The impetus to overhaul my entire workout philosophy from primarily aerobic inline speedskating to lifting weights and high metabolic workouts came from starting with Ori Hofmekler’s Warrior Diet. I started blogging as I decided to log my daily experience on the WD. I am reprinting what I wrote about it on February 19, 2006.

On February 19th, Valerie and I went to a Fitness Expo in Pasadena and it really was targeted toward body builders and strongmen. Not really what we had expected. I had learned a nutritional expert, Ori Hofmekler, was going to speak on how to get rid of “stubborn fat”. Now that got my attention! I have been working out hard for years including near maximal efforts doing hill repeat intervals on skates, running up hills with a weighted vest and considerable time and effort lifting at the gym and at home. With all that, I still weighed 220 lbs. (Wonder what I would weighed without all that work!) On top of that, I was having acid reflux 2-3 days a week, including almost choking on it in the middle of the night. The time was ripe for a drastic change. That time was now. The very next day, I ate like Ori described in his talk and his book, The Warrior Diet. From that day on, the reflux went away and I began to lose fat, not water, not muscle, but F-A-T, at the rate of 2-21/2 lbs a week.

I have easily adapted to this radically different eating plan which flies in the face of just about every “accepted” diet. The Warrior Diet is more of a lifestyle than a short-term, “get ready for summer beach season” diet. WD calls for undereating during the daytime which means only low-glycemic fruits and vegetables with an allowance of a small amount of protein in the form of organic milk or non-fat yogurt or even his tasty Warrior bars. In the evening, I can pretty much have whatever I like, keeping in mind the structure of this phase called, somewhat hedonistically, overeating. This meal starts off with a medium to large salad with a variety of dark greens and other vegetables. The more colors, textures and tastes, the better. I would follow that with steamed vegetables, mostly broccoli. As I start winding down on the veggies, I start digging into the protein, which has been more often than not, fish or shrimp. I even enjoyed a lobster tail for the first time in years. After all that is done, I can now go for the bread, (which I always loaded up on first), rice or potatoes. For other meals, I’ll forgo the carbs and eat 2-3 handfuls of almonds or other nuts.

I have read and re-read “The Warrior Diet” book and another book “Maximum Muscle, Minimum Fat”, which focuses on the science of this diet. A tough read, but I was able to eventually make some sense out of it.

As I got underway with my new program, I decided to schedule a phone consultation with Ori to gauge my progress and pick up some valuable advice. I got that and more. Ori put together a supplementation program designed to accelerate my progress and that included a more specific booklet, titled, “The Warrior Diet Fat Loss Program”. That book crystallized and fine-tuned exactly what I should be eating and what would be the specific results. This eating cycle has become easier and easier and a much more natural way for me to eat. Today, I am at 205 lbs and I expect to get to 180 lbs and 10% body fat is beginning to look more and more like a realistic goal.

By the time I lost 15 fat lbs, it was time to move to the next level. Little did I know what I was about to get into!

Today I had the first in-person appointment with Ori in a Woodland Hills trainer’s gym for my first Controlled Fatigue Training, (CFT) workout.
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I currently eat the WD way a couple days a week, but I am due for a cleansing and eating at the bottom of the food chain for a week or so. (I wish chocolate was at the bottome of the food chain)!

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