My diet's over

Hey all…some have been following my dieting and have been privy to some pretty ridiculous food posts of mine. Well, as of tomorrow, the diet is over…kaput…finished! Whoo-Hoo! Well, to post the results…

At the end of 6 weeks of terrible dieting (I always hate dieting), Im down about 20 lbs total…down to about 185 lbs. My body fat has plummetted. Tonite, using 6 different skinfold equations and an accurate tester (myself), my fat percentage was between 4% and 4.2% for all 6 methods…How’s that for consistency.

My initial body fat level was about 10% by all methods at about 205 lbs. So in dropping from 205 to 10% down to 185 at 4% means a fat loss of about 13.1 lbs of fat and a muscle loss of about 6.9 lbs. Im damn happy with those results!

My strength dropped pretty dramatically in the gym but as soon as I start eating again, it will soar.

My girl has also been dieting with me (she went 8 full weeks) and she has dropped from about 140 lbs at 20% fat to about 130 at 13% fat. That’s a loss of 11.1 lbs of fat and no loss of muscle at all (she’s relatively new to the game).

What diet did we use?..well, we used the meal combo principles from massive eating but not the calorie calcs. I calculated them based on my personal needs as I lost weight. These, my friends, you gotta figure out yourselves!

Some meals p+c and some meals f+p. She used more p+c meals (4-5) and less f+p meals (1-2). Her cals gradually dropped as needed (to keep a constant rate of fat loss) while her cardio increased gradually. At the end she was doing wts 4x per week with 30 min of cardio after and cardio for 40 min on non-training days. I think her diet finished at 1000-1500 cals per day for the last week or two (they obviously started higher though).

I was doing about equal p+c and p+f meals but some days I changed things up by either eating no carbs or no fat. It all depended on how I felt. I also gradually decreased cals and increased cardio so that at the end (for the last 2 weeks) I was training 2 x per day. I was doing wts 4x per week with 30 min cario after and another 30 min on the same day. And 2 30 min sessions on "off days". In the end, my cals may have been as low as 1500-2000 per day for the last week or two (and obviously started higher).

No thermogenics and no T2 for me...I just used Tribex, ZMA, and Surge after weight training workouts.

She just used MD6 for the last few weeks.

Ok, hope that helps some of you schedule your programs. That's all the details Im giving on this forum so no detailed questions. I simply wont answer them. This is all you need anyway.

At this point all I wanna do is go hit a buffet (which I am doing, twice, on saturday…breakfast and dinner!)…

JMB, no questions, just a little ego stroking. Thanks for posting your stuff. Although not everything you write has worked for me, I always learn something new and useful. Keep on truckin’ man.

Pretty impressive results without the use of anabolics. JB, when are you going to write that training article ?

Your happy with losing over 6lbs of muscle???, comeon guy, whatever happened to maintaining ur muscle, don’t u think you did something wrong, to have lost muscle, maybe not enough protein. i know guys that gain muscle while losing fat. nobody should ever be happy with losing muscle and stength. NOBODY!!!

OUTSTANDING, John! Thanks, as always, for the willingness to post your personal progress. One thing: isn’t your sweetie a LITTLE worried about a “Buffed Berardi” walking around exposed to all the Hotties? (smile!:)–! (In answer to Conan: I’d give my left arm and my First Born to be 185 pounds @ 4%BF and could get there with a 2:1 fat/lean loss ratio!).GREAT WORK, JOHN!

Awesome results!!! thanks, John, for posting your results and how you got there. i’m definitely going to take those guidlines into account while i diet down!

JB, you’re the man! Great work! And give your girl a nice pat on the ass and tell her she did well too! I hope you plan on taking some photos while you are in this “extra-lean” condition! Maybe post them on T-mag, but at least take a few for your own personal collection. Good job my man!

Conan, it’s pretty difficult to lose that much fat in a relatively brief period of time and not scale off some lean tissue. Without anabolics, that is. One thing John M. isn’t afraid to do is experiment with himself, and knowing him and knowing his genetics, he’ll put that muscle back on quickly, with a minimum of fat accompaniment. End result, after say a total of twelve weeks, he’ll be over 200 pounds yet substantially leaner than when he kicked off the diet. Muscle memory and all that. Sometimes you’ll get faster and better results of you go to the extreme in both directions, just like one shouldn’t be afraid to gain some fat when gaining weight on a mass cycle. Just my thoughts, not a flame, but I think John does a tremendous job of disciplining himself to these experiments while leading an extremely full and real life, then giving so much to the forum in the way of results and data.

Thanks for the feedback guys…

To John, the training article is done and if TC likes it, will be posted in the (near?) future…

To conan...sorry you feel that way buddy and that you felt the need to criticize in public. I havent read about your results lately, but from the tone of your mail, they must be phenomenal!

But I should have clarified that I lost 6 lbs of LEAN BODY MASS (not muscle mass). Since lean body mass is composed of water, bone, muscle, etc…I can guess that some of the 6lb loss came from the water compartment. Im happy with that since most people lose 10lbs of water when they start a diet. I didnt because I didnt restrict carbs to stupidly low levels.

Also, I just got my hands on some predictive equations that allow a calculation regarding how much muscle and fat will be lost on a diet. The #1 factor determining this is the initial body fat of the person. Dont ask about these as I will be adding them to an article later on and wont post them here first. Sorry. Anyway, they dictate that of the weight one loses when starting out lean (and I consider a 10% starting point pretty lean), 70% of the weight lost will be lean body mass and 30% fat mass. So I think I did pretty good by losing 65% of my weight as fat and only 35% as lean body mass.

