I’m no stranger to the art of transforming bodies; it is something I help participate in every day. I’ve witnessed and helped deliver some radical transformations. But truth be told I’ve struggled myself with making that same transformation. True, I was in decent shape before, but not to the level I expected of myself. There has been many aborted attempts, some more successful than others but most usually ending in complete failure. I failed for the most typical reasons: not dedicated enough, improper planning, frustration, etc.

In fact here is an Old Timeline of a Twelve Week Cut
Week 1-2: Feeling excited about making the transformation, initial weight is down and energy in the gym is good. Bring out the tank-tops!
Week 3-4: Progress starting to slow down, so I immediately cut calories and do triple cardio (ok I lied, more like ten times the cardio)
Weeks 5-6: Desperate by lack of progress, cut calories further (eating less than a supermodel) and working out like a bodybuilder on a double dose of juice.
Weeks 6-8: Burn out and failure, the combination of too much work, too little recovery and a ravenous appetite lead to a downward spiral
Weeks 9-12: Don’t happen as I wimped out and quit, defeated and crying like a pre-teen girl at a Jonas brothers concert.

As you can see I needed help to make this transformation. My key secret that helped me succeed was to seek professional help. WHAT? BLASPHEMY! A trainer admitting he used another trainer? Why? Why can’t I design I own program? Well I have designed my own programs and followed them but what I was missing was my failure to think objectively about my body. Either I’d cut my calories weigh to low (disaster), increase my training frequency too high and under recover (even bigger disaster), or do a combination of both (near life-death experience). I’m serious, I saw visions of the after-life during one particularly brutal cut (and it wasn’t pretty like in the movies- Richard Simmons was on the other side and he was PISSED!).

Who was this wise sage that I consulted? Why a fellow Canadian of course, Christian Thibaudeau. I’ve been reading his articles and books for several years and finally decided to take my body to the next level. Using his “Get Jacked” Program, I embarked on a twelve week transformation, eager for it to be the best and last one. Not surprisingly not only did I lose the weight I wanted: I even gained muscle!

This is my twelve week transformation

In the wake of this success I’ve learnt a lot about myself and about transformations in general. Below I hope to share a couple key points that I learnt so I can save YOU time. The quick answer is the holy trinity of a successful transformation revolves around 1. Your metabolism 2. Your body’s ability to use fat (its carb tolerance, hormonal profile, exercise choice, etc) and 3. Your ability to recover from work outs. Here is what I’d do differently.

Don’t cut calories too soon
Focus on expending more calories first before you hack away at what you are eating. Its a lot easier to deny yourself food then it is to do the gruelling workouts necessary to make an impressive transformation. Cutting calories too soon can not only mess up y our metabolism but affect your performance in the gym (not to mention possibly damaging your hormonal profile). Sluggish work outs won’t preserve muscle mass and not ingesting enough quality food can make you drowsy and tired.

Don’t do too much cardio.
I think its a plague in our society where we feel the need to over exert ourselves. Call it a type A personality, or whatever you want, but the fact remains that most people will spend TOO MUCH time doing TOO MUCH cardio of the wrong type. Each of us only has so much time to work out and cardio should be at the bottom of your to do list. Here’s why: too much cardio can eat away at your muscles, down regulate the amount of calories you burn in a day, increased cortisol levels (a stress hormone), and make you addicted to watching Oprah. Seriously, its that bad. A proper balance between weight training and energy systems work is the key toward a proper transformation. If your time is limited here is what you should do:

Minimum Three Strength Work outs a week (to maintain or build lean mass and burn calories)
Three Circuit Based Weight Work outs a week (to elevate metabolism and preserve muscle)
High Intensity Interval Training
Low Intensity Cardio

Focus on the biggest issues
Often times we get bogged down by the minor details instead of focusing on the key issues, the things that are most important to us seeing results. Instead of asking am I getting enough exercise? We ask “whats better, eating my last meal one hour before bed or two hours before bed”. Don’t cloud your mind by details, focus instead on the big keys to success: proper eating habits, proper exercise choice and plenty of rest. You can’t out train a crappy diet and you can’t train properly with out adequate rest.

Take time off!
Seriously this is an order. If you are constantly pursuing your fat loss goal it’ll only wear you down both physically and mentally. Eating below maintenance for prolonged periods of times can slow down your metabolism and leave you feeling sluggish and miserable. Fat loss shouldn’t become a grind. If you have been cutting for longer than twelve weeks straight, take a break. I’m not talking a couple days, I’m talking a solid one to two weeks off. This will not only reset your metabolism but it’ll also refuel your desire to achieve your goals. Believe me, we all want results yesterday but a temporary pause to reset and refuel your body is necessary for long-term success.

You never want to reach the point where you are endlessly trying and just not seeing an results, its frustrating and defeating!
 
Don’t beat up on yourself
Had a cheat meal? Or a cheat day? Don’t sweat it, it happens to the best of us. The telling point is what you do AFTER you fall off the band wagon, do you jump back on or fall apart? Strength is going through your struggles and deciding not to surrender, that is true strength.

Have a plan, follow it, believe it
If you don’t map out your road to success then there won’t be any success. Planning out what you need to do is just as important as doing it. When you are six weeks into a transformation a lot of doubt starts to creep in, that is when knowing you are on a specific plan is so important, it helps ground you and gives you a vision. A key to success is to have a blueprint. How can you know where you are if going if you have no direction?

This also applies to eating, do you pack your meals? Have you planned out your week, or do you find yourself stopping into your local McDonalds and ordering combo #1? Lets use a familiar line: if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. And while you are at it, make your food tasty for a change! As someone who loves to eat good food, I’ve discovered that healthy food need not taste like cardboard. Hence the introduction of my Chef Buff series (click here to watch the latest episode).

Seek professional help
Often times we think we know it all. Its hard to try and ask for help especially from people we don’t know. This is even more true for myself being a trainer. The cost however to both your time and more importantly your body, is just not worth skimping out on yourself. I tell all my clients to look at training as an investment on their bodies and more important themselves. When you put it that way, nothing can be more important than how you think and feel.

My two year transformation, wow

There is plenty more advice but I think those are the key points to succeed, now go forth and conquer that flubber!

Got Any Advice? Share it below please!

Related posts:

1. 12 Keys to Rapid Fat Loss. A Guide to a Leaner You Week 2: Planning
2. 12 Keys to Rapid Fat Loss. A Guide to a Leaner You Week 3: Intensity
3. 12 Keys to Rapid Fat Loss. A Guide to a Leaner You Week 5: Focus and Faith
4. 12 Keys to Rapid Fat Loss. A Guide to a Leaner You Week 1: Purpose and Desire
5. 12 Keys to Rapid Fat Loss. A Guide to a Leaner You Week 4: Recovery