PROGRAM CHECK IN: TACTICAL BARBELL OPERATOR PRO FOR STRONGMAN PHASE II

  

INTRO

I can think of no better way to capture "Tactical Barbell" and "Strongman" than Commando carrying a log

In my last adventure, I explained how I set up Operator Pro to help prep for an upcoming strongman competition.  I’m now in the final week of the program, and wanted to share my experience and lessons learned through the process.

 

RESULTS UP FRONT

 

In the 11 weeks total I’ve followed this approach (I’m currently in my 12th week), I lost a total of 5.2kg (just about 11.5lbs).  During the first 6 weeks of the program, I improved on all of my key lifts.  During the final 6 weeks, I maintained on the front squat and log press while noting improvements in the deadlift

9x425+chains at the end of the cycle

and loading lifts while bodyweight continued to drop, which is another form of progression.  My conditioning metrics followed a similar trajectory, with improvements on my FOBBIT/prowler performance in the first 6 weeks and maintenance in the final.  I’ve reached a level of leanness that puts me in a very comfortable spot to start gaining in the summer, while also achieving performance goals.

Those Cerberus strongman shorts complete the look

 

THE STRUCTURE

But stick with me here

 

As I wrote in my previous check in, I was able to use the guidelines of Operator Pro to turn it into a multiphased training strategy for competition prep.  Pro allows for “hypertrophy” ranges for the secondary exercises (10s, 8s and 6s) along with “strength” ranges (5s).  For the first phase, I employed the hypertrophy ranges, and for the second phase I used the strength ranges.  By doing so, as I transitioned into Pro out of Specificity, I was able to use lighter weights on new exercises as I redeveloped the motor skills for the exercises, AND I was able to continue to work to preserve lean tissue in a phase where food was restricted.  In the second phase, prioritization of lean tissue was reduced as the focus was shifted more toward performance, and the low reps allowed me to groove more “perfect” practice on the lifts I’d execute in competition while also meaning that I’d be accumulating less fatigue due to reduced volume.  Emphasis was on explosive/strong reps and to limit grinding.  This also meant a greater emphasis could be placed on performance in general as part of my conditioning work, as I would not be splitting recovery demands on hypertrophy lifts.

 

Aside from the change in reps for the secondary exercises, I made no change from the previous set-up, aside from the loading exercise (to be discussed shortly).  This meant a cluster of SSB front squats, log clean and either ROM progression deadlifts or loading implements to a platform.  Per Op/Pro, I’d have one day where I set a 2-3rm for the front squats and one for the log clean, and then I’d pull deadlifts on the middle day using my own ROM progression protocol.  I keep the sets the same, with the deadlift day using 3 sets for the secondary exercises and otherwise using 5 sets.  I also continued to implement my daily dips and chins, ending the final week with 3 sets of 18 and 1 set of 17 spread across the day.  I DO feel these daily bodyweight exercises went a long way in preserving upper body mass, as typically getting this light tends to have my arms and shoulders looking small, but that was not the case this time.

 

For the loading exercise, I had to execute an audible that ended up being a blessing in disguise.  In phase I, I was relying purely on the Stone of Steel as my loading implement, increasing the weight each week.  Eventually, conditions became so sweltering in my garage that, even with a grip shirt and receiver gloves, the stone was too slippery to safely load.  I’ve already torn one bicep: I don’t need a matching set.   So I switched to the Power Keg, which is much easier to wrangle, which is a blessing and a curse when I’m trying to train to lift natural stones, as it meant I was able to develop the basic strength for loading stuff but not the “chaos strength” that comes with trying to load awkward objects that don’t want to move. 

 

This led me to use MULTIPLE implements during the loading exercise.  I couldn’t load the stone for 5 full sets, but I could get 1-2 out of it before it got too slippery, so I would swap between the stone and the keg between sets.  I also recognized the value of the keg for developing strength and the stone for technique, so I left the stone unloaded and loaded up the keg heavy and used a “1 minute on/2 minutes off” approach to make it a goal to get in as many reps as possible with each implement.  This tended to break down to 7 reps with the Stone and 3 reps with the keg.  To finish it all off, after a total of 4 sets (stone-keg-stone-keg), I’d break out my Ironmind sandbag at a fixed weight of 200lbs and load it for max reps in a minute, for a total of 5 sets of loading. 

