The Capital Strength 21-Day Rapid Fat Loss Guide
How much weight do you want to lose? Why do you want to lose it? Everyone faces events or times when they feel the need to drop weight quickly to look their best. However, crash and yoyo diets can be unhealthy, ineffective, and frustrating. If you have a rapidly approaching event with a deadline to look great by, and want to lose fat fast, keep reading for your game plan for rapid fat loss in 21 days.
Most people want to drop 5-10lbs., and everybody says they want the best and quickest results.
If you are ready to lose body fat rapidly, this can warrant an aggressive approach.
Significantly decreasing your body fat and improving body composition can dramatically improve
your appearance.
This guide will arm you with the dietary knowledge and the plan you need to
win the battle of the bulge.
WARNING: This dietary protocol is NOT a sustainable lifestyle diet. It is NOT for health. This
diet is meant to be temporary and help you jumpstart your fat loss or blast through a dieting
plateau. It is important that after this period of rapid fat loss, you have a plan to slowly transition
back into more sustainable eating habits. If you go back to making poor eating choices, you will
likely gain this weight back as fast as you lost it.
General Overview
The goal of this diet is to lose as much fat as possible over a 21 day period. The diet will consist
of two high protein, low calorie periods of 10 days each. Each of these low calorie periods are
separated by a “free” day where you will eat high carbohydrates to reset your metabolism.
You will eliminate practically all high fat and high carbohydrate foods for these 2 blocks of 10
days. Lean protein and non-starchy vegetables will be your food sources. You can use very low
or calorie-free seasonings and sauces to add variety and flavor if you wish.
On your “free” day, your fat intake will remain low, but you will spike your calories back up by adding high carbohydrate foods like such as rice, potatoes, or other starchy complex carbohydrates.
The 10 Rapid Fat Loss Days
The high protein/low calorie periods will last 10 days. On these days, meals will consist of only
lean protein sources and low carbohydrate vegetables.
Your goal will be to consume 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight. For example, an
individual weighting 150lbs would consume 150 grams in a day.
Your calorie intake total should be in the range of 7-9 times your body weight. The lower end of
the range is for heavier individuals, and the higher number is for lighter weight individuals. For a
150lbs individual, this puts the calorie intake goal at 1050-1350.
Here are examples of what you should eat on these days:
Lean Protein Vegetables
Lean Beef
Chicken Breast
Turkey Breast
Pork Tenderloin
Tuna
Tilapia
Flounder
Halibut
Whey Protein
Soy Protein
Tofu
Spinach
Romaine
Mixed Greens
Asparagus
Brussels Sprouts
Broccoli
Kale
Cauliflower
Peppers
Cucumber
Onion
Eat at least 3 solid meals of lean protein and copious amounts of the vegetables listed above.
Drink ½ your bodyweight in ounces of water. Don’t drink any calories! Stick with water, black coffee, or unsweetened tea.
The 11th “Free” Day
In between each 10 day period you will have a single day to eat almost as much as you want.
This is not a day of binging, so be prepared to practice some self control while you are on this
one day diet break.
Ideally, the majority of these extra calories should come in the form of carbohydrate with
minimal amounts of fat. Here are examples of good and bad sources for those extra calories:
Good Choices Bad Choices
Yams
Potato
Rice (any kind)
Pasta
Oatmeal
Cereals
Bread
Fruit
Fat Free “Diet” Foods
Pizza
Ice Cream
Chocolate
Candy Bars
Fried Foods
The best food choices during this break are high in carbohydrate and have very low fat. The
easiest way to get the most out of this higher carbohydrate day is to eat your normal meals with
the addition of a carbohydrate side dish. Enjoy it, because after this day you are going back to another 10 days of strict dieting.
Protein, Portion Sizes, and Meal Frequency
The most important part of this dietary strategy is that you eat enough lean protein to help
maintain muscle mass and manage hunger. To accomplish this, you will need to eat roughly 1
gram of protein per pound of bodyweight. For many people just beginning this type of eating, it
will feel like a lot of protein. The following are some examples of what 1 gram of protein per
pound of bodyweight would look like if you just ate one source of protein throughout the day.
