Tom Nikkola | VIGOR Training

Over the past two decades, we’ve seen a consistent effort to vilify red meat consumption while extolling the benefits of a plant-based diet.

I believe that once we are through the COVID Circus, we’ll find the consumption of red meat in the crosshairs of nutrition, climate, and social justice conversations. And just like with COVID, ideologies and agendas will create "the truth," rather than relying on facts and scientific evidence.

With enough propaganda, the public will get wooed into a plant-based diet in the midst of a war on meat.

Rather than tackling this meaty topic all at once, I’ll separate fact from fiction through multiple, bite-sized posts. That way, the facts will be more digestible, like a perfectly cooked porterhouse steak.

And in case you were wondering about how much red meat I personally eat, I eat a lot of bison, but no beef. I'm allergic to it. I believe I have Alpha-Gal Syndrome, which causes a beef allergy. It occurs after you get bit by a Lone Star tic. If I eat beef, I feel like I had food poisoning for the following 36 hours, or so. I do miss it.

I point that out to say that I'm not on the payroll of the Beef Council, and don't even eat it myself.

In this post, I’ll address the claim that eating red meat causes heart disease or diabetes. Let’s dig in.

What “Red Meat “ Is and Isn’t

According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans:

Meat, also known as red meat, includes all forms of beef, pork, lamb, veal, goat, and nonbird game (e.g., venison, bison, and elk). Poultry includes all forms of chicken, turkey, duck, geese, guineas, and game birds (e.g., quail and pheasant). Meats and poultry vary in fat content and include both fresh and processed forms. Lean meats and poultry contain less than 10 g of fat, 4.5 g or less of saturated fats, and less than 95 mg of cholesterol per 100 g and per labeled serving size (e.g., 95% lean ground beef, pork tenderloin, and skinless chicken or turkey breast). Processed meats and processed poultry (e.g., sausages, luncheon meats, bacon, and beef jerky) are products preserved by smoking, curing, salting, and/or the addition of chemical preservatives. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2015-2020

To reiterate:

“Red meat” is an umbrella term that includes “all forms of beef, pork, lamb, veal, goat, and nonbird game (e.g., venison, bison, and elk.)”The phrase processed meat includes “processed meats and processed poultry (e.g., sausages, luncheon meats, bacon, and beef jerky) are products preserved by smoking, curing, salting, and/or the addition of chemical preservatives.”

These statements don't just apply to the Dietary Guidelines. They also apply to the way researchers assess "red and processed meat" consumption.

Why is this important to understand? Because unprocessed and processed meats are very different. On top of that, many processed meats, such as sausage or bacon are often found on top of pizza, in frozen meals, and as ingredients in fast foods. When researchers ask study participants about the processed meats they eat, they use examples like pizza to help them count their processed meat servings.

There’s an enormous difference between freshly-made pork sausage, and preserved pork sausage included as part of a frozen pizza.

The Dietary Guidelines document goes on to say:

For those who eat animal products, the recommendation for the protein foods subgroup of meats, poultry, and eggs can be met by consuming a variety of lean meats, lean poultry, and eggs. Choices within these eating patterns may include processed meats and processed poultry as long as the resulting eating pattern is within limits for sodium, calories from saturated fats and added sugars, and total calories.Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2015-2020

In essence, their perspective is that fat and sodium are the problem, so you can eat as much fat-free, highly-processed meat as you want, provided it’s low in fat.

The day after my 40th birthday, Vanessa and I found out we were the grandparents of an adorable 2 1/2 year old boy named Asher. On my 41st birthday, I wrote a blog post looking back at the year that followed, titled (Grand)Fathers, (Grand)Sons, and Reflections on Turning 41. Much in the world has changed since then. 

As a husband to Vanessa and a grandfather to Asher, I constantly remind myself of my responsibility to protect them, not just from the threat of a carjacking criminal like those around the Minneapolis / St. Paul area, but from less obvious but equally evil threats brought on by our current culture. 