 

I love this discovery, and want to use it moving forward.  I noticed that 5 full sets of loading the same implement was beating the hell out of me, whereas switching it up within the workout has a similar effect to the conjugate approach of switching up the ME lift each week: I was still pushing my body hard, but specific parts of it weren’t getting mashed over and over again.  I can employ a wide variety of resistances with the loadable nature of the implements I have, but also swap in fixed weight stuff as needed in order to expand variety.  This definitely has some wings, and it’s why I’m always tinkering away.

 

X-FACTORS

I couldn't NOT post this...and "Guido vs Blob" is such a great explanation for bulking and cutting

 

As noted: I was leaning out during this process.  This was driven by multiple factors, one being that the competition I was training for was a charity event without weight classes being done strictly for fun, so I had no compelling need to get heavier.  Along with that, it’s summer, which is a time when I engage in more general activity, so getting leaner is pretty natural for me.  Along with THAT, the fall tends to be the kick off for my gaining season, with a late October birthday leading into Thanksgiving leading into Christmas.  It’s a great time for feasting, which is a great time for gaining, and per Dan John, Jon Heck, John McCallum and many other authors: getting lean is a great step to take before getting big.  All that said, had I been eating to GAIN during this training block, I know I’d see even more progress.

 

Which, on that note, I’ve picked up a few non-training related injuries during this training block which impacted performance on a few days.  I’ve noted in my experience that I tend to get more injured as I get leaner, which is most likely a result of inadequate nutrition to support healing/recovery and a reduction of necessary “fluff” around my connective tissues to provide support.  The two most significant ones are an instance where I legit got out of bed too quickly and wrenched something in my back so badly that I thought I needed to get to the hospital, which ended up taking a week to resolve due to recurrence of nerve pain.  The second one was an injury to my left knee from trying to run down the stairs to let one of my dogs out before it had “disaster poops” on the floor…while the OTHER dog decided to use that opportunity to nip at my toes.  For 2 weeks after that, my knee would click/pop and slide out of place, but it seems to have some stability now.  I’m currently still recovering from that, with my knee in a brace, but able to still squat and do lifting stuff.  But, again: this is getting in the way of being able to effectively execute.

 

THE NUTRITION

You knew it was going to be this

 

I did an extensive write-up of my “Roulette Diet” approach that I’ve employed, but ultimately this was a combination of intermittent fasting with a carnivore diet that included a weekly meal with carbohydrates.  Fasting was the lever implementing to control fat loss.  If I wanted to lose more fat, I’d implement more/longer fasting days.  If I needed to prioritize recovery, I’d increase my eating window.

 

CONCLUSION/WHAT’S NEXT

He just works so well for what I'm after

Operator Pro provides the most streamlined manner to adapt Tactical Barbell to strongman training/preparation.  I didn’t have to violate the protocol or cheat to make it work, and the phasic structure is incredible simple to map out.  This is the strongest I’ve been at this level of leanness in quite some time: typically weighing this little comes with a degree of stringiness that I’m not a fan of.

 

I compete at the end of Aug and have a cruise that starts the next week and continues into Mid-Sep.  Upon my return, it may be time to do some TBIII Basebuilding, or perhaps a work capacity block (that looks fun), or just get a head start on mass building and really ride that through the fall.  As always: chaos is the plan. 

NORTHERN STARS

I go on a lot of cruises, so travel by sea is something I’m familiar with insomuch as one can be familiar with when traveling on a mobile buffet (which, I most accurately heard cruises summed up as taking the city of Reno Nevada and floating in the ocean with it, which isn’t too far off).  But because of my frequent nautical exposure, I’ve been made aware of the romanticized image of traveling by way of the “northern star”: a guiding star in the field of stars in the night sky that one can rely on to orient themselves when they are in the vast expanse of the ocean with no reliable landmarks or other indications.  When you’re out in the middle of the ocean, everything around you just looks like…ocean, and the sun and moon are going to be in constant flux, but in the field of stars, you can find that ONE star to help guide you along your path, give you a vector, and ensure you’re actually traveling in the direction that you WANT to go, rather than just going in circles (a tragedy that occurs far too often for those that get stranded out at sea).  And, observing the population that exists in the physical transformation sphere, and even from my own follies, I can see that MANY of us are those folks stranded out at sea, with no northern stars to guide us.  Much like how the Vikings have provided so much inspiration in the realm of physical transformation (hello Viking press…and rowing), let us default once again to these mighty sea nuisances and learn their nautical ways so that we, too, can find our northern stars and not lose our way.

