10 Tips to Transform Your Body

When I say “transform your body” here, I’m talking about looking like a totally different person within a relatively short time period. This is definitely easier said than done, but not impossible if you’re willing to put in the work and make your body transformation a priority.

For most people, this usually falls into the category of fat-loss while restricting your daily caloric intake. Yes, for some people a transformation will be in the form of a growth phase, but I will make a separate post on that at a later time. Since most people will pursue a body transformation as an endeavor to lose fat and look totally different, then I will address this type of body transformation in this article.

Over the years I’ve realized some very important things when it comes to fat loss. These things can easily be overlooked or forgotten, especially for someone who is new to the gym and/or dieting for fat loss. To make these points easier to remember, I’ve developed this list of 10 tips to transform your body Please consider all of these key points and refer back to this article as needed as you go through your own body transformation.

(For anyone that would like an established diet and workout program finely tuned to them, please consider a coaching program to eliminate the guesswork)

 

1) DO NOT AVOID EATING, SIMPLY RESTRICT CALORIES PER MEAL

The biggest mistake people make when trying to drop the fat, is that they simply avoid eating. They usually disregard protein intake and frequent smaller meals and gravitate towards bullshit foods like iceberg lettuce salads or some form of chicken dishes with a whopping 2 oz portion of chicken from some food establishment.

In most cases the overweight person wasn’t eating breakfast to begin with because their metabolism was already slower than elderly people fucking. So rather than throw something new at their body to get it to start burning at a faster rate, they’ll continue to skip breakfast and then skimp on portions during the day. This will go all fine and dandy for usually less than a week, and then one evening they’ll just fall apart completely and down a half gallon of ice cream.

Then they’ll possibly revert back to their wonderful starvation regimen once again, and then rinse and repeat their nightly breakdown of falling apart and eating bullshit. You have to understand that when you begin eating in a different manner than what got you fat to begin with, of course it’s not going to feel “normal” at first!

“I tried eating a few eggs with some oats for breakfast and I felt like I was going to throw up!”

That’s because your metabolism is slow as hell! 

“I can’t fit all of these meals in me, I didn’t eat the last few meals of the day because I was stuffed!” 

Did you throw up? Then MAKE YOURSELF EAT THEM YOU PUSSY! 

“Those foods taste too bland to me, I can’t eat them!”

They taste bland to you, because every meal you’ve consumed over the past several years has been fat and sugar… YOU FAT MOTHERFUCKER! Apparently, you don’t want to do this bad enough then do ya? THERE ISN’T MUCH GRAY AREA HERE, QUIT BEING WEAK!

Unless you are just morbidly obese and have no boundaries at all, I never suggest fasting for someone trying to make a total body transformation! Fasting and the up and down nonsense, the yo-yo dieting, that’s what got most people into the fat fuck predicament they’re in to begin with! That plan just sucks to me!

The real key to a successful fat loss diet is to hit those meals as your metabolism speeds up from exercise and making small meals a priority throughout the day. Usually, you’re going to have to force yourself to do this the first few weeks, then it’ll feel more natural and easier to want to eat.

 

2) FOCUS ON MOVEMENT FIRST, TRACK PERFORMANCE SECOND

Look, just move your fat ass! Don’t worry about how much weight you’re lifting, whether or not it’s the same number of sets that some elite fitness coach performs, or if you’re doing the perfect exercise for that muscle group. Everywhere I look lately I see people falling victim to the belief of spot reduction, which is this belief that fucking the air with a barbell on your crotch somehow “tones your butt,” or that sit-ups will somehow give you abs.

This just simply won’t work until you get that diet under control. Do not stay glued to the same stupid exercises throughout the entire workout because you think that somehow those specific exercises will somehow outperform a shitty diet!

If you’re performing 42 sets of your little hippie hip air fuckers on the Smith machine, but taking 3 minutes between sets, then congrats, you’re doing very little! You’d be far better off resting less than 45 seconds between sets and doing a legit 4-5 sets of an exercise and then move on to the next one.

Just fucking move your fat ass! When it comes to cardio, don’t worry about whether it’s the bike, the treadmill, the stair master, or the elliptical… JUST MOVE YOUR FAT ASS! Over-analyzing things will fuck you up in this game!

When I realized that it was too easy to skip out on cardio because I was placing too much emphasis on intensity, one day I woke up and changed my approach. My new approach went something like this…

Get on the treadmill, put one foot in front of the other and walk for 30 minutes, assess how I feel after 30 minutes and possibly move to the stair master and finish out with a harder 15 minutes on stairs. You see, when I simply focused on MOVEMENT to begin the session, it wasn’t overwhelming to me anymore. My mind changed when it came time for cardio and the routine became normal again. This created a pattern of consistency and within about 6-8 weeks I found myself down almost 25 lbs with my abs showing once again!

