Mission Statement: all reviews will be my honest assesment on the material in queston. My opinion will never be influenced by personal bias or my opinion of the author.


First I thought I'd only review Lyle's latest books, but then again I've read them all and thought I might as well go ahead and do a ranked list of which books I consider his best.

Though my association with Lyle is no secret, I'm keeping these reviews honest and objective, as you'll discover.

Still, I consider Lyle to be the most sensible authority on all things nutrition related and in some cases I've resorted to nitpicking. I'm judging his work against an extremely high standard as I consider any of these books to be far superior to 99% of any run-of-the-mill diet book out there.

Feel free to discuss or list your own list in the comments section.


1. The Stubborn Fat Solution Review



“Hardcore dieters have no problem getting certain areas super lean. Shoulders, upper back, etc, all come in just fine."

"But most people have those trouble spots. For men, it’s usually the abdominal and low-back area, women’s lower body fat has been a problem for years.

"The Stubborn Fat Solution represents the culmination of a 10-year obsession I’ve had with the problem of stubborn body fat and how to eliminate it”.

- Lyle McDonald

Who is this book for?

Lean people wanting to get even leaner. Maybe you’ve reached a condition where you’re almost satisfied with your physique, but still have that nagging fat over your lower abs preventing it from being visible…and it bugs the hell out of you. Well, this book is for you. Included in the book are four ways to rid yourself of this stubborn fat once and for all.

This is also a very interesting read for anyone interested in the science of getting ripped and why it can be so damn hard.

What will I learn from it?

This book provides an excellent primer on body fat and fat metabolism; basic fat cell metabolism, the interaction between hormones, exercise and body fat, why we have stubborn fat depots in the first place, how fat burning supplements works on fat cells, are all topics covered in this book.

Strong points

* The theory behind the method is explained very well before leading the reader into the actual protocol. Lyle handles a complex topic skillfully and lays it out in a way that everyone can understand.

* Creative, fresh ideas which are explained and backed up by actual research. This is a true rarity in the fitness/bodybuilding community.

* The methods presented in the book works. I helped him test run the stubborn fat protocol on my clients (IF style) and I think it works just as good as it claims to.

Weak points

* No pictoral presentations of what stubborn body fat actually looks like. Lyle spends a lot of time telling the reader that you should already be lean to start with, in order to take advantage of the methods presented, but including some pictures on what would be considered having stubborn fat vs just being fat would probably have helped a lot.

* Lyle apparently can’t spell for shit and gets my name wrong in the foreword. Pissed me off.

Overall

I rarely come across something on the topic of diet and exercise that teaches me something new, but this book did. The chapters about hormones, diet and exercise, and how these factors relate and affect stubborn fat cell metabolism, were a gold mine of quality information on this rather niche topic.

As for the exercise protocols, you can tell Lyle spent a decade collecting and processing his thoughts; the rationale for why you should do this and that are very well explained and backed up by solid research.

Overall, this book is an excellent blend between theory and practice. A must-read for physiology and nutrition geeks like me, or the frustrated fitness enthusiast/bodybuilder looking for a fresh approach to finally uncovering those semi-obscured abs.


2. The Protein Book Review



“The Protein Book is a comprehensive look at the issue of protein intake for both strength/power and endurance athletes."

"Coaches looking for the latest scientific developments in terms of optimizing protein nutrition for their athletes as well as athletes looking for answers to their questions will find them all covered in complete detail.“

- Lyle McDonald

Who is this book for?

Athletes (all kinds), fitness enthusiasts, coaches and nutrition geeks interested in all or any aspects of protein.

What will I learn from it?

Everything there is to know about protein and how to apply that knowledge in practice. Chapters are dedicated to such topics as protein metabolism, protein quality, meal frequency, nutrient timing, requirements for athletes and protein controversies – among many other topics.
You’ll also learn why eating protein frequently (high frequency meal plan) can have a negative effect and may not even be optimal for muscle growth – an issue that I figure might interest IF’ers.

