Need some motivation? How about Sean’s 158 lbs. weight loss!? He gave us this update via The Dolce Diet Facebook page and we wanted to share it with everyone! Great work, Sean!
Hey, I just wanted to say thank you. Your book Living Lean gave me the confidence to pretty much change my life. Went from 375 to 217 in about a year. I also joined the Marine Corps and leave for boot camp next month. Keep up the good work. ~Sean Williamson
No 10. world-ranked flyweight Ulysses Gomez weighed in at 126 lbs via The Dolce Diet for UFC on Fuel TV 7 today in London, England. Gomez takes on Phil Harris at Wembley Stadium.
For more information, visit UFC.com
The Dolce Diet ® is looking for qualified writers with a professional background in the health and medical sciences.
Each submission should be 500 words on one of the following topics:
How often should I be massaged?
“Will it rejuvenate me or turn me into mush?”
How can oral hygiene affect overall health?
“Can it lead to knockouts? How about heart health?”
How much is enough of chiropractic care?
“Sometimes it feels good, sometimes it makes me worse.”
What is the difference between an MD and a DO?
“I always thought a doctor was a doctor?”
How long should I apply ice to a new injury?
“It seems everyone has a different opinion they swear by.”
What type of health insurance should I buy?
“HMO, PPO, I DON’T KNOW! There are so many options, it’s easier to not have any.
Include an additional 50 word bio introducing yourself and one url to accompany your submission.
Send your submission to thedolcediet@yahoo.com
Not all submissions may be used.
Compensation is publication on one or all of our websites – TheDolceDiet.com, MyDolceDiet.com, TheMikeDolceShow.com – and/or related social media sites i.e. Twitter, Facebook, etc.
Check out this video where Mike answers over 65 different questions on a variety of topics asked by members of The Dolce Diet Facebook page! Feel free to ask your own question and join in the fun!
by Mike Dolce
The increased popularity of Mixed Martial Arts has the words “weight cut” falling off people’s lips like it’s a trend. In fact, the weight-cut process walks a very precise, often dangerous line between what is healthy and what is hapless, and should not be taken lightly – pun definitely intended!
I define a weight cut as a temporary reduction of the body’s water volume. Keyword here? TEMPORARY!
A weight cut is something an athlete does for a weight-class delineated competition. This athlete is typically already at a healthy bodyweight with an ideal ratio of lean mass to bodyfat while training for his or her competition.
Weight loss, is something most people pursue in an effort to become healthier, leaner and to create the ability to live a more vibrant, fuller life. Weight loss focuses on the elimination of non-functional weight – the weight that is bogging you down and getting you nowhere! It interferes with our function as a healthy and thriving individual.
If you weigh 195 lbs. at 20 percent body fat you have 39 lbs. of body fat and 156 lbs. of muscle, bones, skin and organs, or functional weight.
At 20 percent body fat you have no idea what your abs look like and are at a high risk factor for heart disease, diabetes and early death.
Now, if you weigh 195 lbs. at 10 percent body fat, you look absolutely amazing. You only have 19.5 lbs. of nonfunctional fat, most of which is insulation from the environment, protects your joints and ligaments and serves as readily usable energy. You also have 175.5 lbs. of functional bodyweight, which is quite a lot compared to the chubbier version of yourself.
How different is 20 lbs. of muscle? I like to tell people to picture a 16 oz. steak sitting on your dinner plate. Now multiply that by 20 and stick them all over your body like Lady Gaga’s meat dress. Yes, 20 lbs. of lean muscle is quite substantial.
What does 20 lbs. of body fat look like? A great visual would be to fill up two entire gallon milk jugs of butter and cottage cheese, plus another two liter soda bottle of the same and pour it in a backpack, or better yet a REALLY BIG fanny pack sloshing around your hips! How would it feel slugging around that load of lard???
