Category: Body Transformation

Now that we talked about maintenance calories and macronutrients, let’s get a bit more practical by putting these concepts together.

For the purpose of building muscle, losing fat,  and getting lean, when you read food nutrition labels, you need to focus on four main things.

I want you to focus on the serving size, total calories, the three macronutrients, and the fiber content, if any.

Nutrition labels can be tricky.

Serving information

The first thing to pay attention to is the serving size. The serving size is most important because it’s the basis for all the other information on the nutrition label that follows.

If you eat an entire container with a serving size of 1 cup, but there are “4 servings per container”, you’d eat 4 times as much as the nutrition label states.

For example, eating the entire container of a food with our example label would have you eating 1,120 calories, not 280 calories.

The second thing to pay attention to is the measurement for the serving amount.

Most serving sizes show a familiar measurement like 1 cup, 4 pieces, or 1 cookie, followed by the metric amount in grams.

It’s easy to over or under measure something bulky when using the familiar measurement amount like a cup.

For example, trying to measure a cup of spinach can be hard since it has a lot of air between the leaves. Do you smash it down? Do you not smash it down?

Using a food scale is much easier because when using a food scale you don’t have to worry about those types of decisions.

Using this example, if you want to be certain you’re eating only 1 serving size, weigh out 227g.

If you want to eat 2 serving sizes, weigh 227g times 2, which is 454g.

It’s especially important to measure your condiments like salad dressings, butters, oils, and other sauces because those calories add up very quickly.

Calories

I already discussed calories but just to reiterate, this is the most important number you want to look when trying to stay under your maintenance calories.

The total number of calories you see comes from the total calories in protein, fats, and carbs.

Looking at our example food label.

There are 9 grams of Total Fat, and you learned there are about 9 calories for each gram of fat. So, 9 grams times 9 calories equal 81 calories from fat.

There are 34 grams of Total Carbohydrates and you learned there are about 4 calories for each gram of carb. So, 34 grams times 4 calories equal 136 calories from carbs.

Last, there are 15 grams of Protein and you learned there are about 4 calories for each gram of Protein. So, 15 grams times 4 calories equal 60 calories.

Combining these calorie counts from fats, carbs, and protein, you get 81 + 136 + 60, which is 277 calories, almost the amount shown as the total calories on the food label.

Rounding the number up gives you 280 calories and remember, this is per serving.

Using macronutrient counts to determine total calories

Before we move on, there are two things to take note of when trying to use this method to determine total calories per serving.

First, I keep saying there are about 9 calories per gram for fat, or about 4 calories per gram of protein, as an example, because 9 and 4 calories aren’t exact numbers.

Some foods have 9.1 or 9.3 calories per fat gram, or 4.2 or 3.8 calories per carb or protein gram.

So, when adding macronutrients and trying to come up with total calories, or when using an accurate food database like the ones that the food planner I recommend uses, the total calorie count won’t always match the total count of your macronutrients.

Second, some food labels show the total calories after subtracting the carbs from dietary fiber from the total carb count. This is called net carbs.

Luckily, food manufacturers can only do this for fibers approved by the FDA that meets their definition as fiber that provides a “beneficial physiological effect on human health.”

The rationale is the body doesn’t fully digest insoluble fibers, so it doesn’t need to be counted in the total calorie count since it doesn’t provide the body with energy.

The Quest bar, a very popular protein bar, does this. Here is their label:

Total fat is 9g, so should yield 81 calories. Total carbs are 21g, so should yield 84 calories. And total protein is 21g, so should also yield 84 calories. This gives a total calorie count of 249 calories. So, what’s going on here?

Quest bars contain dietary fiber and sugar alcohols. Certain sugar alcohols are also not fully digestible.  So, manufacturers like Quest can reduce the total carbs of a food item by subtracting out the carbs that come from the fiber and sugar alcohols.

For fiber, they can fully subtract out 4 calories per gram. For sugar alcohols, some companies fully subtract out 4 calories per gram and some subtract out half the calories, or 2 calories per gram.

After subtracting out dietary fiber calories, which are 12g x 4 calories = 48 calories, and subtracting out half the calories from the 5g of sugar alcohols, which are 5g x .5 x 4 calories = 10 calories, you get the 190 calories the bar shows, and the 190 calories that’s recorded in food databases.

Speaking of Quest Protein bars, I try to stay away from them, even though they are high-protein, low calorie bars. For me, first, they are dangerously addictive because they taste great. So instead of eating one bar, I usually end up eating two, which leaves me fewer calories for higher-filling foods during the rest of my day.

Second, eating Quest Protein bars usually leads to bloating and gas, which are direct side-effects from both high-fiber and sugar alcohols, especially when you don’t consume enough water to offset your fiber and sugar alcohol intake.

But as a last resort, such as when I’m traveling through airports, I’ll pick up a Quest Protein bar over a bag of chips, or those tasty Biscoff cookies, and I’ll just drink a bottle of water to minimize the bloating.

Nutrients

Again, we only want to focus on Total Fats, Total Carbohydrates, and Protein content, as well as Dietary Fiber and Added Sugars. Most foods that are high in fat are going to be way higher in calories since there are about 9 calories per gram of fat. So, I usually opt for foods that are fat-free, like fat-free yogurts and fat-free cheddar cheeses, if I can help it.

But, added sugars are important to watch, too, especially when it comes to fat-free options. When food companies skip out on fat, they usually add more sugar to preserve flavor. So, you’ll see a lot more added sugars in foods that are fat-free.

The difference between total sugars and added sugars is added sugars are the sugars that are added to a food.  Some foods naturally contain sugar, like yogurt. Lactose, which is in milk and yogurt, is sugar.

When you see added sugar, the manufacturer has usually added it to enhance the taste. A great example that confuses me up sometimes is when I grab a fat free yogurt from the yogurt section. If I don’t carefully look at the labels, I’ll end up choosing one that’s fat-free but high in added-sugars, like a Chobani Strawberry yogurt.

I’m not saying there is anything wrong with added sugars per say, I’m just suggesting you can save yourself 50 calories if you choose a Chobani Greek yogurt without added sugars.

Or, you can choose a plain, non-fat version and simply add your own zero-calorie sweeteners for flavor. I prefer to use Splenda.

Serving Sizes

Pay attention to serving sizes. While the last yogurt I showed has 90 calories per serving, the serving size is larger. It has 90 calories, but you get 20 grams more of yogurt, and 5 grams more of protein. More protein is a good thing, and I’d always choose the higher protein, no added sugar version over the other.

