Man Shows Off Abs After 130-Pound Loss Thanks to 6 Essential Tips

Alex Solomin (@alexsolominfitness) is a weight loss influencer who helps his followers get into shape and slim down with his insightful videos. In one of his many viral clips, he offers some simple tips on how to slim down fast. “If I had to lose 30 pounds in the next three months, here's exactly what I would do,” he says, revealing that he has personally lost 130 pounds.

1. Cut Out Liquid Calories

“The first thing I would do is to cut out or eliminate all liquid calories like juices, soda, milkshakes, caloric salad dressings, and everybody's favorite Starbucks coffees, which are borderline milkshakes with caffeine,” he says. “Liquid calories do not fill you up and they make losing weight a lot more difficult.” Chris McMahon, a nutrition and fitness coach, agrees. However, if plain water is too boring, he suggests driving flavored water instead.

Related: Jen Selter Flaunts “Perfect” Body in New Yoga Video: “Exhale”

2. Use a Calorie Calculator

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Now, it’s time to figure out how much you should be eating. “I would then use a calculator to figure out how many calories you should be consuming to lose weight. And if you want an easy calculator, you can use the one in my bio,” he says. You can benchmark your progress with this useful Lean Body Mass Calculator.

3. Amp Up Protein Intake

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Next up, it’s time to amp up your protein intake. “I would also aim to eat one gram of protein per pound of gold body weight,” he says. According to clinical trials, consuming more protein than the recommended dietary allowance not only reduces body weight (BW) but also enhances body composition by decreasing fat mass while preserving fat-free mass (FFM) in both low-calorie and standard-calorie diets.

4. Eat High Volume, Low Calorie Food

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“After figuring out my calorie and my protein goals, I would try to eat as much high volume low calorie as possible to meet those calories and that protein goal,” he explains. He recommends “tons of lean protein, fruits, and vegetables,” and trying to “stay as full as possible.”

Related: 7 Genius Weight Loss Tricks You Haven't Tried

5. Walk 8,000 to 10,000 Steps Per Day

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“I would also try to walk and do 8,000 to 10,000 steps per day, seven days a week,” he says. “It doesn't matter how fast you do it or if you reach that step goal in one or 10 sessions throughout the day, it doesn't matter. Just reach that number.” A 2018 study published in the journal Obesity found a link between walking 10,000 steps a day and weight loss and weight management. Other studies published by the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) in JAMA Neurology and in JAMA Internal Medicine also linked walking 10,000 steps a day to less dementia and less cardiovascular disease overall, with less heart disease, less heart failure and fewer strokes.

Related: Woman Stuns With Her Fit Body After Losing 50 Pounds in a Year With This 1 Hack

6. Try Not To Cheat

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According to Alex “by far, the most important thing is to follow your calorie goal as closely as possible seven days a week, weekends included,” he says. “Let me say it again for the people in the back, weekends included, because the calorie deficit doesn't matter if you only follow it when you feel like it.” Some experts suggest a weekly calorie goal instead of a daily, which allows a little leniency if you happen to splurge one day.

💪🔥Body Booster: If you aren’t sure how much protein to eat, most studies suggest around one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight.

Embarking on a weight loss journey can be frustrating and often feel overwhelming. Luckily, there are so many weight loss warriors who can help motivate and inspire, including Nik Kumar, a Yale-educated online fitness coach and Chief Exercise Officer of Desi Grit. 43-year-old who lives in New York City used data, tech, and AI to get himself and his client's six-pack results, and also dropped 32 pounds in 8 months.

He Gained Weight After Tearing His ACL

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Kumar started at 202 lbs and is now at 170 lbs - 32 lbs lost over 8 months. At 5' 11'', this is a significant transformation. Kumar explains that his struggles started when he tore his ACL skiing, then had surgery, which didn't go so well. "With two screws in my left knee, and a crappy ACL repair, I was in a lot of pain and didn't hit the gym for a year," he says.

