He Tried Keto, Fasting, Even a Sugar Diet. Now Mark Bell’s Down to 213 With a Completely Different Approach (Zero Calorie Counting)

Mark “Smelly” Bell has a clear goal: drop below 200 pounds while maintaining muscle mass and staying shredded.

Currently sitting at 213 pounds, his weight has been fluctuating between 213 and 223 pounds recently.

In a recent video, the strength coach and entrepreneur shared exactly how he plans to break through this plateau without tracking calories or using extreme restriction.

His approach focuses on daily movement, strategic protein choices, and smart supplementation rather than traditional calorie counting.

Walking Takes Priority Over Everything

Bell averages 13,000 to 14,000 steps daily throughout the year, with a minimum baseline of 10,000 steps.

This walking is completely separate from his lifting sessions and other training activities—it only counts steps tracked through his phone’s health app.

The steps I think is like more important than like a lot of the other stuff I’m going to tell you now. And the reason why is I think that consistency to burn 500 calories or 700 calories a day, whatever it might be from your walking activity or from some of your other activity. I think it’s just massively important.

He believes that for those wanting to get truly shredded, aiming for a daily caloric burn around 1,000 calories through movement might be necessary.

Lean Protein Sources Form the Foundation

Bell’s diet centers heavily around certified Piedmontese beef—grass-fed, grass-finished meat from regenerative farms.

What makes this beef special? Certain cuts like sirloin fillets contain zero grams of fat per serving, making them leaner than chicken breast while still tasting like steak.

His other protein sources include:

• Chicken thighs and breast (often cooked in batches with seasoning and Frank’s Red Hot)
• Shrimp and scallops from Good Life Proteins
• Triple Zero yogurt
• Low-fat cottage cheese (Fage brand)
• Lineage protein bars (about 200 calories, 20g protein, 6g fat)

Where Most People Go Wrong With Fat

Bell identified a critical insight from his previous “sugar diet” experiment: fat in protein sources is where many dedicated lifters sabotage themselves.

Where most people are having trouble or struggling, the people that lift, the people that care, the people that are like already doing it, their little bit of self-sabotage comes from the fat that’s in their protein sources.

Cheese and fatty cuts of meat can prevent leanness even when training hard. While cutting carbohydrates might help somewhat, he doubts it creates enough of a caloric deficit to achieve desired leanness levels.

His recommendation? Cut back on fat-heavy protein sources rather than eliminating them completely.

Strategic Carbohydrate Timing

Despite leaning toward lower-carb eating recently, Bell hasn’t eliminated carbohydrates entirely.

He front-loads carbs in the morning with oatmeal, then tapers intake throughout the day.

Evening carbs, when consumed, typically consist of:

• Small amounts of rice or potato with dinner
• Blueberries as an after-dinner option
• Occasional oranges and bananas

This approach differs significantly from his previous experiments with ketogenic diets and intermittent fasting, which included 24, 36, and 48-hour fasts—even a full week of fasting.

Minimal Lifting, Maximum Results

Bell currently lifts just two to three times per week, a dramatic reduction from traditional bodybuilding protocols.

At his current stage and goals, he believes one to two sessions weekly is sufficient for maintaining muscle mass.

Instead, he’s prioritizing sprinting and track work approximately three times weekly, running 400-meter and 200-meter intervals.

I feel better every single time I run and I’m almost feeling like almost better every single day period. So between just like energy levels, strength, and just my ability like get stuff done every day, just feeling really good all around.

The Steak Shake Protocol

Bell consumes his signature steak shake twice daily—morning and evening.

This formula contains organ meats (liver, kidney, heart, spleen, pancreas) combined with multiple protein sources:

• Whey protein
• Collagen protein
• Beef protein isolate
• Egg protein

Recent research from Keith Barr revealed that combining whey and collagen post-workout supports both muscle protein synthesis and collagen synthesis—something Bell’s formula was already doing.

His typical morning mix includes cold water, chocolate electrolyte powder, occasional fiber, and creatine.

Performance-Enhancing Protocols

Bell openly discusses his hormone replacement approach, currently using testosterone after dropping primobolan from his stack.

He’s running testosterone alone for several weeks to assess how he feels before making further adjustments.

The Retatrutide Experiment

Bell has been using 3 milligrams weekly of retatrutide for approximately three months.

This GLP-1/GIP/glucagon receptor agonist hasn’t produced dramatic weight loss results, though his friend Stan Efferding predicted this outcome.

You’re not going to really probably notice a lot of weight loss with it, cuz you’re already lean and already in good shape.

Rather than increasing dosage and risking side effects, he’s maintaining 3mg weekly to see if it helps him reach 200 pounds.

While these medications don’t directly burn fat (though glucagon may provide minor fat-burning effects), they decrease appetite significantly—helping with caloric restriction without conscious effort.

Why He Won’t Track Calories

Despite pressure to meticulously track calories, Bell refuses this approach.

It doesn’t align with his lifestyle preferences or feel sustainable for long-term maintenance at 200 pounds.

Instead, he’s feeding himself more frequently with lean protein to prevent his appetite from wandering toward less optimal food choices.

His weight fluctuates between 213 and 223 pounds currently, but he’s comfortable with this variation as part of the fat loss process.

Prioritizing Performance Over Rapid Weight Loss

Bell emphasizes that he’s not losing weight in ways that negatively impact performance or daily energy.

He feels awesome every day with no injuries, maintaining strength and resilience for sprinting, jumping, running, and kicking.

This performance-first approach means weight loss happens more slowly, but sustainability remains high.

His physique fluctuates week to week—sometimes appearing more shredded, other times less defined—which he accepts as normal during fat loss phases.

The Big Picture Strategy

Bell’s approach combines several key elements working synergistically:

• Massive daily step counts (13,000-14,000 average)
• Ultra-lean protein sources to minimize fat intake
• Strategic carbohydrate timing (front-loaded, then tapered)
• Minimal resistance training (2-3x weekly)
• Regular sprint work (3x weekly track sessions)
• Appetite management through retatrutide
• No calorie counting or extreme restriction

His goal isn’t just reaching 200 pounds—it’s maintaining that weight while staying shredded and performing at high levels.

By refusing extreme measures that compromise daily performance, Bell is building habits sustainable for finishing out his years at or below 210 pounds.

The journey may involve fluctuations and plateaus, but his commitment to feeling great every day ensures whatever weight he reaches will be maintainable long-term.