As far as this example goes, I don’t endorse a particular yogurt. I get whichever tastes the best and has the fewest number of calories for the highest amount of protein. Sometimes that’s the generic store brand, sometimes it’s not.

Dietary Fiber

Now, as far as dietary fiber goes, again, I prefer to choose products high in dietary fiber.

As we discussed, they have a bonus of subtracting from our total calories that show up on the food label. But more important than that, dietary fiber is essential for your health, especially when on a high-protein diet. Some of the benefits of a high-fiber diet are normalizing bowel movements, maintaining bowel health, and controlling blood sugar levels.

A great food example is the tortillas I use for my chicken and tuna wraps. Flat-outs are great, high-fiber wraps, but I prefer the taste of Mission’s carb balance wraps, or Walmart’s low carb, Great Value brand.

Here are the nutritional labels for each of these wraps:

In this decision, I prioritize cost, taste, and then calorie count since they all have a similar amount of fiber and total calories.

The National Institute of Medicine recommends at least 38 grams of fiber per day for men aged 50 or younger, and at least 25 grams per day for women. These 2 wraps provide 68% of the recommended 38 grams per day. The vegetables I add throughout the day usually get me past the 38 grams per day goal.

Percent Daily Values

Now that we’ve taken a long, but very important detour, let’s get back to our nutrition label. The last thing we’ll discuss is the % daily value. For our purposes, and really for anyone’s purpose, it’s kind of useless. I say kind of useless because the daily value percentages are based on a recommended nutrient intake that’s further based on a 2,000 calorie per day diet.

In short, it’s supposed to give you a quick idea to determine if a certain nutrient is too high or too low. Less than 5% is considered low and more than 20% is considered high. Unless you’re eating only 2,000 calories per day, I think daily value percentages are generally safe to ignore.

So far on this blog, I talked about everything you need to know to lose weight. But, if you want to ultimately lose not only weight, but fat while maintaining muscle, you’ll need to go beyond the idea of just eating fewer calories.

Believe it or not, the types of calories you consume matters for several reasons:

1. If most of your calories come from highly processed, refined carbohydrates, you’ll quickly reach your calorie limit without feeling full. Examples of these types of foods are essentially the carbs that come in a packaged snack bag like chips, candies, and cakes.
2. If most of your calories come from foods that don’t keep you full, you’ll constantly want to eat, which may lead to quitting your diet before seeing your results.
3. And if most of your calories come from foods with inadequate protein, you’ll lose a lot of muscle during your calorie reduction, which will jeopardize your toned or hard body look that we’re after.

So, in the next few articles we’ll go over macronutrients, including what they are and my recommendations for how much to eat of each and why.

When you finish reading the next few articles on this site, I’d like you to understand five things.

1. I want you to understand the macronutrients and how they relate to calories so you can understand the importance of a low fat, low alcohol, and low-sugar diet when it comes to getting lean.
2. I want you to understand how to read nutrition labels, so you can choose high protein but low-calorie foods on your journey to building muscle and getting lean.
3. I want you to understand why and how all diets work so your friends and family can stop telling you to “just use keto” or “paleo” or any other type of diet.
4. I want you to be comfortable eating whatever you want if you can stay under your required calories.
5. Last, I want you to understand how to deal with restaurant calories, so you can choose whether you want restaurant foods as a staple in your diet.

In a previous article, I talked about how to use your maintenance calories to lose weight. Let’s once again focus on the thumb rule that 1 pound of body fat is 3,500 calories. I don’t want you to learn this rule and use it to unintentionally starve yourself by reducing far too many calories.

A lot of people assume the greater they are below their maintenance calories the faster they’ll lose weight. Once they see they can lose one (2.2 kg) pound per week, they try to shoot for a two-pound (4.4 kg) loss per week by reducing their total weekly calories by 7,000!

Unfortunately, if you try this method, you’ll probably stay hungry. And there will come a point where you can no longer bear the hungry pangs. Then you’ll end up binge eating, ruining your diet in the process. Additionally, you should be careful not to allow your daily calories to drop below 1200 calories if you’re a woman or 1500 calories if you’re a man.

When I went through my personal body transformation, I went from 27% body fat at around 177 pounds to 10% body fat at 161 pounds and never reduced my calories below 1,800 per day. It was a slower process, but it was safe and got me the results I wanted. I want the same for you.

So, when you start using the “Auto-Diet” template, you’ll never be in a very large calorie deficit at any one time. You’re going to safely aim to lose 1 pound per week, so you won’t have to suffer from rebound weight gain or unhealthy food binges. Ultimately, you don’t want to lose any more than 1% of your body weight per week to safely lose weight.

I know it’s been a lot so far, but the point of learning about weight loss, and how to lose weight specifically, is to give you a teaser on why all diets work! For now, though, let’s talk about macronutrients and how they also relate to getting you lean.

After we cover macronutrients, not only will you understand how to diet, but you’ll also be ready to set up your own diet using the “Auto-Diet” template and my recommend food planning app. And finally, before closing out this topic on nutrition, you’ll learn to optimize the foods you eat so you can stay full and lift heavy in the gym as you work towards building muscle and getting lean.

While it’s awesome to know how to find your maintenance calories, or the number of calories required to maintain your weight, the outcome is to have you lose weight. More specifically we want you to lose fat, because when you only focus on weight loss, you can end up losing both fat and muscle. If you don’t do anything to maintain your muscle while losing weight, you may not like your result if your end goal is to look toned or lean.

When you lose one pound of body tissue, it’s approximately 75% fat and 25% muscle if you do nothing to maintain your muscle tissue. This is why I will stress the importance of consuming enough protein and lifting weights, and why I don’t want you to just focus on losing weight.

The other thing to point out is when you lose weight is you lose water weight. I’ll talk more about these effects later but as you reduce the amount of carbohydrates you consume, the less water your body will hold. This will be reflected on the scale as a reduction of weight, but it won’t be fat loss. This is again why you should focus on fat loss and not weight loss.

One pound of body fat contains approximately 3,500 calories. It contains a bit more than 3,500 calories but you can use 3,500 as a thumb rule. This means, if you want to lose 1 pound of body fat per week, a good place to start is to reduce your weekly number of calories eaten by 3500 under your required weekly maintenance calories. This is why we talked about maintenance calories. It’s our starting place for losing weight.

