Dartmouthfolk party sometimes.
A few years back, a buddy of mine on the Dartmouth crew team was faced with a seemingly impossible challenge: he needed to drop 25 pounds in a month. Although he was strong as an ox, after a few months of eating indiscriminately during the offseason, his weight had slowly crept up. But now it came down to this: “lose 25 pounds in less than 30 days or you are off the team.”
Crap.
Now, it should be said that many bodybuilders, wrestlers, and even fitness models can drop an insane amount of weight by using performance enhancing drugs, diuretics, or severe water restriction. It “works,” but it’s not particularly good for you, fair, or sustainable.
Sure, the weight would come off, but his soul, good conscience, and morals would be in jeopardy. He wasn’t interested in that. An extreme starvation diet could potentially help his weight come down, but he would risk strength loss as his body catabolized his hard-earned muscle to keep his organs humming. All of these options were unacceptable.
But dripping in ingenuity, my friend dug deep into old wives’ tales and ghost stories of the crew team and beyond to find a simple fix. After all, rowers had faced the same problem for decades. He finally happened upon a long-retired crew coach who claimed to have the answer to his prayers.
The coach said that this trick:
- Does not involve any drugs/herbs/or magic potions
- Requires absolutely no special foods
- Is mind-numbingly simple
- Requires little deprivation but considerable self-control
So how do you shave off 25 pounds in a month in a way that’s fair, healthy, and legal?
Drink water. Only water.
No fruit juice, soda, diet soda, coffee, beer, sports drinks, energy drinks or anything else. Nothing but pure water for a month.
My friend was dubious, but he decided to grit his teeth and give it a shot. He started drinking a glass of cool, fresh water every morning and continued to drink plenty throughout the day. He still made appearances at parties and get-togethers, where he politely and confidently sipped his water bottle, staying delightfully clear-headed while others drooled all over themselves in a drunken stupor.
So did it work?
Well, no, my friend did not lose 20 pounds in a month.
He lost 25 pounds. And he went from pudgy to ripped.
He ate exactly the same foods, drank more water, and ignored all of the mysterious-colored liquids on the convenience-store shelves and stopped doing kegstands. He also noticed that he wasn’t any hungrier, since liquid calories are rarely satisfying or filling.
Why did it work?
My friend estimated that he previously was unwittingly consuming about 800-1000 liquid calories/day. That’s the equivalent of quite a few 100-calorie packs to suddenly not be eating. Anyone cutting that amount calories (while maintaining strength training and eating plenty of protein to avoid losing muscle) would see significant short-term fat loss. I’m sure his training program also accelerated his results, but he was adamant about the fact that without eliminating liquid calories he never would have been able to make weight.
Here is what I love about this trick.
Water Guinness
It’s so simple that it’s almost absurd. But it is one that absolutely ANYONE can do and it only requires one ingredient (water) and a hint of self-control. In the days before ab belts, fat blasting pills, stomach stapling, and magic potions, there was a leaning toward achieving seemingly impossible goals with confident and well-polished willpower and little else. We could all do with a bit more of that.
Too many people these days are looking for a silver bullet in all of the wrong places. How many people want to lose 25 pounds in a month? Could drinking only water work? Sure, it would certainly help. It’s so simple it’s stupid. But how many people actually do it? Would you?
So many people spend unconscionable amounts of money and time scouring the earth for a pill that will allow them to keep eating terrible food, ignore physical activity, make no lifestyle changes, all while torching fat off of their bodies. And you know what? It doesn’t exist, and I hope it never does.
The fact that a magical fat-burning pill doesn’t exist is a blessing in disguise: if it existed (and actually worked), then many people would resign themselves to lives of expensive over-medication. And they would never learn anything except to open their wallets and that they required a pill to be lean and “happy.”
Want to Burn fat? Drink Water.
It’s incredible how easy it is to take in hundreds of extra, unneeded, empty, and unfulfilling calories in the many drinks you consume over the course of the day. So many people monitor food labels like hawks, but completely ignore any liquid calories they consume (which are often considerable).
