Do you have a major event coming up, where you absolutely have to look good? Maybe a major birthday, like your 50th, 60th, 70th? Maybe a beach vacation? Maybe a family reunion or high school anniversary?

               In any case, there’s a deadline. And you want to look your best for that deadline. You have certain clothes you want to wear or fit into. You don’t want to shy away from photos, and you just want to have a good time.

Original source: here.

               What would I do with a client who had to look a certain way by a certain deadline? And what if there were no limitations?

               What if my client:

  • Had enough money to exercise with a trainer each workout (the majority of our clients work with their trainer 1-2 times per week, with an additional 1-3 on their own) – 6 times per week
  • They had enough time to exercise the necessary amount
  • They had no problems with nutritional compliance

What could we accomplish then? In previous articles, I wrote about the “Cadillac” version of reversing osteoporosis, high blood pressure, and the joint pain of osteoarthritis. In this article, I’ll cover the “Cadillac” version of the body transformation on a deadline program.

What could someone expect if this was the case – if there were no limitations?

  • In a 2-month span, someone could drop 8-15 pounds, and around 2-4 dress sizes
  • In a 3-month span, someone could drop 12-25 pounds, and around 4-6 dress sizes
  • In a 6-month span, someone could drop 25-50 pounds, and around 6-12 dress sizes

Now don’t get me wrong – most people get great results if they even do just 50-70% of what I’ll cover in this article. We’ve had great success with clients like Santha, Lynn, Moe, and others.

But in this article, I’ll fantasize a bit, and detail the program (exercise, nutrition and supplements) that I would use with a client if there were no financial, time or nutritional compliance limitations. And if you see yourself in this position, and want to see whether or not this is something that you can participate in, just fill out the application form on our home page.

However, I should mention what this article is not. This article is not a guide on exercise for weight loss. I covered that in this article, as well as client success stories (and at some point, I’ll write a book on it).

Differences Between Body Transformation on a Deadline and a Lifestyle Change

               First, I should outline the differences in how I would approach fat loss on a deadline vs. no deadline.

Difference 1: Habits vs. Diet

               I’ve preached before repeatedly that diets and meal plans don’t work – for the long term. But they sure are great for the short term.

               If I have a client without a deadline, and they just want to learn how to eat healthy for the rest of their life, the issue really isn’t information. After all, who older than the age of 5 doesn’t already know that they should eat:

  • More veggies
  • More protein
  • Less junk

Everyone.

So why do we have such a hard time sticking to it? Because information isn’t motivation. Our knowledge of nutrition isn’t the reason we can’t stick to a diet. I discuss this in much greater detail in my article on the mindset switch that will ensure fat loss success as well as “you don’t need a diet – you need a therapist.”

So what we do with a client who has no deadline, and just wants a healthy lifestyle – a healthy way of eating that they can maintain for the rest of their life, we take a more habit-based approach.

For clients with a deadline, it’s a diet. We follow certain calorie and protein guidelines. Because the only 2 things that matter when it comes to fat loss are calories and protein. Not:

  • Carbs
  • Whether or not you eat after 6PM (or whatever arbitrary time some guru comes up with)
  • Whether you have 2 large meals or 5 small meals.

I elaborate on all of this in much greater detail in my article on the (un)surprising truth why we get fat.

With a habit-based approach, I preach “first, just do it. Then, do it right.” So initially, let’s just focus on getting the calories down in a way that you don’t feel restricted, and you don’t miss them. Then, let’s worry about the small details (when to eat, etc.).

With a deadline, we skip of the “just do it” part, and go straight to the “do it right” from the beginning.

Difference #2: Room for Error

               When there’s no deadline, there’s room for error. When someone practices a new habit, they don’t master that habit right away. There are slip-ups, regressions, etc. As long as there’s more progression than regression, we’re on the right track. Over time, there will be fewer and fewer mistakes, while still enjoying the occasional chocolate cake, birthday party or night out without it totally derailing you.

               I explain to clients that fat loss (when there’s no deadline) is like the stock market in a good year. For the most part, there’s progress, with the occasional blips of regression.

               When there’s a deadline, there’s less room for error. There needs to be much more nutritional control. A step back is really 2 steps back:

  • The amount of time that you could have spent making progress instead of regressing.
  • The amount of time it takes you just to get back to where you were before the slip-up.

Because of that, on a deadline, habits be damned. We have things to do and places to be. No time to establish healthy habits.

Difference #3: Maintenance

               When someone is making a lifestyle change, they want to find a way of eating they can sustain for the rest of their life.

               When someone has a deadline, the expectation is that they won’t be eating so strictly beyond the deadline. After that deadline has passed, they can go back to their habitual way of eating.

               Now you know the differences between changing your nutrition for a lifestyle vs. changing your nutrition for a deadline. Both have their applications.

               So with that out of the way, let’s discuss what I would do for someone who has a deadline.