Eating less (than maintenance)

As an example, let’s say your body requires 3000 calories per day.

3000 calories per day for 7 days means your body needs 21,000 calories per week.

If you don’t want to gain weight, you’ll have to eat no more than 21,000 calories. But, theoretically, if you only eat 17,500 calories during the week when your body needs 21,000 calories, you’d lose a pound of fat. In this example, you ate 3,500 calories less than your body needed, and so your body needed to use your existing fat stores to get the 3,500 it needed.

An easy way to use the 3,500-calorie thumb rule is to subtract your daily maintenance calorie requirement by 500 calories. Over 7 days, a reduction in 500 calories per day gives you the 3,500 calories required to lose a pound of fat per week.

Now, I said theoretically you’ll burn one pound of fat because what you do and what you see on the scale doesn’t always align. First, again, using 3,500 calories to represent one pound of fat is just a starting thumb rule. A pound of fat contains more than 3,500 calories.

Second, a body scale only measures your total weight change. Body weight is made of fat, muscle, bones, and even how much water your body holds daily. This is why I’ll later stress that you don’t want to use a scale as a primary indicator of your progress. You may not see a reduction in your weight for weeks, especially if you’re going to be lifting weights.

Increasing physical activity (while eating at a lower maintenance requirement)

Another way to burn 3,500 calories is by increasing your physical activity. Let’s say you need 3,000 calories per day based on calculating maintenance calories using a sedentary lifestyle. Then, let’s say you start going to the gym to burn an extra 500 calories per day.

If you don’t change your maintenance calories to account for the change in your extra activity while still eating only 3000 calories per day, your body still must find the extra 500 calories it needs. So, it’ll again use your fat stores.

Doing this for 7 days will put your body in a 3,500-calorie weekly deficit and you should lose about one pound of fat during that week.

Eating less and increasing physical activity

You can also reduce the number of calories you eat while also increasing the number of calories you burn when you exercise.

For example, if you calculate that you need 3,000 calories, but eat only 2,750 calories and burn 250 calories during exercise, your body still sees that you need an extra 500 calories to get what it requires.

At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is the deficit you create below your maintenance calories. And “being and staying in a calorie deficit”, is what you should be aiming for during your entire transformation.

It’s Easier to Eat Less

All this said, while a reduction in calories burned through exercise does happen, it’s not nearly as easy as reducing the number of calories you eat.

For example, running 5 mph for half an hour burns approximately 360 calories on a 205-pound (93 kg) person, or it burns 320 calories on a 180 (81 kg) pound person.

But, if you drink specialty coffees full of sugar and creams, for example, a 16 oz version of a specialty coffee can easily add 370 calories to your total daily calorie intake. This negates the 300 calories you burn during a run.

The point is, it’s way easier to just cut out high calorie foods that don’t keep you full, like donuts or specialty coffees, to keep you below your maintenance number.

You can always still have your specialty coffee. You just have to keep in mind that their calories can add up to your maintenance number fast. Which means, you’re going to have to start paying particular attention to food labels and the number of calories on menus at restaurants.

Let’s talk about what maintenance calories are so you can manipulate your calorie intake at your will.

In a previous article, I talked about basic concepts behind losing weight. I also shared how your body requires energy. Calories are just a measure of energy. You need calories to breathe, to control your body temperature, to circulate your blood, contract your muscles, and to perform other bodily functions. If you did nothing other than sleep all day, your body would still require calories.

You get your calories from food, and as we discussed excess calories from food are converted into fat. But it also means if you don’t give your body enough energy, it’ll look for it in other places. Not only will it use your stored fat for energy, but it can eventually use your stored muscle as an energy source, too.

Eventually, if your body doesn’t get energy from food and runs out of its internal sources of energy, like stored fat and muscle, you’ll eventually die.

How your body uses your calories is broken down in three main ways, which makes up your Total Daily Energy Expenditure. Let’s quickly talk about them.

Thermic effect of food

The first way your body uses your calories is called the thermic effect of food. Your body needs energy to break down the food you eat. For example, it takes way more energy to chew a steak than to drink a shake. The effect of your physical activity is about 10% of your body’s overall calorie requirements.

Thermic effect of physical activity

The second way your body uses your calories is called the thermic effect of physical activity. Your body needs calories to perform basic activities like walking, talking, moving, and exercising. This is what people try to manipulate the most when they want their body to burn or use calories. The more you move, the more calories your body is going to use.

But the number of calories your body uses based on the exercises you do is probably less than you think. For example, most folks only burn about 100 calories per 10 minutes of exercise, if they are working hard enough. So, a 30-minute exercise session only burns 300 calories. The effect of your physical activity is about 20-30% of your body’s overall calorie requirements.

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)

The last way your body uses your calories is called its basal metabolic rate or BMR. Your BMR is the number of calories your body requires to function even if you stayed in bed and did nothing else all day.  It’s by far the most important energy component that uses your stored calories. The effect of your BMR is the other 60-70% of your body’s overall calorie requirements.

What’s more important than this background information though, is how you can use it. So let’s now get to the good stuff by learning how to estimate your maintenance calories.

Estimating Maintenance Calories

Let’s finally talk about finding an estimate of your body’s maintenance calories. You can easily get this estimate using mathematical formulas that were determined years ago and are currently in use today.

Ultimately, I have my clients use the “Auto-Diet” template and a food planner to put their maintenance calories into practice, but for now you can simply use an online BMR calculator, which gives you the same number you would see in my “Auto-Diet” template and in the food planner my clients use.

It’s important to note that all maintenance calorie calculators are just estimates. They give you a decent estimate as a starting point. You will have to monitor and adjust this overtime until you land on a range that’s most fitting for you. But it’s nothing you need to worry about because the Auto-Diet template takes care of this for you.

This online calculator, my “Auto-Diet” template and my recommended food planner app all use the formula which is considered to give the most accurate estimate. The formula uses your weight, height, age, and gender.

If you input your information into this calculator, it’ll spit out a number for your BMR.  Using an example of a 42-year-old, 5 feet-11 inches, 200-pound male, it gives 1,829 calories/day.

Remember, your BMR is the number of calories your body requires to function and maintain your weight if all you did was lay in bed all day. However, you don’t just lie in bed all day, so you still need to know how many calories your body requires based on the amount of activity you do.

