I’m constantly amazed by how many fitness gurus give nutrition advice that they can’t follow themselves. While recently reading a great book by a great trainer, I decided to look up some video of him online. He weighed 270 lbs and looked like he just swallowed a bathtub. This wasn’t exactly the physique I was expecting. The advice he was giving was sound. However, he was just regurgitating what he had read from other writers. Although he had some success with weight loss, he just couldn’t maintain it. And that really is the key, isn’t it?
We can all lose a significant amount by not eating as much, but can you keep it off or is it optimal for performance? Here’s a kicker: Optimum nutrition for performance leads to a lean, healthy physique. So stop telling me that you’re a “strength athlete” when you really just can’t bring yourself to push your gut away from the table.
So what brilliance am I going to shed on a topic that has been flogged to death, dragged miles behind running horses, and beaten beyond recognition? Well, I have competed in weight classes from 181 lbs to 220 lbs. I’ve dropped weight quickly and put it on quickly. I’ve also maintained less than ten percent body fat for years at a time. In other words, I’ve been on both sides, and I can practice what I preach. Let me share what I believe are the top things to have in place to get lean and stay that way.
Have a plan: I’ve never met a single person who has been successful at losing and maintaining weight who didn’t have a plan. I don’t mean that person plans to lose weight. I mean that when you ask that person what he will eat for dinner tonight, he can tell you exactly. Take the time to sit down and make a weekly food plan. Stop whining and just do it. If you don’t have a plan, how do you know if it’s working or not? By the way, if you aren’t losing weight consistently after two weeks on your plan, it isn’t working.
Learn: Most people who fall off the wagon going out to dinner or at a party do so because they have no idea what would be the best choice of what is available. Here are two books you need to read:
- The Paleo Diet by Loren Cordain
- Protein Power Life Plan by Michael Eades
After reading these, you will know more about proper nutrition than 99 percent of the people in the US.
Stop making the decision: One hundred percent is easy; 99% is exhausting. I wish I knew who originally said this, but it is very true. When you choose to change your food choices, do it! Stop wondering if you can have the cupcake. You can’t! When you no longer have a choice, the choices are made for you. Stick to your plan and stop obsessing over the stuff you can’t have. Buckle down and get the results you’re looking for.
Losing weight and staying lean isn’t a process with an end. Proper nutrition is a lifestyle. You may have to give up some of the yummy stuff, but isn’t looking good, performing at your best, and living longer worth it?
PDF 
Eric Patterson is the lead trainer at Custom Fit, a private training studio in Evansville, Indiana. His powerlifting past led him to three silvers in world competition and five national titles. His current fitness goals are overall fitness focused around Olympic lifts, power lifts, Strongman, and kettlebell work. Eric can be reached at epatterson@cfpt.us and via his training blog at www.integratedsystemsfitness.com. 
Well, you just discredited Dan Duchaine, Bruce Pearl, Charlie Weiss, Mike Leach, Greg Jackson in one fell swoop.
All of their success in teaching others when they don’t “practice what they preach” must have been just a fluke.
I disagree with the Paleo Diet by Loren Cordain… Not that it matters what I think, I think he is pretty far off in this book.
BUT
Anything by Dr. Eades is a go!
Good Stuff.
I don’t understand the last section about stop making the decision. Strong healthy people can’t eat the occasional cupcake? If I plan for some treats during my week in moderation, isn’t that okay?
Enjoyed the article Eric. I will definitely program the “One hundred percent is easy; 99% is exhausting” quote in my mind. Thanks!
You can have the longer lifespan, I’ll eat what I want.
Hey Eric, i dont understand how you can give the thumbs up to two such carb-restricted diet approaches (i.e Paleo Diet and Protein Power), when your activity is so anaerobic – glycolytic based. I have tried both the Paleo Diet and Protein Power in the past with powerlifting and oly lifting, and such lack of carbs is rubbish for anaerobic-based sport performance.