Bodyweight (lbs) Chicken Breast (cooked) Tilapia (cooked) Whey Protein Powder
125 14 ounces 18 ounces 5 Scoops
175 20 ounces 25 ounces 7 Scoops
225 26 ounces 32 ounces 9 Scoops
Keeping track of whey protein is easy, however your lean meats can be tricky to portion if you
don’t own a food scale. Instead, you can use your hand as a reference by eating 1 palm size
portion of lean protein at each meal.
Portion sizes for vegetables don’t matter as much. Their purpose in this diet is to provide
vitamins and minerals, as well as sufficient fiber intake to keep your digestion normal and help
reduce hunger and cravings. Remember: load up on vegetables!
What to Expect
Because this is a very low calorie diet, you will likely experience a dramatic increase in hunger.
This will be the hardest part of the diet for most people. It will play tricks on your mind and you
will start rationalizing cheating. Stay committed and make hunger your friend!
It is important that you have strategies at your disposal when all you want to do is give in to your
sugar cravings. Here are a few things you can do to stay satiated throughout the day:
● Load up on green vegetables – Vegetables are low in calories and dense in nutrients
and fiber. You can eat a large amount and it won’t add too many extra calories.
● Fill up on water – Thirst is often mistaken for hunger. If you have already eaten a full
meal and aren’t satisfied, try drinking a tall glass of water. Not only will it hydrate you,
but it will fill up your stomach and decrease hunger pangs.
● Find the appropriate eating frequency – The number of meals you eat each day won’t
change your results in the long run. Eat the way that makes you happy. If eating a
couple larger meals works for you, then follow that. If eating many smaller meals
throughout the day works for you, then follow that.
Get Your Protein! – Making sure you get at least 1g per pound of body weight will go a
very long way in managing hunger pangs.
Low calorie diets can also have an effect on your daily energy levels. Calories provide energy
for our body to function and perform. When you are in a caloric deficit your body isn’t going to
function optimally, this sometimes causes loss of energy, grogginess, and brain fog. You might
also have an emotional response and feel extra sensitive or grouchy.
You will lose fat if you follow this diet, but it should be noted that progress is often not as linear
as we would like it to be. You will notice a large decrease in your body weight after the first
week. This weight loss is usually followed by a plateau. This plateau can be a huge mental
hurdle for some. Fear not! This is often a result of water retention. As the fat cells in your body
begin to decrease in density and size, this removal of stored fat is temporarily replaced by water
retention. You will look the same and stay the same weight, but you will be losing fat and it will
become visible once the water is released.
Optimal Training for Fat Loss
People often assume that the most effective mode of training for fat loss is cardiovascular
exercise (aerobics, jogging, elliptical, bike etc.). This is incorrect and is the reason why many
spend endless hours running on the treadmill, and do not see any improvements in their
physique.
The best training schedule depends on the number of hours you can devote to working out
during the week. There are certain things that need to be prioritized if you wish to see the best
possible results. We call this list of priorities “the hierarchy of fat loss”. It lists the training
modalities from most important to least important for fat loss.
1. Strength Training – This includes any activity that challenges the strength level of your
body. This usually consists of exercises with heavy barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells,
machines, and some bodyweight exercises. If you only have1-3 hours per week to work
out, we recommend those be spent strength training.
2. High Intensity Cardiovascular Exercise – This type of cardiovascular work is
something that is so intense that you simply can’t maintain it for anything longer than a
minute until you need some form of rest (AKA Interval Training). This includes things
like pushing a sled, sprinting, and other forms of exercise that cause a spike in your
heart rate. We recommend that if you have 4-5 hours a week to workout, 1-2 of those
hours should be in the form of high intensity cardiovascular exercise.
