How James Halved His Body Fat in 14 Weeks With a Diary Full of Events
Written by
Lachlan Rowston
When James walked into Lockeroom, he was training regularly, but fresh off a European summer… he had a daily gelato habit and no real structure to his nutrition.
James, 32, had always been reasonably active. As he ramped up training, he saw small wins.
But he’d never had a clear goal, hard numbers or regular check-ins.
His diary didn’t make it easy either. Running a government affairs function for a financial services giant, plus his work on philanthropic committees in medical research and the arts, meant a steady run of dinners, events, drinks and trips to Canberra.
In July 2026, after 1+ years of Lockeroom already under his belt, he committed to a rapid fat loss phase with coach Dom at Lockeroom. The target: 10% body fat.
On 10 July he scanned at 71.6kg and 19.5% body fat. Fourteen weeks later, he hit 9.3%.
Here’s how he did it.
1. The Training Program
The missing links were:
A clear, measurable target
A coach-built program instead of guesswork
Weekly data to prove it was working
James trained five days a week: four full-body strength sessions, plus VO2 classes and incline treadmill work on top.
“Dom designed the program. My job was just to turn up.”
a. The weekly routine
Day | Session |
Strength A | Seated row, pendulum squat, incline dumbbell press, dumbbell RDL, triceps, biceps |
Strength B | Flat barbell bench, wide-grip pulldown, dumbbell split squat, face pulls, leg curl, lateral raise, reverse crunch |
Strength C | Trap bar deadlift, 60° dumbbell shoulder press, leg press, cable fly, underhand row, triceps, biceps |
Strength D | Machine hip thrust, pulldown, landmine press, leg curl, reverse fly, front raise, bicycles |
Cardio Day | VO2 class |
2x per week | Incline treadmill |
The main lifts ran 3 sets of 10, 8, then 6 reps, with the load climbing each set.
b. Key lifts
Lift | Best |
Machine hip thrust | 160kg |
Trap bar deadlift | 125kg |
Seated leg curl | 70kg |
Flat barbell bench | 67.5kg |
Seated row | 60kg |
Landmine press | 35kg |
Incline dumbbell press | 27.5kg |
2. The Diet
a. How we structured it
Dom set James’s targets at 2,000 calories and 170g of protein a day. These were set for James, not a general prescription.
The rules:
Log everything in MyFitnessPal: every snack, coffee and restaurant meal
Log restaurant meals before ordering
Eat at set times, mostly the same meals
Build every meal around protein
Check the menu before any work event and pick the order in advance
“My rule was simple: if I couldn’t log it, I didn’t eat it.”
He also made a few simple swaps:
Before | After |
Late-night packet of chips | Korean seaweed snack, mini bag of popcorn or sugar-free jelly |
Soy flat white | Espresso (flat whites only when sitting down at a café) |
Wine | Diet Coke |
Pub chicken schnitzel | Grilled fish |
b. A typical day
James’s usual day landed around 1,800 calories, leaving a ~200 calorie buffer.
Time | Food | kcal | Protein |
Breakfast | Espresso, banana | 100 | 0g |
Mid-morning | Burrito bowl: mixed leaves, chicken breast mince, taco mix, cottage cheese | 440 | 70g |
Lunch | Mitch's Meals | ~500 | ~45g |
Afternoon | Blueberries and Greek yoghurt | 215 | 19g |
Dinner | Mitch's Meals | ~500 | ~45g |
Evening | Korean seaweed snack or mini bag of popcorn | <50 | 0g |
Total | ~1,800 | ~179g |
Staples: creatine and a multivitamin daily, plus about 2L of water.
“Mitch’s Meals added variety, and I never got sick of the burrito bowl.”
3. The Lifestyle Shifts
Evening events
This was the hardest part. James reviewed menus before he arrived, settled his order in advance, and sometimes declined altogether.
“Nothing tests your resolve like a canapé tray going past at 7PM when you haven’t had dinner.”
Alcohol
Alcohol was the biggest concession. His birthday landed mid-cut.
He still had a few champagnes, far fewer than usual, and logged every glass.
Sleep
James aimed for 9 hours a night. On those nights he was less hungry and trained harder.
“Of all the habits in the cut, it was easily the most enjoyable to maintain.”
Steps
The target was 10,000 steps a day. James averaged about 15,000 across the cut.
Data
James scanned on the InBody every week. Seeing fat fall while muscle held kept him going through weeks when the scale barely moved.
“I respond to evidence, and the weekly scan became the thing I was training for.”
Accountability
Dom checked in every day. Every night, James sent him his steps and calories.
Early on, a couple of weekends got away from him. The fix was simple: no dwelling, back on plan the next morning.
“A few weeks in, it stopped feeling like willpower. It became routine, then second nature.”
4. The Results
James dropped from 71.6kg to 64.6kg in 14 weeks (10 July → 15 October). He lost 7.0kg on the scale and 8.0kg of fat.
Body fat: 17.5% (27 July) → 9.3% (15 October)
“We’d set 10% as the target, which felt far too ambitious at first. Seeing a single-digit number on the scan was a great moment.”
Below is InBody data from 10 July to 15 October 2026. We use this device for all our clients to accurately track body composition over time.
“I’m sharper and more confident, my clothes fit better, and being more deliberate about what I eat means I actually enjoy food more, not less.”
James on his transformation
The cut is done. James is now on a reverse diet, bringing calories back up toward maintenance. Next goal: build muscle while staying lean. Phase two.
James’s advice for others
Track honestly. You don’t have to be perfect, but you do have to be accurate. It’s easy to underestimate what you eat.
Keep it simple. I ate at set times every day to minimise hunger, and mostly the same meals.
Protein first. It protects your muscle and keeps you full. Build every meal around it.
Plan for the social stuff. Look at the menu before you go, pick your order, and log it before you sit down. Your social life doesn’t have to stop.
Measure, don’t guess. The mirror and the scale lie week to week. A weekly scan doesn’t.
One bad day doesn’t matter. What matters is what you do the next morning.
Lean on your coach. Having Dom checking in made it much harder to drift.
James’s results aren’t rare. They’re repeatable.
At Lockeroom, we use data, world-class coaching and personal accountability to help executives and founders take control of their health, without sacrificing their career or lifestyle.