I know of many men who deny what's going on, believing the lies are the conspiracy theories and the truth is the CNN talking points. Others ignore their responsibility, hoping someone else will do or say something instead of them needing to get involved.

Still others put so much importance on their title at work that they remain silent, even though they know that their show of strength could move mountains in this culture war.

As the saying goes, "if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything." Unfortunately, if men don't stand for something, it isn't just themselves that fall for anything. They take those they love with them.

That's not to say that women don't also have power to protect their families. In some cases, they do more than their husbands. And in almost a quarter of families, children are being raised by single parents, 80% of which are the mothers.

As a man, I'm writing more for men than I am for women, though. That's why I'll consistently refer to men in this blog post.

As a collective group, I hope we can reroute the destructive course our country is headed down. 

What Are You Protecting Your Family From?

Much of the propaganda we're faced with today is intended to confuse us. If the media causes us to question our beliefs about what's good and evil, what's true and false, and right and wrong, we'll avoid getting involved in anything.

If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.

Sun Tzu, The Art of War

As men, we need to be firm in our beliefs, but we also need to know what the "other side" is trying to say and do. If we don't take the time to find that out, we won't understand the significance of what we're fighting against.

Read also: When will common-sense Americans get in the game?

Uncover the truth and call out the lies

Thomas Sowell said:

If people in the media cannot decide whether they are in the business of reporting news or manufacturing propaganda, it is all the more important that the public understand that difference, and choose their news sources accordingly.

Thomas Sowell

I don't think I've ever come across another person with less credibility than CNN or MSNBC. Were it not for a few of the people on FOX, they'd be in the same category of discredited media organizations.

It isn't that those companies should be infallible, it's that they have no issues with lying to viewers, creating exaggerated stories, or suppressing important issues in the interest of their advertisers and politicians. Even when their lies are exposed, they rarely, if ever, admit that they disseminated disinformation.

Make no mistake. The media isn’t a source of information. It’s a system of propaganda. It’s a marketing platform for anti-Biblical, insane, evil ideologies.

When I say media, I include social media, Google, and YouTube as well.

If you believe setting up a "parental control" system will keep your kids from seeing things they shouldn't, or being influenced by content you don't want them to be influenced by, you're naive. Joe Rogan's recent podcast with Dr. Robert Epstein will rock you out of your naivety.

The day after my 40th birthday, Vanessa and I found out we were the grandparents of an adorable 2 1/2 year old boy named Asher. On my 41st birthday, I wrote a blog post looking back at the year that followed, titled (Grand)Fathers, (Grand)Sons, and Reflections on Turning 41. Much in the world has changed since then. 

As a husband to Vanessa and a grandfather to Asher, I constantly remind myself of my responsibility to protect them, not just from the threat of a carjacking criminal like those around the Minneapolis / St. Paul area, but from less obvious but equally evil threats brought on by our current culture. 

I know of many men who deny what's going on, believing the lies are the conspiracy theories and the truth is the CNN talking points. Others ignore their responsibility, hoping someone else will do or say something instead of them needing to get involved.

Still others put so much importance on their title at work that they remain silent, even though they know that their show of strength could move mountains in this culture war.

As the saying goes, "if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything." Unfortunately, if men don't stand for something, it isn't just themselves that fall for anything. They take those they love with them.

That's not to say that women don't also have power to protect their families. In some cases, they do more than their husbands. And in almost a quarter of families, children are being raised by single parents, 80% of which are the mothers.

As a man, I'm writing more for men than I am for women, though. That's why I'll consistently refer to men in this blog post.

As a collective group, I hope we can reroute the destructive course our country is headed down. 

What Are You Protecting Your Family From?

Much of the propaganda we're faced with today is intended to confuse us. If the media causes us to question our beliefs about what's good and evil, what's true and false, and right and wrong, we'll avoid getting involved in anything.