Our ancestors had nearly no other options but drinking water. There were no slurpees, caramel macchiatos, or double-chocolate stouts. In a sense, we are built to drink nothing but water.
Now I’m not advocating that you need to stop drinking anything but water (but you could certainly try if you want an exercise in self-control and some serious, quick results). Liquids calories are not filling, are devoid of fiber, and usually lack natural nutrients (with the exception of my much-loved green smoothie).
Here are the worst offenders that you should cut out first:
- Milkshakes
- Sugary alcoholic drinks (e.g., margaritas, rum and coke, etc.)
- Fruit juice (even 100% juice)
- Meal-replacement drinks
- Soda
- Energy Drinks
- Beer
- Diet soda (studies have shown that diet soda is even more fattening than regular soda)
- Flavored Milk
- Sugary drive-thru drinks (the famed caramel cappuccino)
- Sugar in coffee or tea
- Powdered drink mixes
- Sports drinks
As Always, Make it Fun
When you want to spice up your water, throw in some citrus or mint. You can also drink as much tea or coffee as you’d like. Want a party in your mouth? Add some cinnamon, nutmeg, herbs and such. Red wine from time to time also seems to have little effect on weight gain, and in fact has antioxidants and reservatrol that have been shown to improve health and assist weight loss.
So cheers. Drink up, my friends.
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16 comments
1 ping
Stu
January 4, 2012 at 7:48 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Why cut out coffee or tea, plain, or with a bit of milk (say, 2 teaspoons)?
Abel James
January 4, 2012 at 11:08 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Hi Stu, that’s a good point – my friend didn’t need to cut out black coffee or tea and neither does anyone else. Adding a bit of milk or cream to one cup would be fine, but it adds up quickly if someone is drinking more than a few a day. Thanks for visiting!
Dean Ouellette
January 8, 2012 at 4:39 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Abel, love the site. Found it from Jimmy’s link of blogs this weekend. Love this post, I have become a water addict over the last year, I carry a half gallon jug and try to drink close to 2 a day (1 gallon). Adding you to my RSS and look forward to reading more soon!
Abel James
January 8, 2012 at 8:13 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Howdy Dean, thanks for the kind words and for stopping by! I was glad to see Jimmy’s link myself. Water is totally underrated. I’ll give your site a visit – digging the name.
Cherish
January 9, 2012 at 7:45 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Hi Abel, I’m a 5ft4” teenager. I used to weigh 75kg, then with healthy eating weighed 73kg. I put in more effort and I’m 68kg, presently. I’m still overweight and need to lose more weight, want to get down to 62kg. Please, give me tips on how to lose 8kg fast. Thank u.
Abel James
January 12, 2012 at 6:20 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Hi Cherish,
Thanks for visiting. Firstly, as a teenager, it’s important to not put too much emphasis on your weight and losing it extremely quickly – you’ll look and feel best when you focus on getting healthy first and then the fat will drop off almost automatically. Cleaning up your nutrition and doing some high-intensity exercise are your best options. Check out my videos and my free eCourse for tips!
Carl
January 25, 2012 at 8:57 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
This sounds great. My problem is I’ve always loved milk, but I noticed no matter how well I eat, I never lose any of the belly fat when I drink milk–even low fat milk. Yesterday I read that the sugars in the milk are quickly converted into fat.
I need to lose 20 pounds and it is a chore to lose any. I’m going to try this.
Abel James
January 25, 2012 at 9:57 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Processed milk is definitely a belly fat catalyst for many folks, so give it a shot!
Kevin
January 30, 2012 at 2:24 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
This is exactly how I jump started my weightloss in college. I made a bet with myself one Sunday night to ditch the soda & juices, just to see if I could do it. I had to walk to classes all day long and I didn’t know what to do about diet just yet, but I still dropped 18 lbs in the first two weeks and right around 25 by the end of the month. (I was almost 300lb by the way). It just kept going down from there once I started ditching the candy & unlimited cafeteria food plus started doing bodyweight squats & pushups. REAL basic stuff… I didn’t know any better, but it worked!
