Video summary
The speaker successfully lost approximately 10 pounds of body fat during the month of August by combining a strict dietary approach with his regular exercise routine. Although he started the challenge weighing between 213 and 215 pounds and ended at 204.6 pounds, missing his initial goal of reaching 200 pounds, he remained satisfied with the results. A key lesson learned during this process was that daily scale fluctuations are often misleading due to water retention from factors like sodium intake or specific meals, such as a night out eating sushi. He realized that focusing on the number on the scale is less important than observing actual physical progress, such as reduced face fat and improved muscle definition, which served as more reliable indicators of success.
The primary driver of his weight loss was maintaining a consistent calorie deficit rather than drastically changing his workout regimen. His training remained unchanged throughout the month, consisting of about 30 minutes of exercise three times a week, which included intense jump rope sessions using a high-intensity interval method, push-ups, pull-ups, surfing, and walking. He emphasized that while exercise is beneficial, it cannot compensate for poor dietary choices; without paying attention to food intake and staying in a calorie deficit, excessive workout time yields no results. The most significant behavioral change he implemented was stopping all food consumption after 8:00 p.m., which helped him manage hunger cues and avoid late-night snacking on processed foods like popcorn.
To achieve his nutritional goals, the speaker carefully calculated his maintenance calories and adjusted his intake to ensure a daily deficit without resorting to extreme fasting. His typical day involved starting with a croissant topped with butter and two eggs, followed by a midday snack of nuts and fruit, and dinner featuring sweet potatoes, ground beef, onions, goat cheese, kimchi, and hot sauce. For dessert, he opted for high-protein options like blueberry vanilla protein shakes or Greek yogurt. He also drastically reduced his consumption of alcohol and processed sugars to minimize inflammation, noting that these changes made losing fat in the midsection significantly easier. This structured yet manageable approach allowed him to feel confident and disciplined, proving that even when life gets out of control, a few specific adjustments can help reset focus and maintain a lean physique.
Read the full video transcript
Today I wanted to talk about losing 10
lb of body fat in the month of August.
So at the beginning of August, I wanted
to lose a little bit of body fat. My
goal was 200 lb. I started this
challenge roughly around 213 to 215 kind
of in between there. And my final
weigh-in on August 31st was 204.6.
So just about 10 lb lost. So I'm happy
with that result. So even though I
didn't hit my goal of 200, I'm still
pretty psyched that I was able to lose
10 lb and get down to 204.6.
Um but the weight loss, I think it just
reinforced in my brain that the number
on the scale just doesn't matter because
there are days when, depending on when
you weigh yourself, when you stopped
eating the night before, all these
things, you could be like a 5 to 7 lb
difference. So there was one night in
particular during the middle of the
challenge where I thought I was good cuz
I was order I was weighing around 206.
And I was like, "Oh, I got this in the
bag. This is going to be easy." And then
I ordered sushi,
ate a bunch of sushi. I don't know if it
was the the water retention from the
sodium or whatever.
Um but the next morning I woke up and
was like 213. And I was like, "Oh my
goodness, I feel like I'm actually
making progress. And then one meal just
takes me back to my original weight."
And obviously I was able again then to
go in a calorie deficit and lose the
weight and get down to 204.6. But what
this shows me is just more reinforcement
that your weight doesn't really matter
because I was actually seeing progress
in terms of body fat lost, definition,
and little markers that to me are very
important like face fat. When I start to
notice that I'm losing fat in my face,
that's when I'm like, "Okay, this is
actually working." Another thing that I
did like was I very much reduced alcohol
and processed sugar intake. And that was
just something that I noticed made it
way easier to lose body fat, especially
because of the inflammation. So what I
noticed the most was losing fat around
my actual midsection, which was the goal
because that's typically really hard to
do. The number one factor, obviously,
was calorie deficit. My training didn't
change at all. I did all my push-ups. I
did intense jump rope workouts. I
walked. I surfed. So, that was really
good. It really comes down to eating,
which and being in a calorie deficit,
which I always talk about on this
channel. It doesn't matter how much you
jump rope if you're not paying to If
you're not paying attention to the food
you're eating and how much, you might as
well not spend so much time working out
cuz it's not going to do anything. The
biggest game changer for me uh was not
eating after 8:00 p.m. This is one thing
I noticed, and some nights I would stop
eating at 7:00, and then the next
morning when I woke up, I was
drastically less weight than I was the
night before. And I think this also just
helped Again, the scale doesn't matter.
It helped reinforce the behavior of
like, you don't need to eat after 8:00
p.m. You don't need to eat as much much
processed sugar. So, this wasn't for me
really about I am glad I lost some body
fat and kind of got a little bit leaner
and back down to that lean fast look
that I like. Uh but the bigger thing for
me was more just locking back in on
certain things uh that make me feel more
disciplined. So,
not restricting my calories, but being
more particular with how much food I'm
eating, drastically reducing alcohol and
any processed sugar intake, and then
also uh just eating my food within a
certain window. And it actually felt
good some nights to be laying there on
my couch watching TV and being like,
"Uh, I'm hungry. I want to get popcorn.