“...I’ll take three hours to represent the minimum amount of time that should pass between meals. Eating more frequently is unlikely to be beneficial and may very well have a negative effect…”

- Lyle Mcdonald, direct quote from the book, pertaining the issue of meal frequency.

Strong points

* Extremely thorough and complete. Make no mistake, this is the only book on protein you will ever need. There is simply no issue left untouched.

* Excellent resource for laymen and professionals alike; everything is very well referenced and substantiated with hundreds of studies cited throughout the book.

Weak points

* The book almost reads like a research paper; though the language is very proper and correct, you’re at the risk of dozing off if you’re trying to take in too much at once.

* Gets a bit repetitive.

Overall

The only book you'll ever have to read about protein and an excellent resource for athletes and professionals alike.

Instead of second guessing your protein intake and the when, how and why's of workout nutrition, supplements and meal frequency, get this book.


3. The Ultimate Diet 2.0 Review



“Building on previous cyclical diets such as the original Ultimate Diet and Dan Duchaine's Bodyopus, the UD2 will give you the reasons why dieting to extreme leanness is so difficult (hint: thank evolution)."

"More importantly, it'll give you the solution to those problems.”
- Lyle McDonald

Who is this book for?

This is a book for fairly advanced, experienced and lean fitness enthusiasts/ bodybuilders seeking an improved body composition. The diet can be described as an extreme version of a cyclical ketogenic diet.

What will I learn from it?

Aside from the diet and training protocol itself, you are also given a theoretical primer on why it’s so hard to get lean, stay lean and/or build muscle in the process; it will give you a very good understanding of how and why your body doesn’t cooperate with you despite how hard you push.

Lyle explains how the various anabolic and fat burning hormones, such as leptin, IGF-1, insulin and catecholamines conspire against you when you venture below your body fat set point – the main point being that building muscle and losing body fat gets a lot harder the leaner you are, and UD 2.0 was developed to sidestep those issues.

Strong points

* The first part of the book explains how and why our body will do anything to keep us from reaching our goals (lean and muscular) and it does so very well.

* Humorous and enjoyable to read.

* The diet is very effective if you're willing to put in the work.

Weak points

* Short; the chapters on alternate versions of the protocol could’ve been longer and more elaborated on.

* This is definitely not a diet for the timid or flexible minded individual. Having this as a weak point may not be fair, since Lyle is quite clear on that fact.

Overall

When this book first dropped 5 years ago, it was an eye opener for me and many others that read it. The answers to why fat loss stalls, and why cravings and feelings of malaise increases as body fat drops lower, finally received a logical and thorough explanation.

Some of the facts about leptin and how it relates to body fat set point is now common knowledge among the more educated (forum) crowd, but I still suspect that the great majority has no clue about these things; if so, pick this book up, regardless if you plan to try the diet or not.

As for the diet itself, it works (as evidenced by numerous people), but don’t expect a walk in the park.


4. The Ketogenic Diet Review




“I became interested in low-carbohydrate diets over 10 years ago when I used one myself to lose fat. However, as I delved more into them, I realized that most books written about low-carbohydrate (aka ketogenic) diets were miserably flawed.”

“… I set out to determine for myself what the research actually said about low-carbohydrate diets. It took me over two years of research and writing, culminating in this, my first book.”

- Lyle McDonald


Who is this book for?

Fans of the ketogenic diet and nutrition/physiology geeks.

What will I learn from it?

Everything there is to know about ketosis and the ketogenic diet(s); the how, when and why’s of ketosis are thoroughly explained, as well as the effect of ketosis on your health and body. You will also learn how to set up a ketogenic diet (three versions) in practice and everything else you need to know about how to make it work.

Strong points

* Very comprehensive and complete. If you’re interested in the mechanics of ketosis, practice a ketogenic diet or would like to try a ketogenic diet, you need to get this book.

* Objective and extremely well referenced.

