before workouts, no need to stretch. Once or twice a week do this: run fast (sprint) 100 yards 5 times, rest for a few minutes between runs.

I've lost 20 pounds in two months and gained some muscle following this plan.

At the gym you'll see a wide array of body types. Lean and mean, all the way up to muscular and bulky, and all things in-between. Body builders are HUGE compared to me and can lift far more than I can, but I can absolutely "destroy" them on a treadmill. You tend to discover the thing you like doing, specialize in it, and dominate it. What you choose to do partially dictates what you'll end up looking like.

I'm the first, and yes I'm a bit skinny but we have all shapes and sizes in the pipeline. Michael for example was certainly not skinny when he started.

More plans will be added over the next 10 days as people complete their challenges. We have a female too.

"Julian, there are quite a bit of typos on your site."

Maybe you meant:

"Julian, there are quite a few typos on your site."

The phrase "quite a bit of" refers to something you measure, not something you count. And it would never be worded "there are quite a bit of..."

So you might say:

"There are quite a few eggs in that basket."

"There is quite a bit of snow on that mountain."

(edit with one more thought...)

One good way to help keep this straight is to remove the word "quite":

"There are a few eggs in that basket."

"There is a bit of snow on that mountain."

Thank you for your kind comments, and thanks for the offer.

I would love some help with proofreading, my email is julian@bodyhack.com

Many thanks,

Julian.

Thanks for the kind comment about Bodyhack, we are super excited about it.

I have a non-proven theory: perhaps humans can adapt do different diets, not only different environments. Or actually in former times the environment pretty much dictated the diets. So if humans were good at settling in diverse environments, it practically follows that they are good at adapting to different diets. So maybe not the modern 90% junk diet (sugars and white flour), but the difference between low and high carb might not be so important.

Also not sure why pizza tends to be condemned so much. Sure, if you buy a pizza at a restaurant, it is probably soaked in fat and covered with cheap cheese. But if I make one at home, it tends to have a lot of vegetables on it, and the amount of cheese doesn't have to be excessive. It seems at least healthier than the average cheese sandwich.

What make you say that? We were extremely careful when measuring body fat. We used the 4 point test, using body fat calipers. It is seen as a reliable test.

Regards,

Julian.

It is fair question. The simple answer is... I don't know. The site only launched today. We have a range of body types going through challenges but I was the first to finish the 12 weeks. Michael has also finished but we haven't got all his data into the site yet.

But I think you are right, there will be more people bigger than me who what to get in shape, than people my size. But we will just have to wait and see.

Thanks,

Julian.

Yes we will provide a maintenance plan. We will make that clearer on the site.

Thanks for the feedback.

Julian.