Warrior Diet Experiment

[Muscle and Brawn]

The Warrior Diet Experiment, Part 1

12/31/2008

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.

Beginning weight. 307 pounds, 12/31/2008

Beginning lean mass. 180 pounds.

Beginning bodyfat. 127 pounds.

Beginning bodyfat %. 41.37%

Eating. The Warrior Diet is vastly different from a standard bodybuilding diet. I will be eating only minimal calories during the day, and one huge meal at night. My nightly meal will occur sometime between 5 - 6:30 p.m. each night.

During the day, I will eat only the following…1 can tomato juice, 1 apple, 2 pieces string cheese. Total calories = 290.

At night, during my single large meal, I will consume 1,800 calories. These calories will consist of healthy food…chicken, tuna, almonds, black beans, rice, quinoa, beef, salsa, broccoli, peas, corn, milk, cheese, etc. I will eat as healthy as possible, but may occasionally “cheat” and have a couple hundred calories of popcorn, ice cream, etc.

I may, depending on how the weight loss progression is going, include one cheat day a month where I allow myself to eat an additional 1,000 - 2,000 calories on a single day.

The average calories I will intake daily = 2,100.

Background. I started lifting in 2007 after a 10 year layoff. I was 310 pounds at the time. In 4 months I gained muscle and strength while getting my weight down to 228 pounds. My lean mass at that time was 178 pounds. Also, my lifts were…bench press 300, squat 405, deadlift 505. I lost the weight during this period using a standard bodybuilding style cutting diet. I gained at least 10 pounds of muscle mass while losing the fat, mostly because of muscle memory.

But, by Thanksgiving and Christmas 2007, I was quickly back up to 255-260 pounds.

In early 2008, I tore my left shoulder at work and couldn’t lift for 8 months. My diet slowly went to hell, and my weight crept back up to 290. After another round of Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc, I find myself back up to 307 pounds.

Why? Why experiment with the Warrior Diet?

    * Because I can. I have 100 pounds of fat to spare, so who better to experiment with the Warrior Diet’s viability.
    * I am a big eater. Standard bodybuilding diets drive me mad. I like a big meal after working out (which is right after work). When not training, I have almost always resorted to eating little during the day. So, the Warrior Diet is more instinctive for me.
    * For others. I want to document my muscle loss during the fat loss process so that others can determine if the Warrior Diet is a viable option for their goals.
    * Muscle memory. If the program is a failure, I still have muscle memory in my favor. I can up the caloric ante slightly after the experiment, and know that the mass will come back relatively quickly.

Training. I have never trained on an empty stomach. To be honest, this is the hardest part of the Warrior Diet for me. I am afraid that my workouts, and strength, will suffer.

I am altering my training during this experiment to a workout I call Bulldozer training. It is a melding of Doggcrapp and Max-stim. Here it is in a nutshell…

Day 1…Back.

Deadlift, 20 reps. Using approximately 70-75% of my 1RM, I will perform singles, with only enough rest between reps to regain my sanity. I will perform the rep, stand, shake out my hands, take a few deep breaths, work out the kinks, and then perform another rep. Generally, a 20 rep set performed in this manner will take 10-15 minutes.

T-bar rows and/or DB Rows, 20 reps. Using a weight I can perform 8-10 reps with, I will perform 6 reps, and then rack the weight. I will then take 10-15 deep breaths, and perform more reps. I will continue this “rest-pause” cycle until I hit 20 total reps. I will NOT train to failure.

Day 2…off

Day 3…Chest, shoulders.

Bench press, 20 reps. Same set style as T-bar Rows.

Overhead press, 20 reps. Same set style as T-bar Rows.

Day 4…off

Day 5…Legs

Squats, 20 reps. Same set style as T-bar Rows.

Ham Curls, 20 reps. Same set style as T-bar Rows.

Day 6…off

Day 7…repeat cycle or take the day off….

As you can see, I am training primarily with heavy compound lifts, and will not be directly training biceps, triceps, calves, abs, traps, forearms, etc. I want to keep my workouts short, intense, and heavy.

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.

Updates. I will be weighing in and taking bodyfat levels every 2 weeks, and posting the results here. I will also note general observations. Video logs will come as I feel necessary, and when I have the time.

Questions. It is best to reach me with questions via my blog. My email address is a few lines down on this page (http://muscleandbrawn.com/about/).

[Muscle and Brawn]

My Vlog, part 1a and 1b...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlzR0anYA-I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsShuLPKlrU

[Muscle and Brawn]

My first day lifting on the Warrior Diet. I was afraid my energy level was going to be zip. I felt darn good physically, and hammered out my workout without any light-headedness or dizziness.

Deadlifts, 365 x 20 reps

T-Bar Rows, 125 x 6/4/3/3/2/2

T-bar set was rest-paused, and not trained to failure. Deadlifts were rest-paused singles, with slight rest in between to gain my sanity.