If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.Sun Tzu, The Art of War

As men, we need to be firm in our beliefs, but we also need to know what the "other side" is trying to say and do. If we don't take the time to find that out, we won't understand the significance of what we're fighting against.

Read also: When will common-sense Americans get in the game?

Uncover the truth and call out the lies

Thomas Sowell said:

If people in the media cannot decide whether they are in the business of reporting news or manufacturing propaganda, it is all the more important that the public understand that difference, and choose their news sources accordingly.Thomas Sowell

I don't think I've ever come across another person with less credibility than CNN or MSNBC. Were it not for a few of the people on FOX, they'd be in the same category of discredited media organizations.

It isn't that those companies should be infallible, it's that they have no issues with lying to viewers, creating exaggerated stories, or suppressing important issues in the interest of their advertisers and politicians. Even when their lies are exposed, they rarely, if ever, admit that they disseminated disinformation.

Make no mistake. The media isn’t a source of information. It’s a system of propaganda. It’s a marketing platform for anti-Biblical, insane, evil ideologies.

When I say media, I include social media, Google, and YouTube as well.

If you believe setting up a "parental control" system will keep your kids from seeing things they shouldn't, or being influenced by content you don't want them to be influenced by, you're naive. Joe Rogan's recent podcast with Dr. Robert Epstein will rock you out of your naivety.

This will be my last COVID-related blog post for a while. I’m sick of writing about it. As I looked back at my blog posts from these past couple of years, I think I've said all that needs saying about why the term scamdemic is more appropriate than pandemic. I'm more than ready to get back to writing about health and fitness.

I'm certainly not alone in my desire to move on, nor in my awareness that we're being played by puppets more than being cared for by civil servants. Most people now wonder, “When will this be over?”

It can be over quickly, in one of two ways.

One requires men and women to act like critically-thinking, unwavering, nonnegotiable adults. The other could come through more lies and deception in an attempt to salvage the reputation of the worst President in American history.

First, I’ll address what won’t work to end the charade, and then what will. 

What Won't Work

It's easy to see what won't work to end this nonsense. Just replay the recommendations touted by Mainstream Media from the past two years, and you'll be well-versed in the anti-solution to the global pandemic. Or, watch some of the 2020 Presidential addresses or Jen Psaki press conferences.

Those who knew how to end the threat of COVID-19 quickly were censored or silenced. Those who knew how to prolong it to generate maximum profits for big companies and decimate small ones were given the mic to keep things going.

Getting everyone vaccinated

Remember when a single shot was going to solve the “global pandemic?” While I doubted that would be the case, many believed it. 

Once people got the first jab, it wasn’t that hard to convince them of another. We're now onto shot number four, even though the data shows that the vaccines don’t work against Omicron at all, and don’t do much for the other variants.

And yet, people excitedly get in line for the next round of booster shots. Too bad they won't line up for gym memberships with the same enthusiasm. Getting fit and healthy would do a lot more to protect them from COVID-19 than a jab in the arm will.

Vaccine-derived immunity doesn’t last like natural immunity does. The vaccines don’t keep people from getting COVID, nor passing it along to others, even though our Liar in Chief said that they do.

Many probably don’t remember when Biden stated that “you can’t get COVID” if you’ve been vaccinated, and then just a couple of days later, beloved and double-vaccinated Colin Powell died of COVID complications. Numerous others have as well.

Even if there were no side effects, and everyone got the vaccines, they don’t work well enough to stop the spread or prevent infection.

If your hope for the end is in vaccination, you’ll never be done with it.

Read more:

mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines: Advantages, risks, and unanswered questions

How the Unvaccinated Will Help Uncover the Truth

COVID Psychosis, Suicides, and Fallen Athletes

Sharing facts, data, and real science

Since the middle of 2020, we’ve had access to data that showed that COVID wasn’t the threat that we were told it would be.

We had access to the findings from frontline doctors who treated infected patients early with generic and low-cost drugs, rarely, if ever, losing one of them. 