Using an estimate of your activity along with your estimated BMR gives you an estimated number for your maintenance calories. This is where the thermic effect of physical activity comes into play.

Just like mathematical formulas were created to estimate BMR, activity factors were created to estimate energy usage based on activity levels. So, to get your maintenance calories based on your activity levels, you must use activity factors with the BMR equation.

You would use these activity factors by multiplying the factor that represents your level of activity by your BMR. For example, let’s say you don’t work out at all and have a job where you sit all day. You would use the sedentary activity factor of 1.2 and then you would multiply your BMR by this number. The online calculator does this for you and gives you a total daily calorie need of 2,195.

If you performed intense exercise daily, or say, work at a factory that has you moving and sweating for 8 to 10 hours per day, you’d use the highest factor of 1.55. The online calculator gives you a total daily calorie need of 3,476.

The real answer for how many calories your body requires daily, based on your activity, lies somewhere within the range you find using this calculator.

So, this is it. Simple as that.

There are other, more methodical ways such as tracking both your food intake and weight over a week to see what happens, but using an online calculator works.

Again, all ways to determine your maintenance calories give you an estimate because nothing can tell you definitively how much your body burns outside of a controlled scientific lab environment. Even fitness trackers are notoriously incorrect.

The takeaway is you have a “number” of calories called your maintenance calories and eating no more (or no fewer) than these calories daily is how you maintain your existing weight!

Remember calories are just a measure of energy. So many people aren’t familiar with this basic concept, but now you are and you’re one thousand percent ahead of them.

It doesn’t get simpler than this, eating under this number is how you lose weight. If you wanted to gain weight, eating over this number is how you’d do it.

Once we cover food choices in detail, you’re going to have an even better understanding as to why everyone around you gains weight, even though they’re blaming their weight gain on carbs, fats, or bad genes. I don’t want you to just lose weight, though. I want you to lose fat. So, let’s talk about it.

What Does Eat Less, Move More Mean?

Eat Less, Move More. Let’s start with this. I’m sure you’ve heard this slogan before.  It’s the slogan that suggests that losing weight or getting lean is as simple as eating less and moving more. Technically it is. It’s kind of true, but let’s talk about what makes this concept so hard to follow for most people.

The problem is that most people take the phrase literally. Meaning, people think they should literally eat less food than they currently eat and do more exercise. But, if losing weight and getting lean were as easy as “eat less, and move more” everyone would be successful at getting lean, right? Yet, millions of people struggle with the concept of getting lean every day, because they have no idea what “eating less and moving more” really means?

What does “eat less” really mean? Eat less than what? What does “move more” really mean? Move more than what?

There are many folks who are very active in the gym and will look you in the face and swear to you they don’t eat a lot. You may be one of these people. And technically you may be right. The truth is, you’re going to soon find out that you don’t have to eat a lot of food to keep or gain more fat than you want on your body. One bad meal, once per day, can be way more food than your body requires.

Losing Weight—Basic Concepts

The term “eat less” for our purpose simply means eat fewer calories than what your body needs to function on a day-to-day basis. It doesn’t mean eating less food.

Your body requires calories, and where do our calories come from? The foods we put in our mouth, right? It’s the only way we can get our calories. But how does this work?

Another way to look at calories is to see them as the amount of energy your body needs. If you give your body the number of calories it needs, your body will be happy. But if you give it too many calories, the body will convert these extra calories into a mass of fat.

A 1-pound replica of muscle tissue on the left. A one-pound replica of fat tissue on the right.

The above image shows a 1-pound mass of muscle tissue versus a 1-pound mass of fat tissue. Your body will “burn” or use this stored energy fat mass only during times when you don’t give it the number of calories it needs. This is what the fat burning process is. If you continuously give your body more energy than it needs, it’ll never have a reason to use the existing energy or accumulated fat mass that it has. Does this make sense?

So, if you give your body more calories than it needs daily and over time, the extra energy will be stored as fat mass, and you’ll see this on a body weight scale as weight gain.

If you give your body fewer calories than your body needs and over time, your body will be forced to use your existing energy stores, burn it, and you’ll see this on a body scale as weight loss. Your body literally loses mass.

But, if you give your body on average only the number of calories it needs, theoretically you will never lose or gain weight because the body will have all the fat it needs for its energy.

The number of calories you need to eat so you don’t gain or lose weight is called your maintenance calories. Technically speaking, your maintenance calories are also called your body’s TDEE or Total Daily Energy Expenditure.

So, when you hear the term, eat less, it really means to eat fewer calories than your maintenance calories or TDEE, which is just the number of calories your body needs to maintain its existing weight. This is the biggest missing and misunderstood piece of information that you need to understand.

So many fitness programs sell weight loss exercise programs without even a mention of maintenance calories. If you’ve ever tried to lose weight but never heard of this concept, this is very likely the reason why you’ve never been successful keeping your weight off.

Losing weight and staying lean is difficult to do if you have no idea what your maintenance calories are. So, let’s talk a little more about what maintenance calories are and then see how to estimate your own maintenance calorie levels. If you want to lose weight, get lean, and keep your weight off, you 100% need to have a starting estimate of your maintenance calories.

In this article, we look at what 5 YouTube fitness experts suggest are the ways to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time. Specifically, we’ll look to see if they suggest anything different that what’s covered in the Build Muscle Get Lean body transformation program.

After going over what they say about losing fat and gaining muscle at the same time, I’ll summarize their findings in 5 easy steps for you to follow, if building muscle and losing fat is truly your goal. So, let’s dive right in.

How to Lose Fat AND Gain Muscle at the Same Time (3 Simple Steps)—Jeremy Ethier

Jeremey Ethier gives 3 simple steps to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time. He introduces the concept of body recomposition, or the ability to build muscle and lose fat simultaneously.

He acknowledges that this can be difficult due to the basic law of thermodynamics, which requires a calorie deficit for fat loss but compromises muscle building.

However, Jeremey claims that a loophole exists, wherein the body can use its own body fat to provide energy for muscle growth.

This protocol is most effective for beginner lifters, detrained individuals, those with high body fat, and inconsistent trainers.

Jeremey suggests the most important factor in achieving body recomposition is diet. While a calorie deficit is necessary for fat loss, a larger deficit can compromise muscle growth.

Therefore, Jeremey recommends a slight deficit of 5%-20% below maintenance calories, with a focus on protein intake of 1 gram per pound of body weight.

