Daniel Lost 60 Pounds in Six Months – His Fat Loss Tips For Men

I met Daniel through reddit. He’s a really cool dude and someone I think many of you can relate to. Daniel has been a competitive gamer all his life and even played professionally for a time.

What makes his story so interesting for me is that he is just a normal dude who through consistent hard work achieved an amazing goal. Any one of you can apply Daniel’s same principles to get similar results and he has some amazing fat loss tips for men. Everything that follows is written directly by Daniel.

My Background

I would like to start by letting you all know where I come from and why I have decided to do this. So, here is a little background about me:

My name is Daniel; I am currently 25 years old, I am 5 feet 7 inches weighing in at approximately 180 pounds with 20% body fat (as of March 26th, 2013). I started my journey in September of 2012, weighing in at 240 pounds and 35% body fat. I live in Toronto, Ontario, Canada (so some of the foods etc will be Canadian, use the US equivalent!) I have no expertise in personal training or nutrition. I did (and still do) my own research and completely changed my lifestyle to achieve my current goal and to help me achieve my future goals. I would like to reiterate that I have no expertise in these fields. I would simply like to share my strategies and what worked for me in my weight loss journey, and hopefully help a few strangers out there.

Here are a few of my progress pictures to show you where I started, and where I currently am. Granted, I am nowhere near my final goal, but I’ll make another update when I get closer. 😉

 

Determining Your Goal

Before we get into the do’s and don’t’s, and what worked for me – the most important thing to do is to figure out what your goals are.

If you are looking to gain weight and muscle, this probably isn’t the ideal guide for you. I am sure there will be a lot of helpful information you can take from this, but this is mainly for nutrition and weight loss.

This guide is to help people who were in a similar situation to me. People who want to lose weight.

If you are overweight, unhappy, and determined to make a change; you are in the right place.

Keep in mind, everything I say below is based on my personal experience and what I have found. Take as little, or as much from this guide as you want to. If you ever have any questions or comments, please feel free to email me at brillmer AT gmail or message me on reddit at username leanmeankarmamachine.

If your goal IS weight loss…The main thing that I have found is a healthy eating regiment (personally I feel like low carb has given me the best results) will contribute to about 80% of how you look. Working out, lifting and exercising are all definitely important and will help you achieve your goals faster (and sustain them), but the eating is BY FAR the most important. Understand that. Accept it.
Now, let’s get sexy.

How I Dropped the Initial Weight – The Basics

From the middle of September 2012 to the end of December 2012, I lost about 40 pounds. Here is how I did it:

Understand that this is not a diet. This is not a quick fix. This has to be a lifestyle change. Otherwise, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year down the road.. You will relapse and gain everything back. Trust me, I did it a few years ago and it sucked. Never again. I am the happiest I have been in years.

• FIRST AND FOREMOST – Calculated my TDEE (total daily energy expenditure), BMR (basal metabolic rate), and the amount of calories I need to eat at a caloric deficit to ensure weight loss. If you are unsure of this, please visit a site like: http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm
  • Just enter in all the numbers accurately, don’t lie, and choose the caloric intake you want to do! You will get 3 numbers. Maintenance (the number of calories you would need to eat to maintain your current weight, Fat loss , and Extreme Fat loss. I would recommend starting at Fat Loss before jumping straight to Extreme (if fat loss is your goal, of course!) If you find that the Fat Loss caloric decrease is very manageable, drop it a bit more. If you’re looking to gain weight, take your maintenance number and add no more than 300 calories to it.
• JOINED MY FITNESS PAL – I almost made about 5 bullets just for MFP. It really is that important. People have no idea what their actual caloric intake is, and I was in shock when I saw the difference between how many calories I should be eating (1800), and what I was putting into my body (over 3000, easily.. and of complete garbage). Track EVERYTHING, use scales to measure the actual amounts. Use measuring cups/spoons as well. Tablespoons and teaspoons are completely different than the average spoons in every household. Eventually, you will get a good idea of what you should and should not be eating, and you can stop using MFP. I still use it every day.
• Cut out all fast food, sodas, snacks, and bullshit that you know you shouldn’t be eating (that means ALL of it. Even if they claim the item is “healthy”, it’s usually not. While the fat content might be low, the sugar will be through the roof. Most fast food is loaded with sugars, processed carbs, unhealthy fats, and packed full of sodium)
  • Be careful of the “low fat” and 100-calorie packaged items. Chances are the numbers skyrocket in sugars, processed carbs, or something else unhealthy for you.
• Cut out all drinks EXCEPT for water (This isn’t completely necessary.. But I found it helped a lot. I would still have a coke zero every now and then, or some black coffee if I needed, but really, drinking a gallon+ of water a day is amazing in sooooooo many ways)

