I’ve had a ton of people ask me about my first 6 weeks this year and how I lost 24 pounds (12% body fat) so quick.  Because of this I put together a plan of exactly what I did and people have been starting on the Jeven Plan… haha.

Some Thoughts

After dropping this weight I feel a world of a difference.  I don’t feel like crap when waking up. My days are 10x more productive. When I want to do something athletic, I don’t even think twice about getting myself up and out the door.

This plan is a life change. If you don’t commit then there is no point. Below is my plan to both help your physical, diet and mental approach to your day

My History

I was a swimmer for 12+ years working 6 days a week all the way up through college.  However, that was super unrealistic to keep up as soon as I graduated.  My free time was cut way down and my energy was put into work… So I let my diet and fitness slide.  Didn’t realize it affected me this much until after these 6 weeks.  I have many friends that are trainers and nutritionists as well as I’ve worked in a gym for over a year. Because of this I’ve been surrounded by different peoples advice and have heard many things about what works and what doesn’t.  My plan is a combination of everything that I’ve learned over the years.

First – Diet

This is HUGE!  I changed my diet and within a week I was already down at least 8 lbs as well as felt 100% better.

When starting this diet you got to stick to it.  I know it’s tough especially when things are thrown in your face everday, but after 6 weeks of doing this I now dont really miss what I use to eat.

The bad news before the good

1 – No dairy

• Ya this is tough. No cheese, yogurt, milk, creamer
• Alternatives: Almond Milk (the best for you), Hemp milk or Coconut milk.  Don’t do Rice or Soy milk.

2 – No Red Meat

• Eat only Chicken or Turkey.  Make sure your meat is lean and is not pumped full of water.

3 – No Bread

• This is exactly what it sounds like.  Yes NO BREAD.

4 – No Rice or Starch

• Sorry pasta and sushi lovers (trust me this was hard because I was always at sushi)

5 – Nothing Artificial, 0-little sugar

• If you’re eating sugar make sure its coming from a fruit or something healthy.  Don’t be eating candy or other crap

6 – NO SODA OR JUICE!!!

• I dont know how many times I have to tell people this.  SODA is awful for you. Juice is not far behind. There are tons of calories in each and sugar. Just cut it completely out unless you’re juicing things yourself.

7 – No Alcohol!

• This I know for some people is not doable. However, drinking tons of beer kills your chance of loosing a bunch of weight and makes you feel like crap.  Think about limiting your drinking to specific days and giving yourself plenty of time in between nights you go out.

So what do you eat?

1 – Vegetables…. A ton of these

• A huge part of your diet is now going to be composed of veggies and there are lots of these out there.

2 – Chicken & Turkey

• Here is the other base of your diet. Remember make sure it’s lean and not chalked full of salt water.
• Fast food chicken doesnt count… no chicken McNuggets for you!

3 – Fruit, in moderation

• Fruit does have a bunch of sugar, but it is natural. Just don’t eat only fruit.
• Bananas only in the early morning. They have a bunch of carbs and will get to you if eaten later in the day.
• Apples are a great way to curve appetite and help you not eat as much.  Eat one apple 15-20 minutes before each meal and it will help you control portion size.

4 – Berries are your best friend

• As you will see in my eating schedule below berries provide a great base for meal replacement shakes.

And that is about it.  I know it looks like you are super limited in what you eat, but trust me it is way easy to change your diet to this. The only thing you have to watch out for is when people wave food in front of your face.

Cheating on your Diet

It is very tough to keep this up sometimes. So once in a while let yourself have that snickers bar or handful of potato chips. You’ll keep your sanity and stick to your new way of eating. Just don’t go crazy with it.  Maybe once a week have 1 burger or one small fry or go out and drink one night.  Just remeber everything you do does affect you.

Water

Water is now your best friend. You have to drink way more water than you think per day. It’s common knowledge that people should drink 8 glasses a day, but really this is something you should monitor.  For my weight I need to drink around 160oz a day.  That is 5 nalgene bottles full.  Because of this I keep a piece of paper taped to my water bottle and check off each time I down 32oz.  This is harder than you think.  It’s a ton of water to get through and i find myself forgetting (which is why I use the check system).