For the average man, we should maintain body-fat levels at approximately 10 percent. I don’t care if you are happy being 12 percent or you say, “I’m too old to be lower than 15 percent,” – that is your preference. You can drive around in a ’89 Honda Accord with low miles, but have you seen that new Cadillac CTS Coupe?!
Professional athletes should be around 7 percent for competition purposes. With my athletes, I make sure they are at 7 percent body fat three weeks before competition so we can increase their calories as competition nears. In essence, we feed them onto the scale.
The last couple pounds, (or dozen pounds depending on the athlete), is simply a matter of adjusting electrolytes, stimulating their metabolism and managing their digestive environment. A much simpler way of putting this is to feed them familiar, nutrient dense, easy to absorb foods, at even intervals, but not so much to slow digestion, in fact, just enough to speed it up.
Ladies, you should aim for 20 percent body fat as your daily walk around weight and closer to 16 percent for most higher levels of athletics.
This means the average 130 lb. woman at 20 percent body fat would hold 26 lbs. of non-functional body fat and 104 lbs. of functional lean mass weight.
That same female, if she were a competitive athlete, would best be suited in the vicinity of 16 percent body fat, would carry 20.8 lbs. of non-functional body fat and 109.2 lbs. of functional lean mass weight.
It means, do you really want to look your best or are you going to be happy with just looking a little better, which is fine but it is well below your potential.
Let’s face it, life is much more enjoyable with your clothes off! Before you drag this article into the gutter, I’m referring to the confidence you feel when you walk into a room with a tight waistline hidden behind your little black dress or form-fitting suit.
Who doesn’t want to be the first one in the pool with zero reservations about pulling off your shirt?
Why wouldn’t you want to keep the lights on when you are, umm, getting undressed?
The point is, aim for your best, enjoy where you are but always strive to do better.
Take it from me. I used to weigh 280 lbs. while training as a power lifter. This was my choice, and even though my ego was constantly gratified with bigger numbers on the barbell and trophies on my mantle, I hated the feeling of my belly sitting on my belt as I drove in my truck.
Once I decided to change my goals and purse a longevity-based lifestyle, I immediately began to love myself. I had enormous energy, a much improved sense of self and also the confidence of setting a goal and seeing it all the way through to the end.
Above, is a picture of the new me at 195 lbs. at 5 percent body fat, and the old me who once weighed 280 lbs. at 22 percent body fat!
Many of us, myself included, must be focused on fat loss and functional bodyweight. Not “cutting weight.”
If you’re beginning your weight-loss journey and would like more information about my methods, please check out The Dolce Diet: LIVING LEAN, available in paperback and eBook at Amazon, Amazon UK, iTunes, Barnes & Noble and The Book Depository.
by Derek Bolender, MMAJunkie.com
Thiago Alves had his chance and blew it.
Regardless, there was no shame in losing a unanimous decision at UFC 100 to Georges St-Pierre in his only career title fight. If you’ve been in the 170-pound fray for as long as “Pitbull” has, chances are you’ve lost to the Canadian kingpin, too.
So with St-Pierre currently idle and interim champion Carlos Condit patiently waiting, the rest are free to jockey for position and string together title runs.
Jake Ellenberger and Johny Hendricks may have a 10-mile lead in the marathon, but Alves is at least competing in the race again following his submission win over Papy Abedi at UFC 138.
Alves (19-8 MMA, 11-5 UFC) and fellow contender Martin Kampmann (18-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC) will headline UFC on FX 2, which takes place March 3 at Allphones Arena in Sydney, Australia. Due to the time difference, the event takes place on Saturday afternoon in Australia, and the main card airs live on FX in North America on Friday, March 2.
“I asked for that fight, to be honest with you,” Alves told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio).
“I think it’s going to be a great fight for both of us. We match up pretty well. We kind of got the same skills. It’s going to be a great fight for the fans. At the same time, I want to see who’s the best; who’s the best striker, who’s the best all-around fighter. I’m very excited. I’m training really, really hard. I can’t wait to get in there.”
