Hello dear friends,

Here's how to read this letter…

• The first half of this letter will explain the MASSIVE problems that everyone faces when trying to lose weight.

• The second half of this letter will give you the simple rules I've followed to lose weight, without dealing with food cravings - all while increasing my athletic performance and daily energy levels.

If you just want the rules, then skip to the bottom.

Do this at your own risk, because if you ACTUALLY want to see results, then you NEED to understand the obstacles you are facing.

For two reasons…

1. So that you can avoid the endless traps you are surrounded by and the false beliefs that will cripple your progress

2. So that you don't feel as bad for failing in the past and so that you can cut yourself some slack when you make mistakes in the future.

If you struggle with losing weight or your relationship with food, then I genuinely hope that this letter can help you.

I'm not just writing this letter for fun or so that people will think I'm cool. I'm writing this because nearly everyone I know struggles with their weight or their relationship with food. And just like them, I've experienced many of the same struggles.

Believe it or not, my relationship with food has been one of the biggest challenges that I've faced in my adult life. This isn't an exaggeration - several years ago, I even landed myself in a hospital with an eating disorder.

Even though I've always seemed fit and healthy, behind closed doors I've experienced giant fluctuations in my weight. And as with anyone, I've watched my self-esteem rise and fall in direct proportion to my "perceived" body image.

But fortunately, I've discovered a sustainable way to maintain a lean body without constantly thinking about food. My food problems have faded into the background.

Through trial and error, I've developed an approach that genuinely works for me and I think it can work for you too.

Part 1: The Deck Is Stacked Against You

Everything I am about to say is based on the best available evidence and my own logic. It is also a massive simplification of an incredibly complicated topic, but here goes...

Remember What You Are

We have ancient physiology.

Our physiology is pretty much the same as it was 100,000 years ago, but our world was much different back then. Just think about the food options that would have been available, and how abundant those food sources would have been.

If you want to really understand human evolution, then you need to watch the “Out Of The Cradle“. documentary. I’ve seen it at least three times - totally mind blowing.

Take a moment to think of what life was like for primitive humans, before agriculture, which is thought to have started 10,000 - 12,000 years ago.

Primitive humans would have had access to a bland variety of simple foods, like meat, organs, bone marrow, nuts, seeds, tubers, some fruit, and probably some honey from time to time. Sure, this is open to interpretation and would depend on where they were geographically located.

Our "ancient physiology" is highly adapted to a MUCH different world than we live in today. Our brain, our stomachs, our taste buds, everything about us is highly tuned to the foods that were available to early man.

I spend a lot of time thinking about "early man" because this primitive version of humans found a way to thrive on the food that was available to them.

If our physiology wasn’t adapted to the ancient environment we came from, we wouldn’t exist.

The ancient environment that we came from was far less forgiving. Survival was a real concern for primitive humans. If you wanted something to eat, you had to go out into the wild and collect it.

But what if you couldn't find anything to eat? Your body needed a way to survive, even if the food was scarce.

So, as a survival measure, our bodies adapted to store excess calories as fat. This adaptation guaranteed that we wouldn't die, even if we had to go for days (or even weeks) without real food.

Just like a car, our body needs fuel to function.

When your body doesn't have fuel, it begins to burn through whatever is available to it. Without food, it begins to eat itself. The first thing to go is the stored carbohydrates in your body, after that it starts chewing through the fats and proteins (muscle) that are available.

Your body doesn't want to eat itself, so it starts making you feel hungry. Your body knows that the more hungry it can make you feel, the more motivated you will be to go find something dense in calories. It can only run on stored body fat for so long.

Your brain begins to think about food incessantly and the longer you go without eating, the more desperate your brain becomes. To your mind, this is life or death! Because at one point it was.

Okay okay, now why does any of this matter?

Because we no longer live in a world of scarcity. We live in a world of abundance.

Abundance is great, right?

Yes, but too much abundance is a big problem, because our bodies still think we need to store extra fuel as body fat to survive.

Which is why I am writing you a letter about "how to lose body fat", instead of "how to gain body fat, so you can survive".

Remember Where You Are Now

Most of the "food" in the grocery store is designed to hijack your physiology and finances.

This isn't some conspiracy theory. Just follow the money: 90% of the food on the grocery store shelf is owned by 7-8 companies. Those companies aren't producing food out of the goodness of their hearts, they are producing food to make money.

Almost always, the food you find on the shelf is designed to make us crave it, not nourish us. It is carefully designed to be manufactured the lowest cost, while being sold at the highest possible price.

