to get lean you're looking at getting down to at least 15% body fat but here's the thing according to the largest dexas scan analysis of over 9,000 American men 97% are above that with the average body fat being 27% to make matters worse less than 0. 1% of men are lean enough for their abs to really pop at 12% or below statistically you're more likely to become a millionaire than you are to get lean but don't let this discourage you this is me at 15. 6% body fat this is me just 60 days later at 11.
6% body fat according to dexa and based on ultrasound I've also burned off almost 50% of my belly fat and the best part the process was actually quite simple not easy but something anybody can do if you follow my three-part Plan diet training and The crucial steps I took afterwards to prevent regaining fat I guarantee you'll be able to get lean fast and more importantly stay lean for good but before we dive into the plan there's a huge issue almost everybody ignores until it's too late so you know how I clocked in at 11. 6% body fat in my last dexa scan well in the body fat analysis I shared earlier the lowest recorded body fat out of 9,000 men was 11. 7% And yet when I scroll through Instagram it seems like everybody on my feed is absolutely shredded Max 10% body body fat I feel fat just scrolling through deer the reality those Ultra shredded physiques often come at a huge cost one that's rarely talked about as you get leaner your body Fights Back hunger skyrockets energy levels plummet and your metabolism slows just look at the Minnesota starvation experiment participants who were dieted down to sub 10% body fat levels became obsessed with food some even chewing through 40 packs of gum a day just to feel sad satisfied the takeaway dropping even below 12% of body fat comes with serious trade-offs and it's why most people who get there don't end up maintaining that shape so be realistic if you're just starting out it's far more sustainable to aim for 15 to 20% and if you're more experience or you just have less fat to lose in for 12 to 15% and this still looks amazing especially if you built muscle along the way for example Chris Evans was reportedly around 12.
5% body fat during his iconic Captain America transformation he looked incredible and didn't need to go to extremes now let's dive into the first step of actually achieving it your diet you've probably heard this advice before start your diet off slowly and then get more aggressive as you progress but what if I told you there's a more effective approach that's the opposite of what you'd expect it sounds counterintuitive but instead of easing into your diet and ramping up over time do the opposite think about it when you start a diet you have the most fat to lose your energy levels are still high and you're the most motivated this is actually the best time to push harder and go aggressive but as you get leaner your body starts fighting back so if you save the hardest part of your diet for when you're already struggling the chances of you stick into it drop dramatically and I'm not the only one who noticed this a recent study backs it up showing that an aggressive approach early on led to better fat loss results overall now to get it very rough idea of how many calories you should eat during this phase take your body weight in pounds and multiply it by 10 or 11 so for me on a typical diet I'd stick to around 2300 calories a day which puts me in a moderate calorie deficit to lose about a pound a week but this time in the very first week of my diet I drop down to just 1,200 calories a day now I would not recommend this it's not sustainable and I only did it for a video to see how much fat I could lose in just one week and you can check that out later if you want to see me suffer after that initial week though I stayed aggressive eating just 1,900 calories a day for the next 4 weeks surprisingly it was much easier than I expected only 30 days in I'm already down 6 lb visibly leaner and feeling great but then on the fifth week today the body it's feeling it I just had my breakfast usually that keeps me full for at least a few hours but today my body's telling me no way Jeremy like you need more food and also the past four weeks I haven't had any Cravings but today I have this intense craving for donuts not even just one dut too like I need multiple Donuts so I think this is officially in my body's way telling me I got to slow things down I think if I try to push through this this not going to end well the good news is because I started off so aggressively I was able to increase my daily calories by 300 this helped me continue losing fat at a slower more sustainable days without feeling like my diet was a daily battle but here's the thing whether you start aggressively or take it slow getting lean will always require eating fewer calories over a long period And if you're eating the wrong Foods there's no way you're going to make it so here's the three simple things I did to make my diet as easy and enjoyable as possible let's start with the most important macronutrient protein if you're not getting enough protein your body will end up burning through your muscle instead of just fat it's why many people end up looking flat fat or skinny fat after their diet to avoid that eat protein every meal and enough of it if you open up your hand the protein portion in each of your meals should be at least the size of your palm but now let's talk about the big one cutting calories and here's where most people go wrong they cut out entire food groups which makes sticking to their diet impossible you don't have to eliminate carbs or fats entirely it's about modifying how much of them you eat but fats are a great place to start because because they're the most calorie dense and easiest to adjust for example think about your breakfast let's say you usually have three whole legs and Toes what would be easier cutting out the toast so there's no carbs or keeping the toast and instead reducing the fat by replacing those three eggs with one whole egg and egg whites I know what the answer would be for me and during my diet I apply this concept by using half an avocado instead of a full one in my lunch wrap and having chicken or shrimp for dinner