Food Breakdown – Simplified Per Meal

Breakfast – There are lots of awesome and healthy options for breakfast. Personally, I abuse the first 2.

• Protein Shakes
  • What I have for the majority of my breakfasts is a big ol’ protein shake. The beauty of protein shakes is that there are a never ending amount of possibilities and combinations to keep you sane (honestly, they can taste pretty damn good too). As far as what protein to use, that’s entirely up to you. I use a low carb protein, the macros (macro nutrients aka carbs, protein, fat) are as follows: For 1 scoop (30g), 111 calories, 0.5g carb, 0g fat, 27g protein. Sometimes I will literally just mix this with water and drink it. If I want it to be more filling, I will add in the following: Replace water with almond milk, ½ cup of mixed berries, and 2-4 tbsp of flax seed. If you want a low carb/cal diet, I’d skip the banana. If you’re not watching your carbs, add half, or a full banana for some sweetness 
• Eggs and Turkey Bacon <3
  • On days where I am not rushing to go into work, or where I have more time to make an actual breakfast I will always make eggs and turkey bacon. I use anywhere from 2-4 free ranged eggs (sometimes I will add in extra egg whites for more protein), salt, pepper, tomatoes, garlic, sometimes some onions/peppers/mushrooms (or any other veggies you might wanna throw in to make it a heartier meal), and 2 slices of turkey bacon. I will usually also have some cottage cheese, or more veggies on the side (cucumbers, carrots, or tomatoes). Sometimes, I will add in extra meat (ham, turkey breast, chicken breast) or a bit of cheese (RARELY) into the scrambled eggs.
• Other Options
  • Oatmeal is a very popular and healthy choice.
  • Fruit salad with or without yogurt (try low-fat yogurt, careful with the non-fat ones, watch the sugar content!) and add some granola
  • Cereal with almond milk
  • Natural Peanut Butter or Almond butter on a whole grain piece of bread, or whole grain English muffin
• The LeanMeanKarmaMachine (aka my favorite breakfast)
  • This only applies if you don’t mind having carbs. Personally, I am now starting a keto lifestyle so I can no longer have this beautiful mother fucker.
    • 1 Whole Grain Muffin, cut in half, toasted.
    • 2 Eggs, Cooked Over-Easy, in one of those circle/ring mold thingys 😛
    • Ham, or turkey bacon, cooked to crispy perfection in some olive oil
    • Avocado, spread onto whole grain muffin.
    • Add a slice of cheese if you can’t resist 
    • Put all that shit on top of each other, and watch the beautiful yolk run down your delicious breakfast as you cut through the middle. NOMNOMNOM

Lunch and Dinner

I put these 2 together because a lot of the time I find that my options are very similar. Basically, the way I eat all of my meals is very simple: Protein should be the main part of all meals. For breakfast, obviously, a protein shake ensures I have lots of protein. Egg whites, ham, bacon, also ensure a good amount of protein/healthy fat. When it comes to my lunches and dinners, the logic stays the same.

