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Before:
285+ lbs |
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After:
205 lbs |
Vital Stats
Name: David Chism
Age: 37
Starting:
Weight: 285+ lbs
Waist: 46
Body Fat: 25+%
Height: 6'
Ending:
Weight: 205 lbs
Waist: 36
Body Fat: 13%
Height: 6'
Why I Did It
I've been fat most of my life - I started gaining weight in middle school when I stopped playing organized sports and just ballooned from there. The only time I can remember not being fat was when I was training to go into the Navy. At that time, I weighed about 240 and had to get down to 182 to be accepted.
I dropped the weight in about 2 months with a lot of jogging and very little food. I paid little to no attention to nutrition and found that I quickly packed the pounds back on once I was in. Probably the most embarrassing part of being overweight is reaching my end of obligated service from the Navy just before getting kicked out for being too fat.
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Yes, even the Navy kicks out fat people! I took my honorable discharge but that doesn't make it any less embarrassing. After leaving the Navy, I moved back home with my wife and daughter (Marietta, GA) and actually started working out. Working out and also working in a metal shop kept the weight within reason but I still wasn't paying attention to the nutrition side of the equation.
The workouts lasted about 6 months and I finally got a desk job which only caused my weight to shoot through the roof. At my heaviest, I know I was topping 300 lbs.
One night while sitting at the table with my son of 3, the solid wooden chair I was sitting in broke. I laughed it off but I knew someone was trying to tell me something. Shortly after, I went in for a routine checkup. When I weighed in, I can't say that I was shocked to see my weight at 285.
They decided to take my blood for normal tests. While at work the next day, I received a call from my Doctor. This was odd being as I knew the Doc had to send my blood to a lab. I prepared myself for the bad news and found that my blood sugar was well over 300.
They scheduled me for another visit where I would take the glucose tolerance test. I took the 3 hour test and was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Couple this fact with the chair incident and I knew something MUST BE DONE.
How I Did It
After being diagnosed, the doctor immediately placed me on a 1200 calorie diet based on the food pyramid and I stuck to it. 1200 calories is TOUGH but I followed it to the word... two ounces of meat, 1/2 cup of this, 1/2 cup of that, etc.
After a couple of weeks, I knew the weight was coming off but it wasn't all that noticeable. A month and a half later, I attended 9 hours of nutrition education (due to the diabetes) given by a local hospital.
At my initial consultation, the nutritionist was appalled that my doctor had placed me on a 1200 calorie diet and immediately increased it to 1800 calories. At that consultation, I was already down 35 lbs!
I knew I needed to couple my diet with exercise so I joined a gym through the company I work for, Main Event Fitness (Atlanta, GA). I started very slow with just walking for 30 minutes. I introduced some jogging into the walking and eventually worked my way up to jogging a 5k and hardly being winded. The weight continued to pour off!
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When I joined the gym, I was already down to about 245. Within 3 months of heavy cardio and a strict, but nutritional, diet, I finally hit 200 lbs! During the last couple of months of heavy cardio, I started lifting two days per week. On my weight training days, I still did light cardio.
The last month, I was lifting 3 days per week. After hitting 200 lbs, I started lifting all 5 days in the gym. I hooked up with a training partner and we meet at 5:30 every morning. He's been lifting for over 10 years and his input has been invaluable.
How Long It Took
I started the transformation in February, 2006. As of today, December 18, 2006, I have lost 80+ lbs, cut my body fat in half, kept my blood sugar in check WITHOUT DRUGS, normalized my blood pressure (which was extremely high) and dropped from a 46" waist in pants to a 36" waist! All total, the transformation took about 10 months and I'm still going (and growing) strong!!
Click Image To Enlarge.
February To December.
Supplements
Sample Diet Day
Pre-Workout:
- Two Slices of Toast w/Peanut Butter
- Omega 3 supplement
- Multi Vitamin
Post-Workout:
- Supplement Shake w/ 50g whey protein and 50g complex carbs powder
Mid-Morning:
- Mixed Vegetable Salad w/ Fat Free dressing
Lunch:
- Lean chicken breast
- 1/2 cup corn
- 1/2 cup green beans
- 1 medium naval orange
Afternoon Snack:
Dinner:
- 8-10 oz sirloin steak
- 1/2 cup carrots
- 1/2 cup peas/beans
- 1 slice toast (1 tsp. margarine)
- Mixed green salad with fat free dressing
Evening Snack:
- 1 cup low carb ice cream w/ 1/8 cup peanuts
Important: One Splurge day per week and Lots Of Water.
Sample Workout Week
Monday - Chest/Triceps:
Tuesday - Abs/Shoulders:
Wednesday - Back/Biceps:
Thursday - Abs/Legs:
Friday - Chest/Triceps:
Cardio:
I do some cardio all 5 days. Light cardio on M/W/F and heavy cardio on T/Th... treadmill or elliptical
Suggestion For Others
My suggestion is very simple. Don't wait until your health forces you to take action. Treat diet and exercise as if they are one in the same -- you can't do one and not the other and expect to get, and maintain, results.
Click Image To Enlarge.
David Chism.
