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 By: TE.
Name: TE
Starting:
Ending:
I've always been a large guy - I slimmed down for a stint in high school but after graduating and moving out on my own, it seemed like a food free for all - I always have and still do love to eat. After getting into a serious relationship and working, my completely sedentary lifestyle accelerated my weight!
  Click Image To Enlarge. I've Always Been A Large Guy. One morning I woke up trying to see which black shirt would fit me the best (only black shirts then make you look smaller). It seemed every week the shirts fit less and less.
Something had to change... I knew it... and my girlfriend made it apparent as well.
I have a very addictive personality, so I took some days off work, sat in front of the computer, and started searching. I stumbled upon this site as well as John Stones and began to learn... Nutrition is still one of the hardest things for me to actually understand - it's one of the easiest things to over analyze, over indulge in, and make drastic changes. What has helped me is that if your eating clean food you're probably gonna be alright. Some days I would feel guilty for eating a cup of oats when I hadn't planned (a cup of oats is 300 cals, and about 50 carbs)... well that is a lot more filling and nutritionally sound than a bag of M&M's.
 Click Image To Enlarge. TE. After getting control of the nutrition aspect I started going to the gym 6 days a week: 3 days of full body weights & 3 days cardio (I started cardio on a very light regimen and worked my way up to HIIT). Both have there advantages - my advice is to find one that works for you.
Further into my weight loss I began taking whey, dextrose, multivitamin, ALA, and experimented with a few others but these are the ones I actually kept taking for more than a month.
I have changed my diet a lot - I started on more of a 40/40/20 ratio and lost a lot of weight eating around 2700 cals. I changed my diet to look something more like this:
My cardio days were the same except I would drop the PWO shake, and if I felt a little hungrier throughout the day has given me a little room to bump up my cals.
My full body routine in the beginning was just doing every machine my gym offered. I started looking into free weights and am much happier working with actual weight.
It can be humbling but it also shows growth in strength, I've switched from full body to splits a few times. Again I feel both have there advantages. I just recently wrapped up Waterbury's summer project - my split routine was something like this.
Back:
Lat Pulldowns: 4 sets of 6-8 reps Deads: 4 sets of 8-10 reps
Chest:
Flat Presses: 4 sets of 6-8 reps Flyes Incline Cables: 4 sets of 12-15 reps
Lower ab work: Machine/Leg lifts: 4 sets of 12-15 reps
Hamstrings:
Standing Calf Raises: 4 sets of 15-20 reps
Shoulders:
Shoulder presses: 4 sets of 10-12
Hammer curls: 3 sets of 8-10 reps (squeeze forearms!)
Decline bench skull crushers: 3 sets of 6-8 reps
I think I could write a book on advice to others. A few things I have learned are that you have to want to change; a better body has to be what you want more than a bag of chocolate. Skipping workouts due to laziness isn't acceptable. You have to be alive that day so make the best of it. No matter what stressful thing happens to you throughout the day if you wake up and get a workout in at least you have that. Feeling guilty over missing a workout will just add more stress to your life, which tends to lead to a threesome between you, Ben and Jerry.
Don't over analyze, you will find a lot of info online - a lot of it is good, a lot is bad. I look at forums as a great tool for getting opinions and gathering info, but take others' responses with a grain of salt. Imagine if you were to walk through a busy mall and take the advice of any random person who came up to you and told you that there was the right way, although you've been getting results with your program... have confidence in yourself! If you do your homework you can't go wrong!
Throw away your scale - judge by pics and the mirror - even measurements can change do to glycogen stores, and water retention. Go by how you feel and eat a large pizza every week or two. You still gotta live right!!! Enjoy foods you love. If you deprive yourself too much you will eventually break and binge which isn't what we want.
Remember... life happens. Sometimes things will stop you from eating perfect, you'll have moments of weakness - embrace it, enjoy your slip ups, learn from it! You're gonna be great!
 Click Image To Enlarge. You're Gonna Be Great! Special thanks to swole cat of www.visualexcellence.com.
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