The Dolce Diet

The Dolce Diet
3 WEEKS TO SHREDDED
By Mike Dolce
with Brandy Roon
Conrad James Books

Las Vegas, NV www.conradjamesbooks.com
The Dolce Diet: 3 Weeks to Shredded 2014 by Mike Dolce. All rights reserved.
This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner
whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher. Published by
Conrad James Books. First Edition. Printed in the United States of America.
ISBN 978-0-9849631-8-8
Edited by Brandy Roon & Sarah Veit
Cover Design: Zack Sherman
Cover Photo: Tom Bear
Interior Photos: Brandi Farra, Silton Buendia, Mike Dolce, Al Powers Interior Layout
& Illustrations: Brady Scott
Professional consultant: Samantha Wilkinson, MS, RDN, LD
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright
Note
Introduction
Testimonials
Part 1
Dolce Diet Principles
The Importance of Goals
21 Days, 21 Goals
Goals Worksheet
Todd Harwood
Weight Cut or Weight Loss? Whats the Difference?
Michael Santos
So You Want to Cut Weight - Getting Started
Fraser Opie
A Look Inside the Weight Cut
Ridge Kiley
Sleep More to Lose Weight
Paul Hackett
Eating For the Weight Cut
Zac Shepard
The Weight Cut & Water
The Dolce Step Method
Jamie Kienholz
Rehydration: What to Eat & Drink After Stepping Off the Scale
Part 2
The New 3 Weeks to Shredded Program
New 3 Weeks to Shredded Meal Plan

Part 3
Same-Day Weigh-ins
Chase Gentle
Weight-Cut Dangers: Sauna Suits, Diuretics & Distilled Water
Kenny Peralta
Traveling During the Weight Cut: How to Stay Healthy on the Road
Daniel Gonzalez
Training While Cutting Weight
Phillip Dasilva
Expectations: The Coach / Athlete Relationship
Appendix
Grocery list: The New 3 Weeks to Shredded Program
More Resources
NOTE
You should seek medical supervision before beginning any diet or exercise program.
Nothing written in this book should be taken as a substitute for medical advice. This
book is for information purposes only. The publisher, author and all those involved
with this book have done so with honest effort and make no representations with
respect to the accuracy of its contents. None involved with the production and
distribution of this book shall be held liable nor accountable for any loss or damage
including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential or other. Mention of
specific organizations, entities, individuals, companies or authorities does not imply
endorsement by the author, publisher or any party involved with this book nor does
mention of specific organizations, entities, individuals, companies or authorities imply
that they endorse this book, its author, the publisher or any party involved with this
book. Information within this book is general and offered with no guarantees on the
part of the author, publisher or any party involved with this book.
INTRODUCTION
The question Im most often asked besides, What can I eat in place of vegetables? is
Are you sure about this?! That question is asked by most every athlete the first time I
work with them. I understand. Theyre nervous. Theyve had bad experiences cutting
weight before. And the common belief is that they must suffer and starve themselves to
make weight. A failed weight cut can finish an athlete faster than a Ronda Rousey arm
bar. Its a lot of pressure.
I know why they ask if Im sure. Because they want to be sure. Because if Im
confident, they also can be confident. (And Im always confident.) They want this
process to be as simple as theyve heard it is from their fellow athletes, from
management, from the thousands of folks around the world whove used the Mike
Dolce method to cut weight. What is that method exactly? Youre about to find out.
In the first edition of 3 Weeks to Shredded I detailed exactly what I ate during the final
3 weeks of a 6-week fight camp in which I cut a total of 42.8 lbs. During the last 3
weeks, I cut 27.8 lbs. 3 Weeks to Shredded details those final 21 days. Let me be
clear: Weight cuts, in general, are not healthy. That 2007 weight cut was extreme. I
have spent my 25-year career trying to perfect the weight-cutting process while
maintaining optimal health.
Though I knew what I was doing then, just as I know what Im doing now, my methods,
like the evolution of man, change. The principles, however, stay the same.
The inspiration for the first edition of 3 Weeks to Shredded came during that monster
cut in 2007. This may surprise you, but I wasnt inspired to write it down by the elite
athletes I worked with. Instead, the constant questions from the ladies in my Womens
FIT Class drove me to reveal the process. Thats right. It was the soccer moms, CEOs,
hair stylists and lawyers who came to my class 3 nights a week.
I walked in one day and the ladies took one look at me and shrieked. Theyd seen me
at the beginning of that fight camp at 212.8 lbs. Here I was just 5 weeks later weighing
180. I had lost 32 lbs. in those 5 weeks and would lose another 10 over the next 6
days.
What happened to you?
What did you do?
How did you lose so much weight since last week? Yeah, how did you lose
weight?
What did you eat?
How did you train?
During the next few classes, the questions kept coming. My wife, Brandy, finally said,
Lets just write down what you did and give it to whoever wants it. So we did.
I wrote down the process, detailing the meal plan that aided me during the last 3
weeks of that 42-lb. weight cut, along with the basic principles of goal setting and
discipline I employed.
We made copies and handed them out at the next class. The requests for the manual
kept coming and we kept handing it out, which got costly. So we ended up selling
them. And sell they did! The process worked like no other anyone had ever come
across.
Over the next few years, tens of thousands of orders came in from around the world
and people reported back to us their amazing results. Instead of using the information
in 3 Weeks to Shredded for a temporary weight cut, which was and still is the books
intended purpose, regular folks were cutting weight for weddings, high school
reunions or just to jumpstart their bodies into an eventual transition of long term
healthy lifestyles.
Learning this, we decided to publish LIVING LEAN as a long-term lifestyle guide,
emphasizing weight loss, muscle gain and overall health, while 3 Weeks to Shredded
would remain solely a manual for weight cuts. Since the publication of the first edition
of 3 Weeks to Shredded in 2007, I have continued my work with the worlds most
elite athletes, helping them lose weight, get in shape and compete at levels never
before seen in sport. My methods have taken the pain out of the weight cut. In this
revised and expanded edition, I offer new tips and techniques to help you further your
goal of getting in the absolute leanest possible condition, while focusing on your
health and happiness.
Yes, you can be healthy, happy and SHREDDED!
This process is not for everyone, but 3 Weeks to Shredded works for every person
who doesnt make excuses for why they cant do it. My personal results are certainly
not typical.
First, you will learn the Dolce Diet Principles, a longevity-based approach to
immediate weight loss and optimal performance. We teach you the importance of
setting goals; the difference between a weight cut and weight loss, and how to
maximize your success outside the gym. Next, Ill show you how that process has
changed today based upon my continued experience working with world-class
athletes.
Finally, well talk about the dangers of cutting weight, and troubleshoot challenges that
may come up while traveling, or as a result of uninformed people around you who still
insist on utilizing the outdated archaic methods commonly used to this day.
Equally as important to how we cut weight is how we put it back on. Here, well also
talk about how to properly rehydrate, what to drink, what to eat and what to avoid at
all costs. 3 Weeks to Shredded covers many of the principles that form the major
foundation of my lifes work, which is based on attaining vibrant health and exceeding
physical limitations through nutrition and lifestyle management. Ive experimented
with weight gain and weight reduction over the past 25 years using myself and the
greatest athletes in the world as proving grounds. Through trial and error, Ive
discovered what works and what doesnt. I suffered, so you wont have to. NOW
LETS GET SHREDDED!
PRAISE FOR THE DOLCE DIET: 3 WEEKS TO SHREDDED

Thanks to Mike Dolce I am sitting here today at a healthy 172 lbs. after weighing in
last February 1 at 340 lbs. This is a new life that Ive grown into with the help of
Mike and The Dolce Diet. I strongly recommend the 3 Weeks to Shredded program. Justin Boyarski
Completed 3 Weeks to Shredded this week and lost 38 lbs. Cant describe the feeling
of being alive again. The difference you guys are making cannot be measured. -Niall
Hogan
@TheDolceDiet works. Im 100 lbs lighter & working out at an MMA gym. -Christine
Ashton @blu_vision
I used your 3 Weeks to Shredded book and am having crazy results! You and Brandy
are amazing people and the work you do has inspired me to major in exercise science
and nutrition. Thank you for keeping a lot on my plate! I was 188 lbs. and 10%
bodyfat. Two months later Im 166.4 lbs. around 5.7% bodyfat and not planning on
losing another percent! -Michael Heckert
I used 3 Weeks to Shredded and cut down from 163 lbs. to 145 lbs. with ease, and for
the first time I did not use a sauna! At the weigh-ins, I knew I had already defeated my
opponent. -Dan Ige
#HardWorkPaysOff 17 lbs. down in four weeks! Havent felt this good since college
soccer! Shout to The Dolce Diet - lifestyle change made easy -Kathryn Wallis
@wallis1181
Since Ive been following your principles I have not only put on muscle mass super
fast, which is my goal, but have gained so much confidence and knowledge. I am a
much happier and stress free person. I see everything in a completely different
perspective. I ALSO have not had a single cold or any sort of sickness at all in a year
now! Thanks to your guidance and motivation I have finally got the confidence to start
training for my first fitness competition. -Jordan Dobie
Hi, I have started 3 Weeks to Shredded. Im eating exactly what is on the list. Im five
days in and feel fantastic. I started at 115.7 kg. (255 lbs.) and Im currently 112.0 kg
(246 lbs.) this morning. -T-Rex
I have purchased 3 Weeks to Shredded and Living Lean. I started seven weeks ago and
have went from 227 lbs. to 192 lbs. Your principles and guidelines are awesome.
Real food all day long. -Dwayne Mallon
I started 3 Weeks to Shredded in January and then moved on to the cookbook. I love
The Dolce Diet Principles. Since I started I have lost 20 lbs. and toned up with the
help of UFC FIT. -Susana Melissa Ramirez
Just got 3 Weeks to Shredded. Gotta say Im full of energy and its day 4. -Karl
Mifsud
So I had a bet with a friend starting in October that we would both get to 200 lbs. I
was 220 and he was 225. FYI: Im 59. Being lazy, I didnt do anything to change. I
ordered your book the week before Thanksgiving. I gorged myself at Thanksgiving,
weighing more than 220 lbs. I started your diet the next week. This Friday was Dec.
31 and weigh-in day. Earlier in the week I was waking up at 203 lbs. That morning I
woke up at 203 and cut some water weight and BOOM - 195 lbs! The water weight
came off so fast! I lost 2 inches around my waste - jeans falling off - I can fit into a 36
for the first time in YEARS! -Danyo K.
Down 16 lbs. in 8 days! @TheDolceDiet, thank you! Im living lean, eating clean, and
feeling mean! #teamdolce -Ryan Gillett
My journey with The Dolce Diet has been awesome! Almost done with 3 Weeks to
Shredded & my size 6 jeans are getting baggy! Started with size 8 being comfy!
Jeanette
Won 1st place at NAGA with The Dolce Diet! Weighed in at 156, came from 187 in
just 18 days using 3 Weeks to Shredded! #livinglean -Trey Manly
I went from 215 lbs. to 188 lbs. in just over a month on 3 Weeks to Shredded. Using 3
Weeks to Shredded as my template, I started to change every part of my life, cleaning
out the junk and replacing it with pure energy provided by the earth. My Dad went
from 225 lbs. to 207 lbs. with 3 Weeks to Shredded! He is going for another 3 weeks
to get to his goal of 185 lbs. #LivingLean -Todd Harwood
I was 192 lbs. 25 days ago - 154.9 today. Big thanks to 3 Weeks to Shredded. -Eric
Irvin
@TheDolceDiet May 28 was 174 lbs. Today (June 21) before weigh ins was 154.5
lbs. #boom #livinglean #3w2s -Salvador Woods
Finally broke the 200 lbs. mark! So stoked! So far, down 31 lbs. #transformation
#livinglean #3w2s #fitness #healthy @thedolcediet -Justin L.
LEAN AND MEAN!! 191-170 lbs. in three weeks all thanks to @thedolcediet #3w2s
#dolceknows -AJ Rodriguez
@TheDolceDiet No supplement gave me better results than @LivingLeanBook and
#3w2s. 216 lbs. to 164 lbs. in 4 months. -Michael Santos
A huge shout out to The Dolce Diet - changed my life! Wife and I are down a total of
134 lbs.! -Justin Armstrong
Im down another 6 lbs. Thats 11 lbs. in 7 days! -Imran R. 6 thedolcediet.com
January 3 I was 364 lbs. Scale said 304.6 lbs. this morning March 28!
#YodaWearsDolcePajamas -Scott A. Schultz
@TheDolceDiet Cheers, Mike! Ive lost 20 kg. (45 lbs.) in 2.5 months. Went from a
42-inch waist to a 34-inch waist and not once felt like I was on a diet! -Lynden Brench
@TheDolceDiet Mike, big thanks for giving me my life back for my kids sake. You
pushed me from 263 lbs. (January) to 178 lbs. (June). 3 Weeks to Shredded ends
tomorrow. Goal is 170 lbs. -Shawn Brown
My last weight cut - 16.7 lbs. in 22 days! Everything is possible with hard work and
@TheDolceDiet -Rickard Enbom
@TheDolceDiet 3 Weeks to Shredded got me to 152 lbs. and 8-9% body fat for my
155 lbs. match! BOOM! #145Next -Kyle Eberts
Woke up on weight & ready for weigh-ins! Didnt even have to cut water weight.
@TheDolceDiet is that good! Dropped 20 lbs. in eight weeks #mma -Dan Perez
Started at 215 lbs. back in April, now Im 178! Thanks, Mike, for all the help and
motivation. - David W.
When I started The Dolce Diet I was a 40-inch waist weighing in at 265 lbs. Six
weeks later Im a 36-inch waist and 50 lbs. lighter! -Anderson W.
After one week on this plan, Ive dropped 6 lbs. SIX! For a woman that has been
scale-conscious the past 5 years that was amazing to me. I cant thank Mike enough for
creating this and putting it out there for all of us to experience for ourselves. I wish
this was around years ago. -Jennifer C.
Working 60 hours a week but three weeks in on The Dolce Diet & Ive lost 30 lbs.
This is an awesome diet! Thank you so much for putting this out there for everyone! Nate F.
This week I fit into a size 6 and literally cried. It was a huge moment in my life. For
the past 6 years its been a hassle getting ready in the mornings and having nothing fit
and everything too tight. Barely squeezing into jeans made for one horrible day and
frame of mind. But Monday morning when I fit into a pair of jeans I had from long ago,
with nothing hanging over the sides, no jumping up and down to pull them up, just
slipping into these cute pair of jeans that Ive kept in the closet for motivation was a
damn good feeling. -Lyndsey F.
The Dolce Diet is well worth it! I lost 10 lbs. in a week. This is the lightest Ive been
since high school! -Justin A.
Ive lost over 75 lbs. (and counting) as a student of Mike Dolces. I have a second
chance to live my life! -Bonnie W.
Fourteen pounds gone in 14 days on The Dolce Diet! -Jason L.
Mike and his Dolce Diet transformed me physically and mentally into who I am
today. I started at 32.6 percent body fat & last tested at 8.7 percent. Thanks for
everything Mike! -Brian S.
Ive lost 45 lbs.! Id recommend anyone buy The Dolce Diet. -Craig L.
Im down 25 lbs. in 2 months! People have seen my changes and are encouraged to
begin their transformation. -Mike P.
219 lbs. to 193 lbs. in a month-and-a-half thanks to The Dolce Diet! -Jake C.
The book has worked wonders already! I dropped 15+ lbs. Thanks! -Monroe D.
I went from 220 lbs. to 180 in 1 month on The Dolce Diet. -Mark A.
Just finished my first 21-day weight cut on The Dolce Diet, and Im in the best shape
of my life! Successfully cut from 185 lbs. to 168! Thanks for doin whatchado! -John
P.
Fifteen pounds lost in 21 days! The Dolce Diet included great results, improved
energy levels, more efficient training sessions and clearer thinking. Thank you, Mike
Dolce, for making permanent, positive changes to my life. -Heather P.
In two weeks I dropped 13 lbs. and my buddy has dropped 10 lbs. Things are looking
good! Thanks! -Andrew M.
In 17 days I dropped over 18 lbs. Im looking and feeling fantastic! -Aaron R.
Ive been doing The Dolce Diet for almost 5 months, and I have lost a total of 40lbs.
Mary
Im under 200 lbs. in a few weeks! Ive lost just over 17 lbs. & Im so excited about
it. -Aaron F.
The Dolce Diet is killing me. In another two weeks I will be broke from having to
replace all of my jeans and shorts with smaller sizes. I literally have lost a waist size
in two weeks. Absolute truth. -Wes H.
Started The Dolce Diet at 209.8 lbs. Its Day 4 and Im at 203.6 lbs.! -Tom C.
Eighty-pound loss mark today. The Dolce Diet and determination truly goes a long
way. -Allen C.
All testimonials from emailed correspondence, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
Part 1
Photo: UFC
Welterweight Mike Quicksand Pyle wraps up another training session leading up to
his bout with Rick Story at UFC 160 on May 25, 2013.
DOLCE DIET PRINCIPLES