Meanwhile, doctors who followed the advice of Dr Fauci, BigPharma, and their hospital sent people home without treatment. They had them return when they’d developed severe symptoms where many later died while receiving treatments that often made things worse. The science of the successful doctors was often ridiculed or silenced so doctors used more of the ineffective and expensive treatments instead, and so the public would remain in the dark about what’s going on.

Once the vaccines became available, they were hailed as miracles by both Trump and Biden, but the doctors who understood what they were raised concerns about their safety. Again, they were criticized and canceled.

If the vaccines were harmless,

This will be my last COVID-related blog post for a while. I’m sick of writing about it. As I looked back at my blog posts from these past couple of years, I think I've said all that needs saying about why the term scamdemic is more appropriate than pandemic. I'm more than ready to get back to writing about health and fitness.

I'm certainly not alone in my desire to move on, nor in my awareness that we're being played by puppets more than being cared for by civil servants. Most people now wonder, “When will this be over?”

It can be over quickly, in one of two ways.

One requires men and women to act like critically-thinking, unwavering, nonnegotiable adults. The other could come through more lies and deception in an attempt to salvage the reputation of the worst President in American history.

First, I’ll address what won’t work to end the charade, and then what will. 

What Won't Work

It's easy to see what won't work to end this nonsense. Just replay the recommendations touted by Mainstream Media from the past two years, and you'll be well-versed in the anti-solution to the global pandemic. Or, watch some of the 2020 Presidential addresses or Jen Psaki press conferences.

Those who knew how to end the threat of COVID-19 quickly were censored or silenced. Those who knew how to prolong it to generate maximum profits for big companies and decimate small ones were given the mic to keep things going.

Getting everyone vaccinated

Remember when a single shot was going to solve the “global pandemic?” While I doubted that would be the case, many believed it. 

Once people got the first jab, it wasn’t that hard to convince them of another. We're now onto shot number four, even though the data shows that the vaccines don’t work against Omicron at all, and don’t do much for the other variants.

And yet, people excitedly get in line for the next round of booster shots. Too bad they won't line up for gym memberships with the same enthusiasm. Getting fit and healthy would do a lot more to protect them from COVID-19 than a jab in the arm will.

Vaccine-derived immunity doesn’t last like natural immunity does. The vaccines don’t keep people from getting COVID, nor passing it along to others, even though our Liar in Chief said that they do.

Many probably don’t remember when Biden stated that “you can’t get COVID” if you’ve been vaccinated, and then just a couple of days later, beloved and double-vaccinated Colin Powell died of COVID complications. Numerous others have as well.

Even if there were no side effects, and everyone got the vaccines, they don’t work well enough to stop the spread or prevent infection.

If your hope for the end is in vaccination, you’ll never be done with it.

Read more:

mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines: Advantages, risks, and unanswered questionsHow the Unvaccinated Will Help Uncover the TruthCOVID Psychosis, Suicides, and Fallen Athletes

Sharing facts, data, and real science

Since the middle of 2020, we’ve had access to data that showed that COVID wasn’t the threat that we were told it would be.

We had access to the findings from frontline doctors who treated infected patients early with generic and low-cost drugs, rarely, if ever, losing one of them. 

Meanwhile, doctors who followed the advice of Dr Fauci, BigPharma, and their hospital sent people home without treatment. They had them return when they’d developed severe symptoms where many later died while receiving treatments that often made things worse. The science of the successful doctors was often ridiculed or silenced so doctors used more of the ineffective and expensive treatments instead, and so the public would remain in the dark about what’s going on.

Once the vaccines became available, they were hailed as miracles by both Trump and Biden, but the doctors who understood what they were raised concerns about their safety. Again, they were criticized and canceled.

If the vaccines were harmless,

The truth only matters if you can prove it. And even then, we’ve seen it doesn’t matter if the right people are in power. 

But, regardless of what the President or mainstream media say, the truth about the vaccines gets revealed when someone we know gets harmed by them.