Or else we'll end up like them!

The primary way I see the manifestation of losing our northern star comes by way of reversing the intention of nutrition and training.  What’s unique about this is, as far as physical transformation goes, I’ll flat out say that I do believe that nutrition is the greater PRIORITY compared to training.  And, again, I recognize who I am when I write that, and how I have a reputation for performing the most absolute bonkers training there is and pushing myself into the redline, but the reality is, as far as actually transforming ourselves goes, what we put through ourselves has significantly greater impact than what we put ourselves through.  Professional bodybuilding is pursuing this reality to it’s most logical conclusion, demonstration how, with the right genetics, drugs, and food, the training becomes something of an afterthought, as the body is just so completely primed to achieve greatness that it has no other choice.  All that said, though, when it comes to what is to be our northern star, training 100% trumps nutrition, to the point that to even attempt to do the opposite quite often results in, well, the opposite of intended outcomes.  Failure.

 

When we make training our northern star, we create a vector to strive toward.  And we can do this even more concretely by having a “SMART” goal to stive toward: I need to add 70lbs to my overhead press in 12 weeks, I need to run a marathon in 8 weeks, etc.  But in either capacity, we’re pursuing an outcome that’s measurable by, well: outcome.  Each week, we check in with ourselves and see if we are actually following our northern star.  We need to add weight to our overhead press: did we?  “Well, my biceps grew 1/8 of an inch, and I got my Fran time down by 4 seconds, and I think I saw a quad vein”…dude, you’re drowning!  Get the ship back on course!  Once we reach the island and dig up the treasure we’ll plot a new course, but until then, keeping following the northern star (yeah, I switched in pirates with the Vikings).

While real OGs know that it's the ninja we fear the most

 

The cool thing is: when we make training the northern star, the nutrition piece sorts itself out.  When we decide that we need to enter a mass gaining phase of training, and we make it a goal that, each training cycle, we lift more weight than the previous one, the ONLY way this is going to happen is if we’re eating enough to grow from cycle to cycle.  We see the weights in the gym go up and we KNOW we are getting more muscular.  The northern star is guiding us along our way.  And when that training phase is over and we move onto the next one, we’re going to KNOW if we’re overeating because we won’t be getting faster in our conditioning nor will our bodyweight exercises improve.  The only way to make that happen is to stay strong while getting lighter.  And that’s only going to happen if we have less fat.

 

Attempting to make nutrition be the northern star is reminiscent of a Ron White joke.  While traveling by airplane, they were informed that one of the engines had failed, but thankfully there was enough fuel in the remaining engines that they’d be able to make it to their next destination.  When queried by his fellow passenger of how far the plane could get if another engine failed, Ron replied “All the way to the crash site, and we’re going to make great time too!  I bet we beat the rescue team by about 30 minutes!”  THIS is what happens when we try to make the nutrition the northern star.  If we say “Ok, it’s mass building time: I’m going to make sure I always eat 3000 calories every day, get in my 200g of protein, time my carbs around training, and HOPE this all turns into muscle by the time I’m done”, all we’re doing is throwing fuel into the engine of the ship without giving it a direction to actually go in!  Which means we’re just going to make EXCELLENT time on our way to the crash site.  And, similarly, when we say it’s fat loss time, and all we do is cut food intake and don’t actually change the training in a meaningful way to facilitate fat loss, we’re going to reach that crash site quickly as well: a crash of our hormones and metabolism, so that we’re absolutely wrecked and simply a smaller and weaker version of what we were: not leaner.  Food is fuel: that idea has been espoused before, and it fits the metaphor SO well here, as it’s fueling us in the direction of our goals.  But if the ONLY goal we have is “more fuel/less fuel” without any actual DIRECTION to travel toward, all we’re doing is getting nowhere faster or slower depending on fuel load, but no matter what: we’ll get there.