Sometimes you just have to focus on movement as the priority, even if you’re advanced and you’ve been at this for decades.

 

3) DO WHATEVER GETS YOU RESULTS AND KEEPS YOU PUSHING FORWARD

Get this yo-yo dieting and workout routine out of your head. If that’s what you’ve done before and you know it didn’t work, then the approach got fucked up somewhere along the way! Now, speaking from experience, this approach often gets sidetracked because something was either too extreme or expectations were too unrealistic for what that person was bringing to the table.

Oftentimes, the diet someone was trying to follow simply fell way too low in calories. The plan may have worked well for the first month, but then it just wasn’t sustainable afterwards because something was just so out of whack that it was no longer realistic to stick to. A smoother and steadier approach, one where you took smaller bites at a time consistently, would have gotten the person much further along.

Maybe the workout was too demanding for recovery? Maybe the expectations from the workouts and diet were just unrealistic for someone who wasn’t using performance enhancing drugs and/or supplements?

There is a big reason why extreme physiques don’t look natural…

IT’S BECAUSE THEY’RE NOT!

The average person isn’t going to go from a fat sack of shit to someone on the cover of a magazine without some sort of help.

STOP BELIEVING ALL THESE SELF PROCLAIMED NATTIES WHO MAKE A LIVING BASED ON THEIR LOOK!

It’s common sense here, do you think if taking something could enhance someone’s look and in turn enhance their business or online presence, they wouldn’t do it?

And just because they may be female doesn’t mean a damn thing! There are plenty of things females can use to help look harder, retain more muscle while dieting, and still look feminine! Don’t buy into that shit for a second!

But back to the main topic of this point, think of what keeps you going and making progress. If a new workout leaves you totally wiped out and falling off the plan towards the end of the week then it’s not a good fit.

If a diet leaves you so depleted that you can no longer perform at work or have the energy to deal with the kids, then it’s not a good fit for you.

But rather than fuck off with it all, think of ways to continue to keep moving rather than throw it all to the wayside and consider yourself someone that just can’t do it. The one problem with the fitness industry lately is that there are people that make this their life who would lead you to believe that you can do it to their level.

I’m going to tell you all that the average person isn’t going to do what I do to the level I do it at! I’ll also be 100% transparent and tell you that there are areas in my own life that occasionally get neglected for my lifestyle and the level that I take things to. Many people simply wouldn’t allow themselves to do it on my level, many women wouldn’t stick around for someone that does this to my level, and it would be downright impossible for people to do this to my level without performance enhancing drugs!

How’s that for brutal honesty?

But that isn’t saying that you cannot find a way to make a transformation, develop new habits, and formulate a lifestyle that keeps you looking good and proud of what you’ve accomplished. Just be realistic about how far you’re able to take it with what you’re willing to sacrifice for it. YOU WILL NOT DO THIS WITHOUT SACRIFICE!

 

4) TAKE THE MEASURES NECESSARY TO TRANSFORM YOUR BODY FOR THE LOOK YOU WANT

THE MORE EXTREME THE LOOK, THE MORE EXTREME THE MEASURES TO GET THERE

This one sort of goes without saying, but most people do not have superhero genetics. That saying, “Everything in moderation,” will get you just that… moderation. It can get you in shape, make you fuckable, and to where normal clothes fit you again, but don’t expect anything beyond that. Don’t expect to have people break their necks to look at you from across the street, the entire restaurant to look over at you when you walk through the door, or people to be commenting on your physique everyplace you go.

And you know what? I don’t think there is anything wrong with that, nor should everyone do this to such an extreme level. There is a value and sense of accomplishment in doing something to a level that you didn’t think was possible, or achieving a look beyond what you imagined you could ever accomplish, but I see nothing wrong with just achieving a fit and healthy look. The irony of being a slob is that usually people aren’t just slobs when it comes to fitness and nutrition, but that lifestyle eventually permeates into other areas of their lives.

In most cases, when someone takes care of their health, they’re usually accountable for taking care of other areas in their lives because they hold themselves to a higher standard.

But you must understand that there can come a point where trying to achieve or maintain a certain look requires more extreme measures, and often times other tasks and responsibilities in life can dictate how far you’re willing to go in order to achieve the desired look you’re after. Personally speaking, you’re always going to want more and that is human nature. Just be real with yourself and know when more is required from you and when enough is enough with what you feel is actually manageable with life. But chances are, if you’re dieting and training and you feel comfortable, you’re not pushing hard enough.