It’s been a series of ups and downs for Alves following the UFC 100 loss to St-Pierre. He lost a unanimous decision to Jon Fitch at UFC 117, bounced back with a unanimous decision win over John Howard at UFC 124, and then stubbed his toe again when he dropped a unanimous decision to Rick Story at UFC 130.
The win over Abedi in November 2011 continued the alternating pattern. A win over Kampmann would break the mold and continue his upward trajectory.
Once a punchline for fans and pundits due to his failure to make weight before fights, Alves appears to be benefitting quite nicely from his relationship with former “Ultimate Fighter” cast member Mike Dolce and his appropriately titled “Dolce Diet.”
Alves missed weight at UFC 85 and UFC 117. But ever since he hired Dolce prior to UFC 124, he has hit the mark every time.
The pair synched up again prior to the trip “down under.”
“Dolce is like my older brother right now,” Alves said. “I trust Dolce fully with my training camp and with my career. He’s the one taking care of my strength and conditioning and my diet also, so he’s the one who put the whole training camp together. And the way he formats everything, he decides whenever I have to go hard or take it easy. He put the whole thing together.
“Besides that, Dolce is a great human being. He is a great person to be around, great energy. Since we started working together everything has just been great.”
Dolce will go as far as to live with Alves during his training camps to monitor him on a daily basis.
Before Dolce it was rice, beans, pasta, steak, eggs, and sausage on a regular basis for Alves.
“That’s how I was raised,” he said. “That’s how most of the people eat in Brazil. I never really ate vegetables or anything like that.”
Now its Dolce-crafted dishes like “Pitbull pancakes” he consumes.
“I think that’s the main problem with all the diets out there – it doesn’t really taste good,” Alves said. “But not the Dolce Diet. The Dolce Diet, everything tastes amazing. That’s why it’s so easy and it’s so effortless to follow it.”
To combat the time change that comes with flying to Australia, Alves will leave on Feb. 22 to make sure he arrives well ahead of fight night in order to properly acclimate himself to the new continent.
“When I fought in Birmingham (England) last time (at UFC 138) I remember on Wednesday, like Tuesday before the fight waking up at 4 a.m. like, ‘What’s going on?'” Alves said. “I’m fully awake at 4 a.m. trying to get back to sleep.
“You don’t really do much before the fight. You just try to lose your weight and save energy as much as possible, as much as you can, but you definitely have got to try to get on a schedule. And then if you get there first thing in the morning don’t sleep in even if you are dead tired. Try to do whatever you can in your power not to sleep in. It’s going to take you definitely two or three days to get adjusted, but if you do that it’s going to be way easier.”
Alves firmly believes a win over a credible top tier opponent in Kampmann would propel him into the proverbial “mix” and give instant credibility to title run No. 2.
“I truly believe after this fight, if I beat Kampmann, it’s going to be like I never lost to Rick Story,” Alves said. “I think one fight more, and another one, maybe two. I don’t know. But definitely after this fight I’m on my way to fight for the title again.”
“(Jake) Ellenberger got one big victory, but that’s about it. All the other guys there in title contention now, they never really fought the top guys.”
It’s been 31 months since Alves was in the cage fighting for the right to be called a champion.
His pursuit to be the best and to have the belt around his waist is what continues to drive him today.
Dolce may fuel his body, but championship dreams fuel his mind.
“It’s (winning a title) everything for me,” Alves said. “That’s everything I’ve been working for since I got out of Brazil. It’s what I think about every day. It’s how I work. It’s how I take my day. It’s how I live my life, to become a world champion.
“I know it’s just a matter of time.”
For more on UFC on FX 2, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.
MMAjunkie.com Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by Gorgeous George, MMAjunkie.com lead staff reporter John Morgan and producer Goze. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.
Canada’s Showdown Joe spoke with Mike Dolce about the coach’s international best seller, The Dolce Diet: LIVING LEAN
LISTEN TO PODCAST
Interview begins 29:00 in
