Oct 27th: Anniversary Time

Today was my 4 year anniversary with my wife. What does this mean? It means a nice dinner with lots of alcohol, dessert, and feeling like shit.

Not this time!

I planned for my meal which fell on a low carb day. That meant steak, which was fine by me. Had a quick lunch, and then hit the cardio which KICKED MY ASS.

4:00 minutes at each station. 15sec sprint/15 sec rest

Station 1: Battlin’ ropes (alternated between double waves, alternating waves, etc)

Station 2: Prowler. I FREAKING love this thing.

Station 3: Jump Rope (If you don’t jump rope, START)

Station 4: Spin Bike.

Finished all this fun, trained my fighters and then headed home. I was starving and there were a ton of cookies left. I let them be. Today was not a carb day! The point of this “diet” is to allow yourself everything, but you still need the discipline to eat it on the right day/time.

Dinner was a place called the Beachcomber in Newport Beach. Again, the old Marcus would have said to hell with the diet, it’s a “special” day. Special days started happening a lot…

I started dinner with a couple of Amstel Lights. If you can’t have beer on a program then what’s the point?

Then moved into a steak, shrimp combo with a chimichurri citrus sauce. I then opted out of the potatoes for extra veggies.

This was a special occasion, but why would I “reward” myself with food? I’ll reward myself by enjoying time with my beautiful wife! If it was post workout, carb day or if I was where I wanted to be in my body comp then I might have been more lenient, but none of those are the case.

Finished with a trip to Sprinkles cupcakes (Damn you, Samantha) where I had to remind myself repeatedly of my goals. She even asked if I wanted a bite and I said nay. I think I deserve a Nobel Peace Prize.

Since my macros were well under I planned a low-carb peanut butter sandwich when I got home, which is my new favorite meal. It’s got a ton of protein and only about 24g carbs. Perfect.

12:00PM-1 cup FAGE yogurt, 2 scoops Biochem, ¼ cup coconut milk

2:30PM-Pure Powder (why my intensity was so high!)

4:30PM-2 tbsp almond butter

6:00PM-2 Amstel Lights, 6 oz skirt steak, 4 oz shrimp, tons of veggies

8:00PM- 2 slices Mahlers California Bread, 1 tbsp Almond butter, 1 tbsp organic peanut butter, ½ tbsp low carb jam, ½ scoop casein protein (all mixed together)-Tastes awesome!

Till next time.

Oct 20th: REST DAY

October 20^th: Thursday

Today was a complete rest day. Feeling strong. It’s so great to be on a solid program that mixes conventional with the unconventional. Why?

My main lifts going up = getting stronger = bigger kettlebells = more power and “unconventional strength” = main lifts go up higher = bigger kettlebells for longer workouts = even stronger and more muscle!

Amazing how the math just adds up.

1:15- 3 eggs, 4 slices bacon, 2 oz cheese, 1 cup broccoli

4:00- 1 cup cottage cheese, 1 oz Chia seeds, 2 scoops Biochem whey

7:00-6oz ribeye, mixed veggies

7:30-small piece of bday cake (couldn’t resist! Well, I could have but I just didn’t want to)

10:00-1/2 cup milk, ½ scoop Casein, ¼ cup Fage yogurt.

Being low carb, high carb every other day has it's advantages. It means you never go too long being low carb. Keeps you honest.

Oct 19th: TJS Progress Report

October 19th: Wednesday

Time for another progress report:

My training is feeling AMAZING. My strength is skyrocketing. My endurance in Jiu Jitsu is climbing. My grip strength is getting ridiculous. Diet is admittedly at about 80% (and climbing). Results are still coming, but I’m honing in even tighter. Doesn’t mean I’m giving up Coors Lite or Sprinkles Cupcakes, but just being smarter about when.

Step 1: RELIGIOUSLY track macros (protein, fat, carbs) everyday. This tends not to be a problem on the weekdays but Mr. Saturday and Sunday feel a little left out. This will help a lot.

Other than that I’m right where I want to be.

1:30PM: Pre Workout-P(3)+10g BCAAs

Squat Day

195-7

225-5

240-9 (need to increase my max next for next 4 week cycle. Could have easily done more, but eased back a little)

KB Front Squats (28kg)-8,6,6

Double KB Outside the leg Swings (32kg)-8,7,7

60 seconds between sets

Romanian Deadlift with overhand grip (265) 6,6,6 (about high shin level)

Single Leg Calf Raise (36kg) 10,10,10

60 seconds between sets

Post Workout: Flame Broiler (white rice, beef, teriyaki sauce, and side of broccoli)

5:00 PM: 10 oz potatoes with ketchup, large salad with olive oil, 12 oz chicken breast

9:00 PM: Quinoa noodles, broccoli, 3 eggs, butter

10:00 PM: Small banana, ½ scoop casein, ½ cup 2% milk

Great day. Gonna feel this tomorrow!

Feeling tighter. Weight has not dropped much. Getting used to the diet and really figuring out my body. I'm my own experiment. Strength is up and got a little less around the middle. What more could one want!?

