On May 14th, I weighed myself for the first time in a while and the results were not great.

I was 179.8 pounds, but given that I was about to sit down and eat a giant Shake Shack cheeseburger, the likelihood that I weighed over 180 pounds was high.

To be honest, I didn't look bad at all. I conceal my fat pretty well and have an athletic build. But in a few months, I am going to undertake the most difficult civilian training program in the world, so phrases like "didn't look bad" are not going to cut it.

Over the last 7 weeks, I completely revamped my diet and lifestyle to build myself a strong foundation on which to build for the next 2 and a half months before the event.

I lost 12 pounds in 50 days, including about 10 pounds of fat. It was by no means easy, but I wanted to share some of the tips and tricks I learned and applied along the way that worked for me.

It's important to note that everyone is different so what worked for me might not work for you, or it just might not seem appealing. But perhaps you'll get one or two valuable takeaways to apply to your own fitness goals.

Eating at a deficit

Okay thanks, Captain Obvious, isn't that the most basic science of losing weight? Yes, it is! But it's worth mentioning because plenty of people forget what this is like in practice.

It takes a deficit of about 3,500 calories to lose one pound of fat. Sound like a lot? It's not too bad when you divide 3,500 by 7, the number of days in a week. If you can eat at a deficit of 500 calories a day, you'll lose one pound per week. Keep it up, and that's 4.5 pounds a month!

Some of the most effective ways I found to eat at a deficit were the following:

• Skipping breakfast: My breakfast is normally 260 calories, so skipping it meant that half of that 500-calorie deficit was immediately taken care of.
• Intermittent fasting: Eating all my food during an 8-hour window (12PM-8:00PM) caused me to spend less time eating, which meant fewer calories consumed. Outside of the 8-hour eating window, your body starts burning fat for energy once it runs out of sugar.
• Low-calorie snacks: As someone who is used to eating all day long, it would be difficult to endure long afternoons without food. So I didn't! I ate a lot of seaweed snacks that only contained 20 calories per pack, basically allowing me to munch all afternoon long without ruining my deficit. Another alternative is Hint Water which contains 0 calories but gives you some nice flavor.

I tended to eat at a deficit that was closer to 800-1000 calories a day, and I don't totally recommend it. I was only able to do that because I exercised so much. If you aren't very active, your resting caloric intake is probably in the 1800-2000 calories a day range, and eating at an 800-1000 calorie deficit is borderline dangerous.

Diet

I have come to appreciate how important certain elements of a healthy diet are by thoroughly depriving myself of some, and consuming others in excess.

I was trying to lose weight but maintain as much muscle mass as possible, which meant that I needed to consume a lot of protein throughout the day. The problem is, protein contains calories, and I had fewer calories to work with each day. Athletes are recommended to consume almost one gram of protein for each pound of body weight, which I learned is a lot when eating at a deficit.

This meant I searched for options that are high in protein and low in calories like these Pure Protein shakes that contain 30g of protein in 140 calories and this Greek Yogurt with 15g of protein and 90 calories. Solid foods like chicken and pork chops are also great options with large amounts of protein.

However, this diet also meant I had to cut down on my carb consumption dramatically. This was the most difficult part of losing weight because breaking down carbs is how your body derives energy. Foods that contain a lot of carbs that I dramatically scaled back on during the last 7 weeks include rice, potatoes, pasta, and bread.

Reducing my carbs was exhausting. I was often low on energy and searching for some low-calorie options to give me a quick boost. The two best options were bananas and these Honey Stinger energy gels.

More times than not though, I just pushed through the fatigue, knowing that my body would be burning fat for energy instead, which was my whole goal of cutting. In retrospect, that was probably unhealthy and I could have easily maximized my workouts by ingesting 100 more calories beforehand.

Also gone from my diet were processed foods and foods with added sugar. It's healthy to consume a small amount of sugar throughout the day via natural means like fruit but added sugar is unnecessary unless you're in the middle of an endurance event and need quick energy.

It's safe to say that, while I will increase my carb intake now that I'm done cutting, the processed foods and added sugar are gone from my diet. There are plenty of healthier, equally tasty alternatives to choose from.

Also worth noting, I haven't consumed any alcohol since starting this plan. If you want to lose weight, that is one of the first things you'll have to let go.

To get the nutrition I needed to both lose weight and maintain muscle, I found it effective to eat my biggest meals right after the workout. Not only did it give me something to look forward to when finishing, but it is also optimal to consume large amounts of protein after you work out. That is when your body repairs fatigued muscles and you need to feed it protein in order to do that effectively.

Workouts

Over the last 7 weeks, I've been working out 2-3 times a day, 6 days a week. My volume looks like this:

• Practice with the Georgia Tech Women's Basketball team: 2x a week
• These SEALFit (a combination of Navy SEAL training and CrossFit) workouts: 3x a week
• A bodyweight version of SEALFit focused on push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups: 3x a week
• Regular CrossFit workouts: 3x a week
• Long runs or rucks: 2-3x a week.

I also run to the gym and back whenever I work out, which gives me an extra 1.5-3 miles per day of running outside of the workouts. Finally, I weave in extra workouts targeted at my weaknesses like pull-ups, Log PT, and planks throughout the week, although those tend to be 20-minute workouts or less.

In the end, it's a lot, but it's easy to see how doing all that, combined with a strict diet can yield effective fitness results. You don't need to do all that to lose weight–I'm doing all that because my fitness goals necessitate it right now.

It's also easy to see how doing all that while eating at a deficit can be exhausting, especially when I'm decreasing the carb intake and forcing myself to keep up the intensity every day. I'm glad I made it through with low energy because now I feel like I will be capable of performing so much more effectively in these workouts when I give myself the fuel I need.

Workout out 2-3 times a day while working a full-time job is difficult. I try to get in at least one of the workouts before work. I feel a lot more flexible coming home from work each day knowing that I've knocked that out early.

If you're going to commit to 2-3 workouts a day, however, just know that there is no way to slice it up where it doesn't become a large part of your lifestyle. Accept that and make the necessary sacrifices in other areas to reach your goals.

Also when it comes to striking a balance between cardio and weightlifting, know that they're both great! However, be conscious of what each is effective for:

• Cardio (running, rucking, biking, rowing, swimming, etc) is great for burning calories, which makes losing weight faster.
• Weightlifting is great for building muscle but doesn't burn as many calories as cardio.

If you want to maintain muscle while burning fat, it's probably best to do both, as cardio will enable you to reach your goals faster, but weightlifting will ensure that you look good and stay strong when all the fat is gone.

It's also been incredibly beneficial to do these workouts with others. Out of the 12-15 workouts I do each week, I only do about 2-3 of them alone. It keeps me motivated and holds me accountable to be able to exercise with others, and I'm very thankful for all of my workout buddies!

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed all of my discoveries about diet and exercise over the last 7 weeks! It's been a fascinating journey for me, and I've adopted lifestyle habits that I plan to stick with for years to come.

For the next 2 and a half months, I plan on eating at a slight calorie surplus to build muscle while (hopefully) holding off the fat.

Let me know in the comments if you agree or disagree with any of my tips and tricks!