Weak points

* Same problem as with the protein book; in parts, the book almost reads like a research paper and you’re at the risk of dozing off if you’re trying to take in too much at once.

Overall

This is just as comprehensive as the Protein Book, as it thoroughly explores the subject in detail. Being his debut title, it’s impressive in scope and ambition. It covers every aspect of ketogenic diets I can think off and if you’re a fan of that diet approach you’ll find this book very interesting. It’s certainly technical in some parts, but that comes with the territory.


5. The Rapid Fat Loss Handbook Review



“Finally, Discover a Diet System That Will Help You to Lose Weight in the Fastest Way Possible!"

“If you’re willing to invest mere moments of your time, you’ll learn how you can lose 4-7 pounds of unsightly body fat, and anywhere between 10-20 pounds of scale weight in only two weeks.”

- Lyle McDonald


Who is this book for?

This is a book for the impatient, frustrated dieter wanting to lose fat the fastest way possible while keeping as much muscle as possible in the process. The diet presented here is commonly known as PSMF, which stands for Protein Sparing Modified Fast.

What will I learn from it?

Before leading the reader into the actual diet, Lyle gives a basic primer on body fat, nutrition, metabolism and exercise. You’re then introduced to the diet, how to set it up and how to include ‘free meals’ and ‘refeeds’. You’ll also learn what supplements to take, what not to do and how to proceed after reaching your goal.

Strong points

* If you’re new to nutrition or dieting: a basic primer on nutrition is given, giving some basic facts about protein, carbohydrates and fat.

* It lives up to the claim of being ‘a scientific approach to crash dieting’. This is not your run-of-the-mill fad diet book on how to lose weight fast; the diet is well thought out and optimized in order to make the most out of the calories ingested.

* Humorous and enjoyable reading.

Weak points

* If you’re advanced/well read up on nutrition/physiology: you’ll be disappointed. Don’t expect the same intricate theoretical background given in books such as Stubborn Fat Solution, UD 2.0 and other books by Lyle.

* No cookies on this diet.

* Just kidding. There aren’t really any more weak points that I can think off – this book delivers exactly what it claims, but it’s a little weak on the research side of things (no reference list, though an explanation for that is given in the introduction).

Overall

If you want to lose fat the fastest way possible, get this book. Lyle doesn’t sugarcoat things, nor tries to hide the fact that the diet in itself is restrictive, tough and that you’ll get hungry from time to time - but the diet works, and it works very well for those that adhere to it.

This is probably Lyle’s most ‘mainstream’ book, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, so it will be of great benefit for those fairly new to nutrition and dieting, but of less benefit for those already well read up on the subject.


6. A Guide to Flexible Dieting Review




“What if I told you that expecting to be perfect on your diet was absolutely setting you up for failure, that being more flexible about your eating habits would make them work better? ”

“No filler, no fluff, no pages of full color supplement ads like other products. After reading this book, you'll understand more about successful dieting behaviors than you ever thought possible.”

- Lyle McDonald


Who is this book for?

Everyone that has problems maintaining their eating behaviors during and after dieting. If you’re the kind of person that tends to spiral out of control when you ‘break’ your diet, then you need to read this book.

What will I learn from it?

You’ll learn how, when and why people often fail their dieting attempts and why they aren’t likely to keep the weight off in the long run. In stark contrast to, for example, UD 2.0, Lyle lays out a very flexible strategy which includes free meals and structured refeeds (in order to maintain sanity and increase fat burning hormones).

Strong points

* As with The Rapid Fat Loss Handbook, this is very newbie friendly book.

* Covers aspects of dieting psychology which most of us can relate to.

* A humorous, easy read.

Weak points

* As with The Rapid Fat Loss Handbook, you can tell this book is clearly aimed at the mainstream crowd. Nothing wrong in that, the advice given here is very solid, but more advanced readers won’t find much new here.

* I’m really nitpicking now: no reference list.