The remaining calories should come from carbs and fats, with a higher carb and lower fat approach recommended for better gym performance.

Jeremey further suggests training should focus on an optimal plan that trains each muscle at least twice per week with sufficient volume.

Additionally, Jeremey recommends switching up routines to provide a novel stimulus to the muscles and continue stimulating growth.

Jeremey suggests nutrient timing is also important, with even protein distribution throughout the day and adequate protein and carbs before and after workouts to blunt the cortisol response and increase protein synthesis.

To assess progress towards body recomposition, Jeremey recommends measuring waist circumference, muscle measurements, strength gains, and visual appearance.

While body recomposition can be an effective shortcut, Jeremey Ethier notes that eventually, a dedicated muscle building or fat loss period may be necessary.

How to Build Muscle And Lose Fat at the Same Time: Step By Step Explained (Body Recomposition)—Jeff Nippard

Jeff Nippard discusses the possibility of building muscle and losing fat simultaneously, which has traditionally been thought of as impossible.

However, he states that recent scientific evidence challenges this idea, and Jeff believes that body recomposition is a realistic goal for nearly all people.

Jeff lists four groups of people who may find it easier to achieve body recomposition: new lifters, overweight individuals, de-trained individuals, and those using anabolic steroids.

To achieve body recomposition, Jeff outlines five simple steps. First, training is the driving force behind body recomposition, and progressive overload is necessary for building muscle.

Second, he states it’s important to establish a primary goal, whether it’s building muscle or losing fat.

Third, caloric intake should be centered around maintenance calories, with a slight surplus for building muscle and a slight deficit for losing fat.

Fourth, macronutrient targets should be set, with protein being the most important macro for recomposition.

Finally, he states paying attention to the details can help optimize the approach, including getting enough sleep, timing nutrients around the workout, and using supplements such as protein powder, creatine, and caffeine.

Jeff emphasizes that body recomposition is not only common but also practical, and provides examples of people who have achieved it.

Jeff  also notes that the details become more important for advanced trainees, as recomposition gets more difficult. 

Burn Fat and Build Muscle at the Same Time Without Weights—Chris Heria

Chris demonstrates an eight-minute workout routine that suggests how to burn fat and build muscle at the same time from the comfort of your own home.

The workout consists of high rep, hypertrophy exercises that target fast-twitch muscle fibers to tear and repair muscles, and compound exercises to burn fat and build muscle simultaneously.

The workout also includes high-intensity interval training to maximize calorie burn. Chris also emphasizes proper nutrition, including a caloric deficit and sufficient protein intake to ensure muscle growth.

The workout begins with push-ups, followed by burpees, alternating lunges, jump squats, jackknife exercises, and bicycles.

Chris suggests these exercises target different muscle groups and emphasize core strength. The routine ends with shoulder exercises, including pike push-ups and mountain climbers.

The workout is designed to be done for three rounds, and to become progressively more challenging as your fitness improves.

Chris emphasizes the importance of regulating breathing and pacing oneself during the workout. He also demonstrates modifications for those who may be beginners or have trouble with certain exercises. 

Overall, the workout routine presented by Chris is an effective way to burn fat and build muscle at home.

The routine is designed to be challenging but can be modified for beginners or those with physical limitations. 

How To Gain Muscle AND Lose Fat At The Same Time (REAL TRUTH)—Sean Nalewanyj

Sean Nalewanyj discusses the possibility of body recomposition, which involves gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time.

Sean explains that while it is possible, the degree to which it can be achieved depends on individual factors such as body fat percentage and training experience.

He cautions against believing sweeping statements that claim everyone can easily achieve body recomposition.

Sean emphasizes that body recomposition is not a specific program or diet, but rather something that happens naturally when the right conditions are in place.

These conditions include being in a calorie deficit, consuming enough protein, following a proper weight training program, and getting sufficient sleep. Sean also suggests adding optional cardio and supplements if needed.

Sean notes that body recomposition is more achievable for beginners with high body fat percentages or advanced lifters with low body fat percentages.

He suggest those in between will have varying results. However, regardless of individual circumstances, he maintains the process of achieving body recomposition is essentially the same as a regular fat loss phase.

Sean stresses the importance of being in a calorie deficit to achieve fat loss, and highlights the need to consume sufficient protein to maximize muscle growth potential during this phase.

He also emphasizes the importance of proper weight training with a focus on progressive overload, and caution against lightweight, high rep workouts with low rest periods.

Sean further suggests that those who want to achieve body recomposition should focus on getting leaner first by shifting into a fat loss phase. Any additional muscle gained during this time will happen automatically as a byproduct.

Once the desired level of leanness is achieved, the next goal can be reassessed, whether it is to maintain or shift into a focused bulking phase.

How To Lose Fat And Gain Muscle At The Same Time (Specific Steps!)—Ivana Chapman

Ivana Chapman discusses how to lose fat and build muscle simultaneously.

She states the first step is to consume enough protein, which helps maintain and build muscle mass while keeping one fuller for longer.

She states the second step is to train with weights or body weight exercises that progressively increase in intensity. Three to five weight training sessions per week are recommended.

She states the third step is to expend calories through physical activity, such as cardio or walking.

Ivana says the fourth step is to set a calorie goal correctly, depending on one’s current weight and body fat percentage. She suggests those carrying excess weight may want to eat in a calorie deficit, while those who are lean may be able to eat at maintenance.

Finally Ivana says the final step is to optimize training and nutrition to build muscle and lose fat. However, she further states this may be difficult for those who have already optimized their training and nutrition, as they may need to eat in a calorie surplus to gain muscle.

Later she summarizes by saying it is important to maintain as much muscle as possible while losing body fat, with a guideline of not losing more than 0.8% to 1% of body weight per week to avoid losing muscle.

Ivana says that those who do not track calories should at least monitor their protein intake, as it is crucial for appetite control and muscle retention. 

Build Muscle & Lose Fat || It’s So EASY!—Greg Doucette

Greg Doucette, who goes by Coach Greg, shares tips on how to build muscle and lose fat simultaneously.

He suggests eating four to five meals a day with protein spread out evenly throughout the day, and training each muscle group twice a week doing ten to 20 sets per week.

Steady-state cardio is recommended, and it should be done at a moderate pace or slower, as doing high-intensity cardio can cause too much stimulus to the muscle.

