Mike Dolce, left, has worked with Thiago Alves extensively since Alves' loss to Jon Fitch
Dolce talks about the principles behind his best-selling book
As his athletes continued to hit the scales and perform in impressive fashion, the buzz surrounding Mike Dolce’s methods grew.
While the requests for his services filled up his schedule, Dolce knew there was more to be done and he started to see a much larger picture. Building off his first instruction manual, “3 Weeks to Shredded,” Dolce teamed up with his wife Brandy to write “Living Lean.”
“My methods had been proven successful by so many different people, and that is what created my momentum,” Dolce said.”‘3 Weeks to Shredded’ has been sold in 90 different countries, which is pretty amazing for a 50-page, plastic-bound weight-cutting manual. It’s been a word-of-mouth campaign, and we don’t do any marketing for it. That shows the growth. I was in my office and my wife called telling me that we’ve had an order come in for the manual from Qatar. It was a surreal moment, because some people don’t even know Qatar is a country and that means someone over there sought out my name, my product and it made me realize ‘The Dolce Diet’ was getting legs.
“The book ‘Living Lean’ is something my wife Brandy and I had been thinking about doing for a year and a half. ‘3 Weeks to Shredded’ is a great guide, but it is a weight-cutting manual and I knew I needed to come out with a book – something that was more informative and detailed. Losing 25-30 pounds is great for some people, and certainly in their minds a lot of people want to accomplish this, but for long-term goals there is a better way to go about it. I wanted to cross over and seek out the people who want to be healthy. People who want to feed their kids properly so their kids can be healthy.
“We really need to start changing the world through the perception of nutrition. There is so much garbage and misinformation through marketing out there. Corporate greed is killing our population and stealing our money. In ‘Living Lean,’ the first part of the book is stories from my own life. These stories are to show examples of the message I’m trying to get across. I’m a coach and a longevity advocate – that is how I define myself. It is my job, my duty to coach people towards a better lifestyle.”
As a former journalist and wife to the man behind the method, Brandy Dolce was perfect to co-author the best-selling book. For years she watched as Mike continuously applied and revamped his formula. While the visible aspects of his career focused on the preparation of elite athletes, the groundwork was laid in the lives of everyday people.
“Mike is extremely passionate,” she said. “Throughout the years, Mike has used himself as an experiment, applied his methods to athletes and regular people and the evolution of his theories and principles continue to grow every day. I’ve watched him apply his methods as a coach and teacher over the years, and it is the passion that really comes through.
“The principles for ‘The Dolce Diet’ began with regular people. Soccer moms, dads, diabetics – people from every category and walk of life sharing their stories are what helped this movement grow. People who fight to become healthy in their everyday lives are spreading the word. Taking one simple, positive step at a time is where it all started.”
As the couple began work on “Living Lean,” Dolce’s role as the go-to guy for nutritional preparation in mixed martial arts continued to draw attention. The fighters he worked with continued to have success and “The Dolce Diet” became a known term in the MMA community. It also started to become clear Dolce’s methods were impacting more than just the diets of his athletes.
“I don’t focus on performance as the end result as much as I do on longevity,” Dolce said. “I am a longevity advocate and I attempt to make that very clear when I speak to anyone. Whatever the perception about me is, I want to make that point clear. Anytime I work with an athlete or speak to an individual about health, wellness or nutrition, I want them to understand it is longevity that is important. I want them to live until they are 120 years old. I want them to obtain a vibrant state of health throughout the entire process based upon the current choices they make in their lifestyle. I will never compromise the health of my athletes for any reason. Everything I do is done with their health as the primary concern.
“Thiago Alves is a great example of one of the guys who has really made the most of it. He saw how it could better his life. Before we met he was doing the exact opposite because everything in his mind was performance based. He wanted to come into a fight on weight, kick his opponent’s butt and make a lot of money during the process. This doesn’t always work because sometimes when you do that you hurt your body and health. You ruin your chances of having the great performances that would lead to those end goals. When he started my system, his whole career changed. He’s having a career rebirth. Everything is changing for him. But most importantly, he’s healthier than he’s ever been.”
Alves also elaborated on what it takes to apply Dolce’s methods and turn them into a lifestyle.
“His book is called ‘Living Lean,’ and that’s no joke,” Alves added. “You have to live that way. You wake up every day feeling great and you go to sleep with energy to spare. It makes you feel healthy and vibrant. He says it all the time, but you really are what you eat, especially if you are an athlete. On my diet, I’m allowed ‘cheat meals,’ but it’s to the point where after a cheat meal, when I am allowed to eat something like I used to, I don’t feel good – almost as if it’s a poison or something.
