Fat-loss handbook: your complete fail-safe, week-by-week guide to dropping 20 pounds in eight weeks - New wardrobe not included - The Men's Fitness

Men's Fitness, Feb, 2002 by Jeff O'Connell

Total body fat lost, including exercise: Two pounds.

Current body weight: 191

WEEK 4

The goal: Keep your calories at the reduced level achieved during Week 3.

How to do it: Cut out rogue fats such as mayonnaise, cheese on sandwiches, and extra butter. If these deletions take your calories below the target reduction level of Week 3, add back in some more of the good stuff, such as lean proteins and fruits and vegetables.

Lifestyle tweak: None.

Total body fat lost, including exercise: Two pounds.

Current body weight: 189

WEEK 5

SIGNPOST: Start here if you train regularly but would like to shed five to 10 stubborn pounds. Note: Apply the information presented below in "How to do it," as well as the directions from the same section in Weeks 1 through 4.

The goal: Now that you're on a roll, whack another 50 calories off your daily consumption, placing you 800 below your baseline level.

How to do it: If you haven't cut out or reduced your intake of the processed sugars found in sweets, do so now. "When you're hungry, it's tempting to go home and eat 10 Oreos," says Kundrat. These foods are so loaded with empty calories that knocking out 50 calories a day should be easy.

Lifestyle tweak: At a minimum, you should be drinking two quarts of water a day. Drink an additional two or three cups two hours before exercising, the same amount 15 minutes before the workout, one cup for every 15 minutes of exercise, and two cups after training for every pound of body weight lost.

Total body fat lost, including exercise: Two pounds.

Current body weight: 187

WEEK 6

The week's goal: Reduce your calories by another 50, placing you 850 below baseline, without reducing your protein intake.

How to do it: Add protein powder to the mix. "Protein powders come in handy, became they're very low in caloric content and very high in protein," says Di Pasquale.

Lifestyle tweak: Make sure your diet contains at least 30 grams of daily fiber, which helps promote fat loss by making your stomach feel full and speeding fat through your system before too much of it can be deposited. Here's a sample combination of fruits, vegetables and grains that adds up to a daily total of 30 grams of fiber: 1/4 cup soybeans, 3 slices whole-wheat bread, 1 papaya, 2 Shredded Wheat biscuits, 1/3 cup shelled almonds, 2/3 cup Brussels sprouts.

Total body fat lost, including exercise: Two pounds.

Current body weight: 185

WEEK 7

The goal: Add 150 calories back to your daily ration. "Now that you're in better shape [i.e., you've gained a little muscle] and training harder than you were at the beginning of the eight weeks, you can probably get away with consuming a few more calories," says Kundrat. This will not add back fat. Rather, it'll help fuel your workouts, allowing your body to gain more muscle and thus amping your metabolism, which will translate into fat loss.

How to do it: Revert back to variations on the meal plan given for Weeks 1 through 4.

Lifestyle tweak: Consume carbs with a high glycemic index (rice, pasta, potatoes) early in the day. Stick to steamed vegetables and salads from then on. You'll maintain energy and continue losing fat.