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There has been an increasing amount of talk about what the best way to lose fat is, whether it is calorie counting, paleo or even going vegan.

 

Today I will like to talk about how Greg O’Gallagher’s Kinobody program is an effective way to lose fat loss, and why I am a big fan of it.

 

For those who do not know, Greg is a fitness Youtuber under the name Kinobody, who has had an insanely rapid increase in popularity recently, going from 24k subscribers in April 2015 to 176k a year later…

 

As you can see Greg has gained quite the following, however, he does get his fair share of criticism too. Without further ado, let’s get into it!

 

What is Kinobody’s Approach?

 

Greg is a big advocate of intermittent fasting, calorie counting, and training for strength. His approach is very much based on the fact that cutting your favourite foods out, becoming obsessed about meal timings, and spending hours in the gym chasing the ‘pump’ is just plain stupid. This is why Greg advocates intermittent fasting and focusing on key compound movements.

 

Greg believes that fitness should not take over your life; you should still be able to eat foods you love, and that is why he is a big fan of intermittent fasting. If you want a guide to intermittent fasting then click here.

 

In regards to exercise, Greg focuses on key compound movements such as weighted pullups and incline bench press as compound movements stimulate your muscles most effectively. Therefore, you will be able to retain the most amount of muscle mass during your cut.

 

Why I think Greg’s approach is effective

 

1. Calorie Counting + Intermittent Fasting works

 

Personally, I believe that if you definitely want to make sure you’re losing weight then you have to calorie count. This way you can make sure that you are aware of exactly what you are eating and how your weight progresses with it.

 

When you go on a paleo, keto, or any other form of diet which does not involve calorie-counting you do not really know if you are losing weight or not. If done correctly these diets should help you lose weight, however, it is still completely possible to overeat without realising. For example, with the paleo diet it is so easy to overeat by eating too much fruit or nuts, as they can so easily rack up the calories. Little things like these make the diets so much more unpredictable, and calorie counting prevents that.

 

Calorie counting paired with intermittent fasting is absolutely perfect to balance out your diet and lifestyle; due to the fact that you are not eating breakfast, you have more calories to play around with for lunch and dinner which allows you to eat more and actually have satisfying meals. This results in you being able to go out with friends and eat and drink and have some fun, as you will have those extra calories to consume in the evenings.

 

Also,  I hate feeling hungry after a meal, and having 5 small meals does nothing to me; I have to eat until I am full, or I cannot live. Period. Intermittent fasting lets me eat bigger meals, and that alone is a huge reason why I recommend Greg’s approach.

 

2. You do not have to cut anything out of your diet

 

If you have read UNIGAINS at all you will know that I am not a fan of cutting things straight out or making radical changes; I’m all about making slow and consistent changes which you can handle. If you try and cut things out immediately you are most likely going to fail as not only will you likely give in to cravings, but you will also start to deem fitness as a burden and a sacrifice, instead of a motivating and fun journey.

 

The Kinobody approach allows you to not give up things you love such as chocolate or carbs but instead requires you to balance them with your diet a bit better. Greg clearly points out that some foods will not make you as full and may be bring less health benefits for you, and that if you want them you have got to make space for them – it will be tougher but if it helps satisfy your cravings then it may be essential to help you stay on track.

 

I’m not hating on paleo (if done properly it can be really good!) but I could not keep it up because I LOVE PIZZA. I honestly love the shit out of pizza and eat it quite a bit. When I gave it up to eat paleo I felt like I lost the love of my life. However, making this sacrifice was not essential to lose weight; with Kinobody’s approach I could make space for it. In fact, the abs below were achieved through eating pizza 3 days a week using Greg’s approach – this is another reason why I vouch for it.

 

3. Exercising for strength is efficient whilst cutting

 

You know how when you go for a run you get a huge hunger burst and want to shove your face with a shit-tonne of sugary food? So whose idea was it to do cardio when you are already in a calorie deficit? Personally, it just seems illogical, especially when a 45 minute jog burns the same amount of calories as not eating a donut. Doing cardio is just going to make you more hungry, which will lead to you inevitably eating the calories back or even more – for me it is simply counter-productive.

 

When it comes to strength training, Greg favours lower reps and higher weight instead of training with higher volume to get that ‘pump’. Again, I personally find the lower rep higher weight better for cutting as the volume is lower; this results in preventing myself from getting into the cardio-like situation above, whilst applying significant stress to my body to maintain as much muscle as possible.

 

Also, I have found that the higher weight allows me to maintain more of my strength during a cut, which is key for future muscle gain. I 100% completely agree with Greg that size is a by-product of strength, and if you are keeping up your strength as much as possible then not only will your muscle-loss be minimized, but you will be able to pack on size a lot easier when you finish your cut.

 

Conclusion

 

I am a big fan of the Kinobody approach and what he preaches, and I have made great results from following his advice.

 

I would like to stress that I have not bought any of his programs. This is just from me following his advice which he gives out on Youtube. However, it did give me pretty decent results:

 

 

Kinobody follows a similar approach to UNIGAINS; keeping it simple, logical, and straightforward.

 

If you are looking for some more people to follow, then I will definitely advise you add Greg and Kinobody to the list.

 

-Mike