Five People, Pay What You Think
June 2018 — two weeks of stall breaker, and a first small group
People had been asking me to coach them for a while, and I kept saying no. I didn't want to be that coaching guy, the one who answers your question with "so good you reached out, you should join my six-week program." I'd watched the keto internet turn into stock footage of guys meditating under waterfalls with explosion graphics about ketones being rocket fuel for your brain. I wasn't going to do that. We're just trying to get through the kitchen in the afternoon without hurting ourselves (live ISEN0955).
But by the middle of June I couldn't really argue my way out of it anymore. Some people need more help than a free video gives them. Some people take a thing more seriously when they've put money on it. And if somebody has the money, wants my time, and it's for their health or so they can be there for their kids, what's my excuse? I'd like to think I could help everybody for free. The group was well over 15,000 people at that point. If I gave that kind of time to all of them, I'd drown (live ISEN0955).
So on June 14th I said on a live, with a black eye from a kickboxing student who'd clearly learned to punch, that I'd probably take a very small class. Fewer than 20, probably fewer than 10. I was thinking about 90 days, because you should be fat adapted somewhere around five to eight weeks, and for some people that might not land until month three. Once you're adapted and feeling good, you shouldn't need me telling you what to eat every day. I'd rather get people in and out of my class so I could take new students. I said straight out that I didn't know how I'd price it or what it would involve (live ISEN0955).
Meanwhile, the broccoli
The day after that, I did a live about why keto "isn't working" for people, and I used myself as the example. I'd done two weeks of my stall breaker plan at about 1,100 calories. During those two weeks I was powerlifting in the mornings and taking five or six kickboxing classes a week. My basal rate for my size is somewhere around 2,000 before you add any of that (live QPOU6932).
And here's the part I wanted people to hear: I was too full to finish it. At the end of the day I didn't want the last bit of broccoli. I didn't want the last bit of chicken. I forced it down because I wanted to be able to say I ate the plan as written for two weeks. If I can be stuffed at 1,100 calories, in ketosis, while lifting and fighting, then "I'm hungry" usually means something's missing: protein, fiber, a multivitamin, water. Get those four right first (live QPOU6932).
In that same video I mentioned, almost as a throwaway, that I didn't make any money from KetoDick and didn't spend any on ads. So if people wanted others to see the videos, liking and sharing was on them. That was the whole business model: none (live QPOU6932).
The actual offer
On June 20th I recorded a four-minute video to answer the messages. I'd shrunk the idea again. The first group would be 30 days, five people, and the price was whatever you thought it was worth. I'd already given everybody my one-size-fits-all approach for free, and I said I'd keep doing that. What the five would get was the individual part: emotional eating, meal prep, recipes that fit your macros, working exercise in, or just a voice call where you ask me everything so you don't have to dig through my videos (live QOEP6699).
I kept it at five because I didn't want to get overwhelmed. I wanted to do a good job for five people and find out what I could actually help with as a coach. And I said out loud that this might be something I never did again. Maybe it wouldn't work, maybe I'd find it annoying, maybe nobody would want it. But enough people had asked, so I'd give it a go. My closing line was that it costs whatever you think it should, so it can't possibly be too expensive (live QOEP6699).
That's the lesson I'd pull out of June 2018, and it's the business guy in me talking: test the idea small before you build it. Five people for 30 days tells you more than a sales page for 500 ever will. You learn what people need, what you're good at, and what drives you nuts, and you haven't promised anyone a year of your life yet.
What I'd tell you now
The coaching experiment taught me a lot, and not all of it was fun. That comes later in this series. On the food: I stand by "check protein, fiber, vitamins and water before you blame your body." Reviews of the research back the protein part, finding higher protein goes with more fullness and keeping more lean mass while you're eating less (Paddon-Jones et al., 2008; Westerterp-Plantenga et al., 2009). But 1,100 calories while training six days a week was me being extreme on purpose for two weeks, and I wouldn't hand that to you as a starting point. See how to break a stall without crash dieting and protein and fullness. If you take medication for diabetes or blood pressure, talk to your doctor before any big calorie or carb cut (medications).
Watch the originals: the June 14 live, the June 15 live, the four-minute coaching video.
Earlier: A Dark Spring and a Cheesesteak Grill · Later: The Wedding, and 9.2 Pounds in a Day