But hey, Doc Brown will be there

 

You can’t know how to get to where you’re going if you don’t know WHERE you’re going.  Having a northern star to guide you along your path on physical transformation provides you an opportunity to check in on yourself and ensure you’re actually making the progress you need to make.  I’ve trained without a northern star before, and I had fun doing it, but that’s all I had.  These past 2ish years, I’ve re-oriented myself to a northern star, and cycle after cycle I make small, incremental progress toward an overall larger goal and see myself achieve the outcomes I intend to achieve.  Don’t let yourself drift aimlessly out at sea, and don’t focus on how much fuel you’re putting in the engine: figure out where you’re going FIRST and then you can figure out how much fuel you’ll need to get there.       

 

THE ROULETTE DIET: DON’T GAMBLE ON YOUR NUTRITION

 

As I continue to navigate the nutritional space and pick up bits and pieces along the way, I continue to refine my own approach and implement lessons learned to further perpetuate success.  That’s what I have done most recently in my current phase of training, focusing on leaning out and improving insulin sensitivity while prioritizing maintaining muscle and strength in preparation for a strongman competition.  I’ve dropped 4 kilograms (8.8lbs) of bodyweight in 9.5 weeks, and during such time my front squat has increased from 2x315 to 2x325 and my log clean and press has gone up from 3x200 to 3x215 and 1x220.  I’ve also observed steady increases in my ability to load the stone of steel and power keg, I’ve increased daily chins/dips, and improved my ability on prowler sprints, so just general physical improvements across the board WHILE dropping bodyweight and getting leaner WITHOUT experiencing hunger.  This is a winning combination, because it ensures continued perpetual compliance/sustainability, which are the keys to successful nutritional protocols.  So let’s explore what I am now referring to as “The Roulette Diet”: because everything needs a catchy name.

 

WHY THE NAME “ROULETTE DIET”?

Because "The Craps Diet" sounds more like something for IBS

The name derives from the colors on a roulette wheel: red, black, and green.  That’s because this is a further refinement of what I previously wrote as the “Red Meat/Black Coffee” diet, specifically because I realized that the name was ignoring the “Green” portion of the diet which, though it occurred less frequently than the red and black portions, was STILL a crucial part of the whole process. 

 

WHAT ARE THE COLORS?

Thankfully it's a bit more streamlined than this

Simple enough:

·       Red=Red Meat

·       Black=Black Coffee

·       Green=Meal with carbohydrate

If it makes it even easier, you can think of Green to mean “Greens” to represent a meal where you eat plants, but it’s not restricted to JUST “greens”: all plants are on the table (to include honey).

 

SELLING POINTS

Just when you thought I couldn't get any dumber...

·       No calorie/macro tracking/counting.

·       No hunger.

·       Continued athletic performance improvement.

·       Ability to include all foods (still no alcohol).

 

WHAT TOOLS ARE BEING USED?

And are they being used correctly?

·       Intermittent fasting: 1-2 meals a day, no snacks.

·       “Carnivore Diet”: Elimination diet with no plants consumed, emphasis on ruminant animals/red meat.

·       Ketosis: Low carbohydrate intake, fat and protein modular based on needs.

·       Cyclical Ketogenic Diet: Introduction of a carbohydrate meal to intentionally break/re-start ketosis.  Promotes metabolic flexibility.

·       Coffee/caffeine: Stimulants and polyphenols.

 

WHY THESE TOOLS?

Because success leaves clues...

·       Intermittent fasting:

o   Energy intake control mechanism that obviates need to monitoring/tracking intake.  By reducing the window of time one CAN eat, one typically reduces the amount that one eats.  Many Americans are the victim of a “death by 1000 cuts” nutritionally.  It’s not one big meal a day that does them in: it’s the constant snacking, nibbling, grazing, etc on hyperpalatable/non-satiating junk, before going on to engage in their ritualistic 3 meals per day irrespective of actual hunger levels (“I’m eating lunch because it’s lunchtime, even though I had a big breakfast in the morning and then 3 donuts in the breakroom at 0900”).

o   Reported benefits of improving insulin sensitivity, blood sugar, blood insulin, etc.  By reducing the frequency of eating, we reduce the frequency of blood sugar spikes and corresponding insulin response, which allows our bodies to develop insulin sensitivity.

o   Rests digestion.  For those that are coming from a period of heavy/frequent eating, reducing the frequency gives the guts a chance to rest and recover and redevelop the mucus lining.

o   Easy tool to leverage, especially for those inclined toward extremes.  You don’t need to eat less or more food at each meal: you just adjust how many days you have 1 meal vs 2 meals.

