Announcing Scoundrel’s New Diet and Health Program – 1*

1* Program

Right. Welcome. It as simple as this, or as hard as this. One ass to risk (1*) is based on the objectives of a creating a weekly caloric deficit, a desire to lose fat and retain lean muscle, and an attempt to forestall the starvation response (in my case this just leads to over eating).

I wanted to keep the program simple. Not too much science. All those programs out there are like playing chemistry with the body. Also I don’t believe in throwing the kitchen sink at a problem. How would you know what element of your program works and what doesn’t? I also believe that several diets out there are based on flawed science. For instance the Mediterranean Diet; one thing the foundational studies failed to account for is that culture is predominantly Greek Orthodox. The Greek Orthodox have several holidays which require the observance of fasting. Fasting has many health benefits and has been shown to be a factor in longevity in mice. Does the Mediterranean Diet program include fasting? No. How would you sell fasting? That’s a simple explanation, but you get my point. Enough said.

Back to the program. There are two components of the 1* Program:

1. One calorie a week. More is ok, but there’s no guarantee that it’s not water weight. Also remember my three objectives. Slow and steady wins the race. Increase effort in the workout area and a slight (weekly) caloric deficit cycled in a zig zag fashion of deficit and replenishment so as not to lose muscle mass or go into starvation mode. The goal is a slow burn of fat a pound at a time, which takes about 3,500 calories, while not losing muscle, which is about 600 calories per pound.

2. One lifestyle change each, or even every other, week. Again, health habits but at a slow pace. For instance increase sleep time, reduce stress, dance more, reduce pop and beer intake, cut out certain sugars and processed foods, cycle in skim milk or even give up whole milk (ok, let’s not get carried away). That’s like two months of stuff right there. Small steps, but at a concentrated effort on developing good habits that will carry on after the weight is lost. After all the uber goal is to live a long a quality filled life.

In essence, "Live long and prosper"

- Scoundrel