Great job John. It will be interesting to see how much of the lost fat you gain back while regaining the 6 lbs of lost LBM. If you can gain back the LBM at a 2:1 favorable ratio again (3 lbs of fat gain), you will have netted yourself a total fat loss of 10 lbs without reducing LBM. Awesome achievement to accomplish naturally in that short of time frame.

In response to Mufasa’s earlier question: I think it might be the “Buffed Berardi” who should be concerned about the posted diet results - at 5’9 and 13% bodyfat John has in his posession the beginings of a true T-Vixen!

Celebrations commence here in London,Ontario tomorrow morning at eight am at the largest breakfast buffet we could locate - and will conclude with another buffet meal in the pm. And if all goes well, Nate Dogg, that “pat on the ass” too.

JB…did I ever tell you, or possibly hint at the fact, that I think you’re the man, the top D-O-G-G (actually that’s Nate, sorry), the shiznit??? Sorry to get off on a tangent, but I look up to ya, bro. Great work on the diet, my man, great work. 185 at 4% is just phenomenal, so get those pics posted! And don’t be afraid to post some pics of your hella hot, hella lean young girlie (that Nate asked you to give a love tap to)…I’ll be just as interested in hearing a full report following your buffet run tomorrow:-) BTW, I’m still waiting for some recommendations as far as getting my Ben and Jerry on–flavors, my man! And about those pretzels…I’m supposed to be bulking here, JB, but I’m still a ripped little pole! Go attack the buffets, baby.

Yep, that’s my girl; a true t-vixen. For all you guys out there who’s “better halves” don’t share your passion for lifting and eating well, all I can say is that I feel for ya bros…

Besides being basically incredible in every way, my girl and go to workout together, eat our healthy diet meals together on similar schedules, and yes, suffer thru diets together. The best part is that we can share in each other's pain and successes throughout. What a cool thing!

YOU GO GIRL!!! (The Lion not only stands corrected, but is also in awe of “JB’s Better Half’s” results). IF I’M NOT MISTAKEN (and correct me if I’m wrong) those are Fitness Competition Preparation type of numbers. So yea…it IS the Godfather that should be concerned! (smile! :)—! CONGRATULATIONS, GUYS! (Just a clarification: JB (as in James Brown) = Godfather of Soul).

JB, you are one dedicated mofo. Thanks for posting, you really motivate me. Whenever I think my diet’s good, or that I’m busting my ass, I see one of your posts and know I could be working even harder.

Just curious about your feedback with Surge. Do you feel you retained more LBM using it. I’ve used 2 bottles during the end of a bulking phase and now while dieting and I like the results. And I absolutely LOVE the taste. Keep up the good work and good luck with your PhD.

Well, it’s sunday and I just completed the post-diet saturday massacre. Went to the breakfast buffet on saturday from 8-10 and chowed the whole time. I insulted the massive eating rules and ate forbidden foods (and food combos) like waffles, muffins, bagels, pancakes, sausages, bacon, home fries, tater tots, whole eggs, etc. Everything had cream cheese, jelly, or peanut butter on it. Must have take 5 or 6 plates down, no problem. I was stuffed to the max though. After this feast, we went and washed our cars, then went to train. Wanted to only hit arms but felt so darn good we hit bis, tris, shoulders, and calves. Then hopped on the cardio for level 8 for 30 intense minutes. Didnt eat again till dinner where we went to the chinese buffet. From 8-10pm we ate all sorts of fried foods, stir fry, veggies, soups, etc (4 plates). Then wrecked shop on the dessert (2 plates of cakes and ice cream). Got up this morning (smooth as a baby’s butt) and hit just under an hour of intense cardio for more damage control. Im back on a sensible eating plan today. So that’s enough. Im done with cheat food for a while. It was good while it lasted! I think Im back up to 8% again :slight_smile:

Yeah, JB! You go, big (smooth) fella! How 'bout your beautiful, ripped companion? Could the betta half hang with the GodFather (Lion King reference)? Now while other guys have mentioned how inspirational your dieting efforts are and were, JB, I personally find this dedication to stuffing your face to the edge a very motivational event! Now while most who would cheat it up would probably just sit around and feel sorry for themselves, feel guilty or just contemplate for time on end what they had done, my man went and kicked some arse in the gym! That’s what I’m talking about…having some fun with it and then calling damage control. Now, I know it may seem silly to have a question about cheat days/meals, but JB you mentioned that during bulking phases you usually splurge once a week on some ice cream or hit a buffet. When you enter the realm of normalcy and decide to allow the evil, but wonderful, toxins enter your bod, do you compensate calories the rest of the day at all (part of damage control)? And is this normally planned on a training day or a recovery day? Sorry to ask stupid questions, but this is coming from a very inexperienced bulker! Anybody’s experience is welcomed…

Timbo, ya gotta use your head bro. If youre gonna cheat, you gotta balance it out. The three tiered approach works well…

So do a little extra training before the cheat and then maybe a little after the cheat (either day before and after, day of, whatever). If youre takin down 5k then you better be tryin to burn something off, right.

In addition, you better believe I go light on the cals for the remainder of the day. I dont starve myself but just eat light for most of the day.

Finally, a little MD6, taraxatone, and T2 may be good pre-meal supplements for the cheat. Get the metabolism sky high and help get rid of some of that water.

Oh yeah, and the girl was right there, stride for stride with us with regard to exercise and stuffin the face. Gotta love a girl who can get down to 13% fat and still not be afraid to celebrate by getting up to 6 plates at the buffet!

Thanks for hittin’ me up, JB. I appreciate the feedback as always…I love eating the clean, wholesome goods, but think that a cheat meal can only help me out…that is, if it’s done properly and to my advantage, planned and without doubt, regret or a big ol’ guilt trip.