Not only that, but each day you face a cultural tidal wave pushing you to eat and behave a certain way.

Have you ever noticed that nearly all major holidays are connected to eating unhealthy food to excess?

Christmas… candy canes and chocolate filling your stocking (and belly)

Thanksgiving… pie and ice cream after you are already stuffed

Valentine's day… a box of chocolates from a loved one

Easter… chocolate eggs and sweets in your Easter basket

Halloween… a pillowcase full of candy

I'm sorry… I'm really not trying to ruin the holidays or even say that you shouldn't enjoy desserts with your loved ones, but I need to point out how deeply tied our culture is to eating unhealthy food.

As an exercise, next time you go out, take a look at the next 5 restaurants that you pass and ask yourself:

"Would a primitive person even recognize what this restaurant serves as food?"

It's just something to think about.

I mention this cultural tide because it represents one of the biggest obstacles you will face when trying to shift your diet towards "nourishment" and away from "pleasure". Every time you eat out with friends or family, you will face obstacles that will prevent you from eating in a healthy way.

Want to go to the movies? Good luck finding something nourishing at the snack bar.

Want to go to the company picnic? Expect pizza and soda.

Want to visit your parents for dinner? Have fun saying no to dessert.

And oh yeah…I've only been talking about food.

Don't even get me started on the lack of physical activity that has become a cultural norm in modern society.

Americans spend, on average, 93% of their time inside and I'm going to assume that most of that time is spent sitting on their butts.

All of the factors above contribute to one of the most shocking statistics I've discovered:

73.6% of U.S. adults are either overweight or obese.

Big yikes.

Here is a link to CDC study, if you don’t believe me.

The green line is the most concerning to me.

To wrap up this section, I hope that it is clear that the deck is stacked against you. The world you live in is not set up to reinforce a nourishing relationship with food.

Your friends, family, society, big business, and even your own physiology will present obstacles every step of the way.

This is why in the next section, I'm going to tell you how you can stack the deck in your favor, even though it might seem impossible.

Part 2: How To Stack The Deck In Your Favor

Alright, now that I have made the case for why it is so friggin' hard to maintain a healthy body weight, I am going to give you the rules that I follow each and every day to maintain a sub-10% body fat and high energy levels - all year round.

I follow each and every rule listed below, but all of the rules below might not be best for you, or your lifestyle. I am NOT suggesting you follow each and every rule listed below. Your ideal approach will come through personal trial and error - use my rules as inspiration to create your own rules.

That said, if you were to follow all of these, I guarantee you will lose body fat more easily than in the past, and maintaining your ideal weight will be much easier.

8 Ways To Stack The Deck In Your Favor:

1. Be Committed

I believe it can be done because I've done it before. You will build your own belief by making progress - I believe you can do it.

Suffocate your excuses before they wake up. When I’m starting to debate with myself, I say "I've already decided" and then I move on with my life. Self talk is critical, so read letter 2 if you haven’t already.

I'm clear with the people around me about how I conduct myself and what my goals are, that way they support me, instead of trying to talk me down. Surround yourself with people that want you to succeed - trim the dead wood.

2. Prioritize Nourishing Food

These are the foods I prioritize:

• Meat (beef, chicken, fish etc.)

• Dairy (plain greek yogurt is my love language)

• Eggs (3 a day almost every day)

• Nuts (walnut, almonds, etc.)

• Seeds (chia, pumpkin, etc.)

• Berries & fruit (eat in moderation and ALWAYS with it’s natural fiber)

• Vegetables (the more, the better. Get as much color as you can)

• Healthy fats (bone marrow, butter, ghee, coconut oil, EVOO)

• Legumes & whole grains (black beans, oats, etc. definitely in moderation.)

These are the foods I just don’t make room for:

• Anything with added sugar (soda, candy, etc.)

• Almost all packaged foods

• Refined carbohydrates

• Fried foods

• Seed oils like vegetable oil

• Fruit juice or canned fruit

• Buffets or fast food

3. Craft Your Environment

Keep the right foods within arms reach and I make it incredibly difficult to get to the wrong foods. If there are foods that will tempt me, I evict them from the house. Purge your pantry of anything that doesn’t help you accomplish your goals. Willpower is no match when you are hungry and have calorie-dense foods on hand.

This is where you need to be really clear about your goals to the people around you - your support system will either help you or make it impossible for you to make progress.

4. Prioritize Better Food Metrics

Don't count calories.

