I've broken this into levels. You can work through the levels at your own pace, and you can stop at any level if you are satisfied with your results. The levels simply progress from the very basic to the more advanced.

​

A lot of the things I'll cover are simply good advice for the rest of your life, but some of them are just for the purpose of transforming. You won't have to live this way forever! Once you've transformed and have established the habit of regular strength training, you'll have a lot more latitude in your diet.

​

​

Level 1 – Low Hanging Fruit

​

I was going to make Level 1 about calories in vs. calories out, but there is an even more basic level before we get to that. It is all the low hanging fruit (which is most likely not fruit, but rather pop, chips, ice cream, lattes, etc…) in your diet. There is very likely a good deal of low hanging fruit that we can pick before we begin considering calories in vs. calories out.

​

Add a salad and a serving of vegetables to your dinner. Drink a very large glass of water before every meal. Begin phasing out higher calorie drinks, like pop, lattes, and smoothies. Replace them with coffee, tea, or water. Even flavored water that has some calories is a step in the right direction. Add lemon juice or a lemon wedge to your water. At this level, diet drinks would be OK if that is all you can handle. But long term it is better if you can skip them and acclimate yourself to the other options previously mentioned.

​

Try skipping desert and have an after dinner coffee instead. Rather than munching on chips, try some air popped popcorn. Look for lower calorie alternatives for your go-to weaknesses. Are you someone who loves a mid-morning candy bar? Or are you someone who enjoys a late night bowl of ice cream? We all have different habits and weaknesses. I am a TV muncher. I'm fine not eating in the morning. But when I get home from work, my go-to way to de-stress is to munch on something while unwinding in front of the TV. Whatever your area of weakness is, find lower calorie alternatives that are still satisfying.

​

For this level you don’t need to turn your diet on its head. Just look for ways to cut out some of the big calorie offenders and replace them with no-calorie or lower calorie alternatives. Also begin adding in salads and vegetables whenever possible.

​

Try this level for two weeks to a month. You may or may not see or feel changes in your body, but regardless of what you see in the mirror you will be moving in the right direction.

​

​

Level 2 - The Very Minimum You Must Do to Lose Fat

​

OK, so now we’re getting serious. The bottom line with losing fat is that you must burn more calories than you consume. Most people overestimate the calories they burn in a day and they underestimate the calories they consume. You can’t be one of them! Go to https://www.freedieting.com/calorie-calculator and find your estimated maintenance calories. Be conservative with your estimated level of activity. Don’t fudge it to be higher than it really is.

​

OK, so let’s say your maintenance calories are 2800 per day. Theoretically, all you have to do is stay under that and you will lose weight, but it would be brutally slow and it might not even happen at all.

​

Remember, 2800 is just an estimate. There is an unknown margin of error, so we need to knock off a significant chunk to be sure we will move the needle. The very minimum you should knock off your maintenance calories is 500. This is a good starting point.

​

Calorie deficit = hunger! Dealing with hunger was by far the hardest part of transforming for me. I had to learn new ways to get through it. I drank lots of water, up to 2 gallons daily. I used cardio sessions in the evening to help suppress my appetite. I tried to get to bed early before the late night hunger pangs kicked in (those are really bad). I found pickles are a great almost-zero-calorie snack. Sipping hot tea or black coffee were also good ways to keep my mouth busy without eating. Brushing my teeth was another trick I used to help curb my appetite later in the day.

​

​

Level 3 – Foods to eat

​

Protein:

​

Aim to get 1 gram of protein per pound of lean body weight daily.

(If you are 250 lbs with 30% body fat, then your lean body weight is about 175 lbs and you should shoot for getting about 175 grams of protein.)

This recommendation assumes you are strength training, which you should be!

​

Here are some good sources of protein:

​​

• Whey protein powder​

• Salmon (canned, fresh, or frozen)​

• Tuna (canned, fresh, or frozen)

• ​Other fish​

• Chicken

• Eggs​

• Beef

​

Vegetables:

​

If it's green or colorful, it's probably OK. The only exception would be carrots. Eating them in moderation is OK, but they are relatively calorie dense for a vegetable.

​

Here are some good vegetables to include in your diet:

​​

• Spinach​

• Kale​

• Lettuce​

• Cabbage​

• Green beans​

• Peas​

• Cauliflower​

• Broccoli​

• Brussels sprouts​

• Peppers (all colors)​

• Sauerkraut​

• Pickles

​

Carbohydrates:

​

If it comes in a box or bag, you should probably avoid it. If it grows in the ground or on a plant, it's probably OK.