• Salad with Protein
  • Yep. Salad, with a lot of protein. Get used to it! Like protein shakes, there are lots of options you can go through to ensure you don’t get bored and the meal isn’t too repetitive. My salads usually consist of any combination of the following: Field greens, spring mix, spinach and baby spinach greens, lettuce, tomatoes, green, red, and yellow peppers, cucumbers, celery, carrots, broccoli, avocado, and AT LEAST 6oz of some type of LEAN PROTEIN. Personally, I have chicken breast or turkey breast about 75% of the time. The other 20% is fish, and the remaining 5% is random meats, like extra lean ground beef or top sirloin steaks. For dressing, I use olive oil or a low calorie, low carb, low sugar Italian dressing. CHECK THE NUMBERS AND SERVING SIZE. DO NOT OVER DO IT WITH THE DRESSING! This is what I have for almost all of my dinners, and at least 50% of my lunches.
• Vegetables with Protein
  • I know what you’re thinking… Vegetables with protein.. Isn’t that just salad with protein, but worded differently? Yeah, I guess it kind of is.. But it depends on the type of person you are. Sometimes, I would way rather have a few big pieces of lean chicken breast (6-10oz) with some homemade avocado or tzatziki (both super healthy!) and a ½ cup – 1 cup of broccoli over a giant salad.
• Healthy Wrap or Sandwich
  • Now, these can be very tricky.. Because it depends entirely on your goals, calorie intake and macronutrients. Personally, I had one of these about 3 times a week for lunch prior to starting keto (from Extreme pita) and it definitely contributed to my weight loss.
    • 1 small or regular whole wheat pita
    • 50g-80g of grilled chicken breast (sometimes I asked for double meat for more protein.. Careful with the sodium though.. So 100g-160g of lean protein)
    • Lettuce, tomatoes , spinach ,hot peppers
    • Tzatsiki (I looked on their website and their Tzatziki has fantastic numbers)
• You can do the equivalent at subway, but be careful with the bread. The amount of carbs in a Subway 6” compared to an Extreme Pita pita bread is crazy.
  • Small Whole Wheat Pita – 60g, 140 cals, 1g fat, 29g carb, 6g protein, 1g sugar
  • 6” Whole Wheat Bread – 78g, 210 cals, 2g fat, 40g carb, 8g protein, 5g sugar
  • Lrg Whole Wheat Pita – 85g, 198 cals, 1.4g fat, 41g carb,85g protein, 1.4g sugar
  • 12” Whole Wheat Bread – No information posted, double the 6”
• Another ‘fast food’ option is Teriyaki Experience (or something similar, this was the other 2 days of the week for my lunches). This is basically a stir fry of vegetables, with .. You guessed it.. Lots of chicken breast!! I substitute the white rice for brown rice, and ask for less rice more veggies. Lots of bean sprouts, broccoli and your other standard stir fry veggies go inside. I also use a very small amount of low sodium teriyaki sauce and ask them to cook it with water.

These are the basics of eating healthy. Mix and substitute stuff to keep things interesting. I know these are very small and basic meals, but this is just to give you an idea. See the next page for a breakdown of what foods to eat, and what foods to avoid.

Quick breakdown of foods to eat broken down by macro:

Protein: Protein shakes, lean types of protein.. So chicken breast, turkey breast, fish (salmon is my favorite.. lots of garlic, pepper, lemon juice.. yum! And I used to HATE fish), extra lean ground beef, top sirloin steaks, egg whites, eggs, unsweetened almonds/nuts, peanut butter, almond butter, quinoa, oatmeal, soy, black beans, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds etc

Carbs: Whole grain foods (millet, oats, wheat germ, barley, wild rice, brown rice, buckwheat, whole grain bread,bagels, pastas etc). Fruits (careful on the sugars), vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, turnip greens, eggplant, potatoes, yams, corn [watch calories on those last 3], onions, all types of lettuce, celery, cucumbers, cabbage, etc. Beans/legumes also can be a great carb source. (Jack’s note – cut down on processed carbohydrates as much as possible. That would include anything made with grain/wheat(pasta, breads, dough, etc.) Get your carbs from fruits and veggies.)

