Perfect Fat Loss Day
John Romaniello has helped thousands of people to achieve their fitness goals using unique and effective methods. Not only is he a fitness expert but also is the creator of the Final Phase Fat Loss program.
A lot of you may wonder how doses someone like John outline a typical day and structures his time. So today I share with you this fitness expert’s perfect fat loss day.
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When Craig first asked me to a post about my “perfect” fat loss day, I was a bit skeptical—I thought, “okay, well, it’s interesting, but I don’t know how much the timing of my grilled chicken feeding is going to help people.”
So I thought about it, and after a while, it dawned on me what Craig wanted to accomplish with a post like this.
You see, I’m certain that you can simply copy my template (which I’ll provide below), modify it for yourself, and achieve phenomenal results. And, in fact, a good many of you might do that. (If so, I’m taking 22.4% of the credit!)
However, a post like this has a LOT of potential as an exercise—not something to be followed, but rather as something to be recreated.
What I am going to post below is my IDEAL, PERFECT fat-loss oriented day, in terms of both diet and training. This has value as a concept, because the truth of the matter is, the MORE of these days I have, the BETTER my results will be—and the same goes for you.
Of course, who really has perfect days with any real level of frequency? Sadly, not many of us.
However, I also know that the closer I make everyday to this template, the more progress I’ll make. Rather than just starting out each day with a general idea of what to do or how to act, I have a full, 24-hour schedule that will guide my actions.
Am I always able to follow it exactly? No; but, as I said, my goal each day is to get as close as possible.
Again, you can try to emulate what I’ll provide, but let’s face—I’m not you, and you’re not me. We live different lives, have different jobs, and follow different schedules. Therefore, what’s ideal for me may be wildly inconvenient (and therefore) ineffective for you.
At the end of this post, I would like you to simply do what I’ve done below: create, hour by hour, what your perfect fat loss day would look like.
Here is mine, starting from the moment I wake up, until the moment I go to sleep. I will also give you a rationale for a good number of the choices I make in this schedule, so that you get some valuable content and insight as well.
6:55AM – Wake up, pee, and immediately head to kitchen and drink 16oz of water.
– I like to get an early start on the day. I don’t get up as early as Craig, but I go to bed a bit later than him. This fits in very will with my lifestyle. However, getting an early start makes me more productive.
7:00AM – I perform my “neural wake up call.”
This is a series of very light body weight exercises. I do this in order to raise my metabolism, wake my body up, and stretch out some of the kinks. I’ll do push ups, Bulgarian split squats, overhead reaches, spider-man lunges. I’ll hold these exercises in the stretched position for about 1-2 seconds, allowing for a deep stretch. Just 1-2 sets of 10 reps or so. Takes 15 minutes, gets the blood flowing, and gets me burning extra calories early in the day.
7:15 – I drink another 8 ounces of water, and take any supplements I happen to be using. Currently, that would be Athletic Greens, and a multi-vitamin.
7:20 – I check my email, and sort it into three categories: “immediate” (my coaching clients, affiliates, or editors for magazines or websites I write for), “next” (regular fitness questions from readers who aren’t clients), and “later” (random stuff that may not even warrant a response). This isn’t a fat loss related task per se, BUT, I do find that being organized in other aspects helps tremendously with fat loss. Craig can attest to this.
8:00AM – 45 minute brisk walk. I don’t consider it this “cardio.” I’m talking a walk to clear my head, because it’s how I start my day. This is my “mental clarity” hour. Moving meditation. Like Craig, I think that for most people, “slow-go” cardio is pretty dumb. However, I enjoy walking around my neighborhood, getting some blood flowing, and just checking out the city life at that hour.
8:45AM – Answer my “immediate” emails, then post some stuff to Facebook and Twitter. Usually, I have a writing project I’m working on, so I’ll start on that. I do all of this until around 11AM.
NOTE – You’ll notice that I have been awake for about 5 hours and haven’t eaten yet. There are a few reasons for this. Firstly, I find that I have a bit more clarity before I have eaten, so I get my best writing done at this time.