Overall

This didn't score high in the rankings for the sole reason that I didn’t learn anything new from it. Keep in mind that this is my opinion as a professional and as someone that knows nutrition and dieting like the back of my hand – for someone new to dieting, or with not as much of a vested interest , this might very well be the first book you should get.


7. Bromocriptine Review



“The drug bromocriptine is a nearly 30-year-old drug that has been classically used to treat Parkinson's disease and hyperprolactinemia.”

“As it turns out, it may also be able to trick the body (the brain specifically) into thinking that all systems are normal when you're dieting (and your body is adapting to the lower caloric intake).”

- Lyle McDonald


Who is this book for?

People interested in finding out how the body defends against fat loss and/or interested in manipulating the body fat set point with pharmaceutical agents.

What will I learn from it?

Besides learning everything there is to know about bromocriptine (and other dopamine agonists), you are also given a detailed primer on why it’s so hard to get lean and stay lean after dieting. The difficulties and hormonal impact of dieting is discussed throughout many of Lyle’s books, but this is by far the most detailed exploration of the subject.

Strong points

* An interesting read; the interaction between brain, hormones and pharmaceutical agents (sounds better than 'drugs') is very well covered.

Weak points

* The one major flaw of this book is the foundation and premise it is being based on: what looked good on paper did not seem to have worked so well in practice.

Overall

Don’t get me wrong, I liked this book – I found it a more interesting read than, for example, A Guide to Flexible Dieting and The Rapid Fat Loss Handbook, but I can’t possibly rank it higher due to the sole fact that the bromocriptine approach never took off. It’s not a popular fat loss aid and there’s probably a good reason for that.

The feedback and anecdotal reports from bromocriptine users have been very mixed, perhaps even leaning towards negative. While it seems to have appetite blunting effects, side effects such as nausea and hypoglycemia are often reported and the general consensus tends to be that the negatives outweigh the positives. Simply put, there are better things to use if you want to venture down the supplement/pharmaceutical route while dieting.

It’s still a good and informative read, but Lyle touches on the issues explored here in other books as well (UD 2.0, Flexible Dieting). Unless you’re passionate about subjects like leptin and dopamine agonists, you might want to consider getting some of his other work first.

I made a guest post today, on Mike O'Donnell's blog IF Life, and I thought I might post it here as well. Enjoy.

Sure-Fire Fat Loss

My name is Martin Berkhan and I work as a nutritional consultant, magazine writer and personal trainer. I also happen to be a proponent of intermittent fasting for health, fitness and fat loss. I have my own blog about fasting (www.leangains.com), but when Mike asked me if I’d like to make a guest post on his blog, I thought that’d be a great way to present my method in greater detail.


The Leangains protocol consists of two phases; 16 hours of fasting, followed by 8 hours of feeding. During this period, three meals are usually eaten. Depending on the day, the composition of those meals varies; on workout days, carbs are prioritized before fat, while on rest days fat intake is higher. Protein remains fairly high on all days. That’s a very basic and general description of the protocol I employ; of course, variables change depending on goals, gender, age, body fat and activity levels, but it would be hard to describe it in greater detail without drifting off too far.

Most of my clients are fitness enthusiasts, athletes and weight trainers, but the great majority of them have one thing in common – to look good naked. The ‘gain’ in Leangains can therefore be a bit misleading, as most of my clients wants to lose fat, while retaining as much muscle as possible in the process. While their diets might vary, it rests on some nutritional principles that I thought I’d present to the crowd reading this post. These principles will work for everyone, regardless of fitness level.

Here are a few guidelines that I consider success factors for performance, fat loss and excellent diet compliance.

• On workout days, break the fast with meat, veggies and a fruit. If you’re planning to train shortly after this meal, add a few carbs in the form of a starch source – potatoes or whole grain bread, for example. Make it a medium sized meal and don’t stuff yourself. Train within 3 hrs of having eaten this meal and have a much larger meal after your workout; in this meal, add more complex carbs – and you may even have one of your favourite treats as dessert, if it’s not too high in fat and if eaten in moderation. Good examples of what I refer to as ‘treats’: low fat ice cream, sorbet or JC’s cheesecake. Bad example: Chinese buffet or your son’s birthday cake. You get the point, keep it within moderation and don’t pig out.

