How I did it: I've done every wrong diet and plan to lose weight—from fasting to ephedrine to fat-free to low carb—and after years of unhealthy fitness goals, my body has finaly quit. My fat/muscle ratio was way out of whack, and my metabolism was shot. I was 235 lbs and the lean, muscular, strong guy I was at 18 had completely disappeared at 28. Then, one day in February, I just decided to start moving again. i began by walking a few miles every day and working on portion control and healthy choices. After a few days of breaking bad habits, I was drawn back in. The desire to be healthy had taken hold. I started researching, especially at the fantastic web site bodybuilding.com. They have great articles about body transformations, fitness, nutrition, and success stories. The community over there is varied and always supportive.
Very quickly, I began going to the gym, and hitting the treadmill a few days a week, and also lifting weights as well. My goal had actually changed: I no longer cared about my weight; I had begunt o understand true nutrion is all about body composition, and I strove to increase my lean muscle (which raises metabolism) and by increasing my metabolism, drop excess body fat as much as possible. I listened to advice from professional boybuilders and nutritionists. I started eating 6 meals a day. IT WORKS. DO IT! I eat high fiber, lower carb, high protein meals with a reasonable fat intake. I work out EVERY DAY, and stagger it between running and lifting. One day running, the next lift a specific body part.
The gains were not fast. I now understood that I needed to preserve muscle at all costs to keep the metabolism high, so I strove for the optimum 2-3 lbs per week. I kept at it. I had plateus in weight, but the body kept on transforming.

Now, I weigh somewhere between 185 and 190. It varies, typically, but I'm still striving to decrease my body fat percentage. Perhaps I will eventually get closer to 175 one day, but I predict I will be pretty lean once that happens!

Lessons & tips:

• Stop worrying about weight; focus on body composition.
  
• Strive to preserve muscle by eating every 2.5–3 hours.
  
• Eat your body weight in protein daily.
  
• Stop eating simple stachy carbs! Choose complex carbs like wheat, and high fiber choices.
  
• Carbs in the morning, fats in the evening.
  
• Water—it's essential.
  
• Exercise 5–7 days every week. Here's my standard plan: Day 1: run for 35 minutes. Day 2: Chest and Triceps workout. Day 3: run for 35 minutes. Day 4: Back and Biceps workout. Day 5: run for 35 minutes. Day 6: Shoulders workout. Day 7: run for 35 minutes. Day 8: Legs workout. Take a rest day if you need it and pick up where you left off! Notice this doesn't follow a standard 7-day week? Stop being restricted!
  
• Supplement with whey protein after lifting weights to prevent soreness and improve recovery.
  
• There's no such thing as spot training to remove fat. No amount of sit-ups will give you a 6 pack if your body fat percentage is high.
  
• Don't stop! Be prepared to stay on this plan for the long term. Most people start noticing substantial results after 4 months, but everyone is different. A year from now you'll look back and be happy you started!

Resources:

• www.bodybuilding.com — a great site with tons of articles, and a great community to help you acheive your goals and to stay motivated.
  
• www.burnthefat.com — Tom Venuto is a really smart guy. His tips work. Check out his site, get his newsletters and e-mails, and train hard and expect success!
  
• CE2 & NO2 from MRI — available at GNC and Vitamin Shoppe. 2 supplements that are for real, and work especially well.
  
• Optimum Nutirition Gold Standard Whey

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Oct 02, 2008, 08:47AM PDT | 1 comment | 3 cheers