Going Shopping

There are so many things at the store that you are tempted to buy but dont!  My general rule of thumb is all the stuff you’re going to need is on the outer ring.  I don’t even go up and down the aisles anymore.

Trader Joes – Great for frozen veggies.  Cheap and wide selection

Whole foods – Good quality but expensive

Vons/Ralphs/Safeway – If that’s what you got near you then go for it.

Framers Market – Best selection and usually very fresh.

Costco – perfect for large quantities of food.  Perfect for frozen berries.

If you need some help at first I can help you walk through your first trip to the grocery store on this plan.  I’ve actually taken a couple friends now to go shopping and help show what is good or bad.

Food Journal

This is important so you know exactly how each thing you eat affects you and what is in it.  This is something you do for 1 week and after that you should have a good idea of what you should be putting in your mouth and how much you should be putting in your mouth.

Keep track of what you’re eating.  This means everything!

Also keep track of how many calories you take in.

 Caloric Intake

You should be taking in enough calories to get you through your day, but you want to be burning more calories per day than you’re bringing in.  There are tons of websites out there to help you figure out what that number is.   Generally I keep my intake below 2000 on an average day when working out.

Time To Work Out

Diet is 1/2 of the puzzle.  The other half is working out. You will change a ton just by eating right, but if you want to really feel a difference then you gotta stick to a plan.

I workout 5-6 days a week now.  However, I did not start kicking my butt this hard at first. Especially if you haven’t done a sport or really worked out for long periods of time, don’t start with overkill.  You’ll never make it 6 weeks.

Day to Day

Start by just incorporating more activity to your everyday life. This means ride your bike instead of driving your car. Walk instead of driving. Everyone has something close by that they can use as a way to get out and move.  I ride my bike, walk or skateboard everywhere I go if I don’t have to have my car.

Time to move

Once you’re ready to actually put some time into working out then you need to find an activity you enjoy doing. If you don’t like running then why would you run?  Think about your options and find something that will get you sweating for at least an hour a day.

Sprinting

The most effective way to drop that weight is to be sprints.  Long distance and endurance activities will defiantly help and I encourage you to do them, however, if you really want to see a drop you gotta do sprint workouts.  For example jump on a bike and do 1 minute moderate pace on #9 and 30 seconds hard pace on #14.  Switch back and forth between these for 20-30 minutes.

You can incorporate sprinting into most workouts.  Just add a few sprints here and there, just don’t push to hard and hurt yourself.  Make sure you are always in control and stop before you pull, rip or overwork a muscle.

My Workouts

If you’re curious to know what I did then below is how I approached my 6 weeks.

Week 1-2

• 30 minute bike sprint sets 2 to 3 times per week.
• 1 hour boxing class 3 times a week.
• Worked out 4 or 5 days each week.

Week 3 -4

• 1 hour Boxing 5 days
• Day 6 was an all day hike (8 – 11 hours)

Week 5-6

• 1 hour boxing 6 days a week.
• Multiple workouts per day (add a run or hike on boxing days)
• Day 6 more intense hike.  (Climb mountain with little breaks)

Post 6 weeks

• Box 5-6 days a week
• Adding in longer more intense hikes/climbs
• Run or bike on top of boxing

Obviously your schedule will dictate how much you are able to workout, however, you need to make time to get away and not think about work life for at least an hour a day.

Time Management

For many of us, incorporating time to workout is next to impossible with our busy schedules.  I myself am working 2 jobs while freelancing and trying to get my personal pet photography (www.pawsforaphoto.com) business off the ground. However, I’m still able to fit in working out at least once a day and still do all of this.  The key is managing your time correctly and putting your effort in the right places.  I often feel like I take on more than I can handle but I make it work.  Sometimes you have to sacrifice.  Sometimes you have to work from the minute you get up to the minute you go to sleep.  That’s just the way it is.  Plan things out and make sure you have enough time for all your activities throughout the day.

1 day a week

I try to give myself at least 1 day a week where I can walk away from everything and do something for yourself.  One of my new years resolutions was to get out and hike at least once a week. Find what it is that makes your happy or frees your mind.  Could be as simple as turning off computers phones etc and just reading a book. Basically disconnect and give yourself time for you. Use this as your recovery day if you wish and just do nothing.