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 By: Jacob Valdez
Name: Jacob Valdez
Before Weight: 168 lbs
2005 was the worst year of my life. My father, grandfather, and uncle all died in a 6 month period. My family was in turmoil and the last thing I was concerned with was my health. I was drinking too much and eating way too much. In January 2006 I started dieting and went from 180 to about 150. I wasn't weight training at all so when my diet started to give way to holidays and family celebrations I was back up to 168 of all fat. I felt like a piece of crap and I was too young not to be in great shape. Me and a friend of mine decided that we were going to start weight training seriously. We both got memberships to the local Cardinal Fitness and were determined to make this a part of our lives not just another thing that we did. In a stroke of drunken genius another friend of ours who was also overweight decided that we should compete for something. On the next Monday I wrote up a contract for a bet. Which one of us could get into the best shape in 100 days. The bet was for $100 a piece and was between me, my brother, and my friends Jeff and Aaron.
  Click Image To Enlarge. Jacob Valdez.
I knew if I was to win our less than friendly competition that I would have to out work and out diet everybody. My brother Eddie and friend Jeff were both competitive wrestlers in high school and college so I knew that they could push themselves. I immediately sought help from old friends who were in college to be personal trainers and read 100 articles about nutrition. That is how I came to find Bodybuilding.com. All the information I needed and every question I asked was answered here. My brother hired a personal trainer from our local gym who would continually talk crap, good natured crap, to me about how my brother was going to win and my friend Jeff employed my future brother-in-law, Benedict Arnold, Mike who is now an assistant helping train the NIU football team. The cards were stacked against me. I gave up all bad food. No white flour products. Low fat everything. Only good carbs. I would have dreams of eating bad and wake up guilty. I ate 6 times a day. I checked my resting metabolic rate and made sure I was not over eating. I lifted everyday hardcore. I did cardio 6 days a week. I pushed myself.
 Click Image To Enlarge. Jacob Valdez.
I had never taken any supplements before and didn't know what the h*ll to take. I soon learned with help what I needed to take. I used Healthy n Fit Whey protein - It is low in calories, carbs, and fat, but still provides 32 grams per serving. EFA Lean Gold pills - This was tough for me because I couldn't understand how adding fat could actually promote fat loss. I now understand. Beverly International Lean Out - I can't take any supplements that have stimulants - medical issues - so Lean Out was a perfect fit for me. Coral Calcium - I could write 50 pages on the benefits of coral calcium but I'll just say that it is the only calcium that your body can absorb 100% of.
7:30 10:30 1:30 3:30 6:30 9:30 Dieting can be tough but the rewards are so great. Where you usually have steak or ground beef, replace with lean ground turkey. Tacos, chili, burgers, ect... Where you would use lettuce replace with spinach - Offers way more to your body. Salads are good but they don't offer much. I ate a lot of rice cakes because I have a sweet tooth. Quaker makes peanut butter and chocolate chip that taste like nutty bars and are made with puffed brown rice. No white flour products. Wheat. No white rice. My mom made me Mexican rice but used brown rice, it was great. If you have any questions or you need some tips on how to make meals taste great e-mail me. I'm an unbelievable cook.
For all exercises I did 3 sets of 12 reps:
I always have a protein shake after lifting and before cardio. I changed the exercises and the order of the exercises every 4 weeks. You must lift legs. I know it sucks but it will make you feel so much better.
In conclusion, I won the contest and the $400 bucks. I never cheated on my diet and I kept working out even if I was tired or pissed off. I love my new body and so does my fiancé, if you know what I mean. Thanks to everyone in the Bodybuilding.com forum, Mike Lynch, Andrew Kurzan, Kyle and Steve. Especially Steve for judging the competition. I have inspired my family, who are all pretty much overweight, to start there own competition and they're serious. There is 11 of them so the winner will take home $1100 and save hundreds of thousands on medical bills.
 Click Image To Enlarge. Jacob Valdez.
Jacob Valdez Recommend this article to a friend by e-mail here! Visitor Reviews Of This Article!
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