The underlying principles of strategy are enduring, regardless of technology or
the pace of change. ~Michael Porter
Whether youre a professional mixed martial artist, a CEO, a new mom, or an ultramarathon runner, the Dolce Diet Principles below apply to every BODY! They are
evergreen, no matter how the world around us changes. Stick to these principles, and
you will always know the answer to what some may think is the most difficult question
in the world: Whats for dinner?
1. Earth-Grown Nutrients
This is food that comes organically from this planet, untouched by man. Science and
evolution have shown this class of food is most readily absorbed, digested and
utilized with maximum nutrition and minimum calories. Regardless of what you see on
TV, man and his marketing machines have not, will not and cannot replace the
optimal nutrition
of Earth-grown nutrients. Categorically, when an athlete converts to The Dolce Diet,
they immediately throw out the pills, powders and potions and adopt a diet consisting
solely of Earth-grown nutrients. The results have been astounding and are proven
nearly every weekend on TV. If this method did not work, neither would I.
2. Eat Every 2 To 4 Hours.
In my research - both scientific and practical - the vast majority of the human species
performs at greater levels more consistently when eating every 2 to 4 hours based
upon what we just did and what we are about to do. There are many reasons for this.
The top 3 being:
a) Improved metabolism, or the rate at which we process food to create energy.
b) Insulin sensitivity - if off-balance, it can affect the way we digest carbohydrates and
absorb nutrients.
c) Post exercise recovery, a topic of primary importance to those reading this book.
There are popular fad diets that make their way through pop culture from time to time,
based upon fasting or juicing or cleansing or eliminating specific food groups or
various combinations of each. The benefit of these programs are traditionally shortlived and counterproductive in the long term. If any of these worked as well as eating
sensible, high nutrition meals at even intervals, would it not make sense for my
multimillion-dollar athletes to follow suit? Again, I would be out of work.
3. Eat Until Satisfied Not Until Full.

The biggest problem with frequent feedings is lack of control over quantity and quality
of nutrients consumed. As a rule, when we eat we should feel energized and
revitalized. I ask my athletes to ask themselves at the conclusion of each meal, Can I
go for a 45-minute jog right now? If the answer is No, youve eaten incorrectly.
There is no need to gorge yourself at any meal when you know you can eat again
within 2 to 4 hours.
By overstuffing our digestive tract, we become less efficient at metabolizing those
nutrients. Our metabolism slows down and we become sluggish. Picture a locomotive
steaming down the tracks. The engineer must shovel coal at even intervals in
manageable amounts to keep the engine burning bright and hot. Put too much coal in
and the flame goes out, the engine stops. Put too little coal in, again the flame is
extinguished and the engine stops. The key here is constant feedings in a quantity that
is easy to digest.
4. Optimal Hydration
Water has sustained all of life on this planet since the dawn of time - H2O is the elixir
of life. Not high fructose corn syrup. By water, I mean purified water. Not soda,
processed juices, sports beverages, or electrolyte-enhanced concoctions made for
babies.
Real water is essential for the cellular function of every biological process, including
digestion, muscular contraction, cognitive function - essentially LIFE! Water is second
only to oxygen on the list of human survival with food coming in at a distant third
place.
As a rule, a human being can survive 2 minutes without oxygen, 2 days without water
and 2 weeks without food. Unfortunately, too many of us neglect the importance of
water. When it comes to cutting weight, water is everything.
5. Stay Accountable.
There are a million reasons to blow your diet, and one reason to stick to it. Your
goals. These 5 principles above should be your mantra.
Photo: Longtime Dolce Diet client Johny Hendricks smiles on the eve of his
devastating first-round knockout of John Fitch.
Photo: Six fights after his knockout of John Fitch, Johny Hendricks captures the UFC
Welterweight world title.
THE IMPORTANCE OF GOALS

Set higher standards for your own performance than anyone else around you,
and your only competition will be with yourself. ~Rick Pitino
Just the word GOAL invokes a destination. Whether it be an end zone, a mountaintop
or a smaller waist size, we all know what a goal should be. The problem I often come
across is that people have loose goals. They kid themselves by pretending to have set
a goal, when really they just have a wish. I want to lose weight, is the most common
but often goes no further than that statement.
When confronted with this person I always ask, How much exactly? What deadline
have you set? Did you create action steps to get there? Very rarely is my first
question answered and almost never are my second two even considered. This is
when I switch into COACH MODE and make sure my friend has a clearly defined
plan before walking away.
This can sometimes be inconvenient because I am often recognized as being that diet
guy in coffee shops, gyms, malls and for some reason ALWAYS at the movie theatre.
My wife usually looks at me with a smile, knowing we are now going to miss the
opening credits while I attempt to change the course of my new friends life.
Begin TODAY! There is no better time like the present. Dont push it off until
Monday.
STEP 1
Set a clearly defined goal.
I WILL (not want to) lose 40 lbs.
Now you have a very clear picture of your exact destination. There is no confusion
here.
STEP 2
I WILL lose 40 lbs. in 120 days.
Now you have a specific timeline. No more circling the drain, waiting to begin. The
clock is now ticking.
STEP 3
I WILL lose 40 lbs. in 120 days by following these ACTION STEPS. ACTION
STEP 1: Using The Dolce Diet principles I will create my own lifestyle approach to
weight loss using the principles, recipes and exercise programs that Mike has already
laid out, most suited to my own ability, goals and medical background.
ACTION STEP 2: Be consistent. For the next 120 days (and rest of my life) I will
dedicate myself to achieving this goal and hold myself 100 percent accountable.
Regardless of what unexpected trial or tribulation may come up in my life, I will
continue on with my goal until I have found success.
ACTION STEP 3: Create a support system. This may be your family, friends, team,
coworkers or online community. I have started such a community at
MYDolceDiet.com for all of us to support, motivate and inspire each other as we all
travel toward our own unique goals. Pro-athletes, bikini models, lawyers, students,
moms, law enforcement professionals and many others are members and the
community is thriving! Create your own community or join ours.
ACTION STEP 4: Begin TODAY! There is no better time like the present. Dont push
it off until Monday. Start now, as best you can, and continue making improvements the
first few days. It doesnt matter if you havent gone grocery shopping yet, or have a
trip scheduled. Begin moving toward your goal immediately and constantly work to
improve your situation as you go. Start NOW!
ACTION STEP 5: I also instruct my students to sit down with a notebook they have
purchased specifically for this project and write down everything - your goals, a more
complete version of these steps with greater detail
as it relates to your specific situation, your daily bodyweight, progress at the gym,
frustrations, successes and so on. This book becomes your own training partner,
support system, cherished friend and annoying cheerleader reminding you of how far
you have come.
The Action Steps above are general but apply to each of you. Ultimately, you know
everything I have said above. I did not break new ground here and that was not my
intention.
My GOAL here was to get you accountable and for you to START RIGHT NOW!
Photo: Undefeated professional Mirsad Bektic proudly represents The Dolce Diet
prior to his victorious UFC debut in 2014.
Photo: 2013 Coach of the Year and longtime Dolce Diet client Duane Bang Ludwig
looks razor sharp ahead of weighing in at 155 lbs.
21 DAYS, 21 GOALS
Limits are self imposed. But there are no limits to human energy nor the goals
you can achieve. ~Mike Shanahan
We first make our habits, and then our habits make us. ~John Dryden
Now you know you want to make a change. The first step is to break current habits that
are moving you away from your goals and create new habits that will move you
closer.
Over the next 3 weeks, we will focus on transitioning your current set of habits to a
more productive set of habits. Your progress will depend largely on your ability to
change, to be flexible, and to be open minded, to let go and grab hold at exactly the
same time.
Over the next 21 days, you will set 21 small goals. Make them simple but meaningful.
Find a piece of paper and a pen. Write down tomorrows goal. You will achieve that
one small goal tomorrow. Tomorrow night you will set the next days goal.
Mine might look like this:
Day 1 - Run 5 miles.
This is a good, simple goal for me, because I typically run 4 miles each day. Adding 1
extra mile will not kill me, yet it will extend my ability.
Day 2 - Eat breakfast with my wife.
- My wife and I have busy schedules and dont eat breakfast together enough.
Tomorrow, I will wake up with her and cook us breakfast while she does her thing.
Day 3 - Be 10 minutes early to each practice and shadowbox.
- I have 3 practices tomorrow. An extra 30 minutes of shadowboxing is basically
another workout in itself. And, at 10-minute increments, my day wont be affected.
Photo: Rowdy Ronda Rousey gets ready to weigh in for her title defense against
Miesha Cupcake Tate at UFC 168. Rousey defeated Tate with a third-round armbar.
GOALS WORKSHEET
Do not skip this chapter! This is where you set your goals for the first 3 weeks of this
program. After that, you should set new goals in your own private notebook.
This is what my athletes do. This is what the multimillion-dollar CEOs who hire me
do. The one thing we all have in common is that we set daily goals to ensure our
progress. Just like the captain of a ship constantly needs to check his compass, so must
you constantly set and evaluate new goals!
Start writing!
In a notebook, write down your goals for WEEK 1, then WEEK 2, and then WEEK 3.
Be sure to continue writing down your goals!
Photo: Great Britains own Luke Barnatt became a Dolce Diet athlete during season
17 of The Ultimate Fighter. Luke has become one of the UFCs fastest rising stars.
TODD HARWOOD
Starting weight: 215 lbs.
Ending weight: 187 lbs.
As of March 2013 it has been 2 solid years since I changed my lifestyle and started
living lean. I started at 215 lbs. After my first round of 3 Weeks to Shredded,
commonly known in social media as 3W2S, I dropped 28 lbs. and have not looked
back. I am at, and have constantly remained at, 187 lbs. plus or minus a few lbs.
No, it has not been easy; we all have our peaks and valleys. I never expected it to be
easy. After all, real life is not like some commercial where you sprinkle some
powder on your chili dog and everything turns out all right. Nothing valuable
comes easy.
This lifestyle requires you to be accountable to yourself, become reliant upon
yourself, and make choices and live with the consequences of those choices - the
good ones and the bad. It requires that you self govern and motivate yourself. See a
theme here? This is about you and what you do; it has no chance of getting done
otherwise.
Self-motivation is a huge aspect of this lifestyle, but we all get down on ourselves
at times and need help. This is where the masterful Mike Dolce steps in. Listen and
re-listen to his podcasts. It is like having him over your shoulder coaching you
anytime, anywhere through your ear buds.
Use MyDolceDiet.com and The Dolce Diet Facebook page; ask questions, start
discussions. You get no answer right away? Hit Twitter - if Mike doesnt answer
himself (which is crazy; I think he has clones of himself ) then #hashtag that
****ing tweet! Get with it! #3W2S #LivingLean #TheDolceDiet
#LivingLeanCookBook #EarthGrownNutrients #HelpMeDolce (LOL) Somebody in
this Living Lean Community will see it and get back to you. Use this team as a
motivational tool.
Mike Dolce and Brandy Dolce are like your Training Camp coaches, except this
isnt a 6-week or 12-week camp; this is for life! Dont give up dont give in. Use
the resources available to your advantage. Make friends, follow, check
@TheDolceDiets favorites, fill up your favorites with other peoples inspiring
tweets and success stories, and go back and use those to motivate you. It works! I
do it.
I have a vacation to Hawaii coming up. I leave April 23 to paradise and I plan on
being half naked about 98.9 percent of the time I am there. I am going to be surfing,
swimming, paddle boarding, hiking, kayaking. I am going to squeeze every ounce of

health and vitality that I have been blessed with, count on it. Like I said, I am also
going to be half naked, constantly so I start another round of 3 Weeks to Shredded
on April 1. I have already marked my calendar with my GOAL that by the weekend
of April 20, I will be a lean, mean, washboard-abs machine!
Mike doesnt type and talk until he is blue in the face for us to not take heed. He
does it so we will set goals and do our very best to reach those goals. I consider
Mike and his team to be my coaches, and coaches with this high level of passion
and this much availability come around maybe once in a lifetime. I plan on reaping
the blessings that come with their dedication and their want for me to succeed. I
will not squander this opportunity.
I hope this encourages you to set your own personal goals and reach the high level
of health and vitality that we are all capable of.
Photo:
Todd Harwood before The Dolce Diet at 215 lbs. and after at 187 lbs.
WEIGHT CUT OR WEIGHT LOSS? WHATS THE

DIFFERENCE?
Most of the shadows of this life are caused by our standing in our own
sunshine. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
I recently received a message from a person who is morbidly obese and is looking to
make a weight cut of 100 lbs. Lets be clear. This is not a weight cut. This is
weight loss.
The increased popularity of Mixed Martial Arts has the words weight cut falling off
peoples lips like its 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 bodys 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 body fat 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 nonfunctional weight the weight that is bogging you down and getting you nowhere! It
interferes with our function as a healthy and thriving individual.
FUNCTIONAL VS. NON-FUNCTIONAL WEIGHT
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 weight, 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 Gagas famous 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 2 entire gallon
milk jugs of butter and cottage cheese, plus a 2 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 healthy adult male, we should maintain body-fat levels at
approximately 10 percent. I dont care if you are happy being 12 percent or you say,
Im too old to be lower than 15 percent - that is your preference. You can drive
around in an 89 Honda Accord with low miles, but have you seen that new Ferrari?!
Professional male athletes should be around 7 percent body fat for competition
purposes. With my athletes, I make sure they are at 7 percent body fat 3 weeks before
competition so we can increase their calories as competition nears. In essence, we
feed them onto the scale.
The last couple of lbs. (or dozen lbs. 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.
WHAT DOES ALL THIS MEAN FOR THE AVERAGE INDIVIDUAL?