Oct 18th: Training Journal Series: REST DAY

October 18th: Tuesday

Decided to change my schedule to lift every other day making today a rest day. Which also means it’s a low carb, high fat, high protein day.

Today I’m shooting for

200g protein

75g carbs

130g fat

This was fairly easy. I know I work better on fat and protein. The key thing I’m honing in on during the program is to become my own expert. Learn everything I can about myself so I know exactly what I need to do, eat, how much I need to rest etc to get EXACTLY the results I want. This is a valuable resource for the rest of my life. Treat yourself as an experiment where you are CONSTANTLY tracking, assessing and reassessing.

Had a GREAT meeting with Sean Torbati from HPN about the MB8 program we are putting together. Way more detail coming soon, but this program is going to be amazing! We’re in the process of writing the book based on his background in nutrition and training and my background in training athletes to help give people amazing results for the chosen sport and life in general. Can’t wait! You know you’re excited about something when you wake up in the middle of the night to work on itJ

1:00 PM: 6 oz ground beef, 2 eggs, cheese, large salad, 1 piece of gluten free bread

4:00 PM: cottage cheese with Biochem whey

8:30 PM: 6 oz chicken breast, 2 large sides of steamed broccoli (next meeting with Sean will involve Sprinkles Cupcakes, that I promise)

10:30 PM: ½ cup 2% milk, 1 scoop Casein protein, 1 oz raisins

Oct 2nd: Training Journal Series

October 2^nd: Sunday

Woke up bright and early and hit the trails, Runyon Canyon in Hollywood to be exact. Used my MBody Plate Vest with an additional 20lbs in it. That was a fun idea:) I’ll post the video for it soon.

Since I did this fasted, I drank my Pure Powder from HPN 20 minutes prior and had a 32oz Nalgene bottle with 10 g of BCAAs throughout the hike. After, I had a coffee and that was it until about 2. We started hiking around 8:20 and got back to the car around 10 something. I didn’t run straight through, but I did some sprints at different points especially the steep parts.

The thing about fitness is that is has to be enjoyable. I don’t care what the studies and research says about the latest and greatest. The plan that you can stick to is the plan that is right for you. Enjoy your training and it will take care of you. Hate it and will destroy you. Was that dramatic enoughJ

8: HPN Pure Powder (pre hike)

9:00 10 g BCAA. (during and after hike)

10:00-coffee with light cream

1:45-8 oz roast beef

3:30-2 slices whole wheat bread, cheese, salami, bowl of cereal with chocolate almond milk and a little chocolate dessert (carbing up after that brutal hike/sprint/run.

8-10 oz NY Strip steak with green drink.

How many meals for fat loss?

The first thing that people ask me when it comes to a nutrition program is “How many meals do I need to eat??” They say this with some attitude because they assume I’m going to tell them six meals (what have we learned about assuming?) which has become the standard now for fat loss, muscle gain, etc.

The first thing I have to say is that this is a very subjective topic. There are so many articles and research studies that will tell you anywhere from one to eight meals. With that said the first thing you have to ask yourself is what is good for you?

With so many diet programs and books available there’s a cookie cutter approach that tries to have mass appeal. While I’m not faulting the authors I am suggesting to those that are reading to do a little self-experimentation and not to fully jump in to one style. Find a few that look good and make them work for you.

Are you able to deal with hunger well and enjoy the feeling of intermittent fasting? Then go for it. Do you hate hunger with a passion? Then eat six small meals a day. The point is instead of blindly following something as gospel, find out if it’s something that fits your lifestyle or personality type.

I’ve played around with many different programs in the past but if I had only asked myself a few questions before getting started I would have saved a lot of time.

The key thing is it doesn’t matter how many meals you choose. It’s what you can follow consistently. Sure, recent research is showing fewer meals is better for fat loss but it doesn’t mean fat loss is impossible on 5+ meals. It’s about what works for you.

We’ve all heard it a million times and I’ve said it a million times, it could be the PERFECT nutrition plan but if it doesn’t work for you then forget about it.

I’ve dropped body fat on anywhere from 1-8 meals a day. What does this tell me? THEY ALL WORK. Like I said, sure some work better than others but it’s what works for YOU! Key word: you. The number that has worked for many of my clients as well as myself is four meals. This gives you enough space between meals to raise hunger levels and boost fat burning hormones but not so much that you’d eat your left arm. So that’s my favorite, but I still recommend you experiment with some different options. Try starting at four and work from there.

Here’s you action step (I love and hate that word. Always means someone’s gonna push me to do something, but it also means I’m getting closer to a goal)

Ask yourself what you can commit to for four weeks be it an intermittent fasting schedule or four meals a day plan. Once you decide, add the foods that will help you get those goals and take out all of the ones that will hinder you. Keep track of your results.

There you have it. Exactly how many meals works best for fat loss because personally, I’m sick and tired of article after article trying to say what the “best” number is based on some research. It always changes so instead of being at the mercy of the latest and greatest, just do what works for you.