• On rest days, eat less calories than on workout days - do this by cutting down on carb intake, and make meat, fibrous veggies and fruit the foundation of your diet for this day. The first meal of the day should be the largest, in contrast to workout days where the post-workout meal is the largest. Largest doesn’t necessarily mean largest in terms of volume; I suggest getting at least 40% of your calorie intake in this meal, and the dominant macronutrient should be protein. I’ll have some clients eating upwards to 100 g protein in this meal, so don’t be afraid to pile on the meat (or whichever protein source you prefer). Fattier meat and fish like ground beef and salmon are examples of some excellent protein sources that may be consumed on rest days.

• In the last meal of the day, include a slow digesting protein source; preferably egg protein, cottage cheese (or any other source of casein based protein). Meat or fish is also ok if you add veggies or supplement with fiber. This meal will keep you full during the fast and exert an anti-catabolic effect on muscle protein stores by ensuring that your body has an ample supply of amino acids until the next meal.

• Whole and unprocessed foods should always take priority over processed or liquid foods, unless circumstance demands a compromise. For example, you might find yourself in situations when there is little time to eat or prepare foods – in such a situation, having a protein shake or meal replacement bar is ok, where as solid, more satiating foods should be consumed whenever there is ample time to cook.

These are a few of the principles I’ve employed with great success; there’s a bit more to it, but this should get you started in the right direction.

Brief summary of the differences that exist between the various forms of intermittent fasting.

If you're unclear about what intermittent fasting is, read this.

* ADF (alternate day fasting, 36/12 hrs fast/feed). See also The Alternate-Day Diet, which is a milder form of ADF. While I don't think The Alternate-Day Diet is an optimal approach for the fitness enthusiast, Johnson's book is surprisingly good and scientifically accurate. Everything about the title ("turn on your skinny gene") screams faddishness, but I was pleasantly surprised after finishing it. Having read all the quoted studies on ADF myself, I could not find any major misrepresentation of the findings apart from a few too optimistic blurbs about fasting and life extension. I can easily recommend this book for it's summary of the ADF findings. And while the nutritional advice might not be cutting edge, it's certainly not bad or misleading either.

* The Warrior Diet (20/4 hrs fast/feed). WD is actually not intermittent fasting in the strictest sense of the word, since the author allows small meals during the fast (vegetables, fruits). The WD book is somewhat of a cult classic, but the book prefers to quote stories and myth instead of scientifical evidence to supports it's (sometimes ridiculous) claims.

* Eat Stop Eat (24 hrs fasting, 1-2x/week). You can read my review of Eat Stop Eat here. This is a book I highly recommend for those interested in fat loss and the physiology of fasting. Eat Stop Eat has a strong following with many success stories.

* The Fast-5 Diet. (19/5 hrs fast/feed). Fast-5 should be available for free on the Fast-5 website. I shouldn't critique a book that is given a away freely. But let's just say I don't consider reading it the greatest investment of time you can make if you have the most basic understanding of how weight loss works.

* Leangains (16/8 hrs fast/feed)

Within each of these systems, there are more or less specific guidelines regarding nutrition, ranging from the very vague (ADF) to the strict (Leangains).

Leangains is specifically tailored to fitness and strength training, and for those wanting to get as lean and strong as possible. In comparison to other intermittent fasting based diets much more emphasis is put on proper pre- and post-workout nutrition. There are also specific guidelines with regards to calorie cycling, macrocomposition and meal timing.

In celebration of the 1 year anniversary of this blog and my online consultation services, I am hereby announcing a summer competition as a fun experiment.

Rules are simple.

* Maximum of 10 clients. Starting at any time between the 16-30th June, you'll be working with me for 2 months.