 

5) SACRIFICE COMFORT TO RECEIVE REWARDS

Sometimes people want to look at the effort required in making a transformation as everything it’s going to take away from them as opposed to what it could possibly give them. So instead of telling themselves things like, “It’ll command respect, make me more appealing in the dating world, show people a level of self-discipline and hard work” they’re simply thinking along the lines of, “it’ll take away enjoyment, it’ll pull me away from social functions and fun, it’ll make me a robot and miserable.”

The problem with thinking like this is that it sets you up for failure before the process even starts happening! How do you know that the effort required to make a transformation is only going to take away but not give you anything in return?

I’ll never forget this one time when I was dieting hard and prepping for my first competition. I can remember looking out of my apartment window at an absolute downpour outside. I’m talking rain coming down as hard as bullets and clashes of thunder and lightning that seemed to be happen almost every few seconds. I needed to do my cardio and I was dreading that run outside to my car, because I knew that I was going to get soaked jogging to the car!

And them, it’s like this switch just went off in my head. I suddenly thought to myself, “NO, YOU AREN’T GOING TO RUN TO THAT CAR AND HEAD TO THE GYM FOR CARDIO TODAY… YOU’RE GOING TO JOG THROUGH THAT STORM AND DO YOUR CARDIO OUTSIDE IN THAT FUCKING THUNDERSHOWER!

YOU ARE GOING TO FEEL THAT RAIN HIT YOUR BODY, SEE THE FLASHES OF LIGHTNING AROUND YOU, FEEL THOSE CLASHES OF THUNDER NEARBY!

DAMNIT, EMBRACE THAT SHIT! KNOW THAT YOU’RE ALIVE AND GODDAMNIT YOU’RE DOING SOMETHING THAT MOST PEOPLE AREN’T GOING TO DO!”

That cardio session that day stuck with me! I remember it more clearly than any other cardio session that I’ve ever done before in my life. That was 21 years ago.

Sometimes you just put yourself in the motherfucking trenches to reap what it’s making you! You find value in those positions in life where you have to just become this fucking machine and see something out!

This comes with every time you do a set, every time you step foot in that gym when it would have been easier to just take a nap or watch a TV show, and every time you sat there to eat those egg whites or chicken!

Doing these things will do something to you… there will be a reward that comes with the sacrifice and one day you’re going to know it!

MEASURABLE RESULTS DON’T COME WHEN EVERYTHING IN LIFE IS PERFECT THAT DAY, THEY COME WHEN YOU CONTINUE TO PUSH FORWARD DURING THOSE TIMES WHEN CONDITIONS AREN’T IDEAL!

 

6) STOP OBSESSING OVER “THE RULES”

Now, this one is very important to talk about here, so listen up!

One of the biggest fucks in the ass I see with people now, especially people new to dieting for fat loss, is that they become overly obsessed with rules over results. What I mean by this is they’re more focused on “Wait, don’t eat that, it contains 1.3 grams of carbohydrates, and the diet doesn’t allow carbohydrates,” or something along the lines of,” No, the workout says I’m supposed to perform 6 sets of that and that’s only 5 sets so far!”

Look, I’m not saying not to be disciplined here, and of course trying to make a transformation doesn’t feel all warm and fuzzy and perfect, but obsessing over all of these stupid rules can seriously fuck you up!

How about looking at yourself, making an accurate assessment of where you’re at, how you feel, and what needs to be done to continue moving forward rather than obsessing over rules!

My usual diet week involves 1 cheat meal a week, but sometimes halfway through the week I’ll do something a little more filling, such as a sleeve of rice cakes with natural peanut butter on them. This is not one of those rules, it’s based on an accurate assessment of how I look and whether or not I have enough energy in the tank to do my cardio and have somewhat decent workouts.

No, not every workout is on top of the world when I’m dieted down and depleted, but there does come a point where I’ll need to fill back out more and give myself enough to get through the week! These points are not because I don’t have enough discipline to not eat rice cakes with natural peanut butter on them, they’re almost necessary to keep a more volumized look and to have just enough energy to push hard for the few more days left in the week!

Not to mention, there is a lot going on with your body when you’re dieting. Anyone who has had extremely low levels of body fat will tell you that getting good sleep becomes difficult when you get physically hungry. For myself, sometimes something as simple as reintroducing healthy fat and carbohydrates that day through some rice cakes and peanut butter is enough to reset my sleeping pattern and in turn BURN FAT EASIER.