If you are a trainer, yes you should look the part (well, atleast to gain clients). But, giving advice on dieting…thats just knowledge that anyone can gain from a book. Who cares what they look like? I worked with a “guru” when I was in bodybuilding who didnt look the part, but knew a hell of alot about dieting. I no longer eat and live that way (thank god), so does that mean if I gain 100lbs. I cant give sound advice on dieting either???
I’m not fat, I’m small muscled!
I agree with Eric point all theory no practice is useless. You need a pratical understanding of your teachings methods to truly apprepricate them. You don’t have to be the best in the world.
Does anyone else feel this should be posted on a bodybuilding and/or crossfit forum instead of here? Yes, good nutrition is important. No, not every lean person out there eats clean “100 %” of the time. As long as you are reaching your goal or the goal of your client ,does it matter that much? Results are what matters. If your getting the job done, why change?
Here in south west Michigan there is a place where acouple of guys help Boodybuilders,and othertraining people. but the kicker is is that the main guy had a stomach ring put in and then got his little ACE cert. and ISSA cert. But he has never put in the true work, I believe the proof is in the puddin. So to all, becarefullabout self proclaimed gurus. sit down read and take it all in. invest in books and and truth. Then apply it in the gym. results follow, and never be a scale addict. The goal is what you you are personally working for.
Tank @The Dungeon Gym Kalamazoo MI
Not everyone wants to loose weight. For those who do, yeah sure a lot of these points are good.
But, please don’t let crossfit take over this site. It already has ruined Power Magazine.
After reading this, I thought the last suggestion would be to do high-rep Oly lifts and kipping pullups with no rest between sets.
So true. The converse also holds: if you are skinny (and were never fat), you have no business giving diet advice.
I’ve run into so many skinny people who think it is easy to lose weight, even though they could force-feed themselves McD’s and still have a 6-pack. Gaining weight to them is in many ways like a fat person trying to lose weight. It can be done, but it takes hard work and a lot of dedication–something they just don’t know about when it comes to losing weight.
@ Rob…..check out Keiffer’s book called Carbnite. I cannot speak from personal experience (as I am not really trying to lose weight nor have I tried the diet), but it does seem to have some good data in reference to a low carb diet. It may be that when you did the other diets your other macronutrients were not in line to compensate for the low carbs. In addition, Keiffer does acknowledge that during the first week or two of the low carb diet lethargy is to be expected, until the body converts to utilizing fat more so than carbs. Also by using his perscribed, “Carbnite” the body is refilled weekly with a large amount of carbs. Again, I am not endorsing his diet, only saying it may be a good resource to review.
The Paleo Diet for Athletes is a great book. Depending on my goals I’ve both lost and gained weight while following it’s guidelines by simply adjusting how much I ate.
jeremy being a little harsh aren’t you? Dan duchain was an expert on steroids, something that not every one wants to do. Here we are talking about dieting something that every one needs to do.
So I may just be stupid but I don’t understand that quote about 100% and 99%
People, people..I understand what you’re saying. / Decision time: Do we toss him into the cage match fight against Steve Pulcinella or give him a chance against the hungry Kodiak bear??!?
@Dan. Yes, you must be stupid.
I understand where Eric is coming from. I train a lot of bodybuilders, and I can’t tell you how frustrating it is when a judge tells one of them he/she needs to work on adding hamstring mass or develop the lat inserts further when it looks like he needs his wife to tie his shoes. That being said doesn’t mean that he is wrong. A lot of the best nutritionist and trainers I have met have been strongman builds or powerlifters. The opposite can also be said, when a 360lbs powerlifter is being given pointers by a 180lbs trainer that looks like he might break if he squatted the bar. So basically what I am saying is this “Opinions are like @$$ holes…. Everyone’s got one” sometimes we all just need to remember that and stick to what works.
Check out Robb Wolf’s book Paleo Solution. He worked with Cordain for years on the Paleo nutrition. I’ve read both books and I think Robb’s book is a better starting place.
I also read Paleo Solution for Athletes, and its purely designed for endurance athletes. It has very litte applicability for power and strength athletes. Although Coradin admits more carbs may be needed, the recommendations are still woefully low for power and strength athletes. The whole ‘becoming a fat burner’ idea may have some use for ultraendurance athletes, but not for power / strength athletes because of the absolute need Type II muscle fibres have for glycogen (carbs). This is a fundamental physiological fact of the types of muscle metabolism involved in these kind of sports, and no pseudo-evolutionary theories will change that.