For many, vaccine injury seems like a conspiracy theory until it hits home. And with the COVID vaccines, they’re hitting home unlike any other vaccine in history.

To avoid admitting this reality, our politicians (both Trump and Biden alike) and the media gaslight the public, acting as though there’s no public health threat from the vaccines, and continuing to vilify the unvaccinated.

Many say we’re just beginning to see what the vaccines could do to us. Something like myocarditis, one of the most common severe adverse events, takes time to kill people. At 3-5 years, it has a 56-83% survival rate. That means, at best, 17% of people who develop it will be dead five years later.

Instead of facing this head on, we’re told that the condition is extremely rare and people recover quickly. Yet, that contradicts the scientific evidence.

The point is, many are hellbent on hiding the truth and canceling the truth-tellers. Given enough time, the truth will be hard to find unless the unvaccinated remain committed to their choice, even in the face of social and political pressure.

The unvaccinated may eventually become the only source of truth when it comes to the health effects of the vaccines.

The Control Group's Role in Scientific Evidence

Random, controlled trials form the basis of “scientific evidence” that supports or denies the health benefits of a given treatment. 

Researchers use RCTs to study drug treatments, diets, supplements, exercise protocols, psychological counseling methodologies, and numerous other methods to improve human health, fitness, or performance. 

RCTs require a minimum of two groups:

The treatment group: The study participants who get the treatment.

The control group: The study participants who either get a placebo when it’s appropriate (such as with a drug or supplement) or who carry on their life like normal without the treatment. 

In the COVID vaccines clinical trials, the treatment group got injected with the vaccines, and the control group (a.k.a. placebo group) got injected with saline.

Being that mRNA vaccine technology has never been used in humans before, it's crucial to be able to identify long-term safety issues. Logically, you'd do so by keeping the control group "the control group" for years, if not decades, to come. That would be the only way to use clinical trial data to identify the long-term safety of the vaccines.

On the other hand, if you wanted to avoid the responsibility of long-term safety issues, you'd eliminate the control group early on in your research. That's just what Pfizer and Moderna did.

After six months, which was around the time the companies received Emergency Use Authorization approval, they notified the control group participants that they'd received the placebo and offered them the real vaccines. The majority happily accepted the offer. This choice by the vaccine makers eliminated their ability to measure long-term safety data.

The decision by the vaccine companies was almost unheard of in scientific research. Of course, they spun their decision as ethically justified, suggesting that the vaccine was so effective that it would be ethically wrong to not offer it to the placebo group.

In reality, the vaccines are nowhere near as effective at controlling COVID as we were told. And they do pose a serious risk for both healthy and unhealthy people, even in the short-term. We've yet to find out what they'll do in the long-term.

Stephanie Seneff, co-author of the peer-reviewed paper, Worse than the Disease? Reviewing Some Possible Unintended Consequences of the mRNA Vaccines Against COVID-19, recently wrote:

The truth only matters if you can prove it. And even then, we’ve seen it doesn’t matter if the right people are in power. 

But, regardless of what the President or mainstream media say, the truth about the vaccines gets revealed when someone we know gets harmed by them.

For many, vaccine injury seems like a conspiracy theory until it hits home. And with the COVID vaccines, they’re hitting home unlike any other vaccine in history.

To avoid admitting this reality, our politicians (both Trump and Biden alike) and the media gaslight the public, acting as though there’s no public health threat from the vaccines, and continuing to vilify the unvaccinated.

Many say we’re just beginning to see what the vaccines could do to us. Something like myocarditis, one of the most common severe adverse events, takes time to kill people. At 3-5 years, it has a 56-83% survival rate. That means, at best, 17% of people who develop it will be dead five years later.

Instead of facing this head on, we’re told that the condition is extremely rare and people recover quickly. Yet, that contradicts the scientific evidence.

The point is, many are hellbent on hiding the truth and canceling the truth-tellers. Given enough time, the truth will be hard to find unless the unvaccinated remain committed to their choice, even in the face of social and political pressure.