Secondly, I simply CANNOT eat before my workouts, or I will vomit. Since I train at 11, it makes no sense to eat beforehand.
11:00AM – I mix my workout shake, take one or two sips, and then head down to the gym for a training session. My training session will, or course, vary day to day; however, if I’m looking for fat loss, it’s safe to assume that I’ll do some sort of fast paced circuit.
Before I do this, I’ll warm up with 5 minutes of jump rope, some jumping jacks, and then I’ll use my foam roller for about 10 minutes to work out any sore spots.
Today, I did a (very) simple density based workout:
A1) Push Press – 185 pounds for 10 reps in 20 seconds
A2) Bent Row – 185 pounds for 13 reps in 30 seconds
A3) Front Squat – 185 pounds for 12 reps in 30 seconds
I rest about 30 seconds between each of those, then add 10 pounds do the bar and tried to exceed my previous number of reps in the same time frame. I did for all three exercises
A1) Push Press – 195 pounds for 12 reps in 20 seconds
A2) Bent Row – 195 pounds for 16 reps in 30 seconds
A3) Front Squat – 195 pounds for 14 reps in 30 seconds
Because I did MORE work in LESS time, I increased my training density. This means I burned a lot more fat, increased strength, and generally felt awesome for beating the challenge I set for my self.
I decided to do this a third time with heavier weight. While I couldn’t beat the reps, I still got a great workout.
A1) Push Press – 205 pounds for 8 reps in 20 seconds
A2) Bent Row – 205 pounds for 13 reps in 30 seconds
A3) Front Squat – 205 pounds for 13 reps in 30 seconds
After that, I finished up with jumping jacks, push-ups, pull-ups, mountain climbers, and jump squats – all done for as many reps as possible in 30 seconds. I went through that 4 times, and that was it.
Simple but effective.
During the course of the workout, I aim to drink the remainder of my workout shake.
After that, back on the foam roller for 10 minutes, and then back upstairs.
Ideally, this will all have taken place in just about 75 minutes. Today it took 90, but since we’re looking at a perfect day, we’ll pretend it didn’t.
12:15 – Have my post workout shake (same thing I use during my workout, just half a serving) and get in the shower. On a perfect day, I will take a contrast shower.
A contrast shower is when you alternate periods of VERY HOT water with VERY COLD water. I normally do 30 seconds of hot, 30 cold, 30 hot etc. The reason for this is that it facilitates in a number of ways, but also increases production of Growth Hormone, as was as activating brown adipose tissue—this is “fat burning fat.” That is, it’s a type of fat that is riddled with dense mitochondria, and when activated, helps you to lose fat.
Again, I don’t ALWAYS do this, but on a perfect fat loss day, I would. Every little bit helps.
12:30 – Dress and start making brunch (despite this being my first meal of the day, I can’t eat at 12:30 and call it breakfast).
This meal will be 5 organic Omega-3 eggs. I just make mine over easy. I grease the bottom of the pan with coconut oil—this adds some more healthy fats and gives the eggs a really unique flavor that I love. You can get coconut oil in both spray and spread. I like the spread.
In addition to the eggs, I’ll have a (giant!) sliced tomato, some salsa verde, and an apple. I also take 3 fish oil capsules with this meal.
I eat this brunch in front of my computer, usually catching up on the blogs and newsletters that I follow.
All told, between making the meal and eating it, this takes about an hour.
1:30 – I spend about 30 minutes answer emails that I’ve marked “next” and then move on to my “programming shift.”
2:00 – From 2PM to 5PM I am officially in the trenches working on training programs. Mostly for my online clients, but also for in-person clients, and any new projects I’m working on. I only do this about 3 hours per day because, to be honest, it’s very mentally draining.
I work for 50 minutes, and then spend 10 minutes “refreshing.” My refreshing is 3 minutes of deep breathing followed by a few push ups, some jump squats, and some band pull-aparts (I do about 100 of these per day for shoulder health). I follow up with 2 more minutes of deep breathing, then back to work.