* The client that makes the greatest body transformation wins.

* Before/after pics are mandatory and all participants must agree to have their pics shown on the site (faces obscured).

* Winner gets all fees returned. Basically, you'll get in shape for free and learn a whole lot of things in the process.

Contact details: martinberkhan@gmail.com (put "summer" as e-mail topic).

My regular consultation service is running as usual.

Added client pics in the May 21th post below. Check it out.

Book reviews (coming soon)

The Protein Book, by Lyle McDonald

The Stubborn Body Fat Solution, by Lyle McDonald

Eat Stop Eat, by Brad Pilon

When I'm constantly thinking, working with and writing about training and nutrition, I prefer to spend my free time doing completely different and unrelated stuff. Socializing, reading, watching movies or laying on the couch and playing Nintendo DS are all activities that helps me keep my sanity and order of balance in my life. This is pretty much what I have been doing since the last update, which is why the blog has suffered a bit. Either way, I'll try to make it up by making this a fairly large and informational post that I will add stuff to in the coming days.

Client results update

Niclas
One of the greatest surprises of recent months was the impressive transformation seen in a client named Niclas, which in two months went from a fat 196 lbs, to a soon-to-be-lean 178 lbs. However, as the the diet went on, a fantastic V-taper unfolded itself under the fat; I was quite surprised to see such a pronounced change to his appearance, which basically changed from having no aestethical appeal what so ever, to revealing a physique with an upper body that is basically bodybuilding comp material in my eyes (with less fat, and more muscle of course - what I'm saying is that the frame is there).

Niclas, feb 2008@196 lbs

Niclas, april 2008@178 lbs







Niclas, may 2008 @ 170 lbs

Marcus, may 2008@180 lbs

Ben-Ami
No pics available for this client yet, but having gone from 305 lbs to 269 lbs in 10 weeks (almost 4 lbs/week) his achievement certainly is notable - especially since Ben-Ami suffers from a condition called narcolepsy, which causes him to suddenly fall asleep at irregular times during the day. Obviously, this throws a wrench into some issues related to training and activity levels, but we had to make due with what was available and he showed great compliance to the plan. Also, of great interest to me personally, is that the intermittent fasting regime seems to have had a very positive effect on his condition, markedly reducing the frequency of which the 'sleep attacks' occurred.

Another note related to the last point:

Ever since I started this blog, I've received quite a few e-mails from people all across the world claiming to have relieved various illnesses since embarking on an intermittent fasting regime. The illnesses are not only metabolically related (diabetes, insulin resistance etc), but also the kind that may be a function of neurotransmittors, cell regeneration and genetic heritage; the kinds you usually medicate and can't affect with dietary changes (or so says doctors and conventional wisdom).

I'll provide you with a personal example. With the risk of sounding like a quack, my eye sight have improved ever since I embarked on the IF regime two years ago. I first noticed this one evening a few months ago after having taken out my contact lenses and gone to bed. I couldn't sleep, so I turned on the TV and reached for my glasses, which I found to have left in the bathroom. Curiously, I then discovered that I didn't need them.

I decided to test my eye sight to confirm the notion that it had indeed improved and found that I now tested at -3.50 (right) and -3.75 (left), which was an improvement of 0.25 from past values. A small improvement, but taking my rather drastic increase in time spent in front of the computer during that time, it makes me wonder if an even greater improvement could have been experienced without such an aggravating factor.

I've received similar accounts about eye sight improving on IF, but none with actual test values to compare. Interesting nonetheless.

About the book

I get a lot of e-mails regarding this topic and I think it's about time that I address this properly.

Martin,

I heard that you are writing a book on IF. When is it going to be released? Thanks for your time.

Darren

Yes, Darren, I am indeed writing a book about my experiences with intermittent fasting for muscle gaining, fat loss and improved body composition. The working title will probably be 'Leangains' + some descriptive undertitle.