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.
Lets face it, life is much more enjoyable with your clothes off! Before you drag this
book into the gutter, Im referring to the confidence you feel when you walk into a
room with a tight waistline hidden behind your little black dress or formfitting suit.
Who doesnt want to be the first one in the pool with zero reservations about pulling
off your shirt?
Why wouldnt 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.
On the opposite page is a picture of the new me at 180 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.
Photo: The proof is in the picture. The old Mike Dolce at 22 percent body fat and the
new Mike Dolce at 5 percent body fat.
MICHAEL SANTOS
Throughout my life, I have always struggled with weight. After joining the gym, I
began putting on muscle weight, yet fat continued to sit in front of it. I knew that my
diet was preventing me from getting the body I want.
Being a big fan of MMA, I constantly heard about The Dolce Diet so I decided to
research it. After reading the testimonials, I decided my goal was to be one of these
people. I ordered 3 Weeks to Shredded and Living Lean right away.
My starting weight was 216 lbs. at 21 percent body fat. I started 3 Weeks to
Shredded and followed it religiously. After three weeks, I went down to 174 lbs.
After finishing, I continued with Living Lean. Because of this book, I was able to
continue my transformation by continually losing body fat while increasing my
muscle mass.
Now Im proudly walking around at 164 lbs. at 9.3 percent body fat and in the best
shape of my life. The Dolce Diet changed my body more in 4 months than all the
diet and workout supplements have done combined.
Photo: Michael Santos before The Dolce Diet at 216 lbs. and after at 164 lbs.
SO YOU WANT TO CUT WEIGHT - GETTING STARTED

Motivation is a funny thing, and most of the time, the joke is on us because many think
motivation is pulled from external sources. Its not. Its harnessed from within. It
stems from our passion, what we want, our goals, the way we imagine life could and
should be. Ironically, most people blame others when they dont get what they want.
Why? Im not sure. Maybe because it wasnt handed to them in pretty gift wrap with a
giant red bow.
Photo: (From left) Oklahoma State head wrestling coach John Smith, Mike Dolce, and
UFC welterweight champion Johny Bigg Rigg Hendricks.
For the next 3 weeks, you must be accountable to this program. Within the first few
days, you will begin to feel the positive effects of this lifestyle. We must keep that
momentum going and establish lifelong habits. It will take a few days to get in the
rhythm. Once you have a rhythm, you will start to see results. As the results come, your
body may begin to resist in various ways, your mind may play tricks on you and this is
where your challenge lies. The first hurdle. You will overcome that hurdle and you
will break through to a whole new level of health.
Your goals are YOURS. Never allow the actions of others to detract from your goals.
And NEVER piggyback your wants and needs on someone elses. If they lose focus,
you need to keep yours. If they cant stay the course, you must keep hacking through the
jungle to your own destination. The prize is there waiting for you to raise it high above
your head. And oh, what a feeling that will be!
Youve likely heard this quote often attributed to Ghandi. Be the change you wish to
see in the world. What he actually said was much, much wiser.
If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As
a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards
him. ... We need not wait to see what others do. ~Muhatma Ghandi
Do not wait for others to begin your journey to greatness. Within your passion, you
will find your fire and youll use it to blast away all obstacles, excuses, naysayers and
the like. Failure is only failure if you allow it to be. There is no such word in my
vocabulary. Now its your turn to eradicate all doubt. Close your eyes, grasp your
inner fire, and torch the word failure to ashes.
Photo: Mike Dolce back in his powerlifting days, weighing 280 lbs.
FRASER OPIE
It took 3.5 weeks to go from 230 lbs. to 202 lbs. I maintained 202 lbs. for 5 days,
then cut the other 18 lbs. in 24 hours through a salt bath.
Photo: Fraser Opie before The Dolce Diet at 230 lbs. and after at 184 lbs.
A LOOK INSIDE THE WEIGHT CUT

Build for your team a feeling of oneness, of dependence on one another and of
strength to be derived by unity. ~Vince Lombardi
The best possible way to cut weight is to PLAN for it and START as soon as youre
notified of the date of competition.
All too often we hear the horror stories of a poorly planned weight cut.
Vomiting.
Loss of sight.
Loss of hearing.
Loss of consciousness.
Even at the highest level of sport, athletes still miss weight and under- perform during
competition as a result of difficulties endured during the final week of preparation.
Unfortunately, during the most crucial time of the training camp, most fighters forget
about the opponent on Saturday night and blindly scramble to figure out how to win the
battle with the scale just 24 hours earlier. The old stigma of an exhausted athlete
wrapped in plastic bags doing jumping jacks in a 180 degree Fahrenheit sauna is a
reality that still holds true for many professionals.
The time you spend reading this just may save you from such a fate.
In my experience, the healthier the athlete, the better his performance. Dont give me
that crap about mental toughness and how champions have to overcome adversity as a
means to justify an archaic and uninformed peaking plan. Those statements are easy to
say when you are the one standing outside the sauna leaning on the door while the
athlete cooks inside contemplating death.
I have spoken with too many athletes who share the same stories about passing out and
wondering how they will survive the weight-cut process. The extreme levels of
anxiety induced are the polar opposite of the mental state that will cultivate a career
defining performance. This is why I make safeguarding the health of my athlete the
primary goal and making weight the secondary goal.
With this approach, the weight cut is easy because the athlete is fully nourished and
hydrated, affording him the strength and nutrient reserves to go through the process of
flushing fluids from his system.
This process does not start during fight week. It should start many years earlier with
an adherence to a well-balanced diet of Earth-grown nutrients. For now, we are going

to talk about fight week.
Fight week officially begins on Tuesday for professional mixed martial arts athletes.
Each athlete and their team are flown to the site of the fight. The athlete is taken
directly from the airport to the promoters offices and immediately put on the scale.
Once we register our weight on the official scale, we then weigh the athlete on our
own personal scale to ensure we are calibrated.
It is not unusual for my athlete to weigh approximately 20 lbs. over the class limit,
fully fed, hydrated and full of energy. We then check into our hotel rooms and begin
the process of planning out the week. At the world-class MMA level, there are many
obligations associated with fight week, such as photo shoots, interviews and personal
appearances. Once we are handed the schedule, every moment of the day is planned,
including the time we wake, eat and sweat.
Many athletes stop eating right about this time because that is the only way they know.
They also stop drinking, reaching a dehydrated state many days before weigh-ins. At
this point, the athlete already is in a weakened state. Combine this with grueling
workouts in hot rooms while wrapped in a plastic sauna suit, and follow it by sessions
in the sauna or hot tub, all on 0 calories, 2 to 3 times daily for several days and you
have what constitutes a typical weight cut for many of the best athletes in the world.
That doesnt exactly sound like the most effective method for one to compete at 100
percent of his ability on Saturday night, does it?
If you have trained properly in the 6 to 8 weeks prior to the fight and followed an
intelligent diet of Earth-grown nutrients in stable amounts and regular portions
throughout the day, you should be quite lean - optimally between 7 to 10 percent body
fat for male combat athletes (16 to 20 percent body fat for females).
Loss of body fat is no longer the goal 10 to 14 days before the fight. Now it is mostly a
matter of water reduction - not reduction in consumption. More on this later.
Many athletes drop their water consumption way too soon, which may lead to a lighter
scale weight, but the athlete also is putting his health at risk...not to mention hes
weakening his strength and energy stores for the fight hes hoping to win just 24 hours
later.
My methods suggest eating enough to maintain an athletes primary needs for health
while minimizing calorie expenditure. This allows him to function on fewer calories
than his body is accustomed to while leading to a dramatic, temporary drop in
bodyweight.
We also increase the amount of water consumed on a daily basis. This not only
hydrates the body but keeps the stress reflex from slowing down the release of water.
Many athletes are accustomed to working off the weight, usually with 3 to 5 rounds of
mitt work and 3 to 5 rounds of grappling. Keep in mind 3 to 5 rounds is the athletes
goal, which he usually fails to meet because he passed out. I once saw an athlete train
this way for 55 painful minutes and lose only 3.5 lbs. The next night, at my suggestion,
he lost 8 lbs. in 40 minutes hanging out with me in the hot tub, feeling great the entire
time.
There certainly are many effective methods of reducing ones weight before
competition, but suffering is not one of them.
My athletes eat breakfast every morning during fight week, and it isnt just any
breakfast; it is a feast! They will also eat 3 snacks, as well as a lunch and dinner. You
can probably picture a grizzled veterans look of disbelief when I first break down the
general plan for fight week. Especially one whos endured years of painful and
torturous weight cuts. But, as the weeks move forward, they cringe when they recall
the old way they used to do it and revel in how enjoyable the process becomes now
that they can eat.
All of our meal decisions are made in the moment, based upon the feedback with
which we are presented. For example, if the athlete has media obligations between
noon and 4pm and will be on his feet answering questions for most of that time, he
will need considerably more calories than if he were laying around his hotel room
playing video games.
There is no perfect process, and the athlete is the boss. He is the one who has to step
on the scale and then step into competition the next night. We, as coaches, are there to
assist and support the athletes goals, while always protecting his health.
Just like the captain of a ship navigating precious cargo through treacherous waters, a
good coach must keep his hands on the wheel and continually update his course based
upon what lays in front of him.
Photo: Nik Lentz relaxes through a weight cut using The Dolce Step Method.
Photo: Lentz tips the scale at 167.2 lbs. the same evening after weighing in at 145 lbs.
RIDGE KILEY
Ending weight: 185lbs.
I wrestled at 133 lbs. in 2011 and 2012 for the University of Nebraska. Within 5
months of the 2012 season I was weighing 170 lbs. with only 6.5 percent body fat,
and had outgrown multiple weight classes.
Going into my 5th and final year, I desired to compete at 149 lbs. or 157 lbs. but the
team was strongest with me at 141 lbs. This is where Mike Dolce came in. I ordered
Living Lean and 3 Weeks to Shredded.
Over the course of 1 month I was able to shrink my body from 165 to 141 lbs. while
feeling great! During the season, I was able to maintain a healthy range for my
weight class, which resulted in a fairly easy weight cut every week.
I am continuing to Live Lean by applying Mikes nutritional principles and will
continue to do so the rest of my life.
I wish I had followed these principles earlier in my career because it would have
made a huge difference. I underperformed at times because of unhealthy weightcutting habits. Mikes knowledge could help change the wrestling world!
Photo: Ridge Kiley used 3 Weeks to Shredded to cut weight for wrestling, shrinking
down through multiple weight classes from 165 lbs. to 141 lbs.
SLEEP MORE TO LOSE WEIGHT

Even a soul submerged in sleep is hard at work. ~Heraclitus, 530
As I write, Im sitting on a plane, flying over the Nevada desert on my way home from
an amazing 2-day seminar I conducted for a private group in Southern California. We
actually spent quite a bit of time discussing the need for proper sleep. The higher your
quality of sleep, the faster your fat loss and muscle growth. Sleep is when our bodies
finally have a chance to repair and regenerate from all the hard training.
I function my best with 9 hours of sleep and if you think that makes me lazy, you should
see what I accomplish in the 15 hours that Im awake! In fact, I always had trouble
getting rid of that last little bit of belly fat when I was only sleeping 7 hours per
night, even though my diet and training was perfect.
As soon as I bumped it up to 9 hours, the fat fell off, the muscle piled on, and I was
much more effective in business and at home.
As we age, we tend to sleep less. This means our body is not repairing and
regenerating tissue at a rate necessary to outpace aging. It is also not building bones
and muscles, and in fact, our strength and skeletal fortitude begin to weaken and
become frail. How many 80-year-olds do you see walking around that look like a
good breeze could blow them away? That wasnt the case 30 or 40 years ago when
they were exiting the prime of their lives.
It is my opinion that time does not age us, our habits do. Habits are very much
responsible for our level of health.
I call this your biological age. How old are your cells? How healthy? How vibrant?
How efficient?
Think of your cells as a work force at a major manufacturing plant. Each cell is
primed and excited, working at a thunderous pace with smiles on their little cell faces
as they hum along completing their duties.
Now picture those same workers with beer bellies and cigarettes sticking out of their
mouths. How hard do you think theyll be working? How happy will they be? Do you
think the quality of their work may suffer?
What happens if some of them stop showing up for work? A few per day, and then
soon entire departments, and lastly, the whole plant shuts down.
I prefer to constantly bring in fresh new workers in the way of Earth- grown nutrients,
proper rest and big smiles to all those around me.
This is why I always say that The Dolce Diet is not a diet, but a lifestyle. Most people
think about losing weight and they only think about food and maybe some form of
exercise. Rarely does one think about rest and recuperation.
PAUL HACKETT
I started by purchasing Living Lean, as I knew it was a winning combination of
learning about Mikes journey, motivation, information, and recipes. I then bought
the Living Lean Cookbook to get more recipe ideas (as well as incorporating my
own ideas whilst maintaining The Dolce Diet principles). I also bought 3 Weeks to
Shredded early on, and use it fairly sparingly when needed for fast results.
I have always been a gym rat, whether it was bodybuilding and powerlifting earlier
in my life, or my relatively newfound passion of Mixed Martial Arts and sports
performance.
I have always known the importance of nutrition, but never fully understood the
how and why. Because of this, my powerlifting days were where I ate most
foods just to get the calories and nutrients, not too dissimilar to Mike - big and
powerful but not exactly a cover model look!
My bodybuilding phase was brief, mainly because the diets I followed were not
sustainable and not enjoyable, but also because the workouts were all about
aesthetics rather than performance. I felt weaker than during my powerlifting
phase, but looked better.
I soon realized that looking good was not enough for me. I dont want bulging
biceps and a barrel-chest if it means I am sacrificing performance. Weve all seen
those dudes in the gym who are HUGE, but lack the flexibility to even take their
shirt off after a workout, or not be functionally strong enough to even do a pull up!
I did not want to be one of these guys.
I have always had a competitive edge, so I tried my hand at MMA (I had some
experience in kickboxing and wrestling, but nothing substantial). I fell in love with
the constant steep learning curve and competitive-but-friendly and respectful
nature of all the students I worked with.
But this is where I began to eat more and more again. I wanted to be the biggest
and strongest guy in the gym. You might out-strike me, you might outgrapple me,
but you will NOT overpower me. So I reverted to a similar mindset to my
powerlifting days, which was a mistake.
With my strength (and weight) up, I felt like a monster. Some of the guys at the gym
called me Baby-Brock in reference to the man-mountain Brock Lesnar. I loved
this, but soon grew tired with feeling lethargic throughout the day, particularly
after workouts and after eating. By chance, I stumbled across a review online of
The Dolce Diet: 3 Weeks to Shredded. I decided to purchase it, along with Living
Lean. This is where my performance goals, aesthetic goals, and life goals all
aligned and became one newly obtainable goal.
I began using the Living Lean recipes, admittedly finding my favorites and never
really trying many new ones, but when it was THIS tasty and produced THESE kind
of results, why change?!
In the winter of 2012, I was hovering around the 210-220 lbs. mark. Strong, plenty
of lean mass, but covered in a snug blanket of NON-FUNCTIONAL MASS. (This is
fat to those who are wondering.) After only a week on the Living Lean lifestyle (its
not a diet!), my energy was through the roof! No lethargy at ANY time of day and no
cravings for crappy food. (There were
a few in the first few days, but thanks to The Mike Dolce Show podcasts,
my eyes were opened to just how awful some foods were; not just the obvious ones
like fast food, which I never liked anyway, but foods which seem relatively healthy
were suddenly stricken from my vocabulary). I felt like a new man even in the first
few weeks.
My training partners began asking what I was doing differently, as my
energy was up (both in terms of having a brighter personality and improved
cognitive functioning, and also my conditioning), and my body composition was
changing rapidly; I was every bit as strong as before, but leaning out and
maintaining functional mass. I was soon weighing under 200 lbs., then I was under
190, 180...until I reached what I consider to be my natural weight of around 170175 lbs. It is at this weight that I feel my strongest and healthiest.
With my training going so well, I decided to do a couple of test weight-cuts to
gauge where I would fit in terms of weight classes. I wanted to trial it on my own,
without the help of 3 Weeks to Shredded. The idea of weight cutting might sound
easy to some (it did to me, to a degree), but MAN is it anything but easy!
With my walk-around weight at about 170, I thought I would get to 155 easy. No
dice! I went back to feeling lethargic and lifeless, and on the deadline day of my
test weight cut, I weighed 158 whilst feeling pretty drawn-out. I was a long way
from the UFC, but if I was there, I would likely be cut for being so goddamn
unprofessional.
So many people judge fighters for missing weight, and while it is unprofessional
(imagine walking in to your office job without your briefcase, or completely naked!
UNPROFESSIONAL, right?), it is not obvious to most people watching just how