Abel James
January 30, 2012 at 9:48 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
18 pounds in two weeks! That’s pretty convincing stuff. The truth of the matter is that none of this needs to be complicated – as you say, cut out the crap and do some bodyweight exercises and you can change your life.
Alfredo
February 13, 2012 at 4:19 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I am willing to do anything right now to loose these extra pounds I have I would really love to lose weight and be back to when I was slimmer. Right now I’m weight 220 pounds and I’m 5’11. But it’s not wealthy for my age. I’m berly 17. And my doctor told me I need to loose weight. If I try this would it help me? If I could get a reply to encourage me and motivate me would help me a lot. So please if you can reply here it would be awesome and if not email me to tapiachivas100@hotmail.com thanks
Abel James
February 13, 2012 at 1:02 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Hi Alfredo, yes – give it a shot! Forget about soda, processed milk, fruit juice, and other liquid calories and just drink water! It’ll definitely get you off on the right foot.
Jonathan
April 9, 2012 at 11:39 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
What if I already drink only water? What would you recommend as the next best thing? I’m not overweight but I could lose some fat. I’m 6’4″ 200 lbs. I exercise a few times a week (bike, jog, pushups, chin ups) and I try to limit bad carbs and maximize protein, good fats, and veggies. I feel good, I just want to feel better. Any quick tips?
Abel James
April 9, 2012 at 11:47 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Howdy Jonathan, thanks for stopping by. It seems like you’re definitely on the right track. Adding weight training, high intensity exercise, and/or a bit of fasting to the mix would likely accelerate your results. I outline a bit of each in a few other blog posts, in my book, and I’m working on making some tutorial videos for each of those to show folks how to get started. Make sure, also, that you’re getting plenty of quality sleep (shut the lights off or dim them after sundown).
Primal Mac
April 24, 2012 at 12:47 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Quick question: what about carbonated water/seltzer? No calories, just added CO2. Personally, I’m a seltzer fiend so I’d like to know what you think.
A few years ago a dropped 125lbs to go from 320 to 195 living a paleo-esque lifestyle. I maintained that for a few years when life (jobs, relationship, stress, etc) got to me and now I’m 345. At some point I abandoned my low carb principles and apparently went all out for a long period of time (I have stories upon stories of buying a cake and eating it within 10 minutes – and that’s not the worst of it!).
Frankly, I’m just getting back in the game but I’m willing to do what it takes. I’m actually following Jack Kruse’s protocol for obese people (less than 25g of carbs/day) because, having read through his stuff, I recall that was my approach when I lost my original 120lbs (in less than 1 year and largely without exercise). I guess I just needed to see it in writing as well as from someone I can relate in the sense that he also was also in my position years ago and did it. I can’t say I’ll be doing the CT stuff he does but with he, Ray Cronise, and Tim Ferriss talking about this heavily the last few years, I might just consider it (though I can’t submerge myself in the bathtub because it’s too small and I’m too fat, lol).
So I guess I’d boil it down to: 1) what is your take on seltzer; and 2) what is your take on Kruse’s approach?
Abel James
May 1, 2012 at 11:45 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Hi there, thanks for the question. Personally, I’m a huge fan of seltzer water. No calories, hydration, bubbles… it doesn’t get better than that. Drinking gallons of it a day probably isn’t advisable for various reasons, but you have my stamp of approval.
Jack’s approach – low-carb and the LeptinRx has worked for many, many folks, and clearly low-carb is an effective weight loss strategy. As far as cold thermogenesis goes, my philosophy is: try it! The worst case scenario is that you’ll shiver a bit. But take a look at his testimonials for the best case scenario – pretty amazing stuff. Give it a whirl and let me know how it goes!
Week Links – 12/21/11
December 21, 2011 at 10:48 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
[...] here’s one you might like. How to lost 25 pounds in a month with one simple trick. No this isn’t a gag or a gimmick, it’s the real deal. Try this mind-numbingly simple [...]