The unvaccinated may eventually become the only source of truth when it comes to the health effects of the vaccines.

The Control Group's Role in Scientific Evidence

Random, controlled trials form the basis of “scientific evidence” that supports or denies the health benefits of a given treatment. 

Researchers use RCTs to study drug treatments, diets, supplements, exercise protocols, psychological counseling methodologies, and numerous other methods to improve human health, fitness, or performance. 

RCTs require a minimum of two groups:

The treatment group: The study participants who get the treatment.The control group: The study participants who either get a placebo when it’s appropriate (such as with a drug or supplement) or who carry on their life like normal without the treatment. 

In the COVID vaccines clinical trials, the treatment group got injected with the vaccines, and the control group (a.k.a. placebo group) got injected with saline.

Being that mRNA vaccine technology has never been used in humans before, it's crucial to be able to identify long-term safety issues. Logically, you'd do so by keeping the control group "the control group" for years, if not decades, to come. That would be the only way to use clinical trial data to identify the long-term safety of the vaccines.

On the other hand, if you wanted to avoid the responsibility of long-term safety issues, you'd eliminate the control group early on in your research. That's just what Pfizer and Moderna did.

After six months, which was around the time the companies received Emergency Use Authorization approval, they notified the control group participants that they'd received the placebo and offered them the real vaccines. The majority happily accepted the offer. This choice by the vaccine makers eliminated their ability to measure long-term safety data.

The decision by the vaccine companies was almost unheard of in scientific research. Of course, they spun their decision as ethically justified, suggesting that the vaccine was so effective that it would be ethically wrong to not offer it to the placebo group.

In reality, the vaccines are nowhere near as effective at controlling COVID as we were told. And they do pose a serious risk for both healthy and unhealthy people, even in the short-term. We've yet to find out what they'll do in the long-term.

Stephanie Seneff, co-author of the peer-reviewed paper, Worse than the Disease? Reviewing Some Possible Unintended Consequences of the mRNA Vaccines Against COVID-19, recently wrote:

Fat loss for those over 40 years of age requires a different approach than it does for young adults. Your body won’t respond the same as it did back then. Nor will you get by with inadequate sleep, drinking too much, or doing so much cardio that you could watch a Netflix series each week while workout out on your bike, treadmill, or Nordic Track.

That said, just because you need to approach fat loss differently, it doesn’t mean it’ll be difficult.

In fact, you’ve probably learned by now that most things are pretty simple, and we have an uncanny ability to make them complicated.

In this post, I’ve outlined a simple fat loss plan for men and women over 40. If you embrace these five factors, you'll see most of your excess body fat melt away in the months to come.

However, if you need something more aggressive, check out my four-week fat loss plan: 28 Days: 4 Weeks Of Fat Loss.

This is Not a Fat Loss Meal Plan

Unless someone is prepping for a bodybuilding or physique contest, I refuse to make a strict meal plan. Based on how often people ask for them, I know I'd make some great extra money, but I won't sell what I don't believe in.

I supposed that means I'd never get a job representing a COVID vaccine company either.

Anyway, I'm opposed to strict meal plans for a few reasons:

Scripting out what to eat doesn't teach you how to eat.

A meal plan is only effective if you have access to the foods on the plan. When people go on vacation or get out of a routine they often go off the rails.

Eating according to a meal plan often leads to obsession about upcoming meals and disordered eating patterns.

I want no part of that.

The good news is, when you eat and live within a few guidelines, your body almost always sheds fat and builds muscle, making you leaner and healthier. And when you eat based on guidelines, you can eat almost anywhere and avoid gaining weight.

In the rare circumstances that people don’t see a significant change within their first three to four months, I strongly encourage them to get a full blood panel through their integrative doctor. I’ll cover in a different post.

Fat Loss Factor 1: Protein

Eat more protein, and eat it first at each meal.

