The Warrior Diet Experiment, Part 2
01/31/2009
Goal. My goal is to lose 100 pounds of bodyfat using the Warrior Diet.
The experiment. To see how much lean muscle mass I can retain while losing 100 pounds of fat on the Warrior Diet.
Current weight. 282.2 pounds, 01/31/2009. Beginning weight. 307 pounds, 12/31/2008.
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Overview. My first month on the Warrior Diet is over, and it has exceeded my expectations in every way. My strength is up. I have great energy during the day. I am sleeping better. I do not crave junk food. I am rapidly losing weight.
I never expected, even in my wildest dreams, to lose 25 pounds in a month. I have tried to cut weight several times before, and have never lost more then 18 pounds in the first month.
The true test of how this experiment is going will take place at the end of February. At this time I will be measuring my bodyfat using a skin fold caliper. To restate the goal of this experiment…I want to see how much muscle I lose on the Warrior Diet while losing one hundred pounds of fat.
Energy. One of the most surprising aspects during the first month is my daily energy. I do not feel sluggish or tired during the day, even when I get less then desirable sleep. Before the Warrior Diet, at least 30-40% of the time during the day, I had the yawns, and could think of little else other then going home. On the Warrior Diet, I feel very, very good…and have not had a day like that yet.
It was also common for me to get tired before my workout. I drive one hour home each night, and would often hit the gym with zero motivation. That is not an issue now. On the Warrior Diet I never feel tired driving home, and almost always feel mentally strong and ready to workout.
Pre-workout Meal. Going in to the Warrior Diet, I was very concerned about not eating a pre-workout meal. I have never trained on an empty stomach, and feared loss of energy, lightheadedness and weakness. But the opposite has happened. My strength is going up, and I never feel weak or tired. I feel much better then pre-Warrior Diet.
Strength. Though my strength improvements have been consistent on the Warrior Diet, they have been noticeably better during the last week of this month. I don’t know if my body is adapting to the Warrior Diet, or if I am simply going through a strong phase. In either case, my bench press, deadlift, overhead press, back, biceps, triceps, etc, are all up in weight on the Warrior Diet.
Sleep. On bodybuilding diets, I had a tendency to flush water at night while I was sleeping. I would have to make 2-4 trips to the bathroom to urinate. On the Warrior Diet, I tend to flush water during the day, which is helping me sleep better.
In general, my sleep is more satisfying and refreshing on the Warrior Diet. I still have plenty of mornings in which the alarm clock goes off and I want to stay in bed, but I almost never feel exhausted an hour after getting up.
Workouts. I have been using Bulldozer Training exclusively during this experiment, and it has been awesome. I love the training style. During my first week on the Warrior Diet, I was hesitant to work out over 30 minutes. I feared loss of energy and strength. For the last three weeks my workouts have been about 40-50 minutes, and all is well.
Bulldozer training incorporates controlled fatigue (rest pause), and can be used for strength or bodybuilding training.
2 PM. At approximately 2 p.m. every afternoon, something strange happens to my body. I start to feel more aggressive, strong and mentally aware. It is almost as if every function in my body has been turned up a notch. It appears as if this is a reaction to the upcoming overeating meal. Maybe my brain is unlocking some primal switch, priming me for the upcoming hunt and kill. Either way, I am more then ready for my workout.
Next update. The next article/update in this series will come at the end of February. This will be a critical moment in the experiment, as I will get to find out how much muscle I have lost.
Success. The following list shows how I will view the success/failure of this Warrior Diet experiment…
- Complete Success. No muscle loss. 180 lean mass, 27 pounds fat. 13.0% BF
- Quality Success. 5 pounds muscle loss. 175 pounds lean mass, 27 pounds fat. 13.4% BF
- Success. 10 pounds muscle loss. 170 pounds lean mass, 27 pounds fat. 13.7% BF
- Failure. 20 pounds muscle loss. 160 pounds lean mass, 27 pounds fat. 14.4% BF
- Complete failure. 30 pounds muscle loss. 150 pounds lean mass, 27 pounds fat. 15.3% BF
I will also consider it a minor failure if I lose any strength over the course of this experiment.
Notes. I am in no way affiliated with the Warrior Diet, or Ori Hofmekler. I am not a Warrior Diet jedi. nor do I believe one way or the other if the Warrior Diet is a valid muscle-retaining, fat loss option for weight trainers. Ori Hofmekler states that it is, and my experiment exists merely to take a look at the Warrior Diet’s viability. For more info on the Warrior Diet, visit the WD site.
Questions. It is best to reach me with questions via my blog. My email address is a few lines down on this page.
Way to go great results!
Thanks Steve…this diet has been amazing. I hope all is well with you.
Good for you! I tried the warrior diet about a year ago now and I’ve not had any issues. I’ve gone off and on it to try different types of diets, and I sorta just gave into my binge desires over the holidays for a week or two, but I’ve been pretty honest about sticking to the eating pattern. I’m the type of person who won’t stick to something if I can’t stand it, so that shows the warrior diet is a maintainable lifestyle. If you would like to know more about research done on the “warrior diet” lifestyle, google intermittent fasting. Same concept, only much more actual research to back it up.
Thanks. I think I will do a little Googling.
As I have mentioned before, i was using the Warrior Diet before I knew what it was…so it is really easy for me to fall back in line…as opposed to a bodybuilding diet, in which I fall off the horse very easily.
Nice job Steve! I just found your videos on youtube. I v’e just started, again, the Warrior Diet. My goals are similar to yours…I’m 5′ 11” 320 pounds @ 37% BF. Immediate goal is to break the 300 lb barrier within 2 months. I’ll be doing a video diary starting this weekend. I’ll keep checking here to see how you progress and cheer you on to your success!
Paul…good to hear from you, and I wish you the best of luck. Please let me know when you have a video up…and consider joining the forum. We could use more WD-ers…
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Hi Steve,
When will you be posting part 3 of your Warrior Diet experiment?
Guys i wanna get on this diet. I have Ori’s book ive read it a couple of times. How do i cook the meat in water im not to good at cooking can someone help me out. Can some help me get some recipes or follow someones eating phase. Great job on the diets guys
Hi Ryan,
I will be doing Part three at the end of March. February was an OK month, but I had a few cheat days and didn’t want to do Part 3 while only losing 6 pounds.
Hector…
Maybe you can head over the the forum and ask the same question…I’m sure you’ll get quite a bit of help. For me personally, I purchase a lot of chicken and tuna in a can (already cooked), and I also get protein from cheese, milk, almonds, beans and protein powder. I end up tossing the chicken/tuna in a rice dish, and add beans.
Chicken…cook on moderate to low heat on the stovetop…after it looks white, cut the breast in half to make sure it’s cooked.
When are you going to post part 3? Did you give up on it? It is October now! I wanted to read it :(
Hi Steve,
I read how you started as a skinny kid with tiny wrists and gained 58lbs of muscle. I was very impressed. So when I read your weight had reached 307lbs after a 10 year lay off I was quite shocked. Why the lay off for somebody with your passion for lifting? And do you think constantly bulking and shedding contributed to your fat gain? It does seem to lend weight to the theory that when you add a lot of extra fat cells, even when you drain them they will refill at the slightest opportunity. If so, it seems you may always have to be very careful with your diet, because carrying 100lbs of fat with your small bone structure will only cause problems in the future. Anyway I wish you luck with the diet
Hi Chris,
My gain came from poor eating, a job that gave me little sleep or 5 years and a quickly slowing metabolism. My poor genetics simply quickly caught up with me.