Nutrition

               As you now know, with a deadline, we need much stricter nutritional control, compared to a lifestyle change.

               And the king of nutrition is calories. The queen is protein.

               So how many calories does someone need to eat? It depends on a few different factors:

  • Your current body weight.
  • Your desired body weight.
  • How much you’re exercising.

As a rough guideline, I tell people to take their desired body weight in pounds, and multiply that by 15. Those are someone’s daily calories.

However, if all you did was followed calorie guidelines without taking protein into account, you’d lose weight, but a chunk of that weight would be muscle. You don’t want to lose muscle. You want to look lean for your deadline – not thin, gaunt or frail. You don’t want loose skin, either. The way to do that is to eat the right amount of protein.

What’s the right amount of protein? That could be an article in and of itself (and here’s a very good one), but here’s the quick and dirty:

  • For people under 60, it’s 1.6-1.8 grams/kg/day
  • For people over 60, it’s about 2.0-2.4 grams/kg/day

And what are the best protein sources? Bar none – meat, fish, seafood, egg whites and protein powder. If you’re wondering “what about” (what about dairy, nuts, beans, eggs, etc.), I cover that in complete detail in this article.

So when someone is making their meals, put the protein source on your plate first. The remainder of the calories will come from other sources.

Let’s use some numbers as an example.

Let’s say that you’re entitled to 2000 calories per day. You’re 65 years old, so you need 2.2 grams of protein per kg/day. Let’s say your desired body weight is 154 pounds (that’s 70 kg). So 2.2 grams/kg/day is 154 grams of protein.

Since each gram of protein contains 4 calories, you’d be consuming 616 calories of protein.

154 grams of protein = 616 calories of protein.

You’re allowed 2000 calories, and 616 of those calories are protein. That leaves you with 1384 calories for whatever else you want. Yes, that includes bread, pasta, rice and potatoes.

Exercise

               Now that the nutrition has been taken care of, we also have to add in the exercise. For a client on a deadline, I’d have them strength training 2-3 times per week, and doing cardio 3-4 days per week. A combination of both intervals, and steady state.

               I elaborate on the exercise side of things in much greater detail in my article on exercise for weight loss.

               Yes, we can give exercise prescriptions for clients to follow on their own. And lots of them do, and get great results. But why do I think we can do even better if all of their workouts were with a trainer? A few reasons:

Accountability/Motivation

               A lot of people don’t exercise the appropriate amount for the simple reason that they’re not used to it. Not because it’s difficult or painful. They’re just not used to it.

               But with a person waiting for them, and expecting them, people usually don’t let themselves off the hook.

               And when someone has a deadline, and exercising 5-6 times per week, on their own the tendency is to think “3-4 days is good enough.” By and large it is. But if you want to squeeze out an extra 10-30% in progress, 5-6 is better.

Appropriate Progression

With lots of our clients, I find that they are too conservative with their progressions. They are too scared to raise the weight or reps in different exercises. Their muscles can handle it. Their mind can’t.

               If we can progress appropriately instead of overly conservatively, we’ll maximize both the calorie burn, and muscle maintenance/improvements.

Rep-by-Rep Adjustments

               Sometimes, you’re doing an exercise, and for whatever reason, it starts to hurt. The trainer can make an adjustment right then and there, and you continue the exercise pain-free.

               On your own, a few things can happen:

  • You can push through the pain and make it worse.
  • You just skip the exercise and miss out on the benefits.
  • You can try to modify it yourself and miss out on the effectiveness.

Supplements

               I’ve written about supplements extensively in the past, and the overall gist is that supplements are determined on a person-by-person basis.

               Assuming that someone is generally healthy (no diabetes, hypertension, osteoporosis, etc.), not taking any medications, and the only thing we know about this person is that they’re trying to lose body fat fast, the only 2 supplements I might recommend are:

  • A multivitamin. If someone eats a balanced diet, they get most (but not all) their nutrients through food. If someone is eating a restricted diet, they’re not just restricting calories. Along with calories come vitamins and minerals. To prevent overt nutritional deficiencies, a multivitamin makes sense.
  • Protein powder: if someone is finding it hard to get enough protein through food, then a protein powder can be helpful.

Regular Measurements

               And of course, a staple of all of our programs (whether for fat loss, muscle gain, pain reduction, blood pressure normalization, etc.) is regular measurements.

               Measure whatever is relevant to the goal. If the goal is fat loss, you measure body fat. If the goal is blood pressure normalization, measure blood pressure, etc.

               With fat loss, we measure our clients every 2 weeks to make sure they’re on track. Because if they are, we just keep going what we’re doing. But if they’re not on track, we want to know ASAP, so we can course correct and do something different.

               This, in a nutshell is how I would approach fat loss on a deadline, if there were no time or money limitations. And if you see yourself in this position, and want to see whether or not this is something that you can participate in, just fill out the application form on our home page.