[Muscle and Brawn]

My second workout while on the Warrior Diet, and my second go around with Bulldozer training. My shoulders are ab-so-freakin-lutely fried. I have never had a workout blast my shoulders this hard. My front and side delts feel like they are about to explode. My chest and triceps feel gorged, and hit hard.

My "empty stomach" training is going much better then I expected. My stomach grumbled a bit after the bench press set, but I wasn't feeling weak or dizzy.

My third day on the Warrior Diet, and no noticeable problems or side effects. I am handling daytime hunger much more easily than I handled nighttime cravings. On a standard bodybuilding diet, I would eat my last meal post-workout, and feel hungry as a bear the rest of the night. Not to mention that I would be so grumpy, that I had to really monitor myself so that I didn't say something out of place to my wife and children.

The grumpiness is non-existent so far on the Warrior Diet. The big meal at night is leaving me satisfied. I can honestly say that I look forward to the night meal, but I do not feel like the need for food is in any way controlling my daytime thoughts. In fact, I am finding that I think about food less now during the day, now that I don't have another bodybuilding meal coming up in 2.5 hours.

Weekends on a bodybuilding cutting diet were always hell. I would count the minutes until I could eat again. I feel as if a burden has been lifted.

Anyway, post-workout piece of string cheese down the hatch!

Chest/Shoudlers

Workout time: 29:04

On each set today, I took 10 deep breaths after racking the weight, and then got under the bar and lifted again. I did NOT train to failure. On overhead presses, I had to pull some weight off the bar after 8 reps. I experienced the same phenomenon while using German Volume Training. My shoulders lose strength quickly under rest-pause duress. As far as I can tell, this weakness is not related to the Warrior Diet.

Bench Press

225 x 7/3/2/2/2/2/1/1

Overhead BB Press

155 x 6/2
135 x 3/2/2/2/2/1

[starandcrescent]

Good luck bro.  I too have just began the warrior diet.  I'm currently 5'11, 195lbs, around 13% bodyfat looking to go sub 10%.  Keep us updated.  Great video logs as well.

[Muscle and Brawn]

Good luck bro.  I too have just began the warrior diet.  I'm currently 5'11, 195lbs, around 13% bodyfat looking to go sub 10%.  Keep us updated.  Great video logs as well.

Thanks for the encouragement and best of luck. You should be able to hit your goals in no time.

[Muscle and Brawn]

In my first video log I stated that - believe it or not - there is really muscle under my fat. I have attached a video from last year. It was taken during a standard bodybuilding-cut diet.

I wanted to show everyone...

A) That I truly in fact have a solid muscle base

B) What the standard is to compare my Warrior Diet results with

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tF4znK6pGmI (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tF4znK6pGmI)

[fotakou]

Good luck man!You have a lot of road ahead of you but if you are willing to change then nothing can stop you!A small advice:write down your foods so that we may look at them and make any comment that we might think of.You would be surprised on how much you can learn from the guys in this forum than from the book

You have inspired me to start my log again I will start it on Monday

Cheers!

[Muscle and Brawn]

Good luck man!You have a lot of road ahead of you but if you are willing to change then nothing can stop you!A small advice:write down your foods so that we may look at them and make any comment that we might think of.You would be surprised on how much you can learn from the guys in this forum than from the book

You have inspired me to start my log again I will start it on Monday

Cheers!

Hi Fotakou.

Thanks for the encouragement.

With my job and family life it is hard for me to find the time to log my food daily. I can give you a sketch of what it looks like, and you guys can make suggestions...btw, I tend to eat pretty much the same during the week because of limited time at home due to work, but on the weekend, I get a bit more variety. Here is a sample of what I ate today...

Undereating...

-8 ounces tomato juice
-1 Apple
-2 pieces string cheese (4 hours apart)

Overeating

-Small spinach salad with chopped onion, garlic, green chile and tomato.
-Half bag of broccoli florets w/chopped onion and tabasco
-8 ounces chicken with rice and black beans, covered in jalapeno peppers, onion and salsa
-several almonds

A note on the undereating phase...I plan on switching the apple to a small portion of blueberries and strawberries

One thing you guys can do is help me with juices...I need suggestions. I would like to drink at least 8 ounces of fresh juice during the day, but a juicer, etc. are out of the question...I work in a factory environment. Anything I can replace the juice with?

I might just eat several small carrot sticks and a tomato...does this sound OK?

I have been a weight trainer most of my life, and have spent more time counting calories and preparing meals than your average bear. I think I have a solid grasp of the WD, but I do appreciate any feedback you guys give me.

[Muscle and Brawn]

Weight: 01/03/2009

After only 4 days in, I am down nearly 8 pounds...

299.2

I will not be taking skinfold readings until I get down around 270 pounds.

