The following was sent to my email list on August 18th, 2023. The response rate was ridiculous, so I am publishing it here.
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I offended a newsletter subscriber this week.
“It seems I was mistaken in my assessment of you, as quite frankly, it feels insulting to be spoken to as if I’m a golden retriever.”
He didn’t like my reply to his email. Exasperated. Desperate. Full of detail. Our 11th exchange over the past six years.
“Donate $200 to the charity of your choice, send me a screenshot of the receipt, and I’ll tell you in one sentence exactly where you’ve gone wrong and are continuing to.”
It wasn’t my intention to offend. I’d already warned him about the same mistake three years back, and I wanted him to take what I said seriously this time.
He’s bought two of my books, and read my emails for years (as many of you kindly do). But this fundamental point has evaded him, causing a ridiculous amount of heartache. 😫
I’ve shared his email (minus any personal identifying stuff) below.
Can you spot his fatal mistake? 🚨
👉 Reply if you think you’ll know. And I’ll share the answers (and mine) in next Friday’s email. 👨🏻💻
Dear Andy,
First, I need to thank you, not just for all that you do for us, your tribe, but for being such a rare, “stand-up” man, in all senses of the expression. You are an advocate for fitness; you genuinely care about the health and well-being of individuals; and you deliver accurate information (and trust me, I am well-researched and know!) in a most thoughtful manner. I have purchased items over the years (Pyramid series, Diet Adjustments, etc.) and am an avid follower (and we have corresponded directly before). So my immense gratitude! Thank you!
Now, briefly…
I’m currently 65, just under 6’, 159.9 lbs., 10.2% body fat. (And yes, I know, many wish they had my woes….) But I am a man possessed…working out is like brushing my teeth, eating breakfast…or lunch…a necessity.
I’m troubleshooting here and need your perspective please!?
March, 2022 I was 9.3%, 161.8lbs. Somehow, January, 2023 I was 10.9%. I’d lost 4lbs of lean mass. I freaked out…was it the nightly scotch (which became a habit being recently retired and losing the love of my life? Inevitable testosterone loss due to aging? Not enough protein? Inhibition of protein synthesis, muscle recovery due to interrupted sleep because of the alcohol?)
So I panicked and upped my calories and by April, 2023, 11.6%, gained muscle plus 3lbs of fat. Ugh. Next, I decided to weigh my food for the first time ever, for three months. My goal was to find out my maintenance weight. While I’ve always kept a food journal, I’ve never weighed anything and was curious…
Hence, MY EXPERIMENT:
The first two weeks I kept eating my typical diet and drinking and recorded. About 2,300 calories a day, including alcohol. I also weighed myself first thing daily, as you’d recommended, and totaled weekly averages…protein, fat, carbs, alcohol, fiber. I noticed about 375 calories a day were alcohol (a scotch and two glasses of wine…disgusting , 🤦🏻♂️I felt ashamed! But notice my psychological self-reproach.) So I began to taper…
I upped my protein to a minimum of 1g per body weight…and aimed for 40% protein, 30% carbs, 30% fat…under a calorie umbrella of around 2,000 (300 calorie, let’s say 1/2lb a week, deficit.) Subsequently, my scale weight average lowered…as I cut alcohol in half…averaging 200 a day…THOUGH I WOULD PREFER to cut it out for a month! ( I’m not an alcoholic, can go days without it…but,…it’s my only vice, a nightcap with my neighbor; a simple pleasure,) eat entirely Primal, Whole Foods, rarely indulge in eating garbage or processed, or sugar.
Anyway, without continuing with details, I did this for nearly fifteen weeks, weighing, monitoring. Most recently at my 10.2% body fat test, I’d lost a total of 4.9 lbs. While 3.2 was fat, 1.7 lbs was lean mass. So what do you suggest I do?
I have a 3 pack…top two abs on each side, and 1/2 an ab on each side…haha…I’m not necessarily focused on a six pack at my age…just don’t want to lose any more muscle mass and would like a tad more lean. (what’s wrong with me? )
Can you help with any ideas?
Thanks a bunch. I’m sorry it’s such a lengthy email. I can send the one page photo of my weekly averages, which might inspire others to weigh their food for a month, as it’s easy if you don’t eat processed junk.
Let me know your thoughts. Thank you!
FYI: I purposely left out my training, 6-7 days a week. I weight train, do cardio agility, plyometrics, running mechanics, sprints…my trainer is a former NFL player…simply awesome….but I’m a man possessed…like I said. Thanks again!
Update: Here’s my answer.
Anyway, as I said, the number of responses I had to this email was ridiculous. More than anything I’ve written in years. I’ve stripped out identifying information and put them in the comments below if you’d like to read people’s guesses. I’ll include a link to my answer here when that goes out.
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