This Dad shook off the dad-bod in just six months. Even better, he has managed to make it sound remarkably simple too.
We just love body transformations here at DMARGE. There’s nothing better than seeing blokes who’ve been struggling with their weight and, often, their mental health along with it, find a way to turn it all around. In an effort to share the secrets behind their fitness success so that others can kickstart their own journies, we share some of our favourite stories.
This thirty-seven-year-old Redditor — who posted progress pictures to the site’s dedicated subreddit under the username Spaceboy86 — revealed an incredible, breakneck-fast transformation. Shedding 75 lbs (35kgs) in just six months but, more importantly, getting a popping six-pack just in time for summer, he managed to totally change his look by applying one simple rule to his diet.
Here’s how he did it…
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Cut, Cut, Cut
Before we get into the training regimen and go-to tip of the Redditor in question, we wanted to preface it by giving our top-level top-tips on how to lose weight, whether you follow this guy’s regimen or not…
When it comes to shedding those pounds, nailing your nutritional game is always the most important and usually most punishing step. You need to partake in a ‘cut’ by maintaining a strict calorie deficit over an extended period of time, just like Zac Efron did before filming Baywatch. Here are some general nutritional guidelines to follow, but bear in mind that nutrition varies from person to person:
- Calculate your calories: To lose body fat, you must create a calorie deficit by consuming fewer calories than your body burns. Calculate your daily calorie needs and subtract 250-500 calories per day to create a gradual calorie deficit.
- Eat plenty of fibre: Fibre-rich foods like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains can help keep you feeling full and satisfied during a cut.
- Stay hydrated: Adequate hydration is essential for optimal health and can also help curb hunger and cravings.
While this Redditor clearly went hard and fast, It’s important to note that a successful cut requires patience and consistency. It’s not advisable to try to lose too much body fat too quickly, as this can lead to muscle loss and other health problems. Aim for a gradual, sustainable rate of fat loss, and be sure to listen to your body and adjust your nutrition plan as needed.
Exercise
When asked what the biggest lifestyle changes he’d made in order to carve out those abs, the Reddito responded with two movement-related points before revealing his magic dieting tip. These give an insight into his training and how he managed to maintain a muscle-heavy physique while losing so much weight so quickly…
- Consistent workouts – mainly strength training 3 times a week, hot yoga once a week, and boxing once a week.
- 10K steps a day – if I have time on lunch break, I’ll just go for a walk. That, combined with all [my] other movement throughout the day usually does the trick.
These tips aren’t necessarily life-changing — you’ve probably heard variations on that theme before — but they are nevertheless worth taking note of…
Just The Tip
However, it was the Redditor’s one-stop-shop approach to dieting that really caught our attention. Far too often, dieting is made to feel so complex and so contentious — wooden-chopping board raw-honey people, we’re looking at you — that it scares people away from making a serious change. This guy, thankfully, keeps things wonderfully straightforward:
“Being conscious of the food I put into my body. If I go out with friends, I’ll try and get the healthiest choice I can find. When I’m home, I’ll stick to salad + 1 plate of carbs/veggies/protein. I have never weighed food or anything; I just stuck to those principles.”
So there you have it — the key to success is simple, if not necessarily easy. While the world is full of many culinary temptations that have never been more readily, even dangerously accessible, staying conscious and mindful of what you eat will make dieting straightforward and simple… the discipline such an approach requires, however, may not be quite so easy to come by.