I want to get this." Which is typically
when I tend to eat more. And being like,
"No, I'm not going to eat. Just drink
water." That feeling of control
just reminded me that my weight is in my
control. And anytime that I, you know,
go have a little fun or maybe gain a
little weight, I know that I can lock
back in and check myself and be like,
"No, this is the standard that we're
living at." So, more than anything,
that's what I wanted to show you guys is
that if you you like you're starting to
get a little bit out of control, um
there's just a few things that you can
do to lock in and get focused and get
yourself back to a little bit lower of a
body fat, which in turn could make you
more confident that no matter what life
throws at you, this is something that
you can do. By the way, my And just for
some numbers here, I would say that I
hardcore exercised for 30 minutes three
times a week, which is what I've been
telling you guys in some of the YouTube
videos. Uh doing this 20-minute jump
rope workout, which I posted, but I'm
posting another one, like a sprint high
intensity interval training, cuz that's
the workout that I did for the whole
month. It was 20 minutes of 45 seconds
of jumping rope. So, the first 30
seconds would be like boxer skip 50% and
then the last 15 seconds would be all
out sprint and then rest for 15 seconds.
Repeat that for 20 minutes. I would do
that, 100 push-ups, and I'd hit 50
pull-ups, or sorry, more like 30
pull-ups
twice a week, and and then I was surfing
and walking. So, that's how I lost the
weight. In terms of food, this is really
where I dialed it in, and if you're if
anyone here is looking to cut body fat
or get to a particular goal, this is
what you need to pay attention to. So, I
did go to the Jaredy Fitness Calculator.
I've done this so many times, but just
to really lock in on like, okay, this is
how much I need to be eating, I found my
maintenance calories and then what I
need to eat to lose weight, plug that
in, and the meals that I ate the most,
which actually might surprise you, cuz
it's not necessarily These meals aren't
necessarily recommended by Nutri- Well,
some of them. Here we go.
So, the first meal almost every day, I
ate a croissant with a little butter and
an egg on each side. So, I'd cut it in
half, put it in the the oven, little
butter on each side, and an egg on each
side, and some everything bagel
seasoning.
Um [snorts]
I wasn't fasting because I used to fast
a lot, but uh with all the activity that
I do, jumping rope, push-ups, surfing,
whatever, um I do like to eat breakfast
now and I think it's overall about
having being in a calorie deficit over
the course of the entire day or week,
not necessarily just fasting in the
morning.
So, first meal was croissant with two
eggs. And the and then for the middle of
the day, I maybe a handful or two of
nuts and a bunch of fruit, but again, I
calculated that. Dinner almost every
single day was
my most common meal was sweet potato,
ground beef, maybe some onions, a little
goat cheese, and then
maybe an egg, but also just maybe some
kimchi and some hot sauce. This is a
really awesome meal for getting lean and
building muscle, by the way, and it's
super easy to make. For dessert, some
nights I would have a blueberry vanilla
protein shake or I would make this like
Greek yogurt thing. Either way, both
were very high in protein, but I was
hitting consistently the same amount of
calories every single day and doing the
workouts like I normally do. So, that's
why I was able to lose the weight. Now,
I'm not going to sit here and act like
Of course, if you're just starting this,
this might be a little bit more
difficult for you the first time, but
it's not complicated. It doesn't require
tons of hours of cooking and gym time
and exercise. It just requires
consistency. Overall, I'm pretty happy
with it and also I just like the way
that I feel. The biggest thing, I know I
said this earlier in the video, is the
fat in my face. I can feel my face just
getting leaner and it's kind of
motivated me not to continue to drop
weight cuz I Again, I don't think the
scale is that important, but now I'm a
little bit more motivated like, "Okay, I
got pretty defined. Let's push it a
little more. Let's see if I can, you
know, build some more mass
and continue to stay at a low body fat
percentage. So, overall, I was really
happy with this and yeah, lost 10 lbs,
keep going, going to keep doing the
thing as normal, but just wanted to
share with you guys. By the way, the
rope and mat that I use in every single
workout or every time I do workout is
crossrope.com/jrd.
So, if you're looking to start losing
weight with jump rope, this is a great
option. So, you can get 15% off with
code JRD or do the thing. You can use
either code JRD or do the thing. But, if
you're someone who wants to lose body
fat by jumping rope and you need a more
structured experience, then you should
join the JRD inner circle because I have
full-length video programs that you just
pop on through an app and follow along
with them. And I also have an
accountability forum where that's where
I'm in there coaching, motivating
people, and everybody's kind of
motivating each other as they go through
and lose the weight with jump rope. All
right, y'all. Appreciate you tuning in.
See you in the comments.