My life tends to be filled with acronyms. I attended college at UGA, work at the FDIC, and recently transitioned from a position as a FIS to a FIE. I complete assignments as an EIC, AM, or OM while reviewing the CAMELS components for things such as T1C, NII/NIM, CDARs, IRR, etc. In my spare time, I enjoy watching ESPN for highlights from MLB, the NBA, the NFL, or the NCAA (but not the NHL!) I also enjoy watching shows like HIMYM and SoA! I drive a VW, and I live in KC, MO, USA… Soooo yeah, sorry if that was TMI…
But I would like to tell you about two very important acronyms that have allowed me to drop my body fat percentage from 18.5% to 10%, and my weight from 187lbs to 168lbs in SIX WEEKS. The seven magic letters are: CKD and HIIT.
Six weeks of CKD and HIIT (flexing in both pics for comparison)
Diet Plan: CKD – Cyclical Ketogenic Diet
Cyclical-Keto-whosa-what’s-it?! Yeah, that’s what I said too! Allow me to explain… This diet sounds completely insane when you first hear about it. It takes “wisdom” from “traditional” diets, flips it completely around, and produces pretty amazing results! Ok, here’s how it works. I’ve been eating roughly 65% of my calories from FAT, 30% from PROTEIN, and only 5% from carbs. WHOA…thassalottaFAT! That’s right… a typical day’s meals look like this:
- Breakfast:
- Three whole eggs scrambled w/ cheddar cheese
- 6 bacon slices
- Coffee w/ 3tbsp grass-fed butter, 2tbsp MCT oil, cinnamon (tastes like a cinnamon roll!) – BulletProof Coffee
- Lunch:
- Double bacon cheeseburger (no bun) w/ mayo
- Snack:
- Sunflower seeds
- Protein Shake
- Dinner:
- Spinach salad w/ tuna (in oil), bacon bits, cheese, and ranch dressing
This diet does a few things for your body:
- Decreases the amount of insulin produced. Insulin is produced when carbs are ingested as a way to process the glycogen. In the absence of insulin, the body naturally increases production of Testosterone and Human Growth Hormone (HGH).
- Facilitates a metabolic switch. In plain English, this means your body changes the way it gets energy. Normally, you burn glycogen from carbs for energy. Without carbs in the diet, your body is forced to look elsewhere for fuel. It begins to break fatty acids into Ketones. (No, not a rock band from the 80’s!) Ketones are then burned instead of glycogen… You literally burn bodyfat for your daily energy needs!
- Accelerates fat loss. MCT oil and caffeine in the coffee have a compounding effect to accelerate the production of ketones, and increase body temperature. The thermogenic state allows for increased calorie burn.
- Reduces water weight. Glucose within your body bonds with water molecules at a ratio of 1:4… FOUR water molecules for every ONE molecule of glucose. When glucose is reduced, your body sheds the water weight and eliminates the “puffy” appearance.
On the weekends, I allow a 36-hour “carb-up.” This gives a break from the carb-restrictive diet, and allows me to eat donuts, pizza, pasta, etc… and drink many beers! Instead of hindering results, this actually accelerates the process and prevents plateaus. With the added glycogen in my muscles, my Monday workouts can also be much more productive. Which brings me to…
Workouts: HIIT – High Intensity Interval Training
Instead of my old “JoggingJesse” ways of pounding the pavement for hours on end, I’ve found that similar results can be achieved in a much more efficient manner… intervals! For example:
- Old workout: Jog at a moderate pace for 45 minutes.
- HIIT: Jog slowly for 2 minutes (4.0 on treadmill), then RUN for 1 minute (11.0 on treadmill)… repeat for 7 cycles (21 minutes)
This workout sends my heart rate up, then back down, then up again… by the end of the final interval, I am absolutely GASSED! This method keeps my body from getting accustomed to a running pace, and it moves my heart rate through an optimal fat burning zone repetitively. The anaerobic zone during the runs can vastly improve cardio response and strengthen the heart muscle. Studies also show that during the 24 hours after HIIT, HGH can be produced up to 450% higher levels than normal. This allows your body to continue to burn fat while preserving hard-earned muscle! Taking an interval approach to cardio and weight lifting has made a big difference for me.
While these methods (CKD and HIIT) may sound a bit “abnormal,” the results have been great! I’m reaching the end of my “cutting” phase, and I’m planning to add some lean muscle. This will require more tweaks to my diet and workout plan, and I’m excited to see more results. I’d also like to thank my wonderful fiancé for keeping me motivated and working her butt off as well! A diet/workout plan is much easier when you have a partner! I hope you’ve all enjoyed this post. If you have any questions or comments, please don’t be shy!
JoggingJesse 