Going Grainless
2009 was about getting fit. 2010 is about getting ripped.
I’ve never really had muscles, but this year I will. If it’s the last thing I do, by God, I will be ripped! Not sure why I feel the need, except to prove that my body can indeed form that tissue that is commonly referred to as muscle.
2009 Made Sense
Growing up I was rail thin, but by the advent of 2009 I had packed on enough LBs for my family and friends to give me a new moniker: Chubs. As endearing as the nickname was, there was no way in hell I was going out like that.
I cut out beer pretty much all together, I stopped late night snacking, and exercised for 20 to 30 minutes 4 days a week or so. All in all, it was a pretty manageable plan that delivered favorable results: I dropped twenty pounds and the moniker.
Now I Want a Hot Bod
My 2010 goal appears to be more vain. And I think it is. Vanity though can be a wellspring of inspiration and energy. The trick I suppose is to use vanity as inspiration without letting it become your master. We’ll see how that goes.
At any rate, for me, dropping that stubborn five pounds of remaining belly fat and having muscles that are visible and defined was not happening on my 2009 regimen. I realized that to get great results, I would have to trade in my good plan for a great plan.
Work Out More?
One might think the fastest ways to being lean and muscular is working out a lot. This is not in the cards for me, for two reasons:
- I just don’t like working out enough to spend multiple hours a day at the gym.
- I inevitably injure and re-injure myself when I push workouts to long and hard
Fortunately, after doing some research I found that diet is the biggest single contributor to body shape and lean muscle development. That does not mean that exercise is not an essential component to developing a ripped physique. It is! Hours of intense daily exercise, though, are NOT essential and can even be counterproductive.
The Experiment: Going Grainless
I read Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson, author of Mark’s Daily Apple, and decided to experiment with what he calls a Primal Diet.
I committed to trying the diet pretty religiously for the month of February before drawing too many conclusions. I figured February was good as it is the shortest month.
As well, I shifted my workout plan to include a few short but intense workouts a week- maybe 1.5 hours total exercise time.
Following his plan (for the most part) my new diet looked something like this:
- No refined or whole grains (bread, pasta, cereal, chips)
- No refined sugar or corn syrups
- No starches (corn, potatoes)
- Lots of veggies
- Lots of fruit
- Lots of quality protein (fish, eggs, fowl, red meat)
- Lots of good fat (nuts, butter, olive oil, bacon)
- Some cheese and milk
- Some beans (though Sisson’s not a huge fan)
The Results
You’ll have to tune in next time to find out how the Experiment went, but I’ll leave you with some teasers:
- The first two weeks were hell!
- Two months later I am still eating Primal
- I will be posing for the cover of Men’s Health next month*
Also, if you found this post interesting check out a similar (much more intense) experiment that Tim Ferris performed.
*Ok, that’s a lie.
posted: 10 March 31
under: Health and Fitness