hard a weight cut is.
I dusted myself off, spent the following few weeks building my body back up and
repairing the damage I had done over the previous few weeks, then decided to give
3 Weeks to Shredded a go.
Day 1, I woke up and weighed myself. 169 lbs. I followed the information Mike
provided in the book (he is not telling you what to eat, he is telling you what worked
for him and his athletes). I had energy, just like when following the Living Lean
lifestyle; I had strength, just like when following the Living Lean lifestyle; but my
body was changing rapidly. I was leaning out and for the first time ever I had abs!
Even during my wannabe bodybuilder days, I would struggle to get abs even with
the typical chicken and broccoli lifestyle. But now I HAVE ABS AND I AM
ENJOYING MY FOOD.
I was sure to follow every detail of the 3 Weeks to Shredded guide, as I was certain
that Mikes knowledge of nutrients, as well as nutrient timing and manipulation,
would make the difference. The third week involved skewing some of the foods to
manipulate the way in which my body functioned and reacted with the liquids I was
putting into it. The weight was falling off but I still felt ALIVE and STRONG.
WEIGH IN DAY. I woke up, weighed myself, I WAS 153! I WAS BELOW MY TARGET
WEIGHT OF 155! I hadnt even resorted to any cardio or sweating processes. I had
a quarter cup of black coffee, and headed to the gym to do some light jogging and
hill walks, when I was done, I stripped down and weighed myself. 146 lbs. I had just
became a featherweight!
Thanks to Living Lean and 3 Weeks to Shredded, I am always avery healthy 170 lbs.
guy, with ever-improving strength and performance output, and make 145 lbs.
easily and SAFELY.... all while LOOKING GREAT. On top of all of this (yes, theres
more!), I feel great. I am happy, confident, bright, and the amount of money I am
constantly saving thanks to only buying the affordable foods, but Im not buying
supplements!
I am not the typical dangerously overweight I need to lose weight to save
my life person, nor am I the supreme athlete who needs the extra kick in the butt. I
am like most of you; a fairly healthy human being who didnt realize his
full physical and physiological potential until he fed his body the right way, the
DOLCE WAY, with real foods.
I tell you this because there may be those of you who dont feel the need to be
better, to be healthier. There may be some who wish to give up when they give in to
a craving. Some of you may not find the motivation to work out as often as you
would like. Whatever your challenge or obstacle, eating Earth-grown nutrients and
following Mike Dolces principles will make you better, make you fitter, make you
brighter.
When all of these pieces start falling into place, you will WANT to be better, you
will FIND the motivation and time to be more active. No matter your goal, no
matter your starting weight or physical condition, these foods will only serve to
make you the best you possible. AND WHO DOESNT WANT THAT? Happy health,
everybody.
Photo: Paul Hackett before The Dolce Diet at 219 lbs. and after at 171 lbs.
EATING FOR THE WEIGHT CUT

Weight cutting can and should be an advantage if approached properly. If we only
focus on the scale, performance is severely jeopardized, as is often seen at every level
of sport. How many times have we heard about a weight cut adversely affecting an
athletes performance?
I look at weight cutting as a chance to purify the system, to detoxify it of any impurities
and fill it back up with the highest quality of nutrients at the most crucial time.
The most common dietary practice in the weight-cutting world is to simply drop
carbohydrate and water intake in the days and weeks before weigh-ins to reduce
bodyweight. If we are only focused on the scale, this method can work, but if we are
concerned with maintaining vibrant health and producing a career defining
performance, you may want to think twice.
Carbohydrates are turned into glucose and are commonly classified in two categories,
complex and simple.
Complex carbohydrates are often found in: Grains: oats, quinoa, rice
Beans: black, pinto, garbanzo
Vegetables: potatoes, peas, corn
Simple carbohydrates are often found in fruits such as blueberries and strawberries or
even raw honey.
Complex carbohydrates are not readily available and must be broken down in the
digestive system before they can be utilized as energy. Simple carbohydrates offer a
more immediate energy supply.
What do carbohydrates do in the body? For starters, they are stored in muscles as
glycogen for sustained contractions. Pretty important for athletes, dont you think?
Next, they are used by your organs to facilitate proper function and sustained health.
Last, and most important, glucose is the primary fuel source for the brain. The brain, of
course, is central command, headquarters, and the control room. If the power goes out
in the control room, the brain will start shutting down areas of the body it deems less
important than itself - and the brain indeed deems EVERY other part of the body less
important. Based upon the limited fuel the brain has available, it may start shutting off
areas of the body that are pretty darn necessary, like the heart, kidneys, muscles, lungs,
vision or many other debilitating areas. How many zombies have you seen getting
ready for bodybuilding competitions? Or what about the girl at work making a dozen
errors per day while shes trying to shrink down for vacation?
In MMA, you see these mindless zombies walking into walls during fight week as they
hunt down a Starbucks hoping the coffee will act like jumper cables on their brain.
Photo: Nik The Carny Lentz enjoys a signature Dolce Diet Breakfast Bowl the day
before weigh-ins.
In my experience, carbohydrate intake should be based upon energy expenditure. We
do not indiscriminately limit our carbs; we eat based upon our need. (Dolce Diet
Principle #2!)
For example, my athletes will often share videos or Tweets during fight week showing
their meals such as pancakes, oatmeal bowls, pasta dishes and tons of fruit only to be
inundated with questions as to how this is possible?!
Dont you have a fight coming up?
The answer is YES, and that is exactly WHY we are eating like this.
I know it is a different activity, but the same principle holds true for endurance
athletes increasing their carbohydrate content prior to competition. They do so in an
attempt to pack their energy stores enough to sustain them during their race. Combat
athletes are exactly the same, except we step on a scale 24 hours before competition.
Photo: Nik Lentz weighs in for UFC on FOX 9 on Saturday, December 14, 2013.
ZAC SHEPARD
After struggling to make weight for my pro debut and being frustrated all the time
from being hungry and feeling drained, I was looking into diets that fighters were
following to make weight.
After hearing about how much weight Thiago Alves and Johny Hendricks were
cutting, seeing how heavy they were going into their fight, and noticing how well
they were performing, I looked into the Dolce Diet. Coincidently, one of my
brothers already had Mikes books. I came across 3 Weeks to Shredded, gave it a
try, and never looked back.
Photo:
Shepard before The Dolce Diet at 195 lbs. and after at 172 lbs.
Zac
THE WEIGHT CUT & WATER

We forget that the water cycle and the life cycle are one.
~Jacques Cousteau
Water must be consumed at all times. But why, Mike? <insert whiney voice here>
Why do I have to drink so much water? I hear it ALL THE TIME!
Well, you dont have to. You dont HAVE to do anything. But here is why we should:
Water will cleanse your entire body from the inside out. It will provide satiation to
your hunger, improve cardio-respiratory function and facilitate a healthy skeletal
system.
When I begin the weight-cut process, I will kick my personal water intake up to 20
lbs. per day (over 2.5 gallons). My athletes do the same. Now, the athletes I work with
typically train 3 times per day and utilize the hot tub and cold baths to recuperate, but
my point is to drink much more water than you currently are.
I always have lbs. of water everywhere I go. My kitchen, my office, my cars, my
gym bag, my backpack, my locker and in my hand! I find it best to purchase my water
in cases of 16 oz. bottles. I also carry a 40 oz. stainless steel canteen in my backpack
and fill it every chance I get. I take full responsibility for my hydration and ensure Im
never without a clean, refreshing drink.
As long as you are urinating properly, it is extremely hard to drink too much water.
When it comes to the weight cut, it is a pretty simple concept that if you eliminate
consumption and continue expenditure, you will deplete supplies. This practice is also
used adversely to prepare for competition. Athletes simply stop drinking water a few
days (sometimes weeks) before competition to deplete their body of water and thus
achieve a lighter weight. What they fail to realize is that water is essential for nearly
every cellular function. The human body, by the way, is nothing more than a
compilation of cells.
By reducing water, you are also reducing the ability of your body to perform. Do you
see where Im going with this? By reducing carbohydrates and water, the body is less
able to perform in a healthy manner, leading to a torturous weight cut and incomplete
rehydration.
To me, it always made the most sense to keep the athlete fed during the final few days,
so he would have the strength and the mental acuity to perform the task at hand. By
keeping the athlete extremely hydrated, the body would not react adversely when we
temporarily purge it of water. In fact, the body will give it freely.
It is not uncommon for my athletes to drink 2 to 3 gallons of water per day up until the
night before weigh-ins. Have you noticed how many trips to the bathroom you make
when you are drinking in excess of
2 gallons per day?! A good rule of thumb is to always be urinating clearly, with the
exception of your morning trip to the bathroom.
Now, how do we pull the water off?
There are a few ways that some athletes prefer. I have my own personal favorite, but I
allow for the confidence of the athlete. Some athletes like to train at low intensity in
hot rooms with sweatpants on. This certainly works, but is often too taxing. Other
athletes prefer to walk on a treadmill in plastic suits. This is also effective, but if you
have more than 5 lbs. to lose, you could be in for a long day.
Some use the old approach of sitting in a sauna, which I least prefer. A sauna should
be for relaxing. You might as well rub butter all over yourself and jump into the oven
because you are cooking yourself. There are more missed weights and panic attacks
from the sauna than any other routine I know about, and I always try to talk anyone out
of going this route.
A more preferred method is using a spa or hot tub. This is a rather gentle way to break
and maintain a sweat while breathing comfortable, room temperature air and simply
being able to step out and jump into the pool to cool off.
Photo: Coach Mike Dolce, Johny Bigg Rigg Hendricks and Team Takedown sit in
the hot tub to cut weight. The team uses this time to bond and support their teammate.
Photo: Georges St. Pierre vs. Johny Hendricks took place November 16, 2013.
THE DOLCE STEP METHOD

Weight cutting is a very lonely process, often torturous. I try to alleviate the stress,
anxiety and discomfort of my athletes by continuously seeking new ways to lose
weight while increasing comfort and confidence. My preferred method we call The
Dolce Step Method. Locking an athlete in a sauna while the teams and coaches sit
outside the door will never be seen in a Dolce weight cut. What will be seen is the
athlete, myself and usually each member of the team hanging out in the pool area
laughing, listening to music and losing weight...without even knowing it. The
following method I found to be the easiest and most natural way of losing weight
while keeping the athlete surrounded by those who care most about his health and
well-being.
The Dolce Step Method
Step 1
Get in a hot tub and submerge yourself to your neck for 5 minutes.
Step 2
Next, sit on the bottom stair so the water is at chest level for another 5 minutes.
Step 3
Then, move up one stair so the water is now at belly button level.
Step 4
Next, move up another stair to where just your glutes and hamstrings are submerged.
Step 5
Sit outside of the spa with just your feet and calves in.
You have just performed a 25-minute session and continued sweating while not
overheating or inducing a state of anxiety.
Step 6
For the last 5 minutes, jump into a cold pool and cool yourself down completely. This
is usually good for shedding 2-4 lbs. in 30 minutes. That is a 3 lbs. average.
Repeat twice and you have just cut 6 lbs. in an hour.
That is about the limit of what I would like to cut on weigh-in day.
If you are in really bad shape, this method can easily pull upwards of 10 lbs. off in 2
hours or so. However, it is my intention to only lose 2 to 4 lbs. on weigh-in day.
Thiago Alves woke up on weight for the UFC Fox 11 card, and not many athletes
are as big as Thiago relative to their weight class.
JAMIE KIENHOLZ
I doubled up 3 Weeks to Shredded (6 weeks) to drop weight for my first bikini
competition. I was able to continue to train hard and maintained my energy level
throughout my cutting. The process worked so well, that I was actually too
muscular for my category, and now I will be moving up to compete at the figure
level.
Thanks, Dolce!
Photo: Jamie Kienholz before The Dolce Diet at 130 lbs. and after at 125 lbs.
REHYDRATION: WHAT TO EAT & DRINK AFTER STEPPING

