I’ve wanted to get cut (low body fat percentage, to see my 6-pack) for my entire life.

I am now cut, and want to share with you the secrets on how I got cut. This probably won’t work for you — but it worked for me.

1. Don’t eat breakfast or lunch

I practice ‘intermittent fasting’ — abstaining (most of the time) from breakfast or lunch. Of course, I cheat sometimes.

The first reason I don’t eat breakfast or lunch is that I get tired after eating breakfast or lunch (even when following a ‘ketogenic’ diet— with is high fat, moderate protein, and very low carbs). I feel the purpose of my life is to create empowering information for others, and nothing can get in my way of achieving that. Not even food.

So instead, I drink a lot of coffee (black, no sugar, no milk) and a lot of water. Coffee is great, as it is an appetite suppressant. Water is good too, because it hydrates me, and distracts me even when I am hungry in the day.

I usually have my first meal at around 5-6pm. Then I will have a ‘second dinner’ of around 6 eggs at around 10pm before I sleep.

The common misconception is that I am ‘starving’ myself. I am not. I am just changing the timing of my food intake.

For example, I still probably eat the same amount of food in a day— but I don’t eat it during the day. I only eat in the evening, and eat as much as I want, until I feel full.

2. I don’t drink alcohol, consume sugar, or simple carbs

The easiest way to get cut isn’t to run 10 miles a day. The easiest way is what to cut from your diet or lifestyle.

For me, I no longer drink alcohol (beer, wine, hard alcohol), I no longer consume sugar (high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, sugar), and I don’t eat simple carbs (bread, pasta, muffins, etc).

Instead, my diet is primarily consists of fatty pork, chicken, beef, eggs, and lots of veggies (green and leafy, not starchy veggies like potatoes).

It is a common misconception that eating fat makes you fat. In-fact, it is scientifically proven that abstaining from sugar and starchy foods (bread, pasta, sugar, rice, etc) will cause you to lose massive amounts of body fat. I recommend reading ‘Good calories, bad calories’ by Gary Taubes.

3. Taking it to the next level

For a long time, I followed a ‘ketogenic’ diet and went to the gym a lot. I still had trouble losing body fat.

The only thing that helped— intermittent fasting.

I used to believe the naive concept that you needed to eat breakfast before you started your day — kind of thinking of the human body like a gasoline car. A car only runs if we put in gas. But as human beings, we are much more complex systems. To learn more, read ‘ANTIFRAGILE’ by Nassim Taleb.

Our body can create energy through a process called ‘Ketosis’— in breaking down the body fat we have in our bodies to create energy. There is a real story of a 300+ pound man who fasted for nearly a month (ate nothing, only drank water) and lost 100+ pounds of fat. His body fat stores kept him alive. And evolutionary speaking— it makes sense. We put on fat on our bodies to keep us alive, when there is no food. Because in the past, we did not have the luxury of eating ‘3 square meals a day.’

4. Exercise

Of course you cannot build muscle without exercise.

I personally follow this regimen: I workout when I feel like it, and like a kid.

I do chin-ups in bathroom stalls, covering my hands with toilet paper.

I do chin-ups at the park whenever I see a chin-up bar. I do them until I get tired or bored.

I do pushups at home, and do yoga at home for fun. I also do it mostly for my lower-back pain.

I also do lunges, and 1-legged ‘pistol squats.’

I no longer count repetitions. I just do it until it feels good, and stop when I am bored.

I also do deadlifts (the ‘1-rep maximum’ powerlifting style) whenever I have access to a gym. I also don’t lift with a belt. Even without a belt, I was able to deadlift 410 pounds without injuring my back. I think belts and straps are dumb.

I have also not taken any protein power or supplements, and have experimented not eating anything after my workouts.

So for example, I might ‘workout’ in the morning at 11am, and then eat nothing until 6pm. And I haven’t lost any muscle mass. If anything, I probably gained more muscle mass— through the IGF growth hormone which is stimulated with intermittent fasting.

5. Don’t fear hunger

I am still afraid of going hungry. I hate going to sleep hungry. But I have started to fast as a means to feeling connected to the hungry and destitute all around the world.

If we can conquer our hunger, and our fear of hunger, we can conquer anything in life.

For me, when I get hungry, I go on a walk to take my mind off it. Or I watch a movie. Or I read a book, do some pushups on the ground, do some writing, listen to music, or drink more coffee.

I think it is only out of our weak will can we not go 24 hours without food. Many people go several days without eating, or even fasting a week. Why can I not go 24 hours without food— when Muslims all around the world do so (without water and food) from sunrise to sunset?

Conclusion

I’m still experimenting, but I know that after 7 years, I can finally see my 6-pack again. And I feel sharp, strong, powerful, and fearless.

I just want to share this with you because I had so much difficulty finding information on the internet about this. So much of the workout fitness industry is selling you dumb shit like protein powder, BCAA supplements, and all this snake oil stuff.

I have been able to get cut without any supplements or protein powder. I only consumed coffee, water, meat, and green veggies. And I wasn’t a slave to a gym, nor some dumb workout plan.

If I can do it as a skinny Asian guy— so can you.

Be strong,
Eric