​

Here are some carbs that are OK to eat:

​​

• Sweet potatoes​

• Whole grain oats​

• Whole grain rice​

• Quinoa​

• Barley​

• Whole grain couscous​

• Beans (black, pinto)

 

Fruits:

 

Many fruits can be part of a healthy diet. However, when it comes to transforming I view them as too calorie dense to be worth eating. I recommend avoiding them during your transformation

​

Oils and Fats:

​

You want to look for oils and fats that are rich in Omega-3's. You will get some in your protein sources, like fish and eggs. I didn't go out of my way to add oils to my diet when I was transforming. I probably should have included more, because adequate fats and oils are necessary for your body to produce testosterone.

​

Here are some good oils to include in your diet:

​​

• Olive oil​

• Flaxseed oil​

• Fish oil supplements​

• Canola oil​

• Cod liver oil

​

Spices and Condiments:

​

Use spices freely and liberally! It is a great way to add flavor without adding calories.

​

Mustard is a another great way to add flavor without many calories. This applies to traditional yellow mustard and spicy brown mustard. But beware of honey mustard and other variations that have too many calories! Read your labels. You have to be aware of what you're eating!

​

Many condiments (I'm looking at you mayo and ketchup!) are NOT OK! Way too many calories! Again, read the label before you buy it or use it!

​

Salad Dressings:

​

I generally ate my salads dry, but I know that can be tough. Whatever you use, make sure you count the calories toward your totals. Avoid anything creamy or cheesy.

​

Here are some good salad dressing options:

​​

• Pickle juice​

• Mustard (not honey mustard or anything with lots of calories)​

• Balsamic vinaigrette​

• Olive oil and vinegar

​

​

Level 4 – Intermittent Fasting

​

See The Basics of Intermittent Fasting for details on how to implement this.

​

​

Level 5 – Cut Out Starchy Carbs During the Second Half of Your Day or Eating Window

​

Limit your starchy carbohydrate intake to just the first 4 hours of your eating window if you are doing Intermittent Fasting. If you aren't doing IF, you can still cut out starchy carbs during the latter part of your day.

​​

This means oats, sweet potatoes, rice, quinoa, etc... would be eaten only during the first half of the eating window.  Carbs don't include salads, leafy greens, red onions, brussels sprouts, etc...

​​

This may not work for everyone.  I still recommend having carbs with your protein after strength training.  So if you work out later in the day, this might not be a good fit for your schedule.

​​

The purpose of this is to get most of the carbs out of your system before your fast period even begins.  You can get to the fat burning portion of your fast sooner and stay there longer this way.

​​

I did this when I was doing Intermittent Fasting during my transformation. I had oats and protein for my early meals and then I had my workout shake with some carbs in it. However, the rest of the day I only had a protein shake and a large salad with meat on it.  I Believe it helped me get even leaner.

​​

​

Level 6 – Cut Out Dairy

​

This one is highly debatable. I believe cutting out dairy helped me get very lean. However, it may or may not benefit you. It may only be valuable once you are already pretty lean, like trying to get from 8% to 6% body fat, for example. I honestly don't know. If you've already gone through the other levels, then you might as well give this a shot for a few weeks to see if it helps you.

​

​

Conclusion

​

Levels 1 through 3 are by far the most important. If you can maintain a calorie deficit while eating healthy foods and lots of protein, you will go a long way toward transforming!

​

Levels 4 through 6 are a distant second to the first three. I think 4 through 6 became more important for me as I got very lean. I guess I would put it this way. Levels 1 through 3 helped me transform from fat to fit (~10% body fat). And levels 4 through 6 helped me go from lean to ripped (~5% body fat).

​

Of course, you should be doing consistent strength training as well. This post was on the nutritional aspects of transforming, but I rarely miss a chance to make a plug for strength training. Muscle mass is the game changer we all need. See Muscle Mass is a Man's Best Friend for more details.

​

I want to reiterate that you don't have to give up all the foods you love for the rest of your life. Transforming is a journey with a destination. When you get there, things will be different! You should have new and better habits for eating and exercising. However, you won't have to be anywhere near as strict with your diet once you have lost the fat and established the habit of strength training. You would be shocked at what you can get away with eating when you are lean and muscular! Like I've said before, muscle mass is a game changer! I just wanted to give you something to look forward to. Transforming is hard! It pretty much sucks, but it's worth it. And maintaining your new fit, muscular physique is much less work than transforming.

​

As always, thank you for reading. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to Ask Me a Question!

​

​

​

​

​