·        Carnivore diet:

o   Nutritional intervention: a carnivore diet is an “elimination diet”, which removes all processed foods (among others) from the diet, resulting in reduced systemic inflammation and the removal of any foods that could be triggering an autoimmune/histamine response.

o   With intermittent fasting driving the meal frequency, often resulting in 1 meal a day, in order to get the necessary protein intake to maintain/grow muscle, it’s necessary to emphasize protein intake.  With a carnivore approach, specifically premised around red meat, all food consumed will contain protein, and it’s possible within the realm of a single meal to reach one’s protein goal as there is no plant matter to occupy stomach space that could be allocated toward protein.  This also tends to allow one to eat to satiety without concern of overeating: it’s honestly just plain HARD to overeat ONE meal of meat and eggs, no matter how big a fan of it you are.  Because if you DO somehow manage to do so, you tend to feel so satiated from it you genuinely don’t want to eat again for quite a while.

o   High protein and high fat intake lends well to satiety, which helps perpetuate the intermittent fasting.  Intermittent fasting with a mixed diet that includes carbohydrates tends to result in a blood sugar spike, followed by a crash, which creates an “energy crisis” wherein we seek sugar to replenish energy.  This requires “white knuckling” through the fast until we FINALLY get to eat, which can result in us outeating whatever benefits we got from the fasting as far as energy restriction goes.  Keeping the nutrition carnivore results in a steady/sustainable energy level.

o   Red meat specifically emphasized due to ability of ruminant animals to better filter the toxins out of their food sources compared to monogastric animals, which tends to result in superior Omega 3/6 ratios and micronutrient profiles.  Whole eggs from pastured chickens are also acceptable for similar reasons.

·       Ketogenic diet:

o   Nutritional intervention.  Many people suffer from metabolic syndrome, often the product of a “broken carbohydrate metabolism” wherein they’ve lost the ability to effectively utilize fats as a fuel source and can ONLY burn carbs for fuel.  This, paired with low insulin sensitivity, results in overconsumption of carbs to satiate energy hunger, resulting in a negative feedback loop via the Randel Cycle.  A ketogenic diet forces the body to transition to fats as a fuel source due to the absence of carbs as a fuel source.

o   Puts the body in a state wherein it is producing ketones and relying on them as a fuel source, alongside fat (dietary and bodyfat).  This continues to perpetuate the “no hunger” angle of the diet that was started by eating in a carnivore manner.  We have FAR more stores of fat on our body than we do carbs, so putting us in a state where we’ve transitioned away from carbs as our primary fuel source allows us to rely on a sustainable fuel source that doesn’t put us in an “energy crisis” and, quite possibly, strips fat off our body.

o   This tends to be the natural outcome of complying with a carnivore diet.  Without counting/tracking macros and specifically attempting to employ a 2:1 or greater ration of fats to protein, the state of ketosis will most likely be “shallower” than an intentional ketogenic diet, but still present.

o   “Double fasting effect”: ketogenic diets are “fasting mimicking”, as is intermittent fasting, yet we’re never actually in a sustained/prolonged fast such that we deprive the body if necessary protein to sustain/build muscle

·       Cyclical Ketogenic Diet (by way of weekly carbohydrate meal):

o   Metabolic Flexibility: the ability to seamlessly transition between the fuel sources of carbohydrates and fats depending on availability.  The majority of the population is carbohydrate dependent and lost the ability to effectively metabolize fats, but we don’t want to cause the reverse issue by only knowing how to metabolize fats.  By inclusion of a cyclical ketogenic diet by way of a weekly carbohydrate meal, we allow the body to maintain it’s ability to utilize carbohydrates as a fuel source through regular controlled introduction of carbs.

o   Many individuals report issues with long term sustained ketosis/carnivore dieting in terms of hormonal health (thyroid, testosterone, cortisol, etc), electrolytes, blood glucose, etc.  If there is a concern with that, a cyclical ketogenic approach can obviate some of these issues through the inclusion of controlled carbohydrate intake to help reset levels.

o   With fasting being a stressor on the body, this break from fasting can help regulate cortisol levels, especially so given carbohydrates role in controlling cortisol.

o   Inclusion of a carbohydrate meal can help with sustainability/compliance.  There is no restriction/denial on the diet.  All foods are available: there is just a restriction insomuch as frequency is concerned.  Also promotes sustainability by allowing the diet to account for social situations.

