I’ve often heard the phrase, “You can’t out train a bad diet.” I’ve seen it on healthy eating sites, I’ve seen it tweeted in F3 circles, and I’ve had it said directly to me in conversations. But me being me, I have to test every theory to see if it holds water. Testing is complete, and the water holds.
I started F3 almost 4 years ago and despite not altering my diet much, I think the routine workouts may have been a jolt to my system. I lost 40 pounds rather quickly and managed to keep them off for a couple of years without much of a change to my diet. I could have stood to lose another 40, but I was happy with the new me requiring minimal effort. In my third year there was the Blue Ridge Relay and that grueling 12+ hour quarter ruck. With those activities and others like the Bear and the Polar Bear, I was able to eat even MORE than I had been while still dropping another 10. But all good things must come to an end. Following a activity-heavy Fall in 2016, I went into hibernation and severely reduced the number of workouts I was attending. I was burned out on CSAUP and opted to do none throughout this year. Of course, the increased eating did not change except to steer towards less healthy (aka more convenient) options and now practically all the weight I lost has been found again.
If I learned nothing else in F3, I am at least familiar with the concepts of accountability and dancing idiots. If I look back on my more successful stretches, they came as a result of tracking my efforts and having at least one other guy to keep me on task. That’s why I am opting to start the Great Weight Negate (GWN).
Unlike previous #fuel challenges in F3, this call to action is not about dictating what you have to eat. I have come to the conclusion that every man must follow his own path for dieting. Some find results when eating 3X per day. Others need to “graze”. Some need to reduce their calories while others need to focus on eliminating a specific macro-nutrient. So in the case of the GWN, you pick your own method of dietary restrictions.
All that the GWN requires is accountability and journaling. I’ve tried to lose weight several times in my life. It’s hard. My best successes have come when sharing the ups and downs with people in the boat with me. I’m also forgetful. I tend to binge at night but if you asked me in the morning what I ate, I would struggle to recall. That’s why keeping a log of what you eat is important. Awareness empowers you to remain faithful to the goal.
To join in on this new plan for weight loss and healthy eating, request to be added to the F3/GWN Slack team — you can send a request to me on Slack (blackbeard on f3lakenorman or f3nation) or Twitter (@blackbeard_f3). Once logged in, create a public channel for yourself (e.g. #blackbeard). Why are we doing this? Glad you asked:
- In your channel, you will:
- Enter your starting and goal weights
- State your plan (low-carb, low calorie, no snacks, etc)
- Log everything you eat/drink
- Log your exercise
- Post your current weight at least once weekly
- In other men’s channels, you will:
- Randomly check other’s channels to make sure they are tracking their progress
- Offer encouragement as needed
- Offer advice and criticism when warranted
- At least once a week, you will:
- Meet with other challengers in person
How much detail you provide is up to you, but best results are certainly proportional to what you are willing to share. The more others know about your goals and your current effort, the more they can encourage and critique to help keep you on track.
Checking in on others is equally critical. And not just because every guy needs to know he’t not in the fight alone. Keeping others on task allows you to live out the #IAmThird philosophy. And often you’ll find that focusing on others’ struggles helps ease your own. An encouraging word now and then will increase the chances of getting one yourself in your darkest moment. And tough love in the form of a pointed question, a challenge, or a minor critique is sometimes needed to get a guy back on track to succeed. This should be a team effort in both the struggles and the successes.
And finally, while Slack is great for daily check-ins, nothing is as powerful as face-to-face interaction. While daily logging and encouragement is necessary, we should also plan to meet up once a week for at least a few minutes. This can be an arranged meeting in the gloom for a workout. It might be 30 minutes of #coffeeteria to follow up on something mentioned on Slack. Or perhaps an occasional #2ndF lunch works to share what works or doesn’t work. One way or another, you should make an effort to meet up with others (obviously this is dependent on others being in your area; ideally men will “partner up” if joining from regions outside LKN).
So there you have it. A #fuel challenge not based on a “one solution fits all” approach, but rather focused on tracking what you put in your body and holding others accountable for their choices. I have talked to a few men on the side and I believe I have at least my first follower. I’m hopeful we will not be dancing alone in this mosh pit. You’re free to join at any time but I encourage you to make it a 2018 resolution you can keep. I’m posting the challenge early in the event you want to get a jump start and perhaps drop a few pounds ahead of the holidays. I for one can’t afford to gain any more between now and January 1st. Every chip I put in my mouth now is just one more celery stick I have to choke down later. I look forward to succeeding together!