He Decided to Make a Change

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“After gaining a good amount of weight, I didn’t like what I saw in the mirror,” Kumar continues. “So, I decided to make a change.”

He Started Small, Then Amped It Up

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His fitness journey started small. “I started hitting the gym, doing low weights and going slow on the treadmill for 20 mins,” he explains. “After regaining a bit of strength and a bit of confidence, I started amping everything up and started tracking my nutrition. Then I started seeing big changes in my body!”

These Are His Favorite Exercises

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With his workouts he toned his whole body, “but I’m most proud of my abs and my back,” he says. His top 5 exercises?

• Clappy Push-Ups
• Incline Chest Press
• Overhead Shoulder Press
• Clappy Pull-Ups
• Deadlifts

“The clappy push-ups and clappy pull-ups are great workouts and just look cool,” he says. “The other exercises are multi-joint compound movements that are great for building muscle.”

Here Is What He Eats

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He follows a Keto-slash-Paleo diet, “which means low carb, high protein, and medium/high-fat small meals, five times per day,” he says. He has also eliminated mostly processed foods and stuff that is high in sugar and carbs – including cake, ice cream, chocolate, bagels, pasta, white bread. As for supplements, he takes multivitamins and drinks protein powder.

You Can Achieve Six-Pack Abs Too

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Kumar has also personally busted one of the myths he formerly believed in. “I thought getting a six-pack was about having really good genetics. Now I know that is totally not true,” he says. However, it takes work, like tracking his nutrition, exercise, and habit goals via his app because “whatever gets measured, can be improved,” he says.

Related:15 Quick Ways to Lose Body Fat Percentage in a Week

His Advice: Just Do It

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💪🔥Body Booster: His advice for someone just starting their fitness journey? “Just start… And go for consistency rather than perfection,” he says. He also recommends planning both your workouts and your meals, and “if your trainer doesn’t have a six-pack, then fire ‘em!” he says. And if you enjoyed this article, take advantage of these 15 Quick Ways to Lose Body Fat Percentage in a Week.

At the age of 19, Jarred Curcio, Owner at TRUE Fitness & Focus, stood at 5 '8' and weighed nearly 300 lbs. “I was extremely overweight,” he tells The Body Network. However, by his 21st birthday, he was a natural bodybuilding champion competing at 175lbs. Fifteen years later, he has “stayed consistent at 200lbs - mostly muscle mass. I have a 6-pack, I squat 550 lbs, and can deadlift 600 lbs.” Here is exactly how he transformed his life and got started on his health journey, which resulted in a 125-pound weight loss – and how he has maintained it throughout the years.

Weight Loss Transformed His Life

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Jarred explains that physical fitness has been a huge part of his life since his weight loss journey. “I can honestly say I never missed a workout in that time,” he tells us. He uses the principles he learned in the gym – discipline, consistency, resilience, doing the hard things, “even when you don’t want to – and applies them to other areas of his life, including his career and relationships. “This has allowed me to be successful in every area of my life,” he says. “I graduated college summa cum laude and completed Penn State Law School toward the top of my class. I have had a very fruitful and rewarding career in sales leadership since 2013. And I am married to my high school sweetheart of 19 years – who also had a weight loss journey of her own at the same time. Our relationship could not be stronger!”

Related: Fitness Expert's $5 a Day Meal Plan for Fat Loss

He Believes Mental and Physical Health Go Hand-in-Hand

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Jarred believes that mental and physical health go hand-in-hand. “I am a believer that there is an opportunity to get the average person to a state of mental fitness or mental performance,” he says. “This would mean not simply eliminating anxiety or depression, but building skills and abilities to help committed individuals thrive on a day-to-day basis.” His own weight loss journey was the primer for this belief and lifestyle shift.

Now, He Wants to Help Others

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This is why he is embarking on a career to help others. “I have developed my philosophy and programming continuously over the past 15 years. Now, I feel I have enough of a grasp to provide immense value to others and help them accomplish the same successes that I have,” he says. “I am a believer that learning discipline offers the greatest freedom possible as it instills a sense of agency in a person. I have developed a system for building habits and cultivating discipline that includes physical workouts, but goes far beyond that. My system includes mindfulness practices like meditation and stoic habits like demonstrating gratitude.”