Most diets recommend reducing carbs or fat. In other words, your diet immediately starts with restriction.

Restriction doesn’t work, whether you’re referring to the restriction on freedom to choose an experimental drug or the freedom to eat from your junk food drawer.

Does fat restriction work? Maybe, at least maybe in the short-term. Does carb restriction work? Yes, for a while.

Does eating an excess of protein work? Absolutely.

In fact, research shows that higher-protein diets deliver better results than fat or carb restricted diets.

Higher-protein diets:

Keep you full longer and cut cravings

Help you maintain more steady blood sugar levels

Stimulate muscle protein synthesis and decrease breakdown

Are far more thermogenic, calorie-for-calorie, compared to fat or carbohydrate

Support a strong immune system, helping you avoid getting sidelined by sickness

Unless someone has pre-existing kidney disease, I recommend men eat 1 gram per pound ideal bodyweight, and women eat 0.8 grams per pound ideal bodyweight.

If you choose to eat more, that's no problem. Eating even more protein will not lead to body fat gains. Research has proven that over and over. Just don't eat less.

Read more: Why is a high-protein diet best for health and fitness?

Fat Loss Factor 2: Breakfast Skipping

Skip breakfast and make lunch your first meal of the day.

If possible, avoid eating right away in the morning. If that is IMPOSSIBLE, at least stop eating cereal, toast, pancakes, or waffles and drinking fruit juice. That sort of a breakfast leaves you fatigued and braindead a couple of hours later. Nobody should start their day with that (including kids).

If you can wait until lunchtime, do so.

Fat loss for those over 40 years of age requires a different approach than it does for young adults. Your body won’t respond the same as it did back then. Nor will you get by with inadequate sleep, drinking too much, or doing so much cardio that you could watch a Netflix series each week while workout out on your bike, treadmill, or Nordic Track.

That said, just because you need to approach fat loss differently, it doesn’t mean it’ll be difficult.

In fact, you’ve probably learned by now that most things are pretty simple, and we have an uncanny ability to make them complicated.

In this post, I’ve outlined a simple fat loss plan for men and women over 40. If you embrace these five factors, you'll see most of your excess body fat melt away in the months to come.

However, if you need something more aggressive, check out my four-week fat loss plan: 28 Days: 4 Weeks Of Fat Loss.

This is Not a Fat Loss Meal Plan

Unless someone is prepping for a bodybuilding or physique contest, I refuse to make a strict meal plan. Based on how often people ask for them, I know I'd make some great extra money, but I won't sell what I don't believe in.

I supposed that means I'd never get a job representing a COVID vaccine company either.

Anyway, I'm opposed to strict meal plans for a few reasons:

Scripting out what to eat doesn't teach you how to eat.A meal plan is only effective if you have access to the foods on the plan. When people go on vacation or get out of a routine they often go off the rails.Eating according to a meal plan often leads to obsession about upcoming meals and disordered eating patterns.

I want no part of that.

The good news is, when you eat and live within a few guidelines, your body almost always sheds fat and builds muscle, making you leaner and healthier. And when you eat based on guidelines, you can eat almost anywhere and avoid gaining weight.

In the rare circumstances that people don’t see a significant change within their first three to four months, I strongly encourage them to get a full blood panel through their integrative doctor. I’ll cover in a different post.

Fat Loss Factor 1: Protein

Eat more protein, and eat it first at each meal.

Most diets recommend reducing carbs or fat. In other words, your diet immediately starts with restriction. 

Restriction doesn’t work, whether you’re referring to the restriction on freedom to choose an experimental drug or the freedom to eat from your junk food drawer. 

Does fat restriction work? Maybe, at least maybe in the short-term. Does carb restriction work? Yes, for a while.

Does eating an excess of protein work? Absolutely.

In fact, research shows that higher-protein diets deliver better results than fat or carb restricted diets.