3. Low Intensity Cardiovascular Exercise – Low intensity cardiovascular exercise is any
type of exercise that slightly elevates your heart rate and can be maintained for longer
periods of time. This includes things like walking, jogging, cardio machines, etc.. If you
have 6+ hours a week to devote to working out, any extra time past your strength
training and high intensity cardiovascular exercise can be spent performing low intensity
cardiovascular exercise.
Now that your priorities are straight, keep in mind that your energy intake is going to be very low
while on this diet. The last thing you want to do is add in too much exercise, as this can result in
loss of muscle mass. It is best to not put in any more than 4-5 hours of training each week.
Anything over that will not be necessary and might interfere with the results you are seeking.
Supplementation
Supplements don’t cause miracles, but they can help improve health and allow for better results
in fat loss and muscle gain. Here are the supplements we recommend:
1. Protein – If eating a pound of chicken everyday doesn’t sound like something you could
accomplish, drinking a protein shake can make it easier to reach your goal protein intake
for the day.
2. Fish Oil – Fish oil has been proven to improve your health and in some studies, it has
shown that it might help improve your body composition. Dosing varies and can range
from 1-6 grams of fish oil spread throughout the day with meals.
3. Vitamin D – Many people have low vitamin D levels. This can be confirmed through a
blood test. People who are deficient or have low levels will see improvements in overall
health, performance, and might be more efficient at burning fat. 2000 iu/day is a safe
and effective dose.
4. Magnesium – Since this diet is low carbohydrate it’s important that you are getting
sufficient amounts of electrolytes. Supplementing with magnesium is not only healthy
but might help reduce fatigue during this diet. Take 500mg/day.
5. Calcium – Primarily taken for bone health but may help improve body composition.
Take 600-1200 mg/day.
6. Caffeine – Coffee (black, no sugar) or other sources can help give you a boost in
energy, curb appetite, and aid in the mobilization of fat.
Things to Avoid
To get the most out of this diet protocol, it is important that you don’t make some of these
common mistakes:
1. Too much steady state cardio – As stated before, the bulk of your workout program for
fat loss should be strength training. Too much steady state cardio, with minimal strength
training, is a great way to lose muscle and minimize results. If you want to look lean,
you need to emphasize strength training and de-emphasize cardio.
2. Not getting enough sleep – Sleep is extremely important for recovering from your
workouts and maintaining optimal hormone levels to promote fat loss. People who sleep
less tend to be fatter and have less muscle.
3. Too many protein shakes – Protein supplements are a great tool to meet your daily
protein intake requirements, but you shouldn’t rely too heavily on them. When a large
amount of your diet is in the form of liquid you are likely to have hunger issues,
especially on a low calorie diet like this one.
4. Too much fat on your free meal day – Your free meal day is meant to give your body
a break from dieting and help maintain your metabolic rate as well as your sanity. Enjoy
this day, but keep your fat intake to a minimum. Treat your free meal day as a day
where you can eat more carbohydrate and protein, while maintaining a relatively low fat
diet. Failing to do this can result in a much larger rebound in fat gain, which is
something you don’t want.
Putting Together a Meal Plan
Here’s an example of what a 150 lb person could eat in a single day when following the low
calorie days on rapid fat loss diet:
● 8 AM – 1 cup egg whites cooked with a handful of spinach, 1 cup of black coffee (25
grams of protein)
● 12 PM – 6 ounces of grilled chicken breast, 1 cup of broccoli (50 grams of protein)
● 3 PM – 1 scoop of whey protein in 1 ½ cups of unsweetened almond milk (25 grams of
protein)
● 6:30 PM – 2, 4 ounce 99% lean ground turkey patties, 1 large cucumber dressed with
salt, pepper, and red wine vinegar. (50 grams of protein)
Here’s a good example of what that same 150 lb person could eat on their free meal day:
● 8 AM – 1 cup of egg whites cooked with a handful of spinach, 1 cup of fruity pebbles with
skim milk, 1 cup of coffee.
