This is what I’d do, step-by-step .
[1] OWN IT:
About six or seven years ago, one of my colleagues “ abruptly ” dropped about 80 pounds. He was a powerlifter aiming for a BIG squat—800lbs if I recall correctly—but could never get below 260. When he lost that 80 pounds, I hadn’t seen him for a couple of years, so I asked him how he accomplished it .
“It was pretty simple,” he said. “I talked to [a mutual friend] and he said, ‘Dude, you gotta own your sh*t.’ And that was it.”
In other copyright, if you struggle to lose weight, you have to identify your excuses—those stories and lies you tell yourself—and get rid of them. Change your stories.
[2] GET JUNK FOOD OUT OF THE HOUSE:
I’d go through the pantry and clear out all cookies, chips, crackers, and soda. Then I’d hit the freezer and eliminate pizza, ice cream—any high-calorie “binge-y” food. If it’s not there, I can’t eat it, especially not on impulse when I’m under stress .
[3] I'D EAT A "PROTEIN-FIRST" DIET:
The first thing in my mouth each meal is protein. Every meal is built around it , then comes other stuff: carbs (potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice) and, of course, veggies.
Protein:
Reduces hunger
Cuts down on cravings for sugary and fatty foods
Enhances your metabolism
Improves your recovery between workouts
In fact, 2015 research by Dr. Jose Antonio, PhD, et al, stated[1]:
“A high protein diet (3.4 g/kg/d) combined with a heavy resistance training program improves body composition in healthy trained men and women.”
[4] I'D LIFT HEAVY (HIGH FORCE):
I’d use a 4-6RM for my most important lifts, especially if I’d been doing a lot of KB ballistics. Many people who do “lots of Swings” are shocked when they add heavy lifts. Their heart rates increase dramatically more than during Swings or Snatches, driving up the body’s calorie demands for recovery.
[5] I'd definitely lift explosively ( max effort):
I’d make each rep as intense as I can —no more “phoning it in” or just “surviving” my sets. If I were already been doing “a bunch of Swings,” I’d probably double my usual rep ranges (or increase them by 50%). For example, sets of 5 become sets of 10; sets of 10 become sets of 20.
[6] I’d "bias" my training:
Most people do only what they like . But to strip fat off your body like paint remover on an antique chest of drawers, you have to do the thing you suck at most —because it forces you to use more energy.
I love low-rep strength work—that’s my bias. The opposite would be higher-rep KB ballistic work, like sets of 10+. That would exhaust me , requiring more energy. For someone who does “a lot of Swings,” it’d be the opposite: a lot of heavy strength work. Again, more energy than normal needed.
[7] I'd sleep more:
Sleeping more helps burn fat ; sleeping less increases fat storage [2]. Unbelievable, but true. Lack of get more info sleep increases hunger and makes you lose muscle (“fat-free mass”). I’d make sure I get 7-8 hours every night.
[8] I’d breathe more:
Breathing—specifically diaphragmatic breathing—is a stress reliever . Less stress → less circulating cortisol → less belly fat . Diaphragmatic breathing activates the parasympathetic (“rest and digest”) system and counters the sympathetic (“fight, flight, or freeze”) system.
High cortisol also inhibits anabolic (muscle-building & fat-burning) hormones like testosterone (T) and growth hormone (GH). So, breathing lowers cortisol and rebalances T and GH levels.
[9] I would train 4-6x week:
Making your body shed fat is no mean feat. It’s like Scrooge McDuck hoarding his treasure: your body wants to hold on to fat. So you have to force it to burn without caring —by making it do more work. How you organize your training is up to you. I prefer contrasting training:
Hard sessions followed by easy sessions
Heavy sessions followed by light sessions
That style makes the body perform without overtraining. I'd keep sessions efficient and brief—20 to 30 minutes.
[10] I WOULD FOCUS ON RECOVERY:
I’d make sure I stayed safe from injury by prioritizing restoration/ movement work, knowing my body would become tense from extra use. If you’ve ever had an injury from overuse , you know it’s quite painful. Better to head that off early .
So, 5 to 15 minutes of restoration work each session. “Yeah, but won’t that take total workout time up to 45 minutes?” Perhaps. Or I could switch between hard training days with easy restoration days and do more restoration work instead.
So How Long Would It Take?
As long as it took .
But probably, no more than 12 weeks . Maybe as long as 16, depending on my recovery.