·       Coffee:

o   During fasting periods, inclusion of coffee allows for easier compliance.  Caffeine is a known appetite suppressant, and a warm beverage is filling/satiating in and of itself.

o   Coffee has a variety of reported health benefits, to include polyphenols, a trace amount of fiber, associations with longevity, etc.

o   Allows for social elements during periods of fasting.  Can still go out for coffee with friends/peers.

o   Vehicle for electrolytes, which are necessary for athletes on restricted carbohydrate diets.

o   CAN be overdone.  Those that are caffeine sensitive should consider employment of decaf.  Also worth noting that caffeine is known to increase cortisol, which fasting does as well, so stacking them on top of each other can get a bit worrisome.

 

THE STRUCTURE: HOW IT ALL WORKS TOGETHER

Sometimes that's all the explanation we need

When you look at a roulette wheel, it’s got 18 red spaces, 18 black spaces, and 2 green.  This is a representation of frequency as it relate to when we’re having Red Meat, Black Coffee, and “Green Meals”.  It’s not 1 for 1 as far as frequency goes, as any gambler can tell you that there are some days at the table where it seems like you’re always coming up red or always coming up black, but green is definitely a rare feature.

 

·       When the goal is fat loss, 4 1-meal days and 3-2 meal days are the sweet spot.  My preference is Mon and Tues as 1 meal days, Weds (heaviest training day of the week) as 2 meal, Thurs and Fri as 1 meal, Weekend as 2 meals.  Yet again I emphasize that this is NOT “white knuckling”.  The more I fast, the more I LIKE fasting and am inclined toward it. 

 

·       If I’m trying to build muscle, I like 2 days per week with 1 meal (Tues and Thurs, non-lifting days), and the rest as 2 meal days. 

 

·       No set structure for when the meals fall.  My preference is 1 meal days have an evening meal and 2 meal days have a morning and evening meal, but there is flexibility here.  You’re eating based on HUNGER ultimately: not time.  In turn, this also means eating until I’m not hungry. 

 

·       On the above, I have found success during fat loss periods by heavily emphasizing protein compared to fats.  I specifically accomplish this by eating more egg whites and fewer whole eggs.  When I’m gaining, I like a ratio of 5 egg whites to 3 whole eggs, consumed at each meal.  During periods of fat loss, on single meal days, I’ll have 10 egg whites and 1 whole egg.  On the 2 meal days, I’ll do a 5/3 ratio for 1 meal, and 5/1 for the second.  This is consumed in ADDITION to red meat: not in place of it.

 

·       When not eating, coffee is on the menu.  I am a “caffeine non-responder”, and can drink it all day if I want to, but I still try to keep it reasonable. 

 

·       My “Green Meal” is Sunday evening.  Don’t get into the idea that this is a “cheat meal”: it’s absolutely part of the plan.  In turn, don’t turn this into a binge.  It’s not the “rampage meal” that Jamie Lewis wrote about in the Apex Predator diet: this is far more akin to the carb meal that Vince Gironda wrote about in the “Maximum Definition Diet”.  Key difference (for me) is that it’s not a PURE carbohydrate meal.  It’s a meal that INCLUDES carbs.  Fats and protein are still permittable.  For my run of this, the meal was typically pizza made on a homemade sourdough crust along with some sourdough cookies/baked goods with some raw local honey.  Do yourself a favor and make this meal a QUALITY meal rather than junkfood binge, for the sake of your guts.

 

·       Having the meal on Sunday evening allows for me to train on Monday morning and make use of consumed carbohydrates as a fuel source, which continues to promote metabolic flexibility.