This might sound controversial but I think counting calories is overrated and a complete waste of time. I’ve tried to do it, I promise - it just turns food into a data point and makes it very hard to develop a healthy relationship with food. If you want to make progress without thinking about food all of the time then you need to find a way to approach nutrition without counting every calorie and gram that passes your lips.

Prioritize protein.

My life changed when I started building my diet around protein-rich foods. Protein is satiating and help you maintain lean muscle mass (which will help you increase your metabolism). Protein is the only macro that I even pay remote attention - I just shoot for at least 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight.

Control your carbs.

Unless I am training really hard, I keep my carbs intake as low as I can and make sure to get my carbs from unrefined, fiber-rich sources like fruit, legumes, and whole grains. If you really want to drop body fat, reducing your carbs will give you the fastest results. Eat your carbs around the time when you typically train and be sure to go for a walk after any carb-heavy meal. This reduces the chances of it being stored as body fat and encourages your body to use the carbohydrates as fuel.

To remind you of the rule of thumb I mentioned in letter 7: double your protein and half your carbs. This is a great way to start shifting your macronutrient focus in a direction that will serve you.

5. Fast

I’m simply okay with being hungry now and again. Intermittent fasting is one of the biggest reasons why I am able to stay lean year round. I skip breakfast every single day. It makes me more insulin sensitive and less likely to store carbs as fat. Fasting through breakfast works great for me and it also helps me become more focused, while I’m working.

Feeling a little bit hungry from time to time is completely fine. Remember, your body is perfectly capable of surviving without food. This isn’t a recommendation to starve yourself, but you can make it for 16 hours without eating, I promise.

I talked about intermittent fasting back in letter 7. If you haven’t read that letter, then definitely do.

6. Move Your Body

Losing weight happens in the kitchen and it is a result of the things that you do or don’t eat. That said, if you are able to apply the nutritional advice above AND maintain a healthy level of daily activity, then fat just has a hard time sticking to you!

I swear by walking as your primary form of cardio. My morning walk is sacred - I have only missed a handful of days in the last two years. I make sure to get at least 3, 10-minute walks every day, and I always go for a walk, after a larger meal.

Don’t exercise for weight-loss. 

Sure, running on a treadmill or using an elliptical can help you burn fat, but I think that you are better off focusing on resistance exercise, when you are at the gym.

When you are at the gym, focus on building muscle, not losing weight - this will increase your metabolism and will extend your lifespan (this also goes along very nicely with increasing your protein intake).

7. Get Stimulated

This totally isn’t necessary, but I am including it, because I know that this has helped me get more lean without trying.

• Coffee. I drink coffee every morning and this increases my metabolism, makes me more active and also suppresses my appetite. Again, not necessary, but I’m certain that this helps me stay lean year-round.

• Cold therapy. If you know me, then you know that I love taking a cold plunge every morning. Cold therapy is proven to increase your metabolism and help your body convert white fat into brown adipose tissue. Brown fat is packed with mitochondria and will help you burn more fat.

8. Measure Your Progress

I used to weigh myself every morning… and every night.

Now, I rarely step on a scale.

Don’t weigh yourself.

I’ve realized that my goals have literally nothing to do with how much I weigh. Unless you are in a sport requiring a weight class, then don’t worry about how much you weigh. Constantly using a weight scale can cause a bad relationship between your weight and self image. It can also make things confusing as you gain muscle and lose body fat. Feel free to check your weight from time to time. Like, monthly or quarterly. There are better ways to track your progress.

Use the mirror to measure your progress.

Take pictures as you go. You might not like what you see when you start doing this, but as you make progress, it will become incredibly motivating to look back on the progress you’ve made.

Final thoughts…

Although the odds are against you, it is possible to level the playing field in pursuit of your weight loss goals.

You will notice that everything in the above list is designed to help you overcome the countless obstacles our modern world presents.

Follow my recommendations so you can reinforce a new relationship with food favoring nourishment over pleasure. In this way, you can use your natural physiology to drive you towards your goals, instead of away from them.

Whether you are trying to lose 100 pounds, or want to maintain an already lean physique, if you follow (most of) the rules in this letter, then your progress is guaranteed.

Thank you for reading today's letter and may you have safe travels on your fitness journey. Don’t forget, I am here as your guide and I am always willing to point you in the right direction.

Keep growing!

- Cliff

P.S. If you have specific questions, or if there is something that I didn't cover in today's letter, then please reply to this email and I will be sure to respond!