Why did you create this blog?- I want a written diary of my successes and failures in my quest to not only transform my body, but more importantly to maintain the body that I desire when I get there.
- I learn a lot from reading and perhaps someone reading my blog will learn something from me
- I like to read and I like to write
Have you ever been overweight?
- Heck, yeah!! I have been overweight indeed but never obese. I am 65 inches and the highest I can remember my weight to be was 168 pounds. I can thank my parents for that. I am built like my mom, and it seems that our weight taps out at around 170 pounds when we eat whatever we want. When I eat right, I have a naturally athletic body. So, in my opinion I have been blessed with good genetics.
- If I work hard, stay committed to eating right and training I can go from chunky to lean in 12 weeks
- I have tried tons of diets, and for the most part they all worked if I followed them faithfully. I had more success with some than others. I have had good success with The Ultimate Diet 2.0 by Lyle McDonald, The Carbohydrate Addicts Diet, Weight Watchers, The Zone Diet, The Sonoma Diet, and The Clean Eating Diet. I had less success with the really low carb diets such as The Atkins Diet, South Beach and others.
- Currently I am doing a diet specifically made for me by my coach Scott Abel.
- My initial info came from magazines. In 2008 I would buy Oxygen Magazine because I liked the way the women looked and I would read the magazine while I was spending too much time on cardio equipment.
- I learned about bb.com through an advertisement in Oxygen Magazine in 2008. That was the time when I was the heaviest in my life. I was amazed with all the great information on that website and I became hooked to that site.
- After discovering that weight training was a key to transforming my body, I hired a personal trainer named Brett Cousins in my home town who introduced me to clean eating and weight training. I saw my body transform immediately with eating right and weight training. He made me stop all the cardio nonsense that I had been conditioned to believe that was the way to fat loss. Thank Brett!!
- Through bb.com I met an amazing trainer named Thomas Bermudez who took my training and learning to an entirely different angle. This is the dude who truly gave me a solid foundation to build upon. He fed my thirst of knowledge about the whys of everything from strength training to nutrition. His goal was to give me knowledge so that I did not need him to tell me what to do. Thankyou Thomas. You made a huge difference in my bodybuilding life.
- Then I was turned on to an amazing website called Fatloss Revealed and Bodybuilding Revealed by Will Brink. I bought his ebooks and joined his forums and I have been a member of his forum ever since. This forum is evidence based stuff...no bro science crap that you can get on some of the other bodybuilding sites. I asked tons of questions and I got answers immediately. The moderators are AMAZING on his site, my favorite being a moderator named Markus. I love that dude. As for the man Will Brink himself....the best!!! Super smart, funny, and lovable in an odd sort of way. I had the opportunity to meet Will and have drinks and dinner with him and some other forum members earlier this year. I asked him so many questions over dinner, he could hardly eat his food...lol. The forum members are some of the best people too. They are my one and only true cyberspace family!!
- And then there is Lyle McDonald. I talk about him alot because I have had so much success with his diet. I have learned a ton from his site which is Body Recomposition. I give kudos to Lyles books...I bought all of them except one, and kudos for all the amazing information on his forums. I read everything this dude puts out and I hang out in his forums like a groupie. HOWEVER, I rarely ask a question on that forum for fear of getting ridiculed or redirected. (The common response from senior members is...you can find the answer to your question in the forum or in one of his articles...which is a vast sea of information!!) I sit quietly in the background reading all the great stuff on his forums. When I have questions about his stuff, I will take it to Will Brinks forums where I feel comfortable asking questions....and the moderator knows the answer and is familiar with his stuff.
- In October I started training with Scott Abel. He us my current coach and I have learned a lot from him and his website. I am doing online coaching with him and he is fabulous. I report in weekly or more if I have questions. The thing I like about Scott is that he is immediately available for questions and rarely have to wait more than an hour for a response from him.
- Lean meats, green veggies, protein shakes, egg whites....all the routine stuff that most bodybuilders eat
- Cycle low carb days with high carb days according to his diet plan outlined in his book....which you will have to buy if you want the details :)
What type of food do you eat currently?
- I am on a specific diet that my coach has designed specifically for me. My goal is to add muscle and lean out, so I have a training and diet plan specifically designed to meet those needs
What are some of your biggest challenges?
- I love to eat. I love carbs and wine...anything sweet really. It is always a challenge for me to start a diet after indulging in a lot of carbs. It takes my body about a week to 10 days to get rid of the carb craving, and then things are good as long as I keep eating clean (meaning no junk food).
- I don't like to train much over an hour and when I do have to train longer, I really have to push myself.
- I have a busy life and I have to literally schedule my training into my busy lifestyle.
Cookware recommendations?
- Microwave
- NuWave Oven *****
- Rice Steamer*****
- Salad spinner
- Dehydrator
- Storage containers
- Keurig Coffee Maker
Training equipment?
- Barbells
- Dumbbells (no pink dumbbells allowed)
- Heavy resistance bands
- Medicine Balls
- Stability Balls
- TRX bands
- Jump rope
- Stepper
- I have 3 gym memberships....I know ridiculous.
- Extra gym bag with shoes clothing always in my car
What irritates you most?
- People who ask me for help...especially the girls, and when I tell them what I do to help me get lean...like lift heavy ass weight...they whine and say "I don't want to get bulky" I just want to say...go pick up the damn weights and and train hard. Stop wasting your time on the stupid cardio machines. Eat right the majority of the time...yada, yada, yada!!!! People want something for nothing. There are not any magic skinny pills out there people.
Are you going to compete?
- Nope
What are your favorite books?
- The Four Agreements
- Autobiography of a Yogi
- Vince Lombardi's Winning Ways
- As You Think
- The Art of War
- The Biology of Belief
- The Alchemist
- A Brief History of Time
- Beautiful Boy
- The Divine Matrix
- Gift of Fear
- The Power of Now
- Steve Jobs Autobiography
- Tribulation Force