OFF THE SCALE
As I see it, every day you do one of two things: build health or produce disease in
yourself. ~Adelle Davis
UFC weigh-ins are really something to experience, especially from behind the curtain.
The number of folks who will actually experience that is few. Picture 30 or so wrungout guys, standing with their plus-one or coach. Their name is called. The curtain
opens. They walk out. Those at home hear the roar of the crowd, Joe Rogans
introduction and announcement of weight. But in a bad weight cut, the fighter hears
none of that; maybe a ringing, maybe some muffled undertones. Its difficult to tell
what a fighter is feeling when he steps onto that scale, but most of the time, its not
good. However, when a weight cut is done properly, you can tell. The confidence is
written all over the athletes face. In this chapter, I want to discuss what a successful
rehydration should mean to you.
All too often, I have seen elite athletes, Pay-Per-View superstars, step off the scale,
walk behind the curtain and immediately grab a box of take-out pasta from the nearest
restaurant and devour it with a popular, chemically flavored sport rehydration drink.
Not long after, I see the same athlete lying on the floor, legs up in the air and in
obvious digestive discomfort, as their body tries to understand why the heck its master
has tried to poison it. Soon after, this same athlete will often be found making one of
many trips to the restroom to dispose of these poisons in one of two ways. Both are
undesirable!
Remember, it is not what we consume, but what we absorb, that matters! I want my
athletes to always be a little hungry and keep the food moving through their systems as
they get closer to weigh-in day. Post weigh-in, the key to healthy rehydration is to back
out of the weight cut the same way you pulled in. This means sticking with the same
foods youve been eating all week, and further, all training camp. That way, there are
no surprises, and the body is able to efficiently absorb these known nutrients.
You might be surprised at the number of world-class athletes pulling out bags of food
from the local hotel deli and eating white bread turkey sandwiches with mayonnaise
and French fries, or fettuccine Alfredo and spaghetti and meatballs from the local
pasta shop. Unfortunately, I love it, because I know its not my guy. The reason we
conduct the weight cut the way we do is to create an advantage for my athlete.
I will work 10,000 hours to gain 1 second of advantage because a split second can
win a world title. That is the philosophy we bring into the weight cut. We dont cut
corners. We dont hope for good enough. We only do what is best. When an athlete
steps off the scale, theyve only 50 percent completed their contracted task. Now they
must rehydrate as perfectly as they trained in order to perform at their peak levels.
Treat the rehydration process with the same reverence and discipline as you would
every other aspect of your training. Far too many fights have been lost in the 24 hours
after weigh-ins than in the 15 minutes contested in the ring. Off the scale, it is time to
begin hydrating. The human body needs oxygen, water and food in that order to
survive and thrive. Rehydrating is no different. The oxygen should be pretty simple.
The water should be, too. Begin sipping slowly. Its much better to take 1 sip every
minute than to finish an entire glass in a gulp. Too much fluid too soon - especially if
there are nerves in the air - can cause an upset stomach very quickly. The digestive
system relies on proper blood volume in order to adequately process the food youll
be consuming. Oftentimes when cutting weight, an athlete may be dehydrated, which
can result in an unfavorable blood volume. This state can adversely affect efficient
digestion. Therefore, we begin rehydrating slowly.
My athletes are reminded to eat in handfuls of our approved food list every 5 to 15
minutes, as they feel necessary. There is no hard and fast rule here as one athlete may
only be losing 8 lbs. while another may be losing 28 lbs. Eating in handfuls allows a
simple unit of measure and keeps the athlete consistently refueling while not
overeating or slowing (or even halting) the digestive process.
Most often, when an athlete steps off the scale, he is in a mild state of dehydration.
The body needs to establish a favorable balance of water before our systems will
begin functioning normally, especially when it comes to the digestive system. As any
survivalist knows, a human being can live for weeks on little-to-no calories. But, take
the water away, and we are dead within a few days. This is a universal concept we
should always consider.
Our emotional side is what craves the food, but if an athlete walked into a hospital in
the same dehydrated state, the doctors would immediately act to replenish the fluids
and electrolytes and not hand them a plate of pasta. When my athletes step off the
stage, we immediately begin to rehydrate with (go ahead, take a guess) WATER!
Ive discussed how important it is for athletes to be eating during their weight cuts to
ensure they are healthy and strong. You should be hungry on weigh-in day but not
starving. If you are starving at the scale, you probably starved yourself to get there.
Having established the hierarchy of fluids over food in an elite rehydration program,
we must discuss the types of fluids. This is where I will stand up on my soapbox and
preach until you are sick of hearing me talk.
I am a longevity advocate, an advocate of Earth-grown nutrients and an advocate of
lifelong health.
As such, I cannot suggest you reach for a manmade concoction of chemicals, colorings
and contaminants over the tried and true combination of H2O, which has sustained all
of life on this planet since the dawn of time. Let me say that again...Water has
sustained all of life on this planet since the dawn of time!
Why would we believe that some guy with a few patents, an advertising department, a
graphic designer, scores of focus groups and the self-serving interest of financial
profits, has created a product that is better than plain old, freely available,
untrademarkable water!?
Do you get my point? Water is the key to life and the key to a successful rehydration.
Off the scale, drink slowly but consistently. Now it is time to introduce familiar foods
into your digestive system. I say familiar foods because we must only consume foods
that have been regularly processed by our digestive systems so there are no
malfunctions. Again, we want to stick as close as possible to our standard ingredient
list we used during our training camp.
As a general rule, we should begin with simple sugars to peak energy levels and turn
on the metabolism, while being easy for the body to break down and absorb. A great
choice might be orange slices, applesauce, berries or melon. Next we can move to
more complex carbs like brown rice, quinoa, oat bran or sweet potatoes.
Finally, when a good portion of our weight has come back on and we are feeling
ourselves again, you can test a small portion of a regular meal. Something you would
eat any night of your last hard training week. For my athletes, we usually enjoy my
Power Pasta recipe (The Dolce Diet: Living Lean Cookbook), which is packed with
all the essential nutrients you will need to fully replenish your nutrient stores and is
absolutely delicious!
NOTE: See the recipe for Mike Dolces Natural Electrolyte Drink in Part 2
Photo: Johny Bigg Rigg Hendricks completes another successful weigh-in.
Photo: Welterweight Kelvin Gastelum takes a sip of Mike Dolces Electrolyte Drink
after stepping off the scale. Gastelum won The Ultimate Fighter Season 17 as a
middleweight and then dropped a weight class to 170 lbs.
PART 2
THE NEW 3 WEEKS TO SHREDDED

Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are
certain to miss the future. ~John F. Kennedy
I initially wrote the original 3 Weeks to Shredded in 2007 based on a weight-cut
technique I used at that time. Since then, I dramatically evolved the weight cut for
performance.
There are many different styles and techniques that I use to temporarily shed lbs. The
method is based upon the unique variables within a given situation as it pertains to an
individual athlete. The following 3-Week meal plan is one of the most effective forms
of weight cutting I currently use, while maintaining the healthiest possible lifestyle. As
you will see, the meals I suggest are delicious; the ingredients listed are among the
most nutritious on the planet.
The next chapter contains the exact program Thiago Alves followed after his 25-month
layoff due to injury. On April 19, 2014, he re-emerged to win a unanimous decision
victory, as well as every round on the judges scorecards. The performance also won
Thiago the UFC Fight of the Night bonus!
Photo: UFC welterweight Thiago Pitbull Alves weighs in at 170 lbs.
HYDRATION
Each of us has our own unique hydration need. In my opinion, 1 gallon
is the minimum amount of water a healthy active adult should be consuming daily. For
example, Im a 195-lb. man at 7 percent body fat. I feel and perform at my best when I
drink 1.5 to 2 gallons of water per day based upon my average daily schedule. During
the times Im training harder and specifically while cutting weight I need more
water.
The US Department of Agriculture Dietary Reference Intake Chart recommends
different water intake for people based on age and sex. The USDA indicates the
average adult female aged 19-to-30 years old should drink about .71 gallons of water
per day, while the average 19-to-30- year-old adult male should drink .97 gallons per
day. This includes water in coffee, foods, and flavored beverages, according to the
USDA. In my opinion, I believe most active, healthy adults would benefit from
drinking much more water, especially if they replace other processed drinks, juices
and sports beverages with simple purified water.
DOLCE DIET HYDRATION PROGRAM
This is how Thiago Alves hydrated himself during fight week.
Week 1
Start at 1 gallon per day and finish the week at 1.5 gallons per day.
Week 2
Finish the week at 2 gallons per day.
Week 3
Wednesday of Week 3 we peak at 3 gallons.
On Thursday of Week 3, 1 gallon is consumed 24 hours (by 4pm Thursday in most
cases) prior to weigh-ins.
3 WEEKS TO SHREDDED: REVISED MEAL PLAN

Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their
minds cannot change anything. ~George Bernard Shaw
This is the exact meal plan I used with Thiago Pitbull Alves powerful, career
defining comeback performance. After 2 years removed from the UFC due to injury,
the Pitbull came back healthier but thankfully not hungrier than ever! Why?
Because we fed him all the way to the scale!
All foods in this meal plan must adhere to The Dolce Diet Principles (See chapter1)
wild caught
organic non GMO fresh
local
minimal processing
MARCH 28, 29, 30, 31

FRIDAY, SATURDAY, SUNDAY, MONDAY
STARTING WEIGHT 198 lbs.
Weigh-ins are typically on a Friday so we start the 3 Weeks to Shredded meal plan
exactly 3 weeks before weigh-in day.
8:30am MEAL 1
Drink 16oz water and take 1000mg Vitamin C
Breakfast Bowl
13 cup oat bran
2 tbsp chia seeds
3 tbsp hemp seeds
13 cup raisins
1 cup mixed berries
2 tbsp almond butter cinnamon
Directions:
Add dry ingredients to bowl. Stir in 1 cup boiled water until thickened. Top with
almond butter and berries.
Drink
1 cup green tea with breakfast
1 cup black coffee with 1 tsp coconut oil after breakfast
11am TRAIN
12:30pm POST WORKOUT

30g protein*
(*Go to http://www.TheDolceDiet.com for a list of Dolce Approved protein sources.)
12oz coconut water
1 cup blueberries
1:15pm MEAL 2
16oz water with 1000mg Vitamin C
Egg Scramble
4 whole eggs
2 handfuls spinach
14 red pepper
12 green pepper
14 red onion
12 tomato
1 tsp avocado oil
Directions:
Grease pan with avocado oil. Scramble together above ingredients beginning with
peppers and onion, then eggs. Add in spinach last. Top with chopped tomato.
Sides
3 pieces turkey bacon
1 pear
Drink
1 cup green tea
1 cup black coffee with 1 tsp coconut oil

4:30pm PRE-TRAINING SNACK
12 avocado
1 whole orange
1 cup green tea
6pm TRAIN
8pm POST WORKOUT
30g protein
12oz coconut water
1 cup blueberries
8:45pm MEAL 3
Skinny Sumo Stir-Fry
8oz chicken
1 handful spinach
1 handful asparagus
14 red pepper
4 cloves garlic
1 tbsp + 1 tsp avocado oil
Directions:
Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces and saut in avocado oil.
In separate pan, saut asparagus in 1 tsp of avocado oil. Once asparagus are tender,
toss in pepper, garlic and spinach. Add vegetables and chicken together in bowl and
serve.
10:30pm BEDTIME SNACK
1 apple
2 tbsp almond butter
1 square ChocoFree Metabolate
TUESDAY APRIL 1
Note: Salad substitute for dinner
8:30am MEAL 1
Breakfast Bowl
13 cup oat bran
2 tbsp chia seeds
3 tbsp hemp seeds
13 cup raisins
1 cup mixed berries
2 tbsp almond butter cinnamon
Directions:
Drink
11am TRAIN
30g protein
12oz coconut water
1 cup blueberries
1:15pm MEAL 2
Egg Scramble
4 whole eggs
2 handfuls spinach
14 red pepper
12 green pepper
14 red onion
12 tomato
1 tsp. avocado oil
Directions:
Grease pan with avocado oil. Add in above ingredients beginning with peppers and
onion, then eggs. Add in spinach last. Scramble together. Served topped with chopped
tomato.
Sides
1 pear
Drinks
1 cup green tea
12 avocado
1 whole orange
1 cup green tea
6pm TRAIN
8pm POST WORKOUT
30g protein
12oz coconut water
1 cup blueberries
8:45pm MEAL 3
The Shredded Salad
Ingredients:
1 handful spinach
1 handful kale
1 handful chopped asparagus
14 red pepper
12 tomato
13 cup blue cheese crumbles
13 cup raisins
13 cup black beans
2 tbsp chia seeds
2 tbsp hemp seeds
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar to taste
13 cup roasted almonds drizzled in 1 tsp honey

Directions:
Toss ingredients together in large bowl and serve.
Side
13 cup roasted almonds drizzled with 1 tsp honey (eat on the side or add into salad)
Directions:
Saut almonds in pan over low heat for about 2 minutes. Constantly mix them around
the pan. Place almonds in small bowl and drizzle lightly with honey.
1 apple
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2 (RE-FEED DAY)

8:30am MEAL 1
Breakfast Bowl
13 cup oat bran
2 tbsp chia seeds
3 tbsp hemp seeds
13 cup raisins
1 cup mixed berries
cinnamon
Directions:
Drink
11am TRAIN
30g protein
12oz coconut water
1 cup blueberries
1:15pm MEAL 2
Egg Scramble
4 whole eggs
2 handfuls spinach
14 red pepper
12 green pepper
14 red onion
12 tomato
1 tsp. avocado oil
Directions:
Grease pan with avocado oil and put on low-medium heat. Add in above ingredients
beginning with peppers and onion, then eggs. Add in spinach last. Scramble together.
Served topped with chopped tomato.
Sides
2 slices Ezekiel toast
12 avocado
1 pear
Drink
1 cup green tea

12 avocado
1 whole orange
1 cup green tea
6pm TRAIN
8pm POST WORKOUT
30g whey
12oz coconut water
1 cup blueberries
8:45pm MEAL 3
Skinny Sumo Stir-fry
8oz chicken
1 handful spinach
1 handful asparagus
14 red pepper
4 cloves garlic
Directions:
Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces and saut in avocado oil.
In separate pan, saut asparagus in 1 tsp of avocado oil. Once asparagus are tender,
toss in pepper, garlic and spinach. Add vegetables and chicken together in bowl and
serve.
Side
13 cup amaranth cooked according to package directions
1 apple
APRIL 3, 4, 5, 6
THURSDAY, FRIDAY, SATURDAY, SUNDAY
8:30am MEAL 1
Breakfast Bowl
14 cup oat bran
2 tbsp chia seeds
3 tbsp hemp seeds
14 cup raisins
1 cup mixed berries
cinnamon
Directions:
Drink
11am TRAIN
25g protein
12oz coconut water
1 cup blueberries
1:15pm MEAL 2
Egg Scramble
3 whole eggs
2 handfuls spinach 14 red pepper
12 green pepper
14 red onion
12 tomato
1 tsp avocado oil
Directions:
Sides
1 pear
Drink
1 cup green tea

12 avocado
1 whole orange
1 cup green tea
6pm TRAIN
8pm POST WORKOUT
25g protein
12oz coconut water
1 cup blueberries
8:45pm MEAL 3
Salmon Filet with Veggies
6oz salmon filet
1 handful spinach
1 handful asparagus
14 red pepper
4 cloves garlic
2 tsp avocado oil
Directions:
Add 1 tsp avocado oil to pan and put on low-medium heat. Saut asparagus until
nearly tender. When asparagus is almost done add in garlic, pepper and spinach. Saut
together until tender. In separate pan, add 1 tsp avocado oil and put on low-medium
heat. Cook salmon filet about 5-7 minutes until flaky. Plate and serve.

1 apple
MONDAY, APRIL 7
Note: Salad substitute for dinner
8:30am MEAL 1
Drink 16oz water with 1500mg Vitamin C
Breakfast Bowl
14 cup oat bran
2 tbsp chia seeds
3 tbsp hemp seeds
14 cup raisins
1 cup mixed berries
cinnamon
Directions:
Drink
11am TRAIN
25g protein
12oz coconut water

1 cup blueberries
1:15pm MEAL 2
Egg Scramble
3 whole eggs
2 handfuls spinach
14 red pepper
12 green pepper
14 red onion
12 tomato
1 tsp avocado oil
Directions:
Sides
1 pear
Drink
1 cup green tea

12 avocado
1 whole orange
1 cup green tea
6pm TRAIN
8pm POST WORKOUT
25g protein
12oz coconut water
1 cup blueberries
8:45pm MEAL 3
The Shredded Salad
1 handful spinach
1 handful kale
1 handful chopped asparagus
14 red pepper
12 tomato
14 cup blue cheese crumbles
14 cup raisins
2 tbsp chia seeds
2 tbsp hemp seeds
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar to taste
13 cup roasted almonds drizzled in 1 tsp honey
*beans have been eliminated

Directions:
Toss ingredients together in large bowl and serve.
Side
13 cup roasted almonds drizzled with 1 tsp honey (eat on the side or add into salad)
Directions:
1 apple
TUESDAY, APRIL 8 (RE-FEED DAY)

8:30am MEAL 1
Breakfast Bowl
14 cup oat bran
2 tbsp chia seeds
3 tbsp hemp seeds
14 cup raisins
1 cup mixed berries
cinnamon
Directions:
Drink
11am TRAIN
25g protein
12oz coconut water
1 cup blueberries
1:15pm MEAL 2
16oz water and take 1000mg Vitamin C
Egg Scramble
3 whole eggs
2 handfuls spinach
14 red pepper
12 green pepper
14 red onion
12 tomato
1 tsp avocado oil
Directions:
Sides
1 slice Ezekiel toast
14 avocado
1 pear
Drink
1 cup green tea

12 avocado
1 whole orange
1 cup green tea
6pm TRAIN
8pm POST WORKOUT
25g protein
12oz coconut water
1 cup blueberries
8:45pm MEAL 3
6oz salmon filet
1 handful spinach
1 handful asparagus
14 red pepper
4 cloves garlic
2 tsp avocado oil
Directions:
Add 1 tsp avocado oil to pan and put on low-medium heat. Saut asparagus until
together until tender. In separate pan, add 1 teaspoon avocado oil and put on lowmedium heat. Cook salmon filet about 5-7 minutes until flaky. Plate and serve.
Side
14 cup amaranth cooked according to package directions
1 apple
APRIL 9, 10, 11
WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY, FRIDAY
8:30am MEAL 1
Breakfast Bowl
14 cup oat bran
2 tbsp chia seeds
3 tbsp hemp seeds
14 cup raisins
1 cup mixed berries
dash of cinnamon
14 tsp Pink Himalayan sea salt
Directions:
Drink
11am TRAIN

20g protein
4oz applesauce
1:15pm MEAL 2
Egg Scramble
2 whole eggs
2 handfuls spinach
14 red pepper
12 green pepper
14 red onion
14 tomato
1 tbsp. avocado oil
Directions:
Add 1 teaspoon avocado oil to pan and put on low-medium heat. Add in above
ingredients beginning with peppers and onion, then eggs. Add in spinach last.
Scramble together. Served topped with chopped tomato.
Sides
1 apple
Drink
1 cup green tea

14 avocado
12 an orange
1 cup green tea
6pm TRAIN
8pm POST WORKOUT
20g protein
4oz applesauce
8:45pm MEAL 3
4oz salmon filet
1 handful spinach
1 handful asparagus
14 red pepper
4 cloves garlic
2 tsp. avocado oil
Directions:
Add 1 teaspoon avocado oil to pan and put on low-medium heat. Saut asparagus until
together until tender. In separate pan, add 1 teaspoon avocado oil and put on lowmedium heat. Cook salmon filet about 5-7 minutes until flaky. Plate and serve.

