Greatest Challenge Yet: Going “Beast Mode” to End 2025!

Last Updated on November 26, 2025 by Michael Brockbank

During last night’s live podcast, I made the joke about going “Beast Mode” to lose 18 pounds in 36 days. Well, it stuck with the audience, and everyone loved the idea, especially the consequence.

You see, rewards don’t really work well when trying to motivate myself for weight loss or fitness. But a consequence, on the other hand, works exceptionally well. That’s because I try to keep to my word when I make a deal, which throws exponential fear in my heart.

In this particular challenge, I promised the podcast viewers on YouTube that I would do the show wearing my tiger boxers and nothing else. Just being topless scares the bejeezus out of me, so imagine how afraid I am sitting there in my boxers for an hour for the world to see.

Yeah…my butt is puckering from the thought of it already.

Why Another Challenge?

I had a challenge already planned out to end the year thinner. In fact, I’m using the same spreadsheet. Over the last few months, however, I’ve stopped caring and have been dealing with a lot both personally and professionally.

I needed something to lift my spirits and get me excited again. So, I started with the off-hand comment of starting on December 1st and focusing hard to achieve my goals. “I’m going Beast Mode starting December 1st.”

Well, apparently, everyone liked that idea, and I then stoked the fires a bit to get everyone on board. The moment I mentioned consequences if I fail, everyone’s eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. And because I don’t like to disappoint my fans, I agreed to the most embarrassing thing I could think of at the time. In reality, I think it was Sam who brought up wearing the tiger boxers instead of just being shirtless.

So, here we are, day one, and I’m already intently focused on burning twice what I eat today. Sorry, ladies, but there will be no boxer show on January 6th.

Can I Really Lose 18 Pounds in 36 days?

Perhaps it was fate that we decided to push weight loss so hard last night. In the past, I averaged about half a pound per day while maintaining my diet. If that holds true, then I should be able to lose 18 pounds before the end of the year just by changing my eating habits.

However, I don’t want to just lose weight. I will be 50 next year, and putting in the effort to get more fit is quite ideal for my longevity. This is especially true when you consider that I have secondary polycythemia. That’s when I produce way too many red blood cells, which could lead to a heart attack or stroke. Dropping cholesterol and other things that clog up the arteries is a primary concern.

Anyway, I am about 95% sure that I can lose 18 pounds in 36 days. To add a layer of motivation, I’m going to have those tiger boxers sitting on my desk next to me.

Sticking to My Net 600 Diet

The Net 600 Calorie Diet is primarily for losing fat. It pits your physical activity against your intake. The more active you are, the more you can “afford” to eat. And I know this diet plan works exceptionally well for me. It essentially lets me eat whatever I want, just in proper portion sizes. That is, as long as I am capable of burning it off.

As long as I mix in some healthier alternatives, the end result is amazing. That doesn’t mean I can eat 2,000 calories worth of cupcakes and burn 4,000 calories in physical activity and feel good. In fact, you’d probably feel like a dumpster fire burning used diapers.

By setting my calorie goals to 600 in MyFitnessPal and using the Fitbit Charge 6 to burn twice as many calories, I often burn about half a pound of fat on any given day. That’s especially true if I can keep the carbs down to around 150g or less.

Now, the trick is to know when to stop the diet. The Net 600 Diet is for burning fat. Eventually, you’ll get to a point where you want to balance the intake with the burn. Being in a caloric deficit indefinitely can cause all kinds of health issues, such as catabolism.

In my case, I’ll probably maintain the Net 600 Diet until I am under 20% body fat. Then, I’ll start focusing more on a diet plan to maintain both weight and optimal health for my size and muscle mass.

10,000 Average Steps Minimum

As I’ve said before, I don’t want to just burn fat and look like an underwear model. I also want to improve my physical fitness to the point of not wheezing every time I climb a set of stairs. That’s probably one of the biggest disconnects a lot of people have in the beginning.

Fitness isn’t merely being a size 0. And I usually focus on the practical elements, such as being able to carry 20 gallons of water from the car, or being able to move furniture around the house without breaking something internally.

During a zombie apocalypse, I would rather be a warrior than fodder.

All fun aside, fitness is more about self-care and self-reliance than weight loss. In the event of a natural disaster, can you protect your family? That’s one thing that I think about quite often, especially today. When the world folds in on itself, I need to ensure those I love are safe.

Anyway, hitting 10,000 average steps per day at a minimum shows me that I’ve been far more active than average. As a desk jockey, I don’t get a lot of movement as it is. So, getting off my ass and doing activities that register those steps is ideal. Even playing the Oculus for 30 minutes can rack up around 3,000 steps.

Now, I say “average” because I know there will be days when I get sucked into my finals or developing a new video and won’t have a chance to get in the steps. Then, I will have days where I will get 15,000 without a lot of effort. And if I don’t want to do a podcast in my boxers, then I’ll have to make the time to get things moving.

Getting Back to the Gym Soon

I would love to get back to going to the gym. I’m paying $22 per month for the damn membership and really should be getting as much out of it as I can. Besides, I miss the weight machines. Some of my joints are starting to hurt more often, which only happens if I don’t maintain a proper weekly workout routine.

Remember, I am turning 50 soon. My sights aren’t set on being a hot Instagram model. I just don’t want to die or be in pain for the rest of my life. Though, I wouldn’t mind getting back to building 16-inch guns. I don’t want to be a bodybuilder, but lifting heavy things around the house without wincing would be great.

Unfortunately, Planet Fitness has a new lower back extension machine that sucks. If I try to press the entire stack of weights, I lift the damn machine off the floor. I don’t like it, and I want the old ones back.

That’s one of the first things I would do if I won the lottery. I’d buy a house with a swimming pool and an extra room large enough to buy my own weight machines and free weights. And yes, this would take priority over a new car. Your values shift greatly when you start getting up there in years.

Time for Maximum Effort

So, there we have it. I’m still working on ending the year in better shape than I started, but we’re going “Beast Mode” to do it so that I don’t have to do the podcast in my tiger boxers. In reality, this will be the first time I’ve ever maintained my diet and exercise routines for longer than a few days at a time. So, it’s a major challenge to myself, even if I don’t lose 18 pounds. As long as I can maintain the plan for 36 days, that would be a hell of an accomplishment.

Nonetheless, I am going to do everything possible to avoid showing too much skin on YouTube. That’s the power of negative reinforcement.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to play the Oculus so I can have lunch and a snack later.

About Author

Michael Brockbank

Since 2015, Michael has put in the effort to lose more than 80 pounds by gamifying fitness and eating proper portion sizes. He conducts extensive research into various health and fitness products to provide the best answers possible according to his own experience and knowledge.

See author's posts