Coach Greg also advises eating at maintenance calories to achieve body recomposition. This means keeping your weight the same while losing fat and building muscle, which can be achieved by training harder than last time, eating more protein, and sleeping more.

Increasing neat or non-exercise activity thermogenesis is also suggested, which means being more active when you’re inactive.

Evenly spreading out protein and calories throughout the day is another recommendation, along with optimizing supplement intake. Coach Greg reminds individuals to talk to their doctor before taking any supplements or performance-enhancing drugs.

Lastly, he advises losing weight slowly by not cutting more than 500 calories below maintenance calories per day to prevent losing muscle tissue.

In conclusion, Coach Greg provides easy tips to help individuals build muscle and lose fat at the same time. By following his advice, individuals can optimize their body composition and achieve their fitness goals while maintaining a healthy physique.

Summary

In summary, all five experts share very similar advice. If I had to summarize and aggregate their suggestions, I would say to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time, you should:

1. Eat at or slightly below your maintenance calories.
2. Prioritize your protein intake.
3. Prioritize progressive overload resistance training, whether it is in the gym or a home workout.
4. Train each of your muscle groups twice per week using at least 4 sets of 10-12 reps.
5. Do the 4 things above consistently and over time.

Conveniently, the Build Muscle Get Body Transformation Program covers all the details of how to do the above and more. The goal of the program is to teach you how to not only lose weight, but how to lose fat, gain muscle and get lean. 

Like Coach Greg stated, building muscle and losing fat is easy, as long as you have the right information to help you get you at your goal.

How I built muscle, lost fat, and got leaner in 1 hour per day, using a $10 purple gym

I went from 26% body fat to sub-12% body fat in less than 12 weeks.

At my highest point, my waist size was about 36 inches, and now it’s at a healthy 30 inches.

…And I’m over 40 years old and I’m 100% natural.

No TRT, Steroids, SARMs, Fat-burners, turkesterone, or any other special sauces.

The only supplements I take?

Creatine and maybe, just maybe, a scoop of protein powder, but only when I don’t meet my daily protein goal from food, which is almost never.

And let’s be clear, I didn’t want to become yet another fitness “guru”, yet, here I am.

But someone has to tell you truth, instead of just creating videos to get you in their marketing funnels, so they can just sell you supplements you don’t need.

It seems like every other video on the Internet is created just to make things more confusing than they really have to be. So you’re always left guessing what’s actually right?

For example, there’s so many videos from the same person who gives you the ONE exercise that will build your chest but it’s a different exercise every time you click on each video, so you end up not knowing which to believe.

Then you have thousands of videos that talk about the ONE type of cardio you need to do to burn fat, like, you should only do High Intensity Interval Training or HIIT.

Well let me tell you.

I didn’t do any High Intensity Interval Training.

I didn’t perform supersets.

I didn’t use “muscle confusion.”

I didn’t carry a gallon of water around in the gym.

I didn’t pay someone for their $5,000 coaching program.

And I didn’t do one ab workout.

Not one.

To be frank, I find the gym pretty boring and isolating.

I just want to get in, do what I need to do to build muscle, and then get out.

I have other things I enjoy doing more than working out.

Like traveling and making YouTube videos about traveling.

So, when I put my program together, I needed to be in and out of the gym in less than an hour.

And I needed to be able to keep a year-round, lean look whether I’m at home or living out of hotels.

And that’s exactly what I did.

I spent no more than an hour in the gym to go from 24% body fat to a lean, muscular sub-12% body fat.

And so the program I created is still the program I do today, with just a bit of variation to account for the fact that I’m now a more advanced lifter.

But what this means is, it’s 100% possible to get from mid-20% body fat, or even higher, to almost 10% body-fat, without drug enhancements, extreme dieting, or “muscle confusion”, and by paying no more than $10 per month at a purple gym while working out for no more than 1 hour per day.

I know this sounds like yet another marketing video for some shady workout plan but I 100% stand by what I say.

And I’m going to share with you the 5 things I did to make it happen, without any scientific jargon or the “uncovering of secrets.”

Just cold hard facts!

But before I do, I want to be 100% transparent.

If your goal is to win a powerlifting competition, this isn’t for you.

If your goal is to win a fitness competition, this isn’t for you.

And if you just want to lose weight and don’t mind looking soft after spending weeks in the gym, again, this isn’t for you.

I’m also not trying to convince you to start going to the gym.

I shouldn’t have to convince you of that. But if you’re not already going, it’s probably because you don’t see the point, because no one is informing you how to truly see results.

So you end up running in circles.

Trust me, I understand.

But, if you’re already going to the gym, want direction, and truly want to build muscle, lose fat, and get lean, then this is for you.

I mean, if you’re already going to the gym, you may as well get results, right?

I’m going to tell you the high level “plan” that allows you to build muscle, shred fat, and get lean.

The same plan that you can follow FOR LIFE.

What I’m going to share with you can and will get you to 12% body fat.

And it can and will get you to even 6% body fat, if you follow it long enough, and if that’s something you aspire to do.

I don’t know about you but I’m good with staying at a lean, 12% body fat level.

In fact, when I started my journey, I just wanted to get to 15%, but I shot pass that goal, and now I have room to breathe.

If you have a similar goal and you’re interested in knowing what I did to get from 24% to 12% body fat, and most importantly, what I still do everyday to stay around this body fat level, then you’ll want to stay tuned.

You won’t need to buy anything if you understand exactly what I’m about to share.

But the devil is in the details and I don’t have nearly enough time to present them all.

So, if you’re going to want more details, and want to be a part of a community who are all working toward the same goal, I’m going to make you an offer when I’m done.

Is that ok?

Great.

Let’s get to it.

#1: I started with the RIGHT goal

This is serious. It seems simple enough but so many people get this wrong.

Some people go to the gym and workout because it makes them feel good.

They like sweating and they like checking “workout 3 times per week” off their list.

That is their result-based goal.

They want nothing more and nothing less.

If this is your goal, more power to you.

But if you go to the gym because you actually want to build muscle, lose fat, and get leaner and this is what you’re doing, you’re probably just wasting your time.

You need to follow a program to get you the results you want.

And I’m not talking about following a program that just has a fancy title that makes an empty promise to get you there.

Just because a program is named, Ripped in 90 Days, Max Shred, or even Build Muscle Get Lean, it doesn’t mean it’s appropriate for your goal.

