So, apparently losing 50 pounds in 100 days isn’t as simple as wishing really hard and swapping soda for diet soda—who knew? Since my casual approach of “I’ll eat fewer chips tomorrow” hasn’t exactly paid off, I’ve begrudgingly decided to implement an actual structured plan. Yes, structured, as in, with timings and everything.
Thanks, John Ivy and your irritatingly insightful book “Nutrient Timing.” You ruined my blissful ignorance. Turns out muscles have phases—Energy, Anabolic, and Growth phases—each demanding their own set of nutrients at annoyingly specific times. Like seriously, body, can’t we just simplify to “eat when hungry”? No? Fine.
Then I went ahead and read Hal Elrod’s “The Miracle Morning“—because if you’re going to overhaul your life, why stop at nutrition? His big advice (Spoiler Alert): wake up early and “eat the largest frog first,” meaning tackle the hardest tasks before your brain fully realizes what’s happening. For me, that delightful frog is working out and studying Japanese.
Here’s the plan in a nutshell, or rather, a table, because I’m told grown-ups like tables:
| Time | Activity | Meals / Supplements / Notes |
|---|
| 4:30 AM | Wake Up | Supplements: – Green Tea Extract (325 mg) – ALA (200-300 mg) – Garlic Extract – Policosanol (23 mg) – Vitamin D3 (2000-4000 IU) – Fish Oil (1000-2000 mg Omega-3) |
| 4:45 AM | Pre-workout | Supplements: – NO-Xplode (1 scoop) – Creatine Monohydrate (5g) |
| 5:00 AM | Workout + Japanese Study (Pimsleur) | – 30 min Cardio + 30 min Weights (M,T,Th,F) – 30 min Cardio (W,Sa,Su) – During workout: BCAAs/Sports Drink – Pimsleur Japanese Audio (30 min) |
| 6:00 AM | Post-Workout Nutrition | – Whey Protein Shake (25-30g) – Banana |
| 6:15 AM | Japanese Writing Study | – 15-30 min: Hiragana/Katakana/Kanji practice |
| 7:00 AM | Breakfast | – 3 Hard-boiled eggs (2 whites, 1 whole) |
| 10:00 AM | Mid-Morning Snack | – Protein Bar or Shake |
| 12:00 PM | Lunch | – Grilled chicken (6oz) – Broccoli (1 cup) – Quinoa/brown rice (½ cup) |
| 3:30 PM | Afternoon Snack | – Whey Protein Shake (optional) – Apple/carrot sticks |
| 5:00 PM | Japanese Review (optional) | – Brief review (10-15 min) of morning lessons |
| 6:00 PM | Dinner | – Salmon or lean beef (6oz) – Roasted veggies (1 cup) – Sweet potato/rice (½ cup) |
| 6:45 PM | Family Walk | – 20-30 min casual walk with family |
| 7:30 PM | Evening Supplements (no caffeine) | Supplements: – Garlic Extract – Policosanol (23 mg) – ALA (200-300 mg) – Magnesium (200-400 mg) |
| 8:00 PM | Bedtime | Aim for 7-8 hrs quality sleep because apparently sleep is “essential” now. Optionally, casein shake to ensure my body builds muscle overnight rather than succumbing to nutrient deficiency. |
Speaking of nutrient deficiency, Ivy’s book pointed out we’re often sabotaging our fitness goals by starving muscles at crucial times. Essentially, nutrient timing isn’t just about “what” but obsessively about “when.” Thanks to Ivy, my body will no longer resemble a neglected houseplant.
So here’s to 100 days of discipline, timing every nutrient obsessively, waking up painfully early, eating frogs, and hopefully losing enough weight to justify the early mornings and endless supplements. And if nothing else, at least I’ll know how to order sushi in Japanese.
Drew Karriker is a self-proclaimed professional tinkerer, self-experimentation enthusiast, and lifelong learner with an inability to sit still. A former nuclear engineer turned DevOps architect, he’s built a career (and a life) out of breaking things, fixing them, and then making them better.
Despite wrestling with ADHD, anxiety, and an unrelenting need to optimize everything, he transformed his career and life in just a few years—not because he’s special, but because he figured out how to turn obsession into execution. Now, he’s doing it again—publicly—one 100-day challenge at a time.
His past projects? Some were successes. Some flopped spectacularly. Each one left him a little wiser (and probably a little more caffeinated). Now, he’s on a mission to document his transformation—mind, body, career, and everything in between—so that others might pick up a thing or two along the way. Or at the very least, be entertained by the chaos.
Follow along at RewiredWithDrew.com and get inspired, get motivated, or just grab some popcorn and enjoy the ride.