1 apple
SATURDAY, APRIL 12 *PROTEIN PARTY

8:30am MEAL 1
Breakfast Bowl
14 cup oat bran
2 tbsp chia seeds
3 tbsp hemp seeds
14 cup raisins
1 cup mixed berries
cinnamon
Directions:
Drink
11am TRAIN
20g protein
4oz applesauce
1:15pm MEAL 2
Egg Scramble
2 whole eggs
2 handfuls spinach
14 red pepper
12 green pepper
14 red onion
14 tomato
1 tsp avocado oil
Directions:
Grease pan with avocado oil and put on low-medium heat. Add in ingredients
Serve topped with chopped tomato.
Sides
1 apple
Drink
1 cup green tea
14 avocado
12 an orange
1 cup green tea
6pm TRAIN
8pm POST WORKOUT
20g protein
4oz applesauce
8:45pm MEAL 3
*Steak with Veggies
12oz grass-fed steak
1 handful spinach
1 handful asparagus
14 red pepper
4 cloves garlic
2 tsp. avocado oil
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 F. Add 1 teaspoon avocado oil to pan and put on low-medium
heat. Saut asparagus until nearly tender. When asparagus is almost done add in garlic,
pepper and spinach. Saut together until tender. In separate pan, add 1 teaspoon
avocado oil and put on medium heat. Sear steak about 1 minute on each side. Place in
glass baking dish and put in oven for 10-15 minutes depending on thickness. Once
cooked to your taste, remove steak from oven and serve with vegetables.

1 apple
SUNDAY, APRIL 13
10am WAKE
MODIFIED FAST
Drink 32oz water within the first 30 minutes of waking up.
Take 3000mg Vitamin C / 1500mg Dandelion Root / 1500mg Uva Ursi Follow with
green tea mixed with 1 tbsp honey and 1 cup black coffee mixed with 1 tsp coconut oil
1:15pm MEAL 1
16oz water with 3000mg Vitamin C / 1500mg Dandelion Root / 1500mg Uva Ursi
Egg Scramble
2 whole eggs
1 handful spinach
14 red pepper
14 red onion
14 tomato
1 tsp avocado oil
Directions:
Side
1 apple
Drink

4:30pm SNACK
14 avocado
12 an orange
1 cup green tea
7:30pm MEAL 2
Skinny Sumo Stir-fry
4 oz chicken
1 handful asparagus
14 red pepper
4 cloves garlic
Directions:
Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces and saut in avocado oil. In separate pan, saut
asparagus in 1 tsp of avocado oil. Once asparagus are tender, toss in pepper, garlic
and spinach. Add vegetables and chicken together in bowl and serve.
1 apple
2 tbsp raw, unsalted almond butter
MONDAY, APRIL 14
8:30am BREAKFAST
Breakfast Bowl
14 cup oat bran
2 tbsp chia seeds
2 tbsp hemp seeds
14 cup raisins
12 cup mixed berries
1 tbsp unsalted almond butter
cinnamon
Directions:
Drink
10:30am-11:30am TRAIN: Treadmill
15 minute walk at 3.5mph
30 minute jog at 5.5mph
12:30pm LUNCH
Egg Scramble
2 whole eggs
1 handful spinach
14 red pepper
14 red onion
14 tomato
1 tsp avocado oil
Directions:
Side
1 apple
Drink
1 cup green tea
4:30pm SNACK
14 avocado
12 an orange
1 cup green tea
6:30pm-7:30pm PERFORM DOLCE STEP METHOD / HOT TUB

8pm DINNER
Egg Scramble (Or Cold Salad*)
2 whole eggs
1 handful spinach 12 handful kale
12 tomato
14 red pepper
14 red onion
2 tbsp chia seeds
2 tbsp hemp seeds
1 tsp. avocado oil
Directions:
Add 1 teaspoon avocado oil to pan and put on low-medium heat. Add in ingredients
beginning with red pepper and onion, then eggs. Add in spinach and kale. Mix in chia
and hemp seeds. Scramble together. Serve topped with chopped tomato.
*To make the cold salad: Add all ingredients except eggs to a large bowl. Scramble
eggs and place atop salad.
Side
13 cup roasted almonds drizzled with 1 tsp honey (can add to salad)
Directions:

1 apple
TUESDAY, APRIL 15
8:30am BREAKFAST
Breakfast Bowl
14 cup oat bran
2 tbsp chia seeds
2 tbsp hemp seeds
14 cup raisins
cinnamon
Directions:
Drink
12:30pm LUNCH
Egg Scramble
2 whole eggs
1 handful spinach
14 red pepper
14 red onion
14 tomato
1 tsp avocado oil
Directions:
beginning with red pepper and onion, then eggs. Add in spinach last. Scramble
together. Serve topped with chopped tomato.
Side
1 apple
Drink
1 cup green tea
4:30pm SNACK
14 avocado
12 an orange
1 cup green tea

8pm DINNER
Egg Scramble (or Cold Salad*)
2 whole eggs
1 handful spinach
12 handful kale
12 tomato
14 red pepper
14 red onion
2 tbsp chia seeds
2 tbsp hemp seeds
1 tsp avocado oil
Directions:
beginning with red pepper and onion, then eggs. Add in spinach and kale. Mix in chia
eggs and place atop salad.
1 apple
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16
8:30am BREAKFAST
Breakfast Bowl
14 cup oat bran
2 tbsp chia seeds
2 tbsp hemp seeds
14 cup raisins
cinnamon
Directions:
Drink
12:30pm LUNCH
Egg Scramble
2 whole eggs
1 handful spinach 14 red pepper
14 red onion
14 tomato
1 tsp avocado oil
Directions:
beginning with red pepper and onion, then eggs. Add in spinach last. Scramble
Side
1 apple
Drink
1 cup green tea
4:30pm SNACK
14 avocado
12 orange
1 cup green tea
8pm DINNER
Egg Scramble (or Cold Salad*)
2 whole eggs
12 tomato
14 red pepper
14 red onion
2 tbsp chia seeds
2 tbsp hemp seeds
1 tsp avocado oil
Directions:
beginning with red pepper and onion, then eggs. Add in spinach and kale. Mix in chia
eggs in avocado oil and place atop salad.
1 apple
THURSDAY, APRIL 17
8:30am BREAKFAST
Breakfast Bowl
14 cup oat bran
2 tbsp chia seeds
2 tbsp hemp seeds
14 cup raisins
cinnamon
Directions:
Drink
12:30pm LUNCH
Egg Scramble
2 whole eggs
1 handful spinach
14 red pepper
14 red onion
14 tomato
1 tsp avocado oil
Directions:
beginning with red pepper and onion, then eggs. Add in spinach last. Scramble
Side
1 apple
Drink
1 cup green tea
4:30pm SNACK
14 avocado
12 an orange
1 cup green tea
8pm DINNER
Cold Salad
2 whole eggs
12 tomato
14 red pepper
14 red onion
2 tbsp chia seeds
2 tbsp hemp seeds
14 cup raisins
1 tsp avocado oil
Directions:
Add all ingredients except eggs to a large bowl. Scramble eggs in avocado oil and
place atop salad.
9pm-10pm PERFORM DOLCE STEP METHOD / HOT TUB
1 apple
Each day of fight week, Thiago lost 2 lbs.
Photo: You mess with my meals, you mess with my emotions! Thiago Alves gets his
game face on.
WATER INTAKE DURING FIGHT WEEK

Monday 185 lbs.
2 gallons
Tuesday 183 lbs.
2.5 gallons
Wednesday 181 lbs.
3 gallons
Thursday 179 lbs.
1 gallon before noon
THURSDAY, APRIL 17 (THE DAY BEFORE WEIGH-INS)

Thiago weighed 171 lbs. when he stepped out of the hot tub at 10pm. Expecting this, I
made him an 8 oz. grass-fed steak, 4 oz. sauted spinach, and he drank 16 oz. water.
COACHS TIP: The day before weigh-ins: From this point, we eat sensibly.
We dont starve ourselves, nor are we afraid to cleanse our systems and purify our
bodies. Weve been eating perfectly for weeks now, specifically the last 3 weeks.
Our meals have become much more efficient, much cleaner. Over the next 24 hours,
each ounce that we consume must be lost, so we must choose wisely. Personally, I
enjoy grazing. I have no problem grabbing a few leaves of spinach and a handful of
blueberries as casually as most would grab for a handful of popcorn. Today should
be about relaxation, breaking small sweats without working to do so. Laying in a
warm room, watching a favorite movie with their significant other happens much
more often with my athletes than any of you would ever believe.
FRIDAY, APRIL 18 (WEIGH-IN DAY)

Thiago went to bed on Thursday weighing 173 lbs. and woke up Friday morning
(weigh-in day) at 171.8 lbs. I gave him a 4 oz. cup of black coffee mixed with 1
teaspoon of coconut oil. We made a modified breakfast bowl: 2 tablespoons oat bran,
2 tablespoons chia seeds, 2 tablespoons hemp seeds, 2 tablespoons raisins, 1
tablespoon honey, mixed with 4 oz. boiled water. This weighed a total of 8 oz.
We had 6 hours until weigh-ins. Knowing how Thiagos body normally floats or
loses weight during the day, we felt no need to prepare a weight-cutting session.
Within 2 trips to the restroom over the next two hours Thiago was back to 171 lbs.
with hours to spare. He would sip on black coffee with coconut oil and purified water
throughout the day, keeping his weight below 171.5 lbs. After one more trip to the
restroom, by the time he stepped on the scale for the official UFC weigh-ins, he
weighed the championship weight of 170 lbs. looking fresh and healthy!
WEIGH-IN DAY
The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses - behind the lines, in the gym,
and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights. ~Muhammad
Ali
We need our strength to endure the challenges before us, and there is no better way to
start than with the breakfast bowl. It may be a little smaller than usual, maybe even just
a few spoonfuls, but its there, its ready and its up to the athlete how much they need
to feel good.
I also make sure theres fruit readily available that the athlete can feel free to graze on
at any time. So even while cutting weight, my athletes continue to consume, which
helps them to maintain a vibrant level of health and strength. Because weve prepared
properly, my athletes usually weigh no more than 5 lbs. above their weight class on
the morning of weigh-ins.
At the elite level, even on weigh-in day, the athlete has media obligations and
responsibilities related to the event. Typically, my athlete wakes up at 9am. We
calibrate his or her weight with the official scale as well as our personal scale to
leave zero room for error.
Its important to bring your own scale with you.
Dont be afraid to spend $100 or more on your own scale. Missing weight as a
professional can cause a 20 percent penalty against your purse. For that amount of
money, you couldve bought many scales and maintained your reputation.
Remember, my athletes are no more than 5 lbs. over on the morning of weigh-ins.
Therefore, following my Step Method previously outlined, we can make weight within
an hours time and begin the process rehydrating often before the athlete even steps on
the scale.
How do we do this? Usually, we have to meet the event coordinator at 2pm to be
transported to the weigh-in venue. This means we have to be done cutting weight at
1:30pm at the latest so the athlete can shower, change, tend to any last minute needs
and be the professional athlete he is by being on time. This means the athlete spends a
minimum of 2 hours being on weight. That is simply 2 hours too long. To adjust for
this, I bring my scale with me and weigh my athlete every 15-30 minutes throughout
the day to make sure they dont continue losing weight. If so, we immediately
rehydrate or eat to maintain the weight class limit - no higher and no lower. One tool I
use to keep them hydrated throughout the process is my Natural Electrolyte Drink.
At the athletes discretion, they can also chew on our pre-planned assortment of fresh
fruit including watermelon, cantaloupe, kiwi, grapes, strawberries, blueberries,
raspberries, etc. To ensure we arent overfeeding or over-drinking, I have the athlete
stand on the scale and hold in his hands the amount of food and/or drink he is about to
consume.
MIKE DOLCES NATURAL ELECTROLYTE DRINK

This drink allows you to avoid all the unnecessary sugars that famous, name brand
sports drinks contain while consuming much more electrolytes.
Ingredients
24oz room temperature water
Half a fresh-squeezed lemon
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 tbsp honey
Dash of sea salt
Directions
Mix together & drink fresh.
Nutrition Facts:
1/2 juice of lemon: 8 calories, 0 g protein, 3 g CHO, 0.1 g fat, 1 g fiber,
1 mg sodium, 40 mg potassium, 8 mg calcium, 2 mg magnesium
1 tbsp Chia Seeds: 69 calories, 2 g protein, 6 g CHO, 4.5 g fat, 1 g sat. fat, 5 g fiber, 2
mg sodium, 58 mg potassium, 89 mg calcium, 47 mg magnesium 1 tbsp honey: 64
calories, 0 g protein, 17 g CHO, 0 g fat, 0 g fiber, 1 mg sodium, 11 mg potassium, 1
mg calcium, 0 mg magnesium
Benefits:
Lemon: Packed with vitamin C to benefit skin (synthesizes production of collagen
fibers to repair damaged tissue) and immune health
Chia Seeds*: Member of the mint family, excellent source of Omega-3s, fiber, protein
and minerals. May help improve cardiovascular risk factors, such as, lowering
cholesterol, triglycerides and blood pressure.
Honey: Boosts immune system due to high vitamin/mineral content, naturally sweet.
Aids in indigestion due to the antiseptic properties of honey and relieves acidity in the
stomach.
*Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
Photo: Mike Dolce and Duane Bang Ludwig after Ludwig defeated Amir Sadollah
by unanimous decision at UFC Live 5 on Aug. 14, 2011.
Part III
Photo: Vitor
Belfort weighs in for UFC 126 via The Dolce Diet.
Photo: Mike Dolce speaks with (from left) 2012 Olympic Freestyle Wrestling Bronze
Medalist, and 3 Weeks to Shredded user, Coleman Scott; two-time Olympic Freestyle
Wrestling Gold Medalist and Oklahoma State head coach John Smith; and NCAA
Division I National Champion and Oklahoma State assistant wrestling coach Zack
Esposito.
Photo: Johny Bigg Rigg Hendricks gets ready to weigh in for UFC 141.
SAME DAY WEIGH-INS