His Top 5 Exercises

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Jarred’s top 5 exercises are deadlift, squat, kettlebell swings, pullups, and military press. “These exercises are big compound movements that require the use of major muscle groups. These are basic yet critical movements that help build significant muscle and strength, if performed properly,” he says. “The more body parts you move, the more calories you burn. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn. The more weight you move, the more calories you burn. So these exercises will not only make you more muscular and stronger, but they will also burn fat and improve athletic capacity across a range of activities or sports.”

Related: I Lost 60 Pounds With Help From Yoga and These Other Workouts

Here Is His Daily Diet

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“I eat an animal based diet, which means I prioritize animal proteins (beef, chicken, eggs, etc.) as a primary factor in my meals,” Jarred explains. The next highest priority in his diet is eating natural healthy fats, “most of which also come from animals, including butter, milk, and Greek or Icelandic yogurt,” he says. “I feel carbs are important but can be easily overeaten. When it comes to carbs, I mostly stick to fruit (almost any fruit will do), white rice, and potatoes.” He also eats vegetables, “but quite sparingly,” he says. “I keep my vegetable consumption to about twice per week,” he also avoids most processed foods, seed oils, and refined sugars. “Whole, organic foods are always going to be the best options.” He warns that “sugar is snuck into so much of the food we eat that we have to be on the lookout.”

His #1 Tip

Jarred Curcio

“My #1 tip is to find a realistic process (diet and exercise) that works for you, but should also challenge you. No change comes without discomfort,” says Jarred. “Once you find the plan, STICK TO IT NO MATTER WHAT! No excuse should be enough to break from the plan. If you do that, the results are guaranteed. “Once you get the results, you'll never want to go back.”

One Fitness Myth, Busted

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The biggest fitness myth, according to Jarred? “You cannot spot reduce,’' he says. “For example, some people think if you do a bunch of sit ups, you will get 6-pack abs. But abs are revealed when you lose fat. Losing fat comes from a calorie deficit, and diet is CRITICAL to that. So sit ups can burn calories, and can strengthen ab muscles, but will not get you a 6-pack on their own.”

He Takes Supplements

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Here is Jarred’s list of supplements:

Multivitamin - The classic all-in-one supplement

Omega-3 - Critical for heart health

Desiccated Beef Liver - Alpha shit

ZMA - Zinc and Magnesium before bed for great sleep and recovery

Glutamine - Amino Acid found in red meat. Outstanding for post workout recovery.

Creatine - Super amino acid that helps grow muscle and helps with brain health

BCAAs - Branched chain amino acids are critical to recovery.

Alpha-Jym - Great testosterone booster w/ ashwagandha & fenugreek

Tribulus - Testosterone booster

DHEA - Testosterone booster

Longjack (Tongat Ali) - Testosterone booster and sexual health

Turmeric - Anti-inflammatory

Vitamin B - Metabolism & Energy

Vitamin D - All around immunity and bone health

Spirulina - Blue green algae with tons of micronutrients and health benefits

CLA - Helps with metabolism and body composition (non-stimulant fat burning)

Zinc - Immune support

Glucosamine - Joint health

Potassium - Water regulation

Taurine - Nervous system function

Biotin - Hair, nails, skin

DIM - Balances estrogen naturally

Here Is How He Measures Progress

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Jarred measures his progress by how he feels in the day, his “energy levels, mental clarity, how my body moves at the gym, how I look in the mirror, and how I fit in my clothes,” he says. When he feels bad about his body he takes action and checks his diet to see if he has been taking in more calories lately than typical and adjusts accordingly.