The book will include an objective look (well, as objective as it can get considering it's pretty hard to avoid inherent bias) at the research and how it can be applied to the weight training crowd, as well as the lay person primarily interested in health. This will be followed by a speculative chapter, where I outline my reasons and thinking behind the various recommendations for the different protocols, which in turn will be followed by three chapters outlining the three protocols in detail. Sections for individual modifications based on general stats, gender, starting body fat percentage and glucose tolerance will be included in each chapter, with enough detail for anyone to set up a diet and training routine themselves.

I'll probably have one or two chapters with sample training routines, meal plans, and one dedicated to dispelling some nutritional myths ('you gotta eat every third hour to stoke the metabolic fire', 'you'll get catabolic if you don't eat protein every so often blablabla' and that kind of nonsense).

Lyle McDonald will make an appearance in the book as well, but he won't play a big part in the writing process since he doesn't have that much to bring to the table on this particular topic. He has already started on another project, about women and fat loss, to follow his recently released Stubborn Body Fat Solution (reviewed further down the page).

As for the material produced so far, much was lost in a computer crash that occurred last week. I sent a draft of a chapter to a trusted source to receive his opinions a few months ago, and that is basically what is left of what I've written. This took a large toll on my motivation, but I try to look at each negative event as an opportunity to learn something; the lesson of this particular happening being to make regular back ups of my goddamn files on a regular basis. However, I will restart the writing process during the summer months and plan on having the book written and ready to be published some time in 2009.

I have not decided on format yet - there are pros and cons of both hardcover and e-books, and these have to weighted against each other when the time comes. If anyone reading this has any suggestions, feel free to e-mail me and tell me what you think; professional opinions only, preferably from people involved in publishing.

Johan B

Since I started working with Johan back in October, he's dropped an amazing 40 lbs (18 kg), making a complete body transformation, using my intermittent fasting approach. Perhaps even more impressive is his radical improvement in strength/body weight ratio; even while dropping 20% of his initial body weight, he managed to increase his strength in several key lifts (deadlifts, front squats), with only bench press suffering slightly with a 5 lbs (2.5 kg) loss (which is minimal, considering his massive weight loss). Though several weeks were lost due to sickness, he remained vigilant throughout the diet, and his progress is a testament to consistency, smart dieting and proper training.


Johan, front shot @ 230 lbs (103 kg)




Johan, double biceps @ 190 lbs (85 kg)




Johan, back @ 230 lbs (103 kg)




Johan, back @ 190 lbs (85 kg)





Per

I worked with Per, primarily a martial artist, a couple of months ago with great success in terms of body fat loss and strength, getting him from a bulked up 205 lbs (92 kg) down to a lean 192 lbs (87 kg). Since then, he has been applying the principles I taught him all the way down to a shredded 182 lbs (83 kg).


Per, double biceps @ 204 lbs (92 kg)




Per, double biceps @ 182 lbs (83 kg)





Shahzad

Having tried various other approaches to dieting, Shaz was starting to tire of the endless dieting cycles.

"It was such a nice change of pace to be able to feel full while dieting,
and the meals after my workouts were always thought of as treats, making adhering to the diet very, very easy. I stalled at 170 lbs and it took a bit of tinkering with the calories to get my fat loss up and running again."

Shaz dropped from a lean 176 lbs to a shredded 166, while maintaining and even increasing his strength in some lifts, which is fairly uncommon at such low body fat levels.

Shaz, double biceps @ 170 lbs (78 kg)



Shaz, double biceps @ 166 lbs (76 kg)




Christian

Despite a rather big calorie deficit, lean body mass was well preserved and the weight lost almost 100% fat. Note that this client only did one full body workout every five days.


4th jan 08 - 10th feb 08

weight 110,5 kg 102,1 kg(-8,4 kg)

lean mass 82,3 kg 82,1 kg (-0.2 kg)

fat mass 28,2 kg 20,0 kg (-8,2 kg)

fat% 25,5% 19,6% (-5,9%)