Fats: Olive oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, sesame oil, avocados, olives, nuts, nut butters (peanut, almonds), fish (salmon, tuna, mackerel, herring, trout, sardines), eggs, tofu, flaxseed, pumpkin, sesame and sunflower seeds (Jack’s note – I would avoid canola oil, sunflower oil, and peanuts. Coconut oil is a fantastic source of fat. Also free-range eggs and grass-fed butter.)

Quick breakdown of foods to AVOID broken down by macro:

Protein: Breaded foods, deep-fried foods, jerky (lots of sodium), processed meats like sausage patties, hot dogs, red meat – both burgers and steaks (high in saturated fat), bacon, whole fat dairy etc (Jack’s note, I think burgers, steaks, bacon, and other meats high in saturated fat are perfectly okay to eat. Try to get grass-fed and free-range meat whenever possible, they contain higher concentrations of Omega-3’s to corn-fed meat.)

Carbs: White and all processed breads, buns, pastas, rice, candy, cakes, all baked goods made with white flour, most cereals, fruit juices. Quite simply, the less the foods have been processed or refined, the better it will be. Example, choose a piece of fruit instead of fruit juice, choose whole grain oatmeal instead of cereals.
Simple carbohydrates, like sugar and corn syrup, are created in a factory – while complex carbohydrates in vegetables and whole grains are designed by nature, and help you maintain your health.

Fats: High fat cuts of meat (beef, lamb, pork), chicken with skin, whole fat dairy products (milk and cream), butter (use olive oil!), cheese, ice cream, lard, candy bars, fried foods, packaged snack foods like crackers, chips, microwave popcorns etc, commercially baked pastries, cookies, doughnuts, muffins etc. It’s really the stuff with trans-fat that you want to stay away from. (Jack’s note, again high fat meat is fine, try to get it from free-range and grass-fed sources- check your local farmers markets for really good cuts of meat).

A Few Extra Tips

WATER – One of the best tips I have ever had is something really interesting. Your body, when it “thinks” its hungry, is actually thirsty. It sends a message to your body as hunger but in reality it’s actually just thirsty. So any time you feel “hungry”, drink a cup of water. If you still feel hungry in 15 minutes, then eat. If not though, then you just saved yourself from adding unnecessary calories. Drink lots of fucking water. I swear because it’s important. The more water you drink, the less water your body will retain. The more water you drink, the less having extra sodium in your diet will fuck up your progress. There are soooooooooo many more benefits, that it would literally take me 10 pages to write them all down. DRINK LOTS OF WATER.

EAT FUCKING SLOWLY – A large majority of the world over eats, and eats too fast. And these two go hand in hand. Your body takes time to digest what you are putting into it. If you literally inhale an entire meal, your body won’t recognize you as being full until about 15-20 minutes after. That is why you will be eating.. for example.. at all you can eat sushi.. and you eat for 20 mins and u still feel hungry. So you order more, and then halfway through your next order you feel bloated and like a fatty. Well that’s because it finally digests. Same applies for the speed you’re eating. If you eat too fast, you are not digesting it properly, and your body won’t recognize the food intake. Chew and eat slowly. Trust me, it helps with portion control.

SLEEP– Believe it or not, sleep is actually a HUGEEE part of weight loss. On average, the human body will burn a few pounds of weight PER SLEEP, especially if you actually eat healthy/eat the proper foods, and are promoting your weight loss. Not only is the amount/length you sleep important, but consistency of when you’re going to sleep. So I try to sleep 7-8 hours and constantly sleep/wake up at the same times. I suck at this, but I’m working on it. This helps with energy, mood, and just how I feel overall. I used to go to sleep at about 2am-3am every night, waking up at 7am to go to work. Now I go to sleep at around 12am-1am every day, and I have way more energy and feel better.

If you ever have any questions or comments, please feel free to email me at brillmer AT gmail or message me on reddit at username leanmeankarmamachine.

Good luck on your journeys, and I will be making another – more advanced guide in the future. I love you all.