If your goal is to build muscle and get lean, you need a program that 100% puts an emphasis on learning nutrition and implementing both a calorie-based nutrition and resistance-based progressive overload plan.

I don’t care how many ab exercises or agility ladders you dance in, if your goal is to build muscle and get lean and the programs you’re buying doesn’t prioritize changing your nutritional habits or doesn’t have you monitoring the volume, frequency or intensity of your lifts from week to week, you’re just wasting your time and money.

So, figure out your goal.

Then you can start looking for programs that’ll help you reach those goals.

#2: I maintained a sustainable calorie deficit

Once I recognized my goal, the next thing I did was put myself in a sustainable calorie deficit.

…getting from your current weight to the weight you want to be at rests in what you believe about the concept of calories in vs. calories out.

I don’t want to waste your time trying to convince you that calories in vs. calories out matter.

All I can ask you is this, if you stop eating for 50 days straight, what do you think will happen to your body weight?

If you don’t believe that you’re going to lose weight, after eating 0 calories for 50 days straight, then there is nothing I can say that’ll make you believe me when I say, calories, more than anything, matter.

And the reason why I bring this up is to get you over the idea that, in order to lose weight, you must be on a low-carb diet.

Or, keto diet.

Or a military diet.

Or, any other fad diet.

All diets work!

The real question is, how do you want to look after you’re finish with your diet?

All else being equal, the simple fact is, if you reduce the number of calories your body needs, and you do this for a long enough time, you will get leaner.

So at the end of the day, when you choose a diet, you’re going to want to choose one that helps you build muscle and get lean, not one that just helps you lose weight.

And if we’re talking about a diet that helps you reach the specific goal you want, like to build muscle and get leaner, you’re going to want to choose a diet that reduces your calories but allows you to eat as many carbohydrates and proteins as possible.

Did you notice I said reduce your calories but did not say reduce your food?

I said reduce your calories.

It’s because calories in vs. calories out matter.

You can make an almost unlimited number of simple changes in your current diet that reduces the amount of calories you consume while still filling full and eating foods you enjoy.

So stop with the salads!

The bottom line is, “How many calories you eat is way more important than what you eat.”

When you learn how to eat, everything else follows with ease.

When you choose tasty high volume protein packed meals you enjoy, you’ll stay full.

And as an added bonus, when you know what to eat and how to eat, you won’t have to think about “Eat this, or Eat that” any more.

You’ll naturally gravitate towards the foods that you know are going to be lowest in calories, highest in protein and best to make you feel satiated.

Eating like this, in a sustained caloric deficit is the most important thing I did to build muscle, lose fat, and get lean.

Again, it’s not a secret, as long as you know what you’re doing.

#3: I Didn’t Use a Body Weight Scale as the de facto Indicator of progress

First some data points.

I was 177 pounds when I was around 26% body fat.

I was 175 pounds when I was around 17% body fat.

Then roughly 11 weeks later, I was 170 pounds when I reached 12.7% body fat.

If you noticed, my body weight only dropped eight pounds…

…but the amount of fat I had in and around my body, especially around my love handles and back, went from 44 pounds to 21 pounds, while the amount of muscle I gained, went from 134 lbs to 143 lbs.

That’s right.

I lost 23 pounds of fat but gained 8 pounds of hard lean muscle.

And my body weight only moved down 8 pounds.

Let me say that again, I lost 23 pounds of fat and gained 8 pounds of muscle, but my total body weight only moved down 8 pounds.

All that to say, A body weight scale is just a measurement of your total body weight.

That’s it.

Your total body weight includes water, bones, muscle and fat.

When the number on your scale goes down, you may be losing only water.

Or, when the number on your scale goes down, you may be losing fat, but you may also be losing muscle, and muscle is what you want to keep.

But, even if the number on your scale doesn’t move, you still can’t be certain about what’s going on.

You may be doing exactly what you want to do, which is building muscle, getting lean, and losing fat at the same time.

This is exactly what happened to me.

If you’re using only a body weight scale as your indicator of progress, you’ll never know for sure if you’re making the progress you want.

And unfortunately, even those digital scales with body fat percentage indicators are unreliable.

I have one…

…that I paid $100 for.

It still shows that my body fat percentage has barely moved.

Using a body scale as a defacto indicator of progress is the number one reason why most people give up on their fat loss goals.

I don’t want you giving up and looking for other solutions if your body weight stops moving on the scale.

I don’t want you to prematurely drop your calories way more than you need to, and much sooner than you probably have to.

The number on a body weight scale can be very misleading and discouraging.

So, to measure your true progress, I recommend DEXA scans for body composition measurements.

They have their inaccuracies, but they are way better at measuring your body fat and lean muscle percentages than a body weight scale.

A DEXA scan is exactly what I used to measure my body fat composition and is why I can confidently say I went from 24% to sub-12% body-fat while gaining 8 pounds of muscle.

I understand that not everyone lives in an area where they have access to a DEXA scan.

And even if they could, not everyone has the money to pay the roughly $100 per scan.

But if you do, do it.

Get a DEXA scan at the beginning of your journey and at a minimum every 8 weeks afterwards so you can measure your TRUE progress.

But if you can’t, at least get a set of calipers and learn how to measure your body fat with them.

Trust me, DEXA scan or not, when you follow the steps I’m giving to you, you’re going to make progress, whether the scale moves fast, slow, or seemingly not at all.

Trusting in your transformations with just a body weight scale is hard.

Trust me.

I know.

Get a DEXA and get your measurements!

#4: I Prioritized the 2 P’s. Progressive Overload and Protein.

Progressively overloading the stress your muscles undergo and giving your muscles enough protein to grow are two undisputed requirements for muscle growth.

When you lift more weight in the gym overtime, your muscles experience small microtears.

These microtears are the precursor for muscle growth.

And when you consume enough protein when you’re experiencing these small microtears in your muscles, the protein helps your muscles repair.

In other words, you create an environment for your muscles to grow.

As your muscles repair, new muscle tissue is added, essentially making your muscles “grow.”

So if you don’t prioritize protein in your diet and progressively overload your weights in the gym, you’ll be hard pressed to build any new muscle, especially when you reduce your calories.

You can still lose body weight, but if you don’t have the muscle you want, you’re just going to look soft.

If you want a rock hard, solid look, you must eat enough protein and lift heavier overtime, specifically increase the amount of your volume lifted over time.

So practically speaking, without the jargon, what does this mean?