I havent read Wolff’s book, but i previewed some bits of it on the web, and it still seemed pretty much like every other paleo cult book out there – fine for the Average Joe, but generally poor (due to inherent carb restriction) at meeting requirements for athletic performance, esp. strength training.
Without some serious modifications, the paleo diet recommendations do not hold up in the real world for intermediate and experienced power and strength athletic performance.
So let us see what logically follows from this pattern of thought.
If you are fat, you cannot give diet advice (can’t practice what you preach).
If you are skinny, you cannot give diet advice (never been fat, don’t have any experience)
So, it seems no one can give diet advice.
This is a called a genetic fallacy, you are discounting the advice of someone based on something other than the quality of that advice, in this case the source, a fat or a skinny person. Articles like this are just silly, they belong elsewhere.
Case in point I would trust Dave Tate’s experience with losing bodyfat even if he bloated up to 330 again and looked like shit. Yes, he has done it, but the author’s claim is go by how someone looks and clearly if Dave is 330 again, he’s not practicing what he preaches. So, don’t listen to him.
Just finished reading Cordain’s book. A must for anyone in the muscle game.
Just a thought but I know tons of guys that are on (injections) that have no idea what they are doing in nutriton or training that are at or below 10 percent BF and have beach muscles out their asses. I guess my point is that for a natural person to be big and strong they will have a tough time being lean. So when some shredded/roided dude that eats llike shit but looks good tries to say “you need to do this” i have a hard time with the whole practice what you preach thing.
Not totally disagreeing with the author, but check out Anthony Colpo for some perspective on the low carb craze. No matter what, in the end it’s all about your goals, your willingness to achieve them, and obviously what works for you..
Disagree.
great article, i often look around at out of shape people in the industry and wonder who the hell is taking them seriously. And in that last sentence their you could add “if your not willing to give up the yummy stuff, then your goal isn’t appropriate for you and get comfortable in the skin your in!”
Honestly, I learned more from the comment section to this “article” then I did from the article itself. The author is very narrow minded and seems to have a lean towards fads (paleo) and an elitist cult type mentality (is this guy a crossfitter “god” or does he just talk like one?). If there is ANYTHING we should have all learned by now is that there is no ONE diet that works for everyone and there is no ONE training program that works for everyone. Also, everyone has different goals.
Now, if you don’t mind, I am going to go eat a cupcake!
I agree with the article.
A person trying to dispense dieting advice does not need to look like a pro bodybuilder, but should at least look like a normal human being, not a repulsive, vaguely humanoid blimp. Unless the topic of their dieting is “How to Eat Yourself Clinically Obese “, which is also fine if that’s what you’re into. One should not promote certain principles if one obviously does not believe in them, it undermines their authority on the topic. Like someone trying to teach you how to squat 800 lbs. when their own squat is around 200 – you are more likely to take the advice of the guy squatting 900, or someone who worked up to 700 through hard work.
95% of nutritional advice and “weight loss secrets” seem to be regurgitation of stuff that has been around for at least the past 50 years. Throw in the occassional fat person advising you against running, and you have the field of nutrition gurus of today.
Now, many people have no problem with “eating what they want” and remaining severely overweight and morbidly obese. It is their lifestyle of choice, and such individuals will probably not seek nutritional advice. Those who do should take advice from people who know something about weight loss.
The author of this article appears to gain his own credibility in writing the article by claiming 10% Bf for years. 10% bodyfat at 180 – 200lbs is not an impressive achievement to be honest.
Some of the most gifted nutritionists I know are big, somewhat lean, guys – because it takes an understanding to achieve both that it doesn’t take to be 180lbs at 10%
I agree with all those that pointed out the whiff of crossfit to this article.