Related: She Dropped 60 Pounds in 3 Months, Here’s How

His Final Piece of Advice? Know Your Why

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His final piece of advice? “Know your ‘WHY,’” he says. “If you know WHY you are starting, it's the key to staying consistent and disciplined.” If you need motivation, remind yourself of your goals, and “visualize and manifest” them. “The way you do one thing is the way you do everything. If your body isn't physically healthy, you can't expect your mind to be healthy. If your mind isn't healthy, you make worse decisions. Worst decisions lead to a worse quality of life. A healthy body is the foundation for a happy life.”

💪🔥Body Booster: Ask yourself: Why do you want to get into shape? By understanding the Why, you are more likely to stay motivated on your health journey.

Losing weight can feel like a daunting task. One way to make it easier is learning about how other people did it. John Johnson is a weight loss warrior who dropped over 190 pounds by making some simple lifestyle changes. In a new interview with Body Network, the August, Georgia man explains exactly how he did it.

He Always “Hoped to Be an Average Size”

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“I’ve always hoped to be an average or normal size. Admittedly, in my mind’s eye, I’ve never really been sure what that looked like – but I wanted to go on a journey where I could try and make my physical self reflect who I saw in my head,” John tells us about what motivated him to get started on his health journey.

He Has Lost Almost 200 Pounds

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John, 6’3’’ and 42 years old, “was just a little over 450 pounds” when he first started my weight journey. “But at this point, I’m sitting right at 259 pounds,” he says. “I lost nearly 200 pounds over the course of the last couple of years.”

He Focused on Training His Back and Torso

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As part of his exercise routine, he focused on toning his back and torso the most, “the midsection of my body, essentially – as that’s where I’ve historically carried the majority of my body weight,” he explains. “That’s not to say that I didn’t focus on toning other areas as well, but they are where I lent the lion’s share of my effort.”

He’s Also Proud of His Legs

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“I’m proud of what I’ve done to get control of my midsection, but I’ve always been proud of my legs, too. They’re naturally strong, and I’ve often been told I have nice legs, so fine-tuning a part of my body that I already took pride in has really been a confidence booster for me!” he says.

Exercise 1: Lat Pulldowns

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His top five exercises start with lat pulldowns. “This exercise was key to strengthening my back and building definition in my neck and shoulder while pulling the fat from that area of my body. It’s an exercise that’s really forced a change in my physical appearance,” he says.

Exercise 2: Bench Press Machine

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Next, he did a lot of work on the bench press machine. “As I’ve mentioned, building muscle mass in my torso has been a focal point for me, and the bench press machine has been a core component in making that happen. I recently reached a new personal best with the machine, pressing 165 pounds,” she says.

RELATED: This Plan Is How to Lose 5 Percent Body Fat In 2 Weeks

Exercise 3: Chest Fly Machine

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He also does exercises on the chest fly machine. “I’ve really enjoyed using the chest fly machine for both my torso and back muscles. Similar to the previous exercise I shared, it’s helped to tone my midsection and pull the fat from areas of my body where I typically store the majority of it,” he says.

Exercise 4: Russian Twists

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He also does Russian twists. “These have become a staple in my core routine, working fat out of my sides and strengthening my abdominal area. I’ll often hold a weight out in front of myself while doing these to make things a little more difficult,” he says.

Planks

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Planks are another go-to exercise. “For the same reason as Russian twists, planks are a primary component of my workout routine. They can be absolute hell to do, but they’re one of the most effective methods for developing your core strength,” he says.

Simple Daily Diet

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“My daily diet is actually very simple. I start the day out with a bottle of water and a Prime Hydration beverage, along with a Nutri-Grain or protein bar. From there, I keep to a trusted routine, enjoying ready-made meals from Clean Eatz Kitchen for both lunch and dinner. I would absolutely recommend a health food/meal prep brand like Clean Eatz Kitchen to anyone looking to get their weight under control. They make mealtime so simple, and I don’t have to worry myself thinking about nutrient intake, portion size, or the sort,” he says about his diet.