 

·       It’s worth appreciating that, though I don’t consider it a meal or snack, before bed, I DO consume a 170g serving of full fat skyr or Greek yogurt mixed with 1 scoop of Metabolic Drive protein powder.  The primary function of this is a means to introduce calcium and bacteria cultures to the guts and provide some protein while I sleep/recover before my morning training session.  The full fat and minimal carbs tends to mean there’s no sugar spike while I sleep, and this is part of my nighttime sleep ritual.  I think it’s a worthwhile addition, and, if it helps with reconciling “the diet”, consider it within the “fasting window” of the evening meal and you’re set.

 

IN SUMMARY

In case the instructions were unclear, here's the infographic

The “Roulette Diet” is a combination of Intermittent Fasting and a Cyclical Ketogenic diet based around carnivore foods and black coffee.  It can be modulated to support fat loss or muscle building.  It requires no counting/tracking of calories or macros nor “white knuckling” through hunger: fasting frequency is the tool that is leveraged to account for goals. 

OBSERVATIONS FROM EVAN PARKER’S “SUPERSHRED ME” McCARNIVORE DIET

I fell hard for some Instagram clickbait, so much so that I actually made an account so I could view the whole story (found here: https://www.instagram.com/supershredme/).  Evan Parker is a new/soon to be influencer that lost 11lbs in 30 days and significantly reduced his bodyfat eating nothing but McDonalds, in an attempt to achieve the opposite of Morgan Spurlock’s efforts in “Supersize Me”.  Specifically, Evan employed what he referred to as the “McCarnivore Diet”: a “relaxed carnivore” diet wherein he ate primarily quarter pounder patties, cheese, bacon, round eggs, sausage patties, pickles and (at the start) ice cream and small servings of bread.  Evan’s bodyweight went from 183lbs to 172, so this was not the case of a 400lb person losing some water weight, and his after photos demonstrate the presence of muscle tone, indicating that this was not an untrained individual benefitting from the novel response of training.

Ignore the subcaptions: this is an amateur before and after job done by myself

As much of a publicity stunt as this can easily be chalked up to, in watching all 30 days of this eating, I found that there were some significant takeaways from what he did that could be employed in many other attempts at nutritional intervention.  To include:

 

HE MADE IT SUSTAINABLE

I mean, the precedent is there

Evan was very adamant that this was a “relaxed carnivore” approach, and he employed this approach for multiple reasons.  Biologically, he wanted to ensure that his transition from a traditional western American diet to a carnivore approach was not so significant a shock to his system that he experienced withdraw effects, aka “the keto flu”.  Using the nutrition information provided by McDonalds, he was able to determine the intake he would need for 50g of carbs per day during the initial wave of the diet, which he then worked down to 25g, before going effectively 0g in the final 2 weeks.  And this ALSO permitted him the ability to still have “treats” like an ice cream cone and the muffins from the breakfast sandwiches, which afforded some psychological sustainability as well.

 

But along with that, he made it FINANCIALLY sustainable as well by leveraging deals afforded to him via the app, completing surveys, and employing the “ala carte” ordering options in order to create a budget that boiled down to effectively $6 per meal at 1-2 meals per day.  Living in Hawaii, Evan noted that the cost of a McDonald’s quarter pounder patty ala carte was effectively cheaper than buying 1/4lb of beef at the store.  Evan found an approach that could be repeated indefinitely without significant financial strain, AND it even came with the bonus of requiring no cooking/cleaning, so it was the ultimate in “high speed/low drag” operations.

 

And finally, despite the fact that fast food is already hyperpalatable and engineered specifically for maximum enjoyment, he made it sustainable by being able to find foods that fit within his parameters yet still afforded him variety.  This was not the “quarter pounder patty diet for 30 days”, and, instead, if you watch all 30 days, you’ll see Evan get quite creative with the limited menu afforded to him.  At one point he declares that he’s going to do JUST beef patties for the remainder of the challenge, and then quickly abandons course in order to allow cheese and bacon, which gave him what he needed to be able to make it to the end.  And Evan constantly commented about how much he enjoyed eating the food he was eating.  Compliance was easy to achieve.  I feel this speaks to another aspect that allowed him to succeed:

 

GUIDELINES AND STRUCTURE, NOT RULES

Imagine being able to get "Fight Club ripped" without Fight Club rules...

