Why The 30/30/30 Method Might Be The Key To Losing Weight This Year

The 30/30/30 method was made viral by human biologist, researcher, and biohacker Gary Brecka, but the concept was first coined by Tim Ferriss in his book titled The 4-Hour Body. In one of Brecka’s videos, he says, “I’ve never seen anything in my life strip fat off of a human being faster than this,” which is a bold claim, but he believes in this method so deeply that he says that he wishes he were the one to patent the idea. Apparently, if you do it for one month, you'll be able to see firsthand the amazing results.

So, what exactly is the 30/30/30 method and is it good for women? The goal is to eat 30 grams of protein within 30 minutes of waking up in the morning, followed by engaging in 30 minutes of steady-state cardiovascular exercise (think low-intensity exercises like walking), ensuring that your heart rate is at or below 135 BPM. You don’t want to jump into an extremely intensive workout right away because that would result in the loss of lean muscle, instead of fat burn. In addition to supporting weight loss efforts with science, this method seems to be beneficial for women specifically because it considers the importance of blood glucose and protein consumption, both of which greatly influence the delicate balance of female hormones.

Break-Fast

A lot of people will hit the pavement or the gym after overnight fasting without fueling their body because they think “calories in, calories out,” but this actually results in a loss of lean muscle. Essentially, for the first 20 minutes after you wake up, you have a small amount of blood sugar in your body to use for the initial energy to start your day, but after that 20-minute window, your body needs other fuel with which to power your body. It takes five hours to burn fat “but only three minutes to liquify lean muscle,” says Brecka. So, your body is going to dip into the most easily accessible source of energy, a.k.a. your lean muscle supply. 

This is the problem with fasted exercise. Think of a car: It won’t drive if it doesn’t have gas. If you drive to work on empty, you’ll be driving on fumes (before your car stops), and in the process, you weaken your car. If you don’t give your body substantial energy to kickstart the day and to fuel your exercise, then it has no choice but to burn lean muscle, and there goes your fat burning efforts. To avoid this, prep breakfast ahead of time so you have options to pull out after waking up. Here are 7 protein-rich breakfasts to eat to lose weight and feel ready for the day.