Sometimes, reintroducing something and then pulling it away is actually the way to go, rather than just following the rules all the time!

If I was too obsessive over “following the rules” then I may be going catabolic and looking worse because I was too blind to wake up and smell the coffee! Rules will fuck you, but with this in mind do not read this and just think this gives you the green light to eat ice cream every day because “something doesn’t feel right.”

There is a big difference between something that becomes necessary and just an excuse! Don’t be weak, accurately assess the situation and quit getting hung up on rules!

 

7) ESTABLISH YOUR GOALS

Having goals was pretty much the only way I could push myself hard enough to get results. My first real goal in bodybuilding was to get my chest to stick out, back when I was doing a lot of push-ups as a beginner. Then, I decided that just getting my chest to stick out wasn’t enough, maybe if I got my body mass up to 175 lbs then I would actually look noticeably larger to everyone else. So, at that point the goal was to eat more and lift heavier to build a solid foundation.

Now, without trying to sound like Forrest Gump, once I got to 175 lbs I figured,  “Why stop here? Why not try to hit 190 lbs? and when I got there, I thought, “Why not try to break 200 lbs?”

THE GOALS IN THE BEGINNING WERE SIMPLE GOALS. THEY WERE ATTAINABLE AND WITH EVERY GOAL REACHED, MY VISION OF WHAT I COULD EVENTUALLY LOOK LIKE GOT CLEARER! 

See, that’s the thing; sometimes you can’t clearly envision where you can go until you start knocking down smaller goals first. The more you attain, the more you learn and the clearer the finished product becomes in your mind. We are always chasing the finished product and that’s what keeps us going, because I don’t believe the finished product is every truly achievable as our visions and confidence grows… but we can sure as hell try!

One problem I see a lot of people running into lately is that their goals are just too far-fetched for their level of development. I don’t care if it’s trying to slap on size or trying to drop 50 lbs, don’t be having these insane goals that seem too overwhelming to you. Again, goals that are too large can mind-fuck people before they even get started!

Keep it simple! Rather than say, “I want visible 6-pack abs and veins running across my quads,” why not keep it simple and say, “I want to get out of the 40’s waist size in jeans and lose my gut so my dick looks bigger!” Seems to me that would be a good place to begin, then maybe worry about the visible abs after dropping down to a healthy sized waist and losing the gutter-hang (when your gut hangs over the waist/belt).

 

8) EXECUTE ROUTINES/PATTERNS THAT ARE SIMPLE BUT EFFECTIVE!

Let’s talk about routines/patterns here for a moment. A routine and a pattern is something that should be simple and consistent. If you need to look at all of the ingredients and measurements of your diet every time you go to prepare food, then guess what? It’s too fucking complicated to be effective!

If you need to constantly scroll through your workout daily to figure out which exercises to do and how many reps to do per set, then guess what? You got it…it’s too complicated! Sure, at first you may need to look at certain days and figure out what it is you’re supposed to be doing, but there is simply no reason to have to look it up 8 times throughout a workout unless you’re either stupid or have Alzheimer’s disease.

But yet, there is this belief that many of us have, and that belief is that SIMPLE CAN NOT POSSIBLY BE EFFECTIVE! Well, let me let you in on a little secret here, SIMPLE IS MORE EFFECTIVE! Besides, what’s your definition of simple? You may only see a few different exercises, but I see reps, muscular contractions that are deliberate and forceful, GROWTH!

A lot of people are simply letting their motivation get the better of them. They’d assume do another 5 back exercises rather than cut it after a few basic exercises and go finish up with routine cardio. So, they’ll spend another 30 minutes on weights, just to spin their wheels, over-eat as soon as they’re finished, and avoid cardio altogether. Then, 8 weeks will go by and they’ll wonder why they don’t look any different.

It’s far better to stick to a basic routine and execute consistently than to be Mr. or Miss Gung-Ho dip shit with the 40 different exercises every workout. Also, if you’re putting enough into the sets and reps then you wouldn’t be able to do all of that to begin with!

Furthermore, why would you even want to do all of that if it only created a caloric deficit so bad that it only made sticking to a strict diet even harder?

The right way to do things would be to know what sort of stimulus was enough to work the muscles, then move on to the cardio part of the equation rather than skipping it. That’s right, the part that everyone neglects because they CAN NEVER DO ENOUGH in the gym!

A simple and effective bodybuilding routine that is highly effective and intense is Shredded Ops

 

9) BE MINDFUL THAT NOT EVERY DAY IS A GREAT DAY IN THE GYM

This one here is just pure fucking reality… NOT EVERY DAY IN THE GYM OR DIETING IS GOING TO BE A FEELING OF BEING ON TOP OF THE WORLD!

