O k a y, you’ve seen how we do it, and you’ve got lots of X-
t reme Lean fat-attack facts bouncing around in your head, so
let’s put it all together. You want to know where to start and the
exact steps to follow, and that’s what this chapter is all about.
As we said previously, everyone responds to a diet differently.
You may have a faster metabolism than your friend (Steve’s
metabolism tends to be faster than Jonathan’s) and you may be
m o re carb sensitive than the next guy or gal (Jonathan needs
fewer carbs than Steve to get in X-treme Lean condition).
Nevertheless, you need a place to start, so let’s outline a diet.
What are the basics?
1)Carb stacking. Try to keep most of the carbs in the
morning.
2)At least 20 grams of protein at each meal. That will keep
the muscle-building wheels in motion.
3)A fast-carb, fast-protein drink after your workout.
4)Daily macronutrient percentages of about 30 to 40
percent carbs, the same for protein and about 25
percent fat.
5)Gradual calorie reductions.On the following page is a good diet to start with. Or you can
try following one of our diets from Chapter 3. Keep in mind that
you may not be able to jump right in. As we’ve said, you can’t
make a giant calorie cut, or your body will think it’s starving and
hold onto bodyfat. If your current diet contains more than 3,000
calories, which it probably does, you’ll need to first break it up
into six meals and then gradually pare down your calories till
you’re below 3,000. The Higher-Calorie Beginning Diet on page
44 is a good starting point. Make the calorie cut suggested,
then move to the diet at right.