Welcome to Week One of the Lean Body/Lean Bulk Challenge!

In this article we cover what metrics to keep track of, dialing in your macros and workouts, and what to expect during week one.

In the first week of this challenge we have several things happening.

We’re trying to switch our diet so our bodies are getting what they need to build lean muscle without the excess calories or hormone-triggering foods that would cause fat gain.

With this comes restructuring our cells so they will use the foods we’re giving them properly and balancing or increasing hormone levels so our body will prioritize building lean muscle over body fat.

We’re addressing digestion, which is crucial to our overall health as well as building muscle, as we need our cells to receive all of the nutrients and vitamins we’re consuming.

You will be consuming a lot of whole food proteins, which your stomach is probably not used to receiving, and it will need extra help until it builds up enough stomach acid and enzymes of its own.

So make sure you’re taking your digestive enzymes with each meal during this.

We’ll also be working to dial in our exact macros.

And we may be experiencing some cravings.

Well done on completing the 30 Day Fat Loss Challenge!

This is no small achievement!

And while you may feel and look different on the outside... on the inside things are even more different.

We’ve balanced hormones and repaired or replaced trillions of cells.

We’ve removed fat not only from our fat cells, but from our blood vessels, where it can thicken our blood, causing more work for our heart.

We’ve removed fatty deposits from our organs such as our liver and kidney, where it can make them less efficient or prevent them from doing their job. (Not good.)

We’ve built lean muscle and, at least to a degree, changed our body form.

We’ve improved digestion and the microbiome, the most important gatekeepers for our overall health.

And we've set ourselves up, if we maintain our current lifestyle, for not only sustainable fat loss, but a long and healthy life.

In short… we’ve done a lot!

But what do we do now?

Are we done? Are we not done? Is there something else to help lose those last stubborn bits for the lean toned body we want?

Let's see.

Welcome to the final week of the 30-Day Fat Loss Challenge!

During this challenge we’ve had our ups and downs as cravings came and went and hormones began to balance.

But by Week Four things have evened out or soon will.

Energy levels rise, mood may become more even, sleep becomes more restful, digestion improves, and overall health rises.

And, of course, we’ve lost a significant amount of body fat.

Make sure to take new measurements to compare to your original measurements!

As always, if you need any help, be sure to reach out in the VIP Group so we can answer any questions and assist however we can.

But I want to quickly cover what’s happening in this final week.

As we near the end of the Fat Loss stage of this or any protocol, fat loss will slow.

We’re at or near our personal goal.

We might still have some extra fat, but it’s not coming off or it’s coming off very slowly — and frustratingly.

Also, we’re getting hungry. Not for sugar or junk food or more food when we’re already stuffed, but hunger as in our body needs more food.

At this point it’s counter-productive to carry on with Fat Loss, even if we have a bit more to lose.

Our hormones have re-balanced to the point that they’re functioning correctly.

Our cells have majorly restructured, cutting out their addiction to sugar, and becoming able to use fat and amino acids for energy more easily.

If this hadn’t happened, you wouldn’t have lost body fat.

But we’ve also built muscle, something that helped us with our fat loss and which is what will carry us over the finish line.

Now we’re into Week Four of the 30-Day Fat Loss Challenge and we need to pull back for a moment and see where we're at.

For some, if there was significant insulin resistance to overcome, we may still be getting over the last of our cravings.

For others, we’re past that, but our hormones are still re-balancing.

In either of these cases we’re losing body fat the whole way, but we have more to go and we should continue.

But depending on how much body fat we had to lose at the start of this, some of us may have already achieved our goals... or at least, fat loss has slowed and hunger has returned.

And we need to know what to do when we hit this point, whether now, or a few weeks from now.

Because carrying on with the same macros after this point will cause us trouble.

It’s summer time, and if you plan on getting out into the woods or into the mountains, then it’s important you know how to spot ticks and remove them, or prevent them from getting onto you in the first place.

Because their bite can potentially carry harmful bacteria that causes Lyme Disease, Spotted Fever, and a series of other illnesses.

This doesn’t mean you need to be scared at all. Far from it. 

It just means that you need to be informed.

You need to know what they look like, where to look for them, and what to do if you find one.

Or, better yet, how to prevent them from getting onto you in the first place so you can have a safe adventure and enjoy the outdoors without worry.

Getting good sleep is one of the most important things we can do, not just for muscle building and fat loss, but for our mood, energy levels and overall health.

As sleep is when our body is able to recover and repair cells, a lack of it even affects our aging process, speeding it up internally, as well as visibly, causing wrinkles and sagging skin.

Yet a third of Americans get poor sleep.

What causes this and what can we do about it to not only get better, deeper sleep, but reverse the effects of poor sleep?

As we enter Week Three of the Lean Bulk Challenge, our hormones are balancing to allow for maximum muscle building and swifter fat loss. 

So this week I want to cover the points that can either prevent muscle gain, or slow it, and the things that allow us to maximize muscle gain and fat loss, and speed recovery from workouts.

So make sure you’re pushing hard in your workouts and lifting heavy, because we want to build as much lean muscle as we can now.

In both women and men, estrogen exists and is necessary.

But when estrogen levels rise too high, it can unbalance other hormones.

This not only causes excess body fat to be built, which can be hard to remove, it lowers key muscle building hormones as well — testosterone and growth hormone.

And it lowers levels of the hormone thyroid, which regulates our metabolism.

Your digestive tract’s ability to fully digest and absorb protein determines, in large part, your body's ability to build muscle and lose body fat.

When protein isn’t properly digested, this triggers a sequence of actions, involving our immune system, which leads to inflammation in the body and higher levels of cortisol, the hormone that prevents fat loss and breaks down muscle.

But also, without full digestion, our body receives less of the protein we consume in a form it can actually use.

As we enter Week Two of the Lean Bulk, cravings for junk food or processed sugars should be lowering or gone.

And you may not have added much in the way of muscle yet.

That’s fine, you’ve just started and it will come. Right now we’re dialing things in and balancing hormones for muscle building and body fat regulation.

You also may have found it hard to eat all of the natural proteins on the protocol. But this protein is necessary.

In the first week of this challenge we have several things happening.

We’re trying to switch our diet so we’re getting what we need to build lean muscle without the other calories or hormone-triggering foods that would cause excess fat gain.

With this comes restructuring our cells so they will use the foods we’re giving them properly and balancing or increasing hormone levels so our body will prioritize building lean muscle over body fat.

Then we’re addressing digestion, which is crucial to your overall health as well as building muscle, as you need to be getting all of the nutrients and vitamins you’re consuming.

And, improperly digested proteins lead to inflammation, which leads to higher levels of cortisol, a hormone that prioritizes building fat and breaking down muscle.