Theres been ample controversy regarding weight cuts, whether the process is healthy.
The fact is that losing a great amount of weight in a short period of time is not healthy.
Ive always maintained this.
For the last 25 years - yes, Im getting old - I have been cutting weight as an amateur
wrestler, nationally ranked powerlifter, amateur boxer and professional mixed martial
artist. Ive also participated in the weight cut process thousands of times with my
teammates, students and athletes. My opinion is based on personal experience
tempered with all known scientific research.
My methods are here to make this process as healthy as humanly possible.
Some suggest that same-day weigh-ins would be a healthier approach to two
opponents being evenly matched. The fact remains, that any way you look at this
situation athletes are still cutting weight. With same-day weigh- ins, the athlete will
likely cut the same amount of weight and go to drastic measures to rehydrate in time
for competition.
Cutting weight is not suggested for same-day competition. Think about what is
healthier: 24 hours to rehydrate, or 4 hours at most? Aside from the very important
aspect of maintaining health, we want to ensure optimal performance. Therefore,
whether one is doing same-day weigh-ins or day-of, the approach is the same.
The most healthful way to approach both same-day weigh-ins and day-before weighins is to reduce your bodyweight during training camp to be closer to your competitive
weight.
However, with a same-day weigh-in competition, the fighter should be fighting as
close to his natural body weight as possible. Without the overnight time to replenish
the body, your performance could very well suffer.
You should be at your competitive weight comfortably for same-day weigh-ins. This
way, you will ensure ample strength, energy and the ability to execute your technique.
Should you attempt to cut a similar amount of weight for a same-day weigh-in as you
would a day-prior weigh-in, you will not compete up to your potential and can only
hope for victory if your evenly matched opponent did it worse.
For the best chance of performing up to your greatest potential, begin the weight-loss
process as soon as the competition is scheduled. Reduce body fat to the necessary
point that you are simply within a bowel movement
Avoid foods high in sodium as they could make you hold water. Beyond that, we need
to only consume foods of maximum absorption and avoid any foods that do not offer
complete nourishment and aid in efficient digestion. Think lean and green! Stay away
from foods that are fried, heavy in dairy, and most preserved products. In general,
water is most important, as well as electrolytes.
Ultimately, it is best to not cut weight at all. You cannot retain much useable energy or
any size advantage in such a short window of time. Its best to be full of piss and
vinegar when you step on the battlefield.
CHASE GENTLE
I kickstarted my new lifestyle with 3 Weeks to Shredded and then after 3 1/2 weeks,
I switched over to Living Lean and Living Lean Cookbook. I have been weightlifting
for several years now and within those years I have experimented with many
different diets and workout programs. I had a buddy who told me about this diet
program called, 3 Weeks to Shredded. For some reason I was mostly intrigued by
the fact that you could not purchase this book anywhere but from Mike Dolces
website. I thought to myself, Who does that these days with Amazon around? But
nonetheless I respected it greatly, because I knew whoever Mike Dolce was; he was
out to help people and not to collect money.
I started the program fluctuating between 199-201 lbs. and coming off a bad diet of
Monster Energy drinks and processed foods that has a longer shelf life than the
plastic it was contained in. I read through the book, went shopping, and began my
new lifestyle.
My goal and biggest motivation was to be lean and as ripped as possible by summer
and then continue to live lean everyday. The results I saw in the mirror and the way
I functioned at work (corporate America sales) were what kept me motivated
through the lifestyle change.
The hardest parts were going through the headaches, sugar cravings, and
withdrawals from all the crap food I lived off of previously. After about a week of
my body taking in only organic Earth-grown nutrients; I started to feel better, think
more clearly, have more energy and sleep better. I even monitored my sleep with a
new band I wear that tracks the quality of my sleep. And I can tell you my sleep was
deeper and more refreshing.
I would compare it to putting low-grade fuel in a Ferrari and running it for several
years and then replacing it with pure high-octane fuel and feeling the power it was
originally meant to have.
I followed the diet precisely only substituting the whey protein for (a vegan- based
plant protein supplement), which was only due to me having access to Mikes
podcast.
My workout regiment was more of a 3-week cycle between High Intensity Interval
Training, slow isolation, and bodyweight lifts; and I have continued that today as it
has produced great results.
The advice I would give to someone starting this would be stick to your guns and
you will have results...end of story. (Oh, and also find Mikes recipe for the
Breakfast Bowl because that is a life saver!)
Thanks Mike and Brandy for all you do with Living Lean and your podcast.
I am a husband and proud father of a 9-month-old who will now grow
up with Earth-grown nutrients and thinking that Mike Dolce is a distant uncle who
gives dad good advice! EXCUSES OR RESULTS....NOT BOTH! #BOOM
Photo: Chase Gentle before The Dolce Diet at 201 lbs. and after at 190 lbs.
Photo: Jaragua do Sul, Santa Catarina, Brazil: Mike Dolce and a relaxing Nik Lentz
make the long bus trip from the fighter hotel to weigh-ins. Often, weight cuts must be
made in countries where certain fight week foods are unavailable. Mike always is
prepared and brings essential ingredients with him.
WEIGHT-CUT DANGERS: SAUNA SUITS, DIURETICS &

DISTILLED WATER
Courage - you develop courage by doing small things like just as if you wouldn't
want to pick up a 100-pound weight without preparing yourself. ~Maya Angelou
Saunas and Plastic Suits

Let me be clear, if you are wrapping yourself in a plastic suit and locking yourself in
an oven, youve already messed up your weight cut. A weight cut performed properly
needs nothing more than a pair of bathing trunks and a few friends to have a laugh
with. All too often, elite athlete and rank amateur cut weight in the exact same manner
through calorie deprivation, dehydration, and exhaustive energy expenditure in
extremely hot rooms while dressed like Eskimos. None of this is healthy. And all of
this will most certainly reduce your ability to perform.
Distilled Water
Distilled water has been boiled, the vapor captured and restored again
to liquid form, devoid of any beneficial elements. Distilled water is very harsh when
consumed by humans, especially in cases for prolonged periods of time while at a
nutrient deficit. The last thing I want my athletes drinking is distilled water. It will
actually force your body to lose more of the vital electrolytes necessary to keep you
healthy. Most athletes use distilled water as a means to lose weight and though this
may work marginally, its negative effects vastly outweigh the few ounces it may gain
you.
Diuretics
Diuretics in most effective forms are illegal in sanctioned competition. Any sort of
chemical, prescription, or over-the-counter item must be cleared by all athletic
commissions. It is my belief that diuretics cause more damage to the athlete due to the
products aggressive nature and though they do work, it seems very difficult for the
athlete to rehydrate effectively and maintain their prior level of health. This meal plan
contains Earth-grown nutrients that have naturally occurring diuretic properties, which
allow the body to relieve itself naturally. We always work with the body for maximum
benefit.
Natural Diuretics
- dandelion
- green tea
- coffee
KENNY HULK PERALTA

Mike Dolce and Living Lean changed my life. September 2012 I had shoulder
surgery to repair a torn labrum. After that happened I could not train and fell into a
disgusting binge eating phase where I went from 175 lbs. all the way up to 220.
Being only 59, I felt disgusted with myself.
March 2013, on my sons first birthday, I couldnt find anything to wear for
professional pictures that I felt comfortable in. I tried to hide my weight behind
baggy clothes. It took me seeing the pictures and seeing how disgusting I looked to
finally say, Thats it. Im making a change for myself, my health and to have
longevity for my son.
Being a fan of MMA I knew about Mike Dolces success with the top athletes in the
world, and not only helping them step on the scale in the best shape, but helping
them live better, cleaner lives. I bought Living Lean and Living Lean Cookbook and
started my journey. Mind you I never cooked before, so I wasnt an experienced
cook of any sort. But I followed the principles and read the simple instructions for
the recipes and changed my life, and the weight just began to fly off.
I started on my sons birthday (3/4/13) weighing in at 217 lbs. to one month later
(4/4/13) weighing in at 195 lbs. Another month later, (5/4/13) I weighed 180 lbs.
Everyone began to notice and I became The Dolce Diets biggest endorser in
Connecticut. Wearing the (Dolce Diet) bag, and with my weight loss, everyone
asked how was it possible. I would spread the word as if it was my bible. Before I
knew it I had everyone I knew purchasing the books and Living Lean!
It wasnt a diet but a life changer. Changed my life so much that I went for my
dreams and took my first MMA fight that summer and weighed in at 155 lbs. Its
crazy that I was hitting 220 lbs. 5 months earlier and now I was stepping on the
scale at 155 lbs. for my first amateur MMA fight.
But that was just the beginning. I have been on a tear this year with two back-toback first-round finishes. I even made my 145 lbs. debut in April. It was the easiest
weight cut Ive ever had. Using 3 Weeks to Shredded, I actually woke up on weight
at 145 lbs. Now Im getting a title fight in July and going pro next year all thanks to
The Dolce Diet. I want to personally say thank you to Mike and Brandy for
changing my life and giving me the opportunity to follow my dreams.
Respectfully,
Kenny Hulk Peralta
Photo: Kenny Hulk Peralta before The Dolce Diet at 220 lbs. and after at 145 lbs.
Photo: Mike
Dolce teaches a children's mixed martial arts class in 2006.
TRAVELING DURING THE WEIGHT CUT: HOW TO STAY

HEALTHY ON THE ROAD
The virtue of achievement is victory over oneself. Those who know this can never
know defeat. ~John Dryden
I created this section to help guide coaches, athletes and those of us dedicated to
keeping our bodies healthy and powerfully energetic while away from the comforts
and convenience of home. Im on the road as much as 250 days a year. Thats over 8
months! l have identified the challenges this lifestyle presents and learned to take
responsibility for my health by organized planning. I do not allow my hectic schedule
to dictate my health.
BE PREPARED
When I pack my luggage, I always bring the following:
- 3 cups of dry oat bran or oatmeal (the equivalent of 12, 14 cup servings, or the
equivalent of 12 meals)
- 3 cups of raisins (can be added to oat bran for a meal or eaten with nuts as a snack;
the equivalent of 12, 14 cup servings)
- 3 cups raw almonds, cashews, peanuts or walnuts
- 3 cups chia seeds
- 3 cups hemp seeds
- 1 stainless steel teaspoon to use anywhere or anytime
- 12 chamomile tea bags (to help me relax before bed)
- 12 green tea bags (to give me a healthy buzz in the early part of the day)
- 1 wide-top, 24 oz. shaker bottle. They make great storage devices for your raisins
and nuts while traveling; it allows you to fill up with water at any water fountain or
sink; even serves as a handy bowl to make your oat bran at 2am when youre stranded
at some darn airport terminal or when you just walk into your hotel room and are
absolutely starving. Again, we are always responsible for our meals.
lll throw an apple and an orange in my backpack just in case.
lll bring a handful of ChocoFree Metabolate.

The above are the essential items to always have with you while traveling. The oat
bran will always be ready to eat in any hotel by simply using the coffee maker
provided in most every room to heat up some water.
SHOPPING
The next thing I do is find a supermarket or gas station (as a last resort) to grab a few
gallons of water for my room, restock my dried fruit (raisins) and raw nuts. I also look
for fresh fruits like apples, oranges, bananas, berries and grapes, all of which travel
well. You need some sort of essential fat with you to slow down your digestion and
give you a sustained energy source while also keeping your cognitive function running
smoothly. This is why I bring chia seeds, hemp seeds and raw nuts.
MEALS
Most hotels have a pretty decent menu and you can pretty much always find a nice
piece of grilled chicken or fish, some healthy greens like spinach or broccoli, and
hearty complex carbs like brown rice and sweet potato. I stay away from white bread,
which has a very low nutrient value and can make my insulin spiral out of control. I
also avoid margarine and most butters unless it is grass-fed.
When I receive my travel itinerary, I always find out the dining options and room
service items before I arrive by looking over the menu online or calling the hotel. Will
I be able to use their services, or will I need to make other arrangements? Preparation
is most important.
BREAKFAST ON THE ROAD
Breakfast will ALWAYS be oatmeal or oat bran, fresh fruit, lots of water and finished
up with a cup of green tea or coffee. This will give your body the necessary fuel to
begin your day and switch on your metabolism to begin sustaining your lean muscle
and burn any unnecessary body fat.
The common American breakfast relies heavily on bacon, eggs, toast, milk and butter.
All of this protein and fat bogs down our digestion and slows down our metabolism,
causing a traffic jam in our stomach, and lacks the necessary fuel to prepare our mind
and muscles to begin the day.
After a 6-to-8 hour sleep, our body is craving sugar, so that is how we will start. But
we will give it very nutrient-dense sugars with additional benefits, like vitamins,
minerals, antioxidants, fiber and essential fats, all of which will provide us with the
super-fuel we need to hit the day at full power, but with the essential building blocks
of life to extend our longevity and repair any free-radical damage that is thrust upon us
from daily life.
MID-MEALS
Within 2-to-4 hours, based upon your energy exertion, it will be time to top off your
fuel tank with a snack, or what l prefer to call a mid-meal.
A mid-meal may consist of approximately 1/3 the calories and portion size of a
standard meal (think breakfast, lunch and dinner) and will typically pair two different
energy sources. I prefer to pair a sugar, like an apple, with an essential fat, like 2
tablespoons of peanut butter / 1 handful of raisins and 1 handful of cashews / or 1
orange and half an avocado.
I look forward to the flavor of my mid-meals and value the mood enhancing benefit it
has on me by stabilizing my sinking blood sugar levels.
DINNER
At dinner, it is common in America to consume a piece of protein (steak, chicken, fish)
that takes up 2/3 of the plate with the remaining 1/3 being a complex carbohydrate like
a potato or rice. Green vegetables are usually crammed in there somewhere as an
afterthought.
I prefer half of the plate to be green vegetables (the more alive the better), 1/4 of the
plate for protein and 1/4 for complex carbs.
This is much more in line with what our body actually needs and less in line with what
television commercials and other mass marketing tells us we should want.
While traveling, stick to the Lean and Green. Lean proteins are chicken, fish and
plant-based foods, and stick with greens like spinach, broccoli, asparagus and
Brussels sprouts. Remember your goals, and stay focused.
Photo: Practicing what he preaches, Coach Mike has all the food he needs packed in
his suitcase, which is a good thing during a 16-hour layover in the So Paulo airport.
DANIEL GONZALEZ
My whole family was overweight, have diabetes and was unhealthy. I was 200 lbs.
and I didnt want to fall into illness as my family did, so I decided to buy The Dolce
Diet and follow the guidelines. By eating six times a day and never missing
breakfast, I lost 45 lbs. and am in great shape.
Photo: Daniel Gonzalez before The Dolce Diet at 200 lbs. and after at 155 lbs.
TRAINING WHILE CUTTING WEIGHT

