GRAIN DRAIN
Sebastian went cold turkey onto a ketogenic diet for the first two weeks of his program, drastically cutting carbs while upping healthy fats, thus putting his body into a metabolic state known as ketosis, where he was burning fat for fuel instead of glucose.
What does that mean in practice? For example, Sebastian fuelled up for his morning workouts with a combo of eggs, bacon and avocado. In other words, no toast, no beans, no oats.
Alcohol and dairy (Sebastian is lactose intolerant) were off-limits, and he sank two litres of water a day.
GREEN MACHINE
A ketogenic plan doesn’t mean zero carbs. For health and wellbeing, “Guy was eating heaps of vegetables, the greener the better,” says Brabon Hames.
Lots of asparagus, zucchini, spinach, rocket, Bok Choy and lettuce.
RELATED: here's what a men's physique champion eats every day
BUILDING UP
After the first fortnight, Guy reintroduced a healthy grain (brown rice) and more energy-dense vegetables (sweet potato, carrots, broccoli, peas) to ensure his muscles were being properly fed. Quantities increased gradually through the challenge, though portion control was always a priority.
“Portion control is fist-size protein, palm-size vegetables and two palms’ leafy greens,” says Brabon-Hames. “You can eat that as many times a day as you feel like. But it has to be in those sizes.”
THE WHOLE TRUTH
Don’t bother counting kilojoules, Brabon-Hames told Sebastian, who simply stuck to wholefoods and tucked in his serviette according to hunger rather than the clock.
Slashing carbs is no picnic. “Early on, Jules and I went through one week where we were disgustingly hungry and whining about it,” says Sebastian. “But that passes. I don’t obsess about food anymore.”
For more on Sebastian's transformation, including a sample day's eating and the workouts Sebastian employed to build lean mass, grab the September issue of Men's Health magazine