● 12 PM – 6 ounces of grilled chicken breast, 1 cup of broccoli, 1 large baked potato
dressed with salt, pepper, and plain greek yogurt (tastes exactly like sour cream)
● 3 PM – 1 scoop of whey protein in skim milk, 8 fat free fig newtons
● 6:30 PM – 2, 4 ounce 99% lean ground turkey patties, 2 kaiser rolls, 2 slices of reduced
fat cheese, dressed with ketchup and mustard.
● 8 PM – 1 cup of fat free frozen yogurt
As you can see, there is a lot more carbohydrate added to this day with a minimal amount of
extra fat. Do your best to avoid high fat foods on these days!
Designing Your Training Schedule
A sample training week could look like this:
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Strength
Training
Cardio or
Conditioning
Strength
Training
Cardio or
Conditioning
Strength
Training
OFF OFF
Tying It All Together
To be clear: this is not a healthy lifestyle diet! It is a temporary protocol engineered to accelerate
fat loss and get you leaned out quickly.
The important point of this diet is to dramatically lower calorie intake by reducing fat and
carbohydrate consumption. Remember: it is critical to increase protein intake. This is not
optional!
This diet can be boiled down to:
● 10 days of low calorie, low fat, low carb, and high protein eating. ○ Eat only lean meats
and copious amounts of vegetables!
● 1 day of free eating, adding in high carbs, as long as you keep it low fat.
○ Focus on lean, complex carb sources!
● Another 10 days of low calorie, low fat, low carb, and high protein eating.
Ending The Diet
You finished the 21 days and lost a considerable amount of weight, but what do you do now?
Many people make the mistake of going back to the way they used to eat before the 21 days.
This is a recipe for disaster. To ensure you keep off the weight and continue to be successful
with your weight loss or body composition goals, you are going to have to gradually transition
back into a normal diet.
During the diet, you are nearly eliminating all macronutrients except protein. You will need to
gradually reintroduce the other macronutrients back into your nutrition to avoid rebound weight
gain. For the first week, start by adding in healthy fats with most meals. Here’s what that might
look like for a 150 lb person:
● 8 AM – ½ cup egg whites and 2 whole eggs cooked with a handful of spinach, 1 cup of
black coffee
● 12 PM – 6 ounces of grilled chicken breast, 1 cup of broccoli, 20 almonds
● 3 PM – 1 scoop of whey protein in 1 ½ cups of unsweetened almond milk
● 6:30 PM – 2, 4 ounce 93% lean ground beef patties, 1 large cucumber dressed with salt,
pepper, and red wine vinegar
Notice the addition of whole eggs, almonds, and beef in place of the previous ingredients. While
this maintains the same protein intake, it increases the fat intake to a healthier sustainable level
adding an additional ~250 calories.
The second week after the diet you will reintroduce a small amount of carbohydrate. The
majority of this carbohydrate should be eaten after your workout on the days you train and with
dinner on the days you don’t train. You can choose any of the low-fat carbohydrate choices that
were used on the “free” day during the diet. A good example would be a cup of cooked rice, a
potato, or a couple of pieces of fruit.
After the second week, pay attention to the number on the scale. If you transitioned back to
healthy eating, as suggested, your weight should be close to where it was at the end of the 21
days.
Be patient with the transition process, because it is arguably the most important part of making
this diet a success.
Sample Shopping List
Your grocery shopping list is going to undergo a bit of a makeover over the next 21 days, but it
will be much easier than you think. If it’s not lean protein or a non-starchy carbohydrate, you
simply cannot buy it. Here’s a sample shopping list for a 150 lb person for the first 10 days of
the rapid fat loss diet:
● 5-6 cartons of liquid egg whites
● 5-6 lb bag of frozen chicken breasts
● 5-6 lbs of 99% lean ground turkey (freeze what won’t be needed within a few days to
maintain freshness)
● 5 bags of frozen veggies (broccoli, green beans, etc..)
● 2 boxes of baby spinach
● 10 large cucumbers
● 2.5 lbs of whey protein powder (this should last the entire 21 days)
This will last you the entire 10 days if you are close to 150 lbs. Some of these items may last
longer than 10 days.
Good Luck!
