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Another day at the gym with a cheesecake in the oven back at home.

You might’ve already seen over on my facebook page, that I recently made a caramel cheesecake in the name of fitness.
Sure it has a million calories in it, but will that stop me from enjoy a slice of it?
Hell no.
In fact, I’m gonna force my friends and family to eat it with me.

Don’t get me wrong…

I don’t have some crazy metabolism that allows me to eat whatever I want – but I know ill be in the gym next week for 4 days and back on track. In fact, I’ve even mentioned a few times about the positive effects of throwing your body into a calorie surplus every now and then (read: every weekend).
It can actually help you to burn MORE fat.

But I digress…

When I say ‘all the time’, I don’t mean 3 slices of cheesecake a day, everyday until the end of time.

Here’s a common scenario

• A friend calls you up and asks you to ‘come out for beer and pizza and ice cream and so on’ Friday night.
• You’re strict as hell when it comes to your diet and training.
• You go for days at a time without popping so much as a slice of ‘oxygen’ into your mouth to avoid unwanted fat gain.
Impossible you think. My six-pack is quivering at the very thought of all those carbs.
What if there was a way?

How to eat whatever you want all the time without gaining fat

Well there is, and it’s called Intermittent Fasting

I’ve talked about this before… Yes I have.
Why am i mentioning fasting again? because the cheesecake reminded me of it that’s why.
I can attribute a HUGE chunk of my success in obtaining existential leanness, to the almighty gods of intermittent fasting.
The beauty of Intermittent Fasting is that on a normal training day, you CAN eat various unhealthy foods when you want to.

My eating regimen loosely goes like this…

Morning – Eat nothing. I train at 6am, consume small doses of BCAA’s before and after training
Lunchtime – More often than not, it’ll be french toast with maple syrup, a banana-laden monster protein shake and several small, furry animals if they happen to be nearby.
Mid afternoon – a slice of cheesecake perhaps? Another shake? Anything with a hit of protein.
Dinner time – another biggish meal to round out the day – maybe stir fry, pasta, bbq chook, a heap of vegetables – whatever’s around.

How does this work with the ‘friend calls me out for pizza’ scenario?

Fast in the morning, cut back on the mid-afternoon snack I outlined above, and you should be good to go out and tie one on.
Basically limit your food/drink/calorie intake early in the day as you’ll be making up for it later on no doubt!

Intermittent fasting works without having to be overly strict

I’m all for sticking to a healthy eating plan, but I find it much easier to follow long-term if the plan can be altered here and there and even forgotten altogether if something crops up which will see you eating a whole pizza at 3am (not recommended).

Still not convinced that you can eat whatever you want without gaining fat?

Greg Plitt (the man who’s body they used for Dr Manhattan in the movie ‘Watchmen’) might not intermittently fast ‘on purpose’, but he does only eat one meal a day (and it’s a BIG one). You can see how he handles a big fasting window, whilst still being able to eat what he wants over here.

Also, checkout an earlier post on how I fast/train on a regular basis.

Oh, and ‘Like’ my facebook page if you get a second ;).

Clint Nielsen

Author Clint Nielsen

Clint is a dad and husband trying to stay in shape. He's also a highly opinionated fitness enthusiast and author of Reveal The Steel. Follow him on: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Google+

More posts by Clint Nielsen

Join the discussion 10 Comments

  • Harris says:

    Hi Clint,
    I wonder if it’s a good idea to eat only one meal like Greg does?
    Should i try it or do LG 5 days a week like you do?

    • Clint Nielsen says:

      Well Greg is in a unique situation – he trains a LOT and often twice a day. If your own regimen matches his, it might be worth experimenting with.
      It’s all about trial and error for your own circumstances. What works for him may not work for you.
      In terms of leangains – I like eating, so I couldn’t imagine limiting myself to a once a day feed.
      By skipping only breakfast, I can eat at different times through out the day.

  • Clint,

    Great point on intermittent fasting. I use a combination of intermittent fasting, exercise, and carb cycling to master “the art of cheating” and indulge in my favorite foods on a regular basis without gaining any weight.

    Alykhan

  • The benefits of intermittent fasting are pretty clear. Nice link to the interview with Gregg. He is one jacked dude although as a former wrestling champion and army ranger, I guess I’m not surprised. Definitely seems like an intense routine that he’s following. One meal per day with a couple hours of exercise might be effective but probably not as lifestyle friendly as I’d like.

  • Tex says:

    Saltlick is a great place for atmosphere and good but not great BBQ, but I would have gone to the city of Lockhart for BBQ…It’s better.

    Just a little FYI when you are back around that neck of the woods.

  • Harley says:

    Clint, I wanna do this – but i am more likely to train at night than in the morning. How do i do this?

  • Sam Childs says:

    Nice post!

    Eat stop eat has a great fasting plan, I bet you have got a copy of that.

  • Al says:

    I have been a member of Greg Plitt’s website several months and something I wanted to mention is that his diet is more strict than what people might believe. Greg has posted several nutrition videos and while yes he does a eat one meal a day, that meal mostly consists of meat and veggies. He might eat whatever he wants but most of the time he keeps it very clean. Just to clarify.

    One meal a day of meat and veggies + 2 hours of exercise a day = Greg Plitt-type results

    I think the hardest part of this whole process is how one handles the tough situations that one think can completely destroy their efforts. Cliff seems that have that part of the equation handled.

    • Clint Nielsen says:

      Not only does he eat clean, but his genetics have a lot to answer for.
      I do believe that most could achieve similar results if they followed his regimen to the letter. However, I am doubtful anyone would have the dedication to do so (nor the need that one does when they adopt ‘celebrity’ status :)).

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