First, it means you should consume at least 1 gram of protein per 1 gram of your body weight in pounds.

So if you’re 190 pounds, you need to eat 190 grams of protein daily.

If you’re 170 pounds, you need to eat 170 grams of protein daily.

Now there’s lots of debate on how much is enough, how much is too much, and can the body handle so much.

But you know what’s more important than trying to nail down these answers, actually getting the protein.

Everything else is just noise.

If you haven’t been doing this, don’t question it, just do it…

…starting today!

Second, it means that every week you should make an attempt to add more weight to your lifts.

…at least 5 pounds.

This does two things.

First, it helps stress and tear your muscles over time, which allows them to build new muscle tissue and therefore grow.

Second, it gives your workouts a goal.

It’s exactly what I did, and as a bonus hack, to get me out of the gym in less than an hour, I used all machines.

I didn’t have time to listen to someone’s debate on which is better, barbells, dumbbells, or machines. What one chooses and why is goal specific, and if no one knows what your personal goals are— they’re just talking noise.

I chose what would get me the results I wanted while getting me out of the gym the fastest!

#5: I Transformed Into the Person I Wanted to Become

If you want to transform your body into its leanest and most solid physique ever, you must have a mental shift.

You must become the person who identities as the person who is lean and in the best shape of their life.

This means you must transform into the person that identifies as someone who worksout everyday, through rain, sleet, or snow.

You must transform into the person who is 100% aware of the calories you put in your body.

And it means you must transform into the person who obsesses over hitting their daily protein goals and lifting more every week.

You must become the person that confidently says to others, ‘It’s just what I do, It’s who I am.”

This mental transformation is more important than any single transformation you can make.

It transforms you into a person who is consistently on a path to reaching and then breaking through your fitness goals.

The greatest indicator of success is consistency.

Thomas Edison and his team used over 6000 types of plant materials before finally finding the material that gave us the light bulb.

And it took Tesla 18 years before it had its first profitable full year.

In other words, when you believe in what you’re doing, all you have to do is show up, consistently, and put in the work.

Transforming into the person you want to become is what provides your mental power to show up to the gym even on those days you may not feel like going.

It’s really that important.

And those are the five things I did, and continue to do to build muscle and get lean.

1. I started with the RIGHT goal.
2. I maintained a sustainable calorie deficit.
3. I didn’t use a body weight scale as a true indicator of my transformation progress.
4. I prioritized the 2 P’s. Progressive overload and protein.
5. And I transformed into the person I wanted to become.

I know my program will work for you.

Your results will come.

It’s just a matter of time and how long you are willing to put in the work.

But I specifically don’t promote how long it’ll take to get a specific result.

First, everyone starts at a different place.

And second, I want you to learn and implement the things I teach to build muscle and get lean for the rest of your life.

What I laid out works.

When you get serious about wanting to get rid of your “dad bod” or a stomach that extends further out than your chest, change will happen.

In fact, I’m not afraid to say it.

All programs that incorporate these 5 elements will work for you.

It’s just a matter of which one you choose.

But I know my program incorporates these elements.

When you put these elements into play and you begin putting up more weight in the gym every week, and you begin seeing the results you want in the mirror, everything else will just fall in line.

But you gotta start.

If transforming your body into your leanest shape possible while building muscle is something you’re finally ready to commit to doing, then don’t waste another minute of your time.

Start today!

Now, like I said, those were the five things I did, but the devil is in the details.

And if you want those details, allow me to take you under my care.

I poured everything I know that will help someone build muscle, lose fat, and get leaner—if that’s their specific goal—into my program called Build Muscle Get Lean.

It covers psychology, training, nutrition and the details behind how to set up your diet, how to eat, and how to train.

Unlike so many other programs, I don’t give you a fish.

I teach you to fish.

But you have me and my team’s help along the way.

You’ll get immediate access to the exact workout plan I used to build muscle and get lean while getting out of the gym in less than an hour.

Your gym don’t have a lot of machines? Fine.

There’s a million different ways to work your muscles.

You only need to choose a few of them.

The great thing about my program is it’s not a prescription.

I don’t have a “magic” training program.
But when you join Build Muscle Get Lean, because you learn how and what to lift, you’ll be confident making your substitutions that helps you target the same muscle we’re all working to grow—all of them!

It’s exactly how I make my switches in the gym when I’m on travel and don’t have access to my preferred machines in my $10 home purple gym.

I’m not selling a one workout prescription that works.

I’m selling, “do what works for you” but by following the simple five principles I outlined earlier.

Just like all diets work to get you lean, all training programs help you build muscle, as long as you know what you’re doing.

I chose my training protocol because I wanted to build muscle while traveling around the world while spending the least amount of time in the gym.

Getting access to my recommended training protocol allows you to do the same.

The training you choose, incorporated with a shift in your nutrition habits will make you unstoppable in the gym!

So, if you want to build muscle and get lean, and most importantly, gain the confidence that allows you to take your shirt off at the beach, my program is 100% for you.

There are no tricks.

This is a program based 100% on getting you results in your first 90 days!

My program is intentionally not confusing.

I’m 100% transparent.

There are no secrets.

I don’t talk about “superfoods”, carb cycling, muscle confusion workouts, HIIT, secret supplements, or any other “secret” weapon to burn fat.

This is NOT a “money grab”!

If it were, I would try to sell it to everyone and price it at $47, but I want to build a community of like minded fitness enthusiasts who are all committed to excellence and results!

And as a reminder,

• This program is not for you if you don’t want to track your food intake. This is the most important aspect of the program. You must have a great understanding of food and its calorie content.
• This program is not for you if you can’t make it to a gym, and
• This program is not for you if you’re not committed to doing what it truly takes to get lean.
• But, this program is for you, if you want it to be the last program you will ever have to buy and you’re tired of being scammed by workout devices like ab belts that body suits that simply DO NOT WORK to get you the results you want..

Once you understand how to put into practice what it takes to build muscle and get lean, EVERYTHING else becomes noise.

I tell you exactly what to do and the training program helps you understand why.

It’s the only data-driven, results-based, non-nonsense fitness training program on the market.

Seriously.

Stop wasting your money on useless supplements and stop wasting your time in the gym.

You’re already working out, so why not get results?

Otherwise, what are you even doing?

Go to Build Muscle Get Lean right now, check out the program details, and get started on your own personal, drug-free, 90 day transformation today.