In order to grow we must be open to new ideas...new ways of doing things... new
ways of thinking. ~George Raveling
This is one of the great misconceptions during fight week. Training itself
is a rigorous task all of which should have been completed in the 8 weeks prior to
fight week. Fight week itself is dedicated to peaking, to performing the necessary tasks
related to the promotion of an organized event. Fight week is also dedicated to weight
cutting, which is the main topic of this book. You can train like a world-class athlete
with everything perfectly performed for 8 weeks and throw it all away during fight
week because you trained too hard and depleted your body to the point that it reached
a level of being unrecoverable in the short period of time you have until fight night.
I strongly suggest athletes do not train at all during fight week. General activity should
be embraced. One of my favorite parts of fight trips is to explore the city with my
athlete and their team. These are the types of activities and exercises we perform to
maintain a vibrant level of health.
Done are the days of sparring and sprinting and shrimping and striking. Now is the
time to relax, recover, repair and reset. We prepare the body to lose weight through
healthy methods by eating highly nutritious foods, by maintaining adequate hydration
levels, and by balancing our rest with our exertion.
Some athletes for psychological reasons like to go over their game plans during fight
week. This is fine, if conducted under direct supervision while adhering to a specific
set of guidelines.
The session must be short. 20-30 minutes max including warm-up.
The athletes heart rate should not exceed 140 bpm.
The athlete should not work at a rate that forces him or her to take a deep breath.
All activity should be done in a manner that would allow complete conversations to
be had.
These points are very important. Many of the old-school or uninformed around the
sport dont understand this process. They believe its best to put on plastic suits and
warm-up jackets and hit the pads hard for an hour and grapple for an hour and heck,
maybe even spar. Some even do this as a regular part of their weight-cutting routine.
Absurd! The whole point to these sessions is only because the athlete needs
psychological reassurance. This is a psychological workout; a cognitive workout. This
is not a physical workout. These athletes are multimillion-dollar machines that need to
be scientifically calibrated during fight week, not put on the track and run in the red
line until something rattles loose!
PHILLIP DASILVA
I am an amateur Muay Thai competitor and have been competing for the last 4
years. I always struggled with getting my weight down for competitions. Being only
56, my original goal was to compete at 160 lbs. I had early success, winning my
fights early on. But my diet consisted of only brown rice, chicken, broccoli and egg
whites.
Most days, I was just so sick of the food that I would cheat very often and feel
terrible. I struggled mentally with my diet until I came across Mike Dolce. Then my
life and mood changed significantly. My goal to compete at 147 lbs. would never
have been possible without 3 Weeks to Shredded! My next goal is 140 lbs.! BOOM!
Photo: Phillip Dasilva before The Dolce Diet at 175 lbs. and after at 160 lbs.
EXPECTATIONS: THE COACH / ATHLETE RELATIONSHIP

A coach must never forget that he is a leader and not merely a person with
authority. ~ John Wooden
We have to understand that the coach / athlete relationship is the most important bond
during fight week. The closer we get to performance the less external influences we
should allow. The coachs main responsibility is ensuring the athlete has every single
thing he needs to perform at his peak potential and in a healthy manner.
All too often I see athletes struggling during fight week, suffering through rigorous
training sessions on limited calories and drinking little-to-no water. Meanwhile the
coaches are carrying lattes and colas, eating cheeseburgers and even pizzas.
Oftentimes they are making fun of the athlete to toughen up or asking doesnt this
smell good? and Dont worry! You can have this on Saturday.
What benefit does that give the athlete? Many athletes are accustomed to this, and it
doesnt offend them nearly as much as it offends me. Theyve grown accustomed to
being abused. In spite of this, they are able to perform at adequate levels, but certainly
not at their peak potential. When I work with an athlete, I do everything my athlete
does and more.
If he wakes up at 6am, I wake up at 5am to ensure the day is prepared. This allows the
athlete the ability to focus 100 percent on the task at hand. What my athlete eats, I eat.
And one step further, I hand-prepare everything. I do all the grocery shopping. I dont
go to the hotel cafe in the lobby like many of the other teams. Ill fly into town a day or
two before the athlete to locally source all the ingredients necessary. These
ingredients could be spinach, cherries or international battery adapters and cooking
skillets. Most of the other coaches dont even bring an apple for the 18-hour flight. I
say all this because Ive seen it happen firsthand.
Typically, I lose lb. for lb. the same amount of weight as my athlete during fight week.
It helps them to know that Ive eaten everything theyve eaten and not one morsel
more. Ive sipped the same amount of water; Ive gone to the press conference, and
Ive hopped on the airplanes. And Ive sweat drip for drip the same amount they have.
So as we roll deeper into fight week, and closer to the scale, the athlete knows he isnt
alone. Climbing into a cage to fight another man is a very lonely prospect. For me, I
try to offer every possible advantage to my athlete. And if losing 20 lbs. in 4 days
alongside them offers .001 percent advantage, Im more than happy to do it. Thats
well worth the trade-off for me.
Recently at an event in Canada, I was in the hot tub with one of my athletes on
Wednesday relaxing and breaking a good sweat. We were both fully fed and hydrated
sipping away on our gallon jugs of purified water mixed with chia seeds and freshsqueezed lime, and another athlete competing on the same card was in the tub looking
terrible. He was all alone, and had only 6 more lbs. to lose to make the lightweight
limit. My athlete was 16 lbs. above the lightweight limit, but looked amazing. He was
telling jokes and acting out previous fights as if he hadnt a care in the world. We
stayed in the hot tub an hour longer to not leave this other kid all alone, who was
struggling.
About halfway into the soak, this kids coaches come walking into the spa. They say
hello, ask their guy how hes doing and then crack some jokes about how he looks like
a skeleton. One of the coaches, a little more fit and a little quieter than the rest, walks
around the massive hot tub to where I was immersed and says, Why do you do this?
I looked at him quizzically and asked, What do you mean? He said, Why do you
keep yourself in such good shape and cut weight with the athletes the way you do? Ive
seen you before with different athletes doing this.
I looked at him and said, Why wouldnt I?
My whole job is to help this kid win. Im 100 percent dedicated to my athletes, my
clients, my students, my craft, my integrity. It breaks my heart when I see these guys
and girls suffering all alone packed in plastic bags, zip-tied in woolen cotton and set
to bake in these wooden ovens while their apathetic coaches stand outside the door
and make jokes.
Athletes, hear me now: YOU are the boss. The Bill Gates, the Lorenzo Fertitta of your
company. Your coaches are part of your executive staff. They are hired for a very
specific and elite skill set, but they answer to YOU! Especially during fight week,
which is the whole point of the last 3 months of training. If your coaches do not
conduct themselves 100 percent as professionals, dedicated to your success and wellbeing, they should be put on notice immediately.
With that said and with this book, I cannot foresee any athlete, any coach, any team,
acting in a manner counterproductive to your joint successes. That is why Im giving
you this information, to see you all perform at your best possible levels, while
maintaining an extreme state of health. Im asking you to all please recognize that this
is the primary goal.
Photo: Mike Dolce finishes a weight cut with Vitor The Phenom Belfort.
Appendix
GROCERY LIST: THE NEW 3 WEEKS TO SHREDDED

Always purchase organic, grass-fed products when available.
Eggs
Blue cheese crumbles
Black beans
Turkey bacon
Chicken breast
Steak
Salmon
Spinach
Kale
Tomato
Red onion
Red pepper
Green pepper
Asparagus
Garlic cloves
Apples
Oranges
Pears
Raisins
Blueberries
Mixed berries (fresh seasonal fruit)
Applesauce
Avocado
Oat bran
Ezekiel bread
Chia seeds
Hemp seeds
Amaranth
Almonds
Almond butter (both salted & unsalted)
Purified water
Green tea
Coffee
Coconut water
Avocado oil
Coconut oil
Extra virgin olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Cinnamon
Honey
Pink Himalayan sea salt
Vitamin C
Dandelion root
Uva ursi
Post workout protein (see http://www.TheDolceDiet.com for Dolce Diet Approved
proteins.) ChocoFree Metabolate ( http://www.onnit.com/dolce )
MORE RESOURCES
TWITTER
Follow Mike Dolce on Twitter @TheDolceDiet and read his favorited tweets for
inspirational testimonials! Go to http://www.twitter.com/thedolcediet
FACEBOOK
Check out The Dolce Diet fan page at http://www.Facebook.com/TheDolceDiet
YOUTUBE
For videos detailing exercises, recipes and so much more, visit The Dolce Diet
YouTube channel at http://www.YouTube.com/dolcediet
THE DOLCE DIET SOCIAL NETWORK
Its FREE! Design your own profile page at http://www.MYDolceDiet.com and talk
with Mike during his frequent LIVE CHATS, as well as with others living healthy,
vibrant lifestyles just like you!
THE DOLCE DIET OFFICIAL WEBSITE
Get the latest news about Mike, his athletes, health tips and more at
http://www.TheDolceDiet.com
THE MIKE DOLCE SHOW
Mike answers your questions and chats with featured guests weekly! Listen at
http://www.TheMikeDolceShow.com or on iTunes or Stitcher, or by downloading our
free Android and Apple iOS apps!
THE DOLCE DIET SHOP
Clothing, books, bags and more! Visit http://www.DolceDietShop.com today.
BOOKS BY MIKE DOLCE

#1 Bestseller The Dolce Diet: LIVING LEAN
#1 Bestseller The Dolce Diet: LIVING LEAN COOKBOOK
#1 Bestseller The Dolce Diet: COLLEGE DIET GUIDE
Available in paperback & ebook at http://www.amazon.com worldwide and in ebook
at iTunes (iBooks.)
Exercise DVDs by Mike Dolce
UFC FIT - 12-week training program with nutrition and lifestyle manual. Available at
http://www.UFCFIT.com
For more information about

http://www.TheDolceDiet.com
Mike
Dolce
&
The
Dolce
Diet
visit
Table of Contents
Conrad James Books
NOTE
INTRODUCTION
PRAISE FOR THE DOLCE DIET: 3 WEEKS TO SHREDDED
Part 1
DOLCE DIET PRINCIPLES
THE IMPORTANCE OF GOALS
21 DAYS, 21 GOALS
GOALS WORKSHEET
TODD HARWOOD
WEIGHT CUT OR WEIGHT LOSS? WHATS THE DIFFERENCE?
MICHAEL SANTOS
SO YOU WANT TO CUT WEIGHT - GETTING STARTED
FRASER OPIE
A LOOK INSIDE THE WEIGHT CUT
RIDGE KILEY
SLEEP MORE TO LOSE WEIGHT
PAUL HACKETT
EATING FOR THE WEIGHT CUT
ZAC SHEPARD
THE WEIGHT CUT & WATER
THE DOLCE STEP METHOD
JAMIE KIENHOLZ
REHYDRATION: WHAT TO EAT & DRINK AFTER STEPPING OFF THE SCALE
PART 2
THE NEW 3 WEEKS TO SHREDDED
3 WEEKS TO SHREDDED: REVISED MEAL PLAN
MARCH 28, 29, 30, 31 FRIDAY, SATURDAY, SUNDAY, MONDAY STARTING

WEIGHT 198 lbs.
TUESDAY APRIL 1 Note: Salad substitute for dinner STARTING WEIGHT 194 lbs.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2 (RE-FEED DAY) STARTING WEIGHT 192 lbs.
APRIL 3, 4, 5, 6 THURSDAY, FRIDAY, SATURDAY, SUNDAY STARTING
WEIGHT 194 lbs.
MONDAY, APRIL 7 Note: Salad substitute for dinner STARTING WEIGHT 188 lbs.
TUESDAY, APRIL 8 (RE-FEED DAY) STARTING WEIGHT 187 lbs.
APRIL 9, 10, 11 WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY, FRIDAY STARTING WEIGHT 187
lbs.
SATURDAY, APRIL 12 *PROTEIN PARTY STARTING WEIGHT 188 lbs.
SUNDAY, APRIL 13 STARTING WEIGHT 188 lbs.
MONDAY, APRIL 14 STARTING WEIGHT 185 lbs.
TUESDAY, APRIL 15 STARTING WEIGHT 183 lbs.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16 STARTING WEIGHT 181 lbs.
THURSDAY, APRIL 17 STARTING WEIGHT 179 lbs.
WATER INTAKE DURING FIGHT WEEK
THURSDAY, APRIL 17 (THE DAY BEFORE WEIGH-INS)
FRIDAY, APRIL 18 (WEIGH-IN DAY)
WEIGH-IN DAY
MIKE DOLCES NATURAL ELECTROLYTE DRINK
Part III
SAME DAY WEIGH-INS
CHASE GENTLE
WEIGHT-CUT DANGERS: SAUNA SUITS, DIURETICS & DISTILLED WATER
KENNY HULK PERALTA
TRAVELING DURING THE WEIGHT CUT: HOW TO STAY HEALTHY ON THE
ROAD
DANIEL GONZALEZ
TRAINING WHILE CUTTING WEIGHT

PHILLIP DASILVA
EXPECTATIONS: THE COACH / ATHLETE RELATIONSHIP
Appendix
GROCERY LIST: THE NEW 3 WEEKS TO SHREDDED
MORE RESOURCES
BOOKS BY MIKE DOLCE

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Conrad James Books

New 3 Weeks to Shredded Meal Plan

PRAISE FOR THE DOLCE DIET: 3 WEEKS TO SHREDDED

DOLCE DIET PRINCIPLES

3. Eat Until Satisfied Not Until Full.

THE IMPORTANCE OF GOALS

swimming, paddle boarding, hiking, kayaking. I am going to squeeze every ounce of

WEIGHT CUT OR WEIGHT LOSS? WHATS THE

WHAT DOES ALL THIS MEAN FOR THE AVERAGE INDIVIDUAL?

SO YOU WANT TO CUT WEIGHT - GETTING STARTED

A LOOK INSIDE THE WEIGHT CUT

an adherence to a well-balanced diet of Earth-grown nutrients. For now, we are going

SLEEP MORE TO LOSE WEIGHT

UNPROFESSIONAL, right?), it is not obvious to most people watching just how

EATING FOR THE WEIGHT CUT

THE WEIGHT CUT & WATER

THE DOLCE STEP METHOD

REHYDRATION: WHAT TO EAT & DRINK AFTER STEPPING

Photo: Johny Bigg Rigg Hendricks completes another successful weigh-in.

THE NEW 3 WEEKS TO SHREDDED

Photo: UFC welterweight Thiago Pitbull Alves weighs in at 170 lbs.

3 WEEKS TO SHREDDED: REVISED MEAL PLAN

MARCH 28, 29, 30, 31

12:30pm POST WORKOUT

1 cup black coffee with 1 tsp coconut oil

13 cup roasted almonds drizzled in 1 tsp honey

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2 (RE-FEED DAY)

4:30pm PRE-TRAINING SNACK

4:30pm PRE-TRAINING SNACK

10:30pm BEDTIME SNACK

12oz coconut water

4:30pm PRE-TRAINING SNACK

*beans have been eliminated

TUESDAY, APRIL 8 (RE-FEED DAY)

4:30pm PRE-TRAINING SNACK

12:30pm POST WORKOUT

4:30pm PRE-TRAINING SNACK

10:30pm BEDTIME SNACK

SATURDAY, APRIL 12 *PROTEIN PARTY

10:30pm BEDTIME SNACK

1 cup green tea with breakfast

6:30pm-7:30pm PERFORM DOLCE STEP METHOD / HOT TUB

10:30pm BEDTIME SNACK

6:30pm-7:30pm PERFORM DOLCE STEP METHOD / HOT TUB

Each day of fight week, Thiago lost 2 lbs.

WATER INTAKE DURING FIGHT WEEK

THURSDAY, APRIL 17 (THE DAY BEFORE WEIGH-INS)

FRIDAY, APRIL 18 (WEIGH-IN DAY)

MIKE DOLCES NATURAL ELECTROLYTE DRINK

SAME DAY WEIGH-INS

WEIGHT-CUT DANGERS: SAUNA SUITS, DIURETICS &

Saunas and Plastic Suits

KENNY HULK PERALTA

Kenny Hulk Peralta

TRAVELING DURING THE WEIGHT CUT: HOW TO STAY

lll bring a handful of ChocoFree Metabolate.

TRAINING WHILE CUTTING WEIGHT

EXPECTATIONS: THE COACH / ATHLETE RELATIONSHIP