Oh, all the stupid shit you’ve read before in most places online? Yea, it’s nonsense! Okay, MAYBE WHEN YOU’RE OBESE and you drop the first bit of extra fat you’ll feel more energetic and vibrant, but I’m not talking about that one right here.

I’m talking about having defined and visible abdominal muscles, separation and striations, and garden hose veins on your arms that resemble dick skin! No, you aren’t going to look this way and feel splendid every day.

Most people will have off feeling days before they get to what I’ve mentioned above, just know that there are going to be days where you are just gonna’ have to suck it up and roll with the punches. That’s right, sometimes it’s not all about getting some rice cakes and natural peanut butter, it’s about shutting the fuck up and suffering through it! The fitness industry has done a fantastic job on selling people a dream that simply doesn’t exist.

I’m here to tell you the REAL MOTHERFUCKING DEAL, and that’s that every day ain’t necessarily a good day and you’re going to have to just push through some of the days where things don’t feel 100%!

Remember what I said earlier in this article, it’s about what you do when you’re pushing through hell that makes the biggest difference, not what you do when everything is pretty and perfect!

There are going to be times when you feel too tired to cook, too tired to train, and too tired to want to do cardio after the weight routine (or before it, whichever way you do it). These are the times when you become a machine and just do it, you almost have to make yourself thoughtless and just keep moving.

 

10) DON’T LISTEN TO IDIOTS THAT DON’T KNOW WHAT THEY’RE TALKING ABOUT

Ok, this one may not apply to everyone here, especially if you are obese, because basically any less space you consume and weight you take off will yield positive feedback. This one is for the people who are going to get told things like “You’re thinning out, you’re getting small, do you still work out?” You see, there is a big illusion that often comes with getting conditioned, and that illusion is that although you may look smaller or thinner with a shirt on, in a tank-top or shirtless you’re going to look much larger than you actually are!

To me, the pinnacle of bodybuilding is when you become that ace card that can stay covered up and not get much of a reaction, but then when the hoodie comes off it’s like “MOTHER… FUCKER!!!” This is the reaction that quite frankly amuses me when I get in top condition.

But the bottom line is this; I truthfully do this for me and myself only, I could give a fuck about anyone’s approval or opinions on what I should or shouldn’t be doing with the gym and nutrition! I know what I’m doing, and I know which direction I’m headed, and that’s all that matters.

You simply have to block out the thoughts other people may have about your progress or let some of their comments roll off your back. You know you’re putting in the work, and as long as you’re putting in the work then the results are going to come!

Yes, admittedly there have been times where I’ve question certain clothes I was wearing, or how something may or may not accentuate my build in a positive way. “Is this going to be something chicks dig or laugh at?” you might ask yourself. But when you become so focused on the work and you start to rely on yourself as your own best judge, none of that stupid shit even fucking matters! I could throw on some grandpa pair of Sketchers with hoodie and nut-hugger sweatpants and not give 2 shits about what people think (Relax, this is just an example, I don’t wear that stuff!)

You guys get the point here; I’d rather be the guy that’s so focused on putting in work that I simply don’t care about anyone’s opinion other than what I think when I look in the mirror. I don’t believe in this body positivity, fake bullshit with people that don’t put forth any effort. You know your worth when you put in the work, you don’t just walk around with this attitude like “YEAH, I’M THE CAT’S ASS,” despite eating a diet comprised of bullshit food with a sedentary lifestyle to boot!

That is lying to yourself, it’s not even body positivity to me, because you have to tell yourself a lie to believe it. I wish some of these chicks could simply understand that MOST MEN WILL FUCK JUST ABOUT ANYTHING! Some of these big girls aren’t special, they’re just convenient and most likely single. And when it comes to men? HA! You think looks really matter when a girl is looking for a security blanket?

So, basically why do this for anyone else in the first place when you simply don’t have to do it. Fortunately for the lazy, we live in a world where we celebrate mediocrity. I’d rather feel good about myself because I’m putting in work than have a million thumbs ups on social media from dooch bags! Let all of the fake, body positivity dip shits flaunt their flabby asses all over the place while I remain in the dark and PUT IN REAL WORK!

I hope that you’ve gained something from this article. The biggest thing I want to drive home here is that this takes work! You know when you’re doing the work and when you’re slacking, quit acting like you just can’t figure that out. Once you’re willing to do that work no matter what to attain the goals you set for yourself, you’ll turn into a machine and stop thinking so much about it. You’ll just shut up and execute!

TRAIN HARD!

– JD