Vital Stats
Name: Dave Gouveia
Email: djdave_rsx@hotmail.com
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Before: |
After: |
Why I Got Started
Well I was always a heavy guy going through my elementary school days, high school days, and even my first year of college. Throughout these years I was not happy with myself at all and I didn't have any knowledge on the subject of getting into shape whatsoever. In the past I've tried to diet without any exercise with undesirable results, this time I wanted to try something different.
I started to read articles on a healthy diet and started to train with my cousin in the gym a few times a week mainly doing cardio and some muscle training. All I wanted to do was experiment with a workout routine, as many diet routines alone haven't worked out in the past. To my surprise, many friends and family were complimenting my weight loss after only two weeks. This really motivated me and drove me to start my "new" life.
After losing all that weight I felt fantastic, but I wanted to go even further! I started to increase my muscle mass over the next 7 months while watching what I ate and maintaining a constant cardiovascular routine, because face it ... I really didn't want to go back to the way I was in my before picture. All that hard work and dedication led to what I am now and what you see in my after pictures.
How I Did It
After really kicking it into gear with my diet and exercise I saw major results yielding a weight loss of 3-4 pounds per week and ultimately a loss of 60 pounds in an approximate 3-month span, give or take a couple of weeks. I would hit the gym 5 times per week, taking Saturday and Sunday off.
Each workout was performed at 9 p.m. until 11:30 p.m. I enjoyed working out at night because I would be able to get all my meals in throughout the day for maximum energy for my workouts and after I was done I would immediately go to bed and let my muscles start to repair.



After Really Kicking It Into Gear With My Diet And Exercise I Saw Major Results Yielding A Weight Loss Of 3-4 Pounds Per Week.
Supplements
Diet:
Fat Loss
For my diet, what I basically did was eat 3 meals per day, each meal was portioned very small, I was taking in maybe 1200-1600 cals per day and losing about 2-3 sometimes even 4 pounds per week. As for what my diet consisted of, I ate as much protein as possible with the calorie constraints I put on myself. Also, every week I had a cheat day.
Meal 1:
- 2 Boiled Eggs or 4-8 Egg Whites
- 1 cup of Skim Milk
- 1/2 cup of Whole Grain Cereal
Meal 2:
- 8oz Chicken Breast (skinless/boneless) or Tuna Salad with Olive Oil and Vinegar
- 1 cup of Brown Rice
- 1 cup of Chopped Green Pea Pods
Meal 3:
- 1 small portion of Whole Grain Pasta
- 1/2 cup Tomato Sauce
- 2 tablespoons of Parmesan Cheese
- 2 medium sized Meatballs (containing no bread crumbs)
Meal 4:
- 1 scoop of Whey Protein in Water
Muscle Gain
I increased my calorie consumption to facilitate muscle growth and repair. Here is a sample of a typical day with my diet:
Meal 1:
- 4-6 Egg Whites
- 1 glass of Skim Milk
- 1 Apple
- 1 serving MultiVitamin
- 1 Fish Oil Pill
- 1 serving Glutamine
Meal 2:
Meal 3:
- 12 oz Chicken Breast (boneless/skinless)
- 1 cup of Brown Rice
Meal 4:
- 2/3 cup of Oats
- 1 scoop of Whey Protein Concentrate/Isolate
Meal 5:
- 120g of Tuna
- 1 cup Chopped Green Pea Pods
- 3 tbsp Olive Oil, 1 tbsp Vinegar Dressing
- 2 slices of Brown Bread
Meal 6: Post Workout
- 1 scoop of Whey Protein in Water
- 1 frozen Banana
- 1/3 cup of Blueberries
Training
TERMS YOU'LL NEED TO KNOW | |
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Day 1: Abs/Chest/Biceps
- Cardio: Low Intensity Walking with the occasional Light Jog
Triset:
- Machine Crunches: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
- Leg Raises: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
- Weighted Sit Ups: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
- Flat Barbell Bench: 4 sets of 8-12 reps
- Incline Barbell Bench: 4 sets of 8-12 reps
- Incline Dumbbell Flyes: 4 sets of 8-12 reps
- Flat Dumbbell Flyes: 4 sets of 8-12 reps
- Cable Crossovers: 4 sets of 8-12 reps
- Preacher Curl: 4 sets of 8-12 reps
- Standing Alternating Dumbbell Curl: 4 sets of 8-12 reps
- Barbell Curl: 4 sets of 8-12 reps
Day 2: Back/Triceps
- Cardio: Low Intensity Walking with the occasional Light Jog
- Deadlifts: 4 sets of 8-12 reps
- Bent Over Dumbbell Rows: 4 sets of 8-12 reps
- Lat Pulldown: 4 sets of 8-12 reps
- Seated Cable Row: 4 sets of 8-12 reps
- Triceps Pushdown (Rope): 4 sets of 8-12 reps
- Triceps Dips: 4 sets of 8-12 reps
- Seated French Press: 4 sets of 8-12 reps
Day 3: Abs/Shoulders/Traps
- Cardio: Low Intensity Walking with the occasional Light Jog
Triset:
- Machine Crunches: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
- Leg Raises: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
- Weighted Sit Ups: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
- Smith Machine Shoulder Press: 4 sets of 8-12 reps
- Lateral Raises: 4 sets of 8-12 reps
- Rear Lateral Raises: 4 sets of 8-12 reps
- Front Raises: 4 sets of 8-12 reps
- Dumbbell Shrugs: 4 sets of 8-12 reps
- Barbell Shrugs: 4 sets of 8-12 reps
Day 4: Legs
- Cardio: Low Intensity Walking with the occasional Light Jog
- Leg Press: 4 sets of 8-12 reps
- Leg Raises: 4 sets of 8-12 reps
- Leg Curls: 4 sets of 8-12 reps
- Stiff Leg Deadlifts: 4 sets of 8-12 reps
- Calf Raises: 4 sets of 8-12 reps
Day 5: Abs/Chest/Biceps
- Cardio: Low Intensity Walking with the occasional Light Jog
Triset:
- Machine Crunches: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
- Leg Raises: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
- Weighted Sit Ups: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
- Flat Barbell Bench: 4 sets of 8-12 reps
- Incline Barbell Bench: 4 sets of 8-12 reps
- Incline Dumbbell Flyes: 4 sets of 8-12 reps
- Flat Dumbbell Flyes: 4 sets of 8-12 reps
- Cable Crossovers: 4 sets of 8-12 reps
- Preacher Curl: 4 sets of 8-12 reps
- Standing Alternating Dumbbell Curl: 4 sets of 8-12 reps
- Barbell Curl: 4 sets of 8-12 reps
Day 6: Rest
Day 7: Rest
Note: To gain the muscle I have now, I kept the same workout routine I had for my weight loss phase but I did increase the weight and lower the amount of reps I was doing from 8-12 to 6-10 reps. Everything else basically stayed the same except for cardio, I did reduce the cardio to 20 minutes of running and walking on the treadmill to 3 days per week down from 40 minutes every workout.
Suggestions For Others
I would definitely encourage anyone to move forward and push to achieve their fitness lifestyle goals. It does feel fantastic to finally get there and I could not have done it without my friends and family. I recommend going to the gym with someone experienced who you can listen to and even compete with which gave me a big motivational boost.
The one thing that really kept me motivated was the reaction I was getting from friends and family. Getting compliments really helped me stay on track and not slow down, it played a huge part in my transformation and it will in yours too. Surround yourself with people who care, this is key to staying motivated!
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