Higher-protein diets:

Keep you full longer and cut cravingsHelp you maintain more steady blood sugar levelsStimulate muscle protein synthesis and decrease breakdownAre far more thermogenic, calorie-for-calorie, compared to fat or carbohydrateSupport a strong immune system, helping you avoid getting sidelined by sickness

Unless someone has pre-existing kidney disease, I recommend men eat 1 gram per pound ideal bodyweight, and women eat 0.8 grams per pound ideal bodyweight.

If you choose to eat more, that's no problem. Eating even more protein will not lead to body fat gains. Research has proven that over and over. Just don't eat less.

Read more: Why is a high-protein diet best for health and fitness?

Fat Loss Factor 2: Breakfast Skipping

Skip breakfast and make lunch your first meal of the day.

If possible, avoid eating right away in the morning. If that is IMPOSSIBLE, at least stop eating cereal, toast, pancakes, or waffles and drinking fruit juice. That sort of a breakfast leaves you fatigued and braindead a couple of hours later. Nobody should start their day with that (including kids).

If you can wait until lunchtime, do so.

If your long-term goal was to destroy a nation or civilization, you could work to constantly grow stronger and more powerful yourself, or you could discreetly contribute to the weakening of the nation you wish to destroy.

America has its enemies, and you could easily argue that we're more vulnerable today than ever before. The rising power of other nations coupled with the weakening of our own puts the United States in a precarious position.

As a nation founded by the people, for the people, it's long past time "the people" take ownership of our country and its culture.

It all starts with a concerted effort to build strength, first as an individual, then as a community, and eventually, as a nation.

Before America becomes great again, it needs to find strength again. Before the country finds strength, it's people must attain it first.

The Soft American

President-elect John F. Kennedy saw the threat of our physical softness in the 1960s. Sports Illustrated published his article, The Soft American, on December 26, 1960.

As he stated in the article:

But the harsh fact of the matter is that there is also an increasingly large number of young Americans who are neglecting their bodies—whose physical fitness is not what it should be—who are getting soft. And such softness on the part of individual citizens can help to strip and destroy the vitality of a nation.

For the physical vigor of our citizens is one of America’s most precious resources. If we waste and neglect this resource, if we allow it to dwindle and grow soft then we will destroy much of our ability to meet the great and vital challenges which confront our people. We will be unable to realize our full potential as a nation.

President-elect John F. Kennedy, Dec 26. 1960

I'm certain that when he wrote about The Soft American, he couldn't have imagined how soft Americans would become in the decades that followed, and how that softness wouldn't describe us only physically, but also mentally and emotionally.

I'm sure he'd be even more alarmed today if he were to see how much the government has contributed to that softness.

As Kennedy reached the conclusion of his article, he wrote the following:

But no matter how vigorous the leadership of government, we can fully restore the physical soundness of our nation only if every American is willing to assume responsibility for his own fitness and the fitness of his children. We do not live in a regimented society where men are forced to live their lives in the interest of the state. We are, all of us, as free to direct the activities of our bodies as we are to pursue the objects of our thought. But if we are to retain this freedom, for ourselves and for generations to come, then we must also be willing to work for the physical toughness on which the courage and intelligence and skill of man so largely depend.

How prophetic! He knew that the government could not and should not control Americans (as they're trying to hard to do today), and that our ability to maintain the freedoms we enjoy was dependent on our willingness to do the work to maintain physical health and fitness.

He also knew, as research has continued to show, that your ability to think and reason depends on your physical fitness.

Though he didn't explicitly say it in his article, he seemed to know that as America grew progressively physically soft, it would become progressively soft emotionally and mentally as well.

Beginning more than 2,500 years ago, from all quarters of the Greek world men thronged every four years to the sacred grove of Olympia, under the shadow of Mount Cronus, to compete in the most famous athletic contests of history—the Olympian games.

During the contest a sacred truce was observed among all the states of Greece as the best athletes of the Western world competed in boxing and foot races, wrestling and chariot races for the wreath of wild olive which was the prize of victory.