instead of beef so I challenge you take take a look at what you're currently eating and find just two or three opportunities to cut down on your fat sources that alone may already be enough to get you in a calorie deficit however chances are you're going to have to tweak your carbs as well but again small changes for breakfast I cut my usual pre-workout oatmeal from a full cup to a half for lunch I swap my 300 calorie tortilla wrap for two pasas that added up to just 120 calories and for dinner I cut my usual serving of rice in half and load it up up on extra veggies for fullness it didn't feel like I really changed anything yet the fat was quickly coming off let's be real the hardest part of any diet is the weekends believe me I've been there you're sticking to your plan all week but then social events come up you want to relax enjoy meals up with friends or family but at the same time you don't want to undo all your hard work it can feel like a lose lose situation but here's how I made weekends work for me a science back strategy called Planned honic deviation a fancy term for treat meals every Saturday or Sunday I boost my intake by 500 to 800 calories to enjoy a big meal guilt free sure it technically slowed down my weekly progress by day but in the long run it made sticking to my diet way more doable and gave me the Boost I needed for the next week ahead but focusing on your diet alone isn't enough combining it with a proper training plan can not only get you leaner faster but also plays a crucial role in helping you keep the fat off long term now while lifting weights should be your major Focus here there's a few tweaks that can make all the difference especially when it comes to your most stubborn muscle groups see from my experience and conversations with top coaches the muscles that are hardest to grow also tend to be at the highest risk of muscle loss during the diet to counteract this keep the volume high for those muscles for me my chest was always a weak point so during my diet I kept my chest volume High while cutting one to sets from stronger muscles like my back and arms the result 60 days later I was down 10 lbs of fat but my chest actually got stronger and seem to continue to grow that said be careful not to completely neglect any muscle groups either a new study released just this year found that any muscles that aren't trained in this case the inner thighs and calves will likely be burned off for energy so to lose more fat rather than muscle you probably benefit by following a program that doesn't neglect any me need your muscle groups especially your calves but as great as lifting weights is it doesn't burn nearly as many calories as you think and the fewer calories you burn every day the more you're going to have to cut PR your diet which can make stick into it a lot harder so what's the solution cardio obviously yes but here's a Twist the cardio you need doesn't have to evolve running jogging or hours on the stair Master what if I told you cardio workouts not only burn fewer calories than you'd expect but can also make you compensate by burning less energy throughout the rest of the day it's probably why some of you have noticed that even after adding more cardio to your routine your fat loss stalls the real solution Focus Less on cardio workouts and just set a daily step goal think about it the average person Burns about 60 calories per th000 steps so if you go from walking 4,000 to 6,000 steps a day that's an extra 120 calories burn doesn't sound like much but that's an extra pound of fat loss per month and you're much more likely to go for a 15-minute daily walk than a daily run but also be realistic while 10,000 steps a day is often the recommendation even for me that's tough to fit into my schedule so I aim for more achievable 8,000 steps per day as my minimum some days I H it just through walking while other days I might add in some running cardio or Sports it's less about how you get there and more about increasing your daily activity in a way you can actually stick to so with my nutrition workouts and steps in place here's what my weekly plan looked like but imagine this yo what up man I got something to show you you ready let's see D bro you look amazing thanks man thanks yo what's up bro hey bro dude what happened man I just don't want to talk about it the sad reality is more than 80% of people end up gaining the fat right back after the diet is over why it's not just about discipline it's about your physiology working against you this is me before the diet and here I am after who do you think burns more calories a day you think it would be the ri version of me right ra believe it or not before the diet I can get away with eating around 2800 calories a day but now anything over 2500 and I'd start gaining weight and if I tried to get even leaner let's say 10% body fat or below I'd probably have to eat just 2300 calories a day to maintain it which I just wouldn't be willing to do as for why this happens research suggests that for a 10% drop in body weight your metabolism takes a hit dropping by 20 to 25% so if you went down from 180 to 160 lb you'll now burn about 400 fewer calories each day this is exactly why within our built with science programs we not only teach you how to eat in a way that's sustainable both during and after the diet but we've also built a custom nutrition algorithm that tracks how your metabolism changes over time so you know exactly how much to eat to not just lose fat but keep the fat off for good but keeping the fat off isn't just about food research shows that one of the biggest factors in long-term fat loss is how active you are after the diet and that's why for me those 8,000 steps a day didn't just stop once I got lean they became even more critical especially with a slower metabolism which is again why setting a realistic step goal that you can actually stick to longterm is so crucial now while this three-step process is simple and I guarantee it will work for you I get it if this all still sounds really overwhelming so if you're looking for extra help and you want a done for you all-in-one program that guides you every single week to the best shape of your life then just head over to buildwi science.