5:00PM – I have a blender drink. On a perfect day, I’d follow my best fat burning recipe:
6oz Almond milk
2oz water
6 ice cubes
3 scoops protein powder (vanilla)
2 tablespoon enhanced almond butter (has added protein from egg whites, and flax seeds)
3 table spoons Chia seeds
1 teaspoon flavorless fiber powder
A few drips of vanilla extract
½ teaspoon of extra dark cocoa powder
2 tablespoons cottage cheese (adds texture)
5:15PM – I answer my “later” email then return to working on my blog posts. (I usually try to post new blogs between 6-8 PM.) I’ll work on one until about 7
7:00PM – I watch Jeopardy. Every. Single. Night. I also play Punishment Card Jeopardy. It’s a cool way to make the show more interesting.
Take a deck of playing cards, and have each suit represent an exercise. For me, spades are squats, diamonds are push-ups, hearts are mountain climbers, and clubs are lunges.
EVERY time I get an answer wrong, I draw a card—whatever the number is, I perform that many reps on the corresponding exercise.
So if I draw a 9 of clubs, I do 9 lunges (per leg). Queen of diamonds is 10 push-ups.
This can be a lot of fun, or miserable.
Out of interest, I am AWESOME at Jeopardy.
7:30 – I start making dinner—4 grilled chicken breasts (3-4oz each), seasoned with herbal dry rub. (Rubs are generally superior to marinades. They are usually made with herbs, spices, and salts—not sugary goo like marinades. I like the ones from www.MadeInNapaValley.com. Tons of flavor.) I will also have giant servings of broccoli and cauliflower. I season those with a little lemon juice and Celtic sea salt.
I drink about 20oz of water with dinner, and take 4 fish oil capsules. I eat pretty fast (I don’t chew, being honest), so I’ll usually finish by 8:15.
8:15 – Clean up the kitchen and go for a walk. Again, this isn’t for fat burning (though it helps), I just enjoy a walk after dinner. Usually, I’ll put on my iPod and walk for 20-30 minutes.
8:45 – I check my email again, and answer anything urgent. Not much comes in, so I can usually just answer everything in 30 minutes.
9:15 – Finish reading blogs. Make my “to do” list for tomorrow.
9:45 – for 2 hours, I’m going to try to get more work done. Again, 50 minutes of work, 10 minutes of refreshing.
11:30 – Snack – ¾ cup cottage cheese, 2 tablespoons of almond butter, 12oz water.
11:45 – Unplug from the world, and read for at least 60 minutes before going to sleep.
12:45 – if I’m still feeling “awake” I’ll do some stretches and yoga poses while listening to relaxing music and focusing on deep breathing. Ideally, this will get me ready for my snoozies. I’ll another chapter if I’m in the middle of a good book. (For those interested, I’m currently reading American Sphinx by Joseph J Elliss. It’s an incredible biography of my favorite President, Thomas Jefferson.)
1:15AM – lights out, bed time. No matter what.
Okay, that that represents my PERFECT Fat Loss Day. As I said above, the more of these days I have, the better off I’ll be. Again, I’m not able to replicate that every day while trying to lose fat, but because I have this written template, I have an actionable plan that I can follow as closely as possible—and the closer I make each day to this, the better I’ll be.
You can certainly try to mimic this plan, but it would be hard for most people. You see, I work in gyms and from my home, so I have a lot of freedom to eat and train however I like. I understand that my schedule is a bit of an anomaly.
That said, this post can still have a lot of value for you.
Here is what I want you to do: take about 30 minutes and create a PERFECT fat loss day for yourself. In fact, since your schedule is probably different on weekdays than it is on weekends, draft one for each.
This should be the most perfect realistic day that you can have. A day where nothing goes wrong, but where miracles don’t occur either. (Don’t base your day, for example, on your boss calling you up, telling you to take a few days off but collect your check anyway!).
Once you have these schedules, you can follow them as CLOSELY as possible—and in doing so, guarantee you better results and faster fat loss.
In fact, take it a step further and post it below! Craig and I would love to see what your ideal day looks like!
No one is perfect, and no day is really perfect—but the closer we can get, the better we’ll be.
Good luck!