All successful diets employ some manner of restriction.  Time restriction (we only eating during certain windows), energy restriction (we only eat a certain amount of food total) or nutrient restriction (we DON’T eat 1 or 2 of the 3 macronutrients).  Evan’s approach employed all 3, but in a manner that did not FEEL like restriction.

 

Evan always kept the goal the goal here, to take from Dan John, and he operated under a series of guidelines that were intended to help him reach that goal.  These weren’t rules and laws created by a deity that he was supposed to feel guilt for if he broke them: these were simply guidelines there to keep him on track and give him a vector.  This was the “McCarnivore diet”, so if pickles showed up on occasion, it wasn’t the biggest deal. 

 

That said, the structure of the diet ALSO created some “bumpers” that helped keep Evan on track.  Though one of the pros of eating McDonalds for every meal is that you don’t have to shop for food, cook or clean, one of the cons is that you don’t have ANY food unless you go to McDonalds.  This created a necessary “barrier to entry” for Evan as it related to eating.  There was no opportunity to mindlessly snack, no sneaking off in the night to raid the fridge: if he wanted to eat, he had to go out and get it.  It’s honestly very “hunter/gatherer” meets Wall-E.  But what this ended up doing was putting Evan in a position where he only ate 1-2 meals a day, because logistically, based around his personal schedule, it was what he could facilitate.  This, in turn, necessitated another form of nutrition strategy, such that…

 

THE FOOD SELECTION ENSURED SUCCESS

Again: the precedent is there...

The reason Evan COULD sustain a 1-2 meal a day approach is BECAUSE of the foods he chose to eat with his McCarnivore diet.  Evan started with around 2400 calories per day, bumped down to around 2200, and eventually settled at around 1750.  This isn’t many calories for an active male at around 180lbs bodyweight.  However, Evan’s foods (especially at the end) were primarily fat and protein.  This meant he was achieving effectively zero blood sugar spike from his food, which also meant no crash, which meant no “energy crisis” response from the body compelling him to seek more food to eat in order to get his blood sugar stabilized.  It remained stable and consistent throughout the day, so he never needed to eat in order to correct his blood sugar: just to get enough nutrients.

 

Which, on that note, he posted his daily protein intake, and was consistently achieving around 140+g of protein.  For a 180lb trainee engaging in resistance training (15 minutes a day, according to his Instagram), he was hitting Stan Efferding’s recommendation of .8g per pound of bodyweight, and per Dr Ted Naiman’s hunger hypothesis, his protein forward diet was allowing him to obviate hunger by successfully consuming enough of the nutrient.  Additionally, by being in a (most likely) ketogenic state, Evan’s body was primarily relying on bodyfat and ketones for fuel, the latter of which is an ABUNDANT fuel source and neither of which tend to promote a hunger/blood sugar response.  Whatever carbs his body needed were being converted from protein through a process known as gluconeogenesis.

 

Had Evan attempted a similar approach of nothing but McDonalds, but set his calorie limits the same and only allowed himself French fries and ice cream, I posit that he simply would NOT have achieved the same outcome.

 

VARIABLES

There's always something

 

It should be appreciated that Evan was apparently working as a kayaking instructor and went out of his way to walk 10k steps per day on busy work days and 15k steps per day on non-busy days.  He was also engaging in 15 minutes of resistance training 4-6 times per week.  These are all excellent practices in general, and I feel this is more a feature rather than a bug when we consider that he was eating 1750 calories per day and NOT feeling hungry during the process.

 

And, of course, everyone is going to want to say “bloodwork bloodwork bloodwork”.  Is this diet healthy?  Who knows.  Is it healthier than how the majority of Americans are eating?  I’ll say yes.  Is weight loss one of the fastest ways to achieve positive health outcomes?  Also yes.

 

IN SUMMARY

This was an entirely different (yet also "successful") McDonalds diet

 

The “McCarnivore Diet” works because it’s sustainable, psychologically, physiologically, financially and logistically.  It works because it has a structure and guidelines designed to promote COMPLIANCE, NOT a set of rules intended to promote GUILT.  It celebrates success: it doesn’t punish failure.  And the foods that comprise the diet are built to perpetuate sustained compliance, rather than simply setting a guideline of calories/macros and being agnostic to the impact that specific foods have biologically and metabolically.  Despite it being “The McCarnivore Diet”, there is nuance to it that has to be appreciated.