How to Lose 10 Pounds in a Month (Or: I Have a Fight Coming Up)

Greetings from the middle of a last-minute fight camp.

Photo by the homie Jeff Tang

Some housekeeping:

• I had a nice time talking with

  Garrett Kamps
  of the phenomenal newsletter
  Healings
  about death, God, and other similarly lighthearted topics. Go check it out. Then check out the rest of the FAQs, which are life-affirming without feeling like Tuesdays with Morrie.

• I was a guest on Kari Selander’s excellent new Mutha Life podcast where I talked about being a dad, my journalism career, and raising a kid in Brooklyn. Always an honor to be in proximity to certified HEAVY and coolest mom in LA Sosupersam, who was last week’s guest.

• I’ve slowed down my publishing cadence as I’ve been in deadline mode these past two weeks—I can’t wait for you guys to read the stories—but I wanted to give a quick shout to

  Emily Sundberg
  of Feed Me for featuring the HEAVIES interview with Tony Wang in her extremely sharp Ozempic State of the Union.

Last week, my Muay Thai coach pulled me aside and asked if I wanted to fight on October 12, and I said sure, why not, let’s do it. I’ve been training a lot this summer and have gotten a little stronger since my last fight (my physical therapist says I’ve put on at least five pounds of muscle lol) so this’ll be a good test. I’ll be competing at 130 pounds with a weigh-in that morning.

The tricky part is I spent late-August eating good, maybe too good, so I’m in the midst of cutting down from a starting point of 140+, which is a bit above my average.

But dropping 10 pounds in a month is surprisingly doable. I cut down from 140-ish to 125 pounds for my last fight and felt terrific going into it. (Aside from the paralyzing pre-fight anxiety that makes your legs feel like they’re stuck in asphalt.)

Losing weight while still eating meals you enjoy shouldn’t have to be mystifying; it’s actually super straightforward. In fact, the framework below is accommodating for just about everyone, even if you aren’t a workout demon.

Obviously your weight is by no means a measure of how healthy you care. But if you’d like to drop a few pounds in order to, say, move around a little easier, take some pressure off your knees, or maybe even get a new jogging routine off the ground, you might find the below useful. Or maybe you just have a wedding in November and want your jawline to look snatched. I dunno. Do what makes you feel good. But what I like about this particular method is it gives you a clear understanding of your eating habits, which can then be retrofitted to your usual routine for maintenance once you hit your goals.

But here’s how I plan to get to destination Shred City while still having enough energy to go hard in the gym six days a week.

The HEAVIES Guide to a Healthy Weight Cut