RELATED:I Hit 60 and These Daily Habits Keep Me Fit and Feeling 20 Years Younger

No Soda

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“At this point, the only thing that’s been removed from my diet 100% is soda,” he says. “There are a variety of other things I’ve cut back on by probably about 80%, though. I’ve really adopted the mindset of life with moderation, that removing something from my diet entirely may cause me to become more prone to intense cravings and a possible relapse, which I say from experience. It’s important for your self-control and mental well-being that you allow yourself the occasional treat, a reward every so often, or the journey just becomes much more difficult.”

For the First Time in His Life, He Can Run

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His biggest achievement? “For the first time in my life, I’m able to run. I can do an entire lap around my house, and nothing has ever made me feel so powerful. At 450 pounds, it was a difficult to walk. I had to hold onto things to make sure I was taking proper steps. It’s an accomplishment that proves you never realize how intense the struggle is until you’ve left the struggle behind,” he says.

There Have Been Setbacks

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He has experienced some setbacks. “Old habits die hard, especially when you’re trying to cut them out completely. My weight loss journey hasn’t followed a linear path. I’ve worked my butt off to shed pounds, only to regain the weight in the near future by succumbing to those same bad habits I’d developed in the past,” he says. “Setbacks are almost unavoidable when you’re starting out. You have to find the people and professionals who can help you understand where you sit on the fitness continuum. You don’t just get to do like everyone else – because your health issues will almost always preclude you.”

He Takes Supplements

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He also takes supplements. “I use Clean Eatz Vanilla Protein Power to make protein shakes for myself, as well as their Superfoodz whole-body support blend every morning. I also use Sports Research Creatine Monohydrate and 5 Star Nutrition’s Anabolic Warfare to boost my performance and help supplement my muscle growth,” he tells us. “At the gym, I use CarniCuts pre-workout to help me sweat more during my exercises.”

How He Measured His Success

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John measured his success in small increments. “In the beginning, I measured by 10-pound increments: every 10 pounds lost was an accomplishment. But I learned that if you focus on weight and your physical appearance, then you tend to burn out and give up because the changes you’re looking for are so slow and indiscernible. Instead, I began looking for those subtle changes – how my clothes fit, new exercises I was capable of doing, etc. I trust the process and trust my trainers to get me across the finish line I’ve set in my mind,” he says.

RELATED:I'm 50+ and These 7 Fat-Blasting Habits Keep Me in the Best Shape of My Life

A Nutrition Myth, Debunked

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One fitness or nutrition myth he once believed but now debunks? You have to avoid food you love. “You can still eat everything that you enjoy in this life, so long as you understand what has to be done in order to offset. Your body is an engine, and you’re fueling it through the fluids and foods you consume. If you’re putting bad things in and not trying to burn them off, then you’re going to see poor results. But you can occasionally indulge, so long as you’re willing to put in the work,” he says.

He Reminds Himself of the Small Victories

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“I’ve had a lot of hardship and pitfalls, and there were times in my life when I decided I’d just be fat and happy. But you have to be able to remind yourself of the small victories you’ve already achieved. If you fall off the wagon, you’ve got to dust yourself off and get up. Without failure, there can never be success. Having some kind of internal monologue that reminds you of all that is important for getting past the points where you feel badly about your physical appearance,” suggests John.

Believe in Yourself

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At the end of the day, believe in yourself, says John. “You have to believe, despite the struggles and the failure and the pain, that when you put your trust in the process, you can achieve anything. Believe and trust in the process, and in yourself, that you’re capable of reaching the goals you’ve set for yourself,” he explains.

Routine Is Key

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“The easiest way to stay motivated is to create a routine, a lifestyle that accounts for healthier practices that begin to become second nature to follow in your daily life. This helps you to avoid days where you don’t feel like doing anything, and even the most minuscule task can seem like a feat of discipline,” he says.

RELATED: We Are 55, and These 15 Fat-Blasting Habits Keep Us in the Best Shape of Our Lives

His Favorite Motivational Quote

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John ends his interview with a motivational quote from Thomas Edison. “Our greatest weakness lies in getting up. The most certain way to succeed is to try just one more time.” And if you enjoyed this article, take advantage of these15 Quick Ways to Lose Body Fat Percentage in a Week.