[Muscle and Brawn]

My leg day was OK today. I did a Bulldozer set of squats, and it wasn't bad. It wasn't great either. The hardest part was catching my breath. I tried to keep my deep breaths to 15 after each mini-set, but I think I am going to bump the rest-pause time to a minutes. There is no point in first and foremost turning the set into a cardio session.

In general, I have been having a hard time blasting my legs lately, no matter what I try. Maybe I am just in a good place. Soreness isn't always king. I do get some soreness, but it's nothing like the soreness I would get after my squats days of my youth. Maybe my old wheels just handle things better.

I also noticed that my leg workout was shorter than expected, so I added a set of leg extensions. I might turn my Bulldozer squat set into a 30 rep, 1 rest-pause minute between mini-sets, extravaganza next go-around.

My diet went great today. Undereating was tomato juice, 2 strawberries, a small handful of blueberries, and 1 piece of string cheese.

Overeating was a ton of chicken - and I mean a ton - with a small to moderate portion of rice with chopped onion and jalapeno. I couldn't finish the rice, as I felt like I would explode.

Squats

315 x 6/4/3/3/2/2

Leg Extensions

55 x 10/5/5

Hamstring Curls

55 x 7/5/4/4

[fotakou]

Some small advices
First of all try to skip the apple juice if you sense that you can do without it.Although its better than the conventional coke,its a juice full of sugars that will spike your insulin instantly.The idea of the wd is to keep your insulin low during the undereating phase.I would suggest to prepare some tea at home and take it to the factory 
Regarding your second meal,try not to mix carbs with fat since they can result into holding fat.The science behind it is really complicated but keep in mind that high calorie foods,like almonds do not work well with food that spike insulin like rice.Also there has been a rather high debate on whether we should not combine fats and carbs or nuts and grains.Me and alwaysbelieve1 think that its the latter.Combining low glycemic carbs like veggies with nuts works fine and it always do.
Finally,in your last meal i am worried about two things.You ate a lot of protein(chicken)but almost no fat.Keep in mind that an amount of fat i essential for proper utilization of the protein.Protein in big quantities can be toxic so try not to eat so much of eat.Last but not least getting a feeling of explosion is not good man.You must listen to your body.If you THINK that you ate enough but your stomach does not send that kind of signals WAIT A LITTLE(10-15 minutes).If you feel still hungry then eat some more but if you dont,STOP.Like one dude from ancient Greece said"If you finish your meal and feel stuffed,you have poisoned yourself" or something like that

From your meals,i believe that you favor high carb meals.That is not so good for fat loss.I would suggest to read anabolic diet/metabolic diet and try to understand the concept behind the low carb idea.I am not suggesting to count every carb to the T,but minimizing them in a logical amount might work for you.I was able to almost see my abs one day after following the ad rules,but i was not feeling that well.After that i decide to incorporate some of the guidelines of the ad diet with the wd,and i believe that i will see results.You decide!

Cheers

PS.Also look at this thread for some nice advices
http://www.defensenutrition.com/forum/index.php/topic,1386.0.html

[Muscle and Brawn]

Some small advices
First of all try to skip the apple juice if you sense that you can do without it.

I am drinking tomato juice, not apple I hate apple juice. A had been having an apple, but I switch as soon as I could get to the store...I am now eating strawberries/blueberries.

Regarding my second meal, I am eating protein before carbs, though they may be mixed together. I am eating far more protein than carbs, in general. Last night I had 3 monster pieces of chicken before I had any carbs. I know it's hard to express what I am truly eating int eh post.

I agree with the fat...I have been sneaking in almonds every night, and mixing butter into whatever I prepare. Thanks for the advice!

[Muscle and Brawn]

Well, I thought that I might have to bump my squat set up to 30 reps, but I am retracting that sentiment. I am crazy sore in the legs today...2 days after my leg workout. It hurt walking to the bathroom.

But, despite the soreness, my back day (and deadlifts) went great. I felt strong as a bear while deadlifting, and also went up in reps on T-bar rows. Definitely no strength loss so far on the Warrior Diet. Like I said, I felt like I could have added more to the bar. Next workout I will.

6 days in. The hardest part of the Warrior Diet for me so far is actually finishing my nightly meals. I set a goal to make and eat meals of 1,800 calories at night, as I feared eating too few calories per day. Half the nights during overeating, I struggle to the finish line.

This is a good thing. I am full. And satisfied. I do have to work on getting more healthy fat into my meals.

I switched my undereating ...no longer eating an apple...having a couple strawberries and several blueberries instead.

Lastly, I have been sleeping VERY well. I wake feeling refreshed, even when I get only 6.5 to 7 hours of sleep. Though my sleep is not perfect, it is much better on the Warrior Diet.

Workout time: 35:04


Deadlifts

365 x 20

T-bar Rows

125 x 7/4/4/3/2

[Muscle and Brawn]

I upped my protein intake the last three meals. Still tweaking my diet, but getting better.