Thumbs down
Guy & Gals,
If you don’t get the “100% vs. 99% thing, I would just forget it – it doesn’t apply to you. I see 2 different ways this idea can apply to some people;
One is, if you’re a sugar-addict, like I am, it’s sooo hard to have just a little. Even too many complex carbs and I’m fighting off the desire for a binge. Second, some bodies are so sensitive to sugar that all it takes is a little to slow or stop the fat burning process, even if it doesn’t trigger a binge.
More power to those of you who can eat carbs moderately and have the body you want (lucky bastards). For some of us, the “cupcake or no cupcake” thing has to be categorical, or we stop losing fat or eat the whole damn pan AND 2 containers of frosting along with it.
If you are weak, quit telling me anything
You CAN put on mass with the paleo diet. Maybe not the freakish mass all of the meatheads that do nothing but half squat and bench press are looking for. But you can put on mass, and drop lbs, depending on your goal. To completely discredit that as a crossfit fad is simply ignorant.
Good SIMPLE article Eric.
I agree with this. I wouldn’t take diet advice from Kirstie Alley or Kate Moss. It’s not that if you’re fat (or sickly thin) that you don’t know what you’re talking about, it may very well be that you do. Except life is not a “textbook scenarios” – it would be like reading a book on wildlife survival from someone who has only read books on wildlife survival or tested his knowledge by camping in his backyard for the weekend. — sure he can spit the information back out but until the person has put these facts into practice how can he legitimately know what he’s talking about?? How can he accurately explain what you may face.
I’m taking away on the 100 vs 99% thing — On weight watchers (for example) you can have one smal cupcakel, on paleo (for example) no cupcake – so if one small cupcake is okay, then the next day another one is okay and if that’s okay than a few small cookies will be okay and if it’s okay once today than it will okay twice today and if one is okay than 2 will okay —- where as NONE MEANS NONE! and zero is much clearer than “a little”
i think i kinda understand what his point hes trying to make is, and correct me if i’m wrong please, but if you’re looking to learn how to lose weight while properly training, and you’re looking for some guidance from a trainer or “diet guru”, you’ll be more inclined to take advice from one who looks like they know what they are talking simply from appearance. even if the information is the same, but one of the trainers looks like an overweight coach potato and the other looks like derek poundstone, i can guaruntee 9 times outta 10 poeple will pick the latter of the two. and i know, as cliche as it is, you can’t judge a book by its cover. but lets be honest, how many times are people quick to judge someone straight on appearrance alone before that person being judged can even open their mouth? if the information is sound, screw it. it shouldn’t be a huge deal. but i do understand kinda where erics coming from. good article.
@fatman
hit the nail on the head with that post. true story.
Ok,
first of all…i Lost 120 lbs. Losing weight is tough business. I used to be 300lbs and boy did I love my food. I got serious and lost the weight. I agree with the 100% and 99% thing you’re going with, but at the same time I believe life is too short to be giving upp all your favorite shit. My opinion, if you become someone who is passionate about training…stick with the 100% for now. Once you met your goals, you have a little elbow room for a cupcake because you already met your goals and you’re going to train it off anyways. If you want even further results…eat as clean as you can, enjoy now and then, and most importantly be happy. Now that way, you can meet your training goals and enjoy the only once chance at life you got.
Do I look like a bodybuilder? No. Do I look like Bill Kaz? No. Honestly, I am a strong dude…with great stats to back up my lifting performance but I am a average looking-joe The point I am trying to make is, I am knowledgeable on losing weight and the main thing is I am STILL trying to achieve my physique goals. I aim to change my phsyique goals week by week, year by year. I will get stronger, better conditioned, and better looking. I can most definitely give advice even if I look….just average.
By the way, I lost most of my weight via low-carbs. The Paleo is a good suggestion. Never read it, but I know it’s principles. As for that dude who said you cannot get strong or yada yada on low-carb diets…I call bullshit. The author himself held several powerlifting titles. Myself deadlifted 610lbs while weighing 200. Enough said.
Moving and potent! Youve definitely got a way of reaching folks that I havent seen extremely typically. If a lot of people wrote about this subject with the eloquence that you simply just did, Im certain people would do a lot more than just read, theyd act. Wonderful stuff here. Please maintain it up.