“If I eat a lot of something I’m not used to, my body will push it out or reject it right away. I know my body much better now because of Mike. I know what my body needs and how to fuel it properly. I don’t take supplements anymore, and I used to take them all the time. I used to take all the multi-vitamins and things like that, but now I get everything I need from real food.”
Once “Living Lean” became available, it did not take long for Dolce’s methods to spark excitement outside the realm of MMA. With the book, Dolce provided the everyday individual with a step-by-step guide on how to get back to the basics of a healthy lifestyle.
“The book is an overall approach to teach people how to live lean,” Dolce said. “That can be a lady who is 40 pounds overweight, had three babies, and now she is doesn’t know what to do to get to where she wants to be. She is feeding her family and is lost in the mill of everything that is going on. All of these recipes are used by high-level athletes such as Thiago Alves, Chael Sonnen and Vitor Belfort, but they can also be used by their wives, daughters and grandparents. We were trying to reach as many people as possible in the simplest form possible. ‘Living Lean’ is more of a conversation amongst people from all walks of life. It’s not science-heavy at all and is told in a story setting to teach people examples. We did it this way to allow people to find an emotional anchor – some sort of kinship.
“My father’s situation came from lifestyle habits, and while he worked very hard to take care of our family, he never took care of himself. I wanted to include that in ‘Living Lean’ to show people it’s not just pro athletes who can apply these methods successfully, it’s everyday people. We all have to eat well and take care of ourselves, and ‘Living Lean’ is my way of saying, ‘Here are ways I’ve discovered to accomplish those goals.'”
Co-author Brandy Dolce shared her insight into the importance of “Living Lean.”
“Time and time again, people overlook the basics,” she said. “We are inundated with marketing and fantastical claims where they see commercials that say, ‘If you take this pill, you will never be hungry again.’ That is ridiculous. We are humans. We are supposed to be hungry and we need food to survive. ‘Living Lean’ helps strip away the pretense that we need more and more and teaches us that life already gives us what we need to thrive. We just need that kick in the pants, a reminder that meals shouldn’t come in the form of powders and pills. ‘Living Lean’ reminds us that living a healthy life isn’t hard to accomplish, but we have to strip back to the basics to create a future generation of health and wellness.
“We have all seen that person who struggles with weight. They think it’s impossible. They think they need to shell out hundreds and thousands of dollars to accomplish something they never end up achieving. After following Mike’s principles and the things we’ve written in ‘Living Lean’ and ‘3 Weeks to Shredded,’ they realize they never needed any of the things they’ve invested in before. They realize it was within them the entire time and by reading a book and following directions, have empowered themselves to change the direction of their lives.
“It is my sincerest hope that people rediscover the confidence in themselves and realize the answers they’ve been searching for have been there the entire time. Those answers are not in flashy advertisements and miracle pills, they are found in basic applications and making healthy choices. Confidence is one of those things you can’t sell. It is our goal to spread this information and let people know the keys to making this happen are possible – you just have to be willing to make sound, informed decisions.”
With success comes more responsibility, and this is an equation Mike Dolce does not take lightly. The New Jersey native knows in order to fix the issues plaguing the nutritional world, he must be inside the machine for the work to be done correctly. While the countless testimonials speak volumes, nothing worth doing comes without sacrifice.
“I’m a worker,” Dolce said. “My family comes from very humble beginnings and we are very proud of that fact. I have no problem swinging a hammer for 12 hours to feed my family. What I do is not financially motivated at all. I get satisfaction knowing I’ve helped someone live a better life, a more productive life and be there for their families. They take their successes and spread their stories amongst their friends and relatives.
“Slowly but surely, we are changing the world, making it a better place. My Twitter feed (@thedolcediet) is filled with tons of Tweets that are true, honest testimonials from real people. These are from regular people from all over the world, and that is an amazing feeling. When I see those things, it lets me know I’m doing the right thing. I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing. I firmly believe this is my role in life and the reason I was put on Earth.
“I’ve been blessed where I can take care of my family because of the career path I’ve chosen, but that is secondary to the work I do. People see me in Las Vegas, Australia, Brazil and think I’m on vacation. Nothing could be further from the truth. It’s work, non-stop work for me. It’s a labor of love and the sacrifice of being away from my family is truly the hardest aspect for me. Hotel beds and being away from the people who know you the best are part of the sacrifice, but knowing I’m helping to improve lives makes it all worthwhile.
“It doesn’t cost anything to be healthy. It is a matter of making choices. Either you make a decision which brings you closer to becoming healthier, or you choose against it. The issue is black and white across the board. Hopefully my influence will help people make positive choices and become healthier. If you’ve truly helped one person change their life it is something that will stick with you forever. I’ve been blessed where I’ve been able to help a few – more than just one individual – and it’s made all the difference in my life.”