After a 6 month plateau, I decided last month it was time to make another push toward my goal weight.

An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made, in a narrow field. – Niels Bohr

I’ve been losing weight since 2004. I’ve made a lot of mistakes. I haven’t made all the mistakes, but I’ve made a lot of them and made a lot of adjustments. Through all of this I’ve read so many fitness books I’ve lost count.

I’m well-read, but I’m no expert. I’m no more certified to help you lose weight than I am to teach your Zumba® class (we’re licensed, not certified – that’s for another post). But, I do it anyway. That’s just how I roll.

So, nutrition 101:

If you lower your calories too far, your body will go into “starvation mode” and refuse to relinquish any fat stores. You’ll be hungry, continue to bust your hump, and you’ll lose no fat. What you will lose is muscle because it has readily available protein and a little bit of carbs for your body to snack on, zombie style. You ever see a buff castaway on a desert island? Yeah, neither have I.

And now, exercise 101:

Let’s say your body needs 3000 calories to survive for a day (your BMR, or basal metabolic rate). You eat 3000 calories, burn 1000 (Zumba, whut whut?!) and your body will turn to its fat stores for the difference. At 1000 calories/day that’s 7000 calories in a week or 2lbs of fat (3500 calories in each pound). You’ve heard that explanation in every weight loss book out there.

What if there was a way to convince your body to use mostly fat stores for your energy without munching on your muscles for a quick tasty treat? Crazy, right? I thought so too. But I’m always down for a 30 day experiment.

I got a message from a local Zumba® instructor, Tiffany Eneas, when I posted about making another push to lose weight again. We met up at Panera for a bite and chatted about the program she and some of the other instructors had had good results on.

Long story short, here’s the breakdown.

Five pre-packaged “meal replacements” – shakes, bars, soups, pudding, etc. There’s a bunch of stuff but basically you have to get five of them in from the time you wake up until the time you crash. Okay, so far that sounds like my known-good method – eat small meals all day long. Nothing new there.

Along with the five pre-packaged meals, you have to knock down one reasonable meal of protein and vegetables. Again, nothing ground-breaking there. When I’m weight-loss kick butt mode, that’s how I do.

Here’s the part that made me back up and set my cup down. The total calories for 5 of these meals and my one regular meal? Between 800 and 1000. Now, let me put this in perspective for you – I burn, on average, 3800 calories in a day just breathing. If I teach a Zumba® class it’s in the 4200-4500 range.

What the eff am I supposed to do with 800-1000 calories? And why do you have me within a few calories of the female instructors I work with? Something doesn’t jive.

Thankfully my batch of goodies came with a book. And you know how I like to eat books, so I settled in and blew through the 300 pages. It was a good thing I did.

Dropping the science…

Those five meals are magical. Containing between 10-12g of protein, about the same number of carbs, and packed with nutrients their function is two-fold: keep your body from pulling a Robinson Crusoe and munching on your muscles, and provide just enough calories to convince it you’re not starving.

What does that mean? You take in 800 – 1000 calories and you use your fat stores for the difference. The difference depends on the demands you put on your body.

Personally, I teach Zumba® a minimum of 5 days a week. So if I’m dropping 5 lbs of fat in a week (3500 calories * 5 lbs = 17,500 calories) that’s 1500 calories/day of reclaimed energy. Add that to the 1000 I’m eating, and that’s 2500 calories available to get me through my day. I like that number better than 800 – 1000.

Does it work?

Well, I was really skeptical. The “starvation mode” thing kept ringing in my head, especially during the first three days (did I mention they’re all low glycemic index meals?). After days four and five things started getting better.

I’d have to say it works…

At the end of 30 days, I’m down 23.7 lbs, 1.3% body fat, 6.07 lbs water weight, and 3.5 BMI. I’m up 1.3% lean mass.

As long as I eat every 2-3 hours, I’m never hungry. I don’t have any cravings for the bad foods anymore. I enjoy my lean protein and vegetables more than I ever have in my life. I have a constant level of energy all day long.

The before picture was taken on January 29th – I weighed 336.7 lbs and maintained that until last month when I dropped to 309.2 lbs.

If you want to give Tiffany a shout to talk about how you can rock the same results, you can hit her up on Facebook or on her Take Shape for Life site, http://readysetgo.tsfl.com. Also, hit me up on Facebook for updates and pictures as I continue to generally win – www.facebook.com/mrxinu.

Update: July 12th, 2011 I’m at 290.9 lbs, a total of 42 lbs lost since I started.