How I lost 45lbs

Ok let’s get this straight… This article is in no way a means for me to brag about the amount of weight I have lost. I have lost the weight for a very specific reason, which is my first bodybuilding competition. This process has showed me that the nutritional advice Juliene and I are constantly preaching at Unlimited Personal Training actually works. So, the real reason I am sharing this story with you is that I am tired of clients telling me that they just cannot lose the weight. The excuses are not acceptable. We want you to succeed, but we can’t do it for you. Instead, I did it on my own and this is me reporting back on my experience.

The entire year of 2014 was spent eating and drinking in excess. I went from a very comfortable 235lbs at about 15% body fat to 265lbs and a body fat of about 25%. For somebody like myself that has a hard time gaining weight, 20lbs is A LOT of weight to gain in 12 months. My diet was very typical of most Americans. I ate 3-5 times per day with the majority of my calories being consumed after lunch time. I took advantage of fast food establishments, made a fair share of orders to my local pizza shop and I became a frequent visitor of the package store down the street from my house. Most of these indulgences came on the weekends and it was a lot of “fun.”

 During the weekdays I was a bit more civilized. I would only occasionally eat potato chips or have a few beers or go to dinner with my wife. I worked out every day. Not only did I work out, I went harder than I ever have before (with the exception of my college football days). Somehow the weight climbed. I wasn’t mad though because I just figured I was gaining muscle as well as fat. I was wrong. If you do the math on the above numbers you see that all of the 20lbs I gained was in the form of fat. Numbers don’t lie.
 

Looking back I can see how many Americans and even some of our clients can gain body fat even if they are working out on a regular basis. We are set up for failure. The American diet sucks! Not only do the majority of the food options suck, when one steps outside of the ordinary or typical diet to make drastic changes it takes a lot of work. It is not easy. You have to ignore almost the entire grocery store. You HAVE to commit to making almost all of your meals.  The hardest part is ignoring almost everybody around you. Most will do anything they can to get you just have a slice with them, or grab a beer after work or maybe your spouse will ask you to grab some ice cream on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. If you are committed to getting in the best shape of your life, you must ignore the people around you that try to derail your progress.  

 There are only three things that I did differently that took my body fat from 25% to 6-8%in only 16 weeks. The first, I cut out processed carbohydrates. Not an easy task in this society. Think about all the options: bread, alcohol, bagels, pizza, sugary drinks, pasta, ice cream, etc., the list goes on forever. The only carbohydrates I eat now are oatmeal, brown rice, sweet potatoes, couscous and vegetables. The second, most of my calories are consumed in the first half of the day. We don’t burn many calories while watching TV or sleeping so why do we eat so many calories for dinner and a bedtime snack? If you are one of my clients you have heard me say many times “if you want to get Fat, eat lots of carbs at night.” Simple solution, don’t eat so much at night. The third, I added three days a week of steady state cardio. The sessions last no more than 25min and they are at a moderate pace.

 That’s it!!! I promise. I am not taking any special pills or running for hours on end or starving myself. Is it easy? Hell no. this may be one of the most mentally draining and physically challenging things I have ever done. I am ready for this show to get here already so I can take a brief break from being so discipline. But you know I am glad it sucks and I’m glad it works. If you do not work for it then you do not deserve it. I am in the best shape of my life and I had to work my ass off to get here. I set a goal and I have done what is necessary to achieve that goal.

 Takeaway…
 

A little bit of tough love is what you may need to succeed. Suck it up! If you are serious about losing 10lbs, 20lbs, 50lbs or even 100lbs and would like to build lean muscle and improve your cardiovascular fitness, listen to what we have to say at unlimited personal training. Stop making excuses. You are putting your money into it but in this case that is not enough. You need to make lifestyle changes in order to make Drastic and Lasting improvements in your physical fitness. There is no reason why we all cannot have the bodies we have been dreaming of. Let’s get work!