23:12
Astral
Before & After Photos
Guys, I'm warning you, it's looonnnnggg! BUT, this weight loss success story is definitely worth reading....
"It has been one full year from the day I decided to do something about my weight, health and overall well being. It was something that I have been wanting to do for over 7 years.
I tried, failed and repeated. This time, it worked. And now here is my story.
Short Summary
I went from 228 all the way down to 170...added muscle along the way and back to 190!!!!
Starting weight = 228
Weight now = 190
It all started with just one jog around my block, about a quarter mile. I know it is not that much, but at the time, it was for me. I was not thinking about diet or what would come from it. I just needed to keep my mind busy. I was dating a girl that was away at school and I was only able to see her maybe once a week. I am not good with long distance relationships, so that is why I just got off my butt and jogged that q-mile. It was the best thing I have ever done!
That relationship was my motivation to start getting into shape. I lost 10 pounds in 2 weeks. And with the weight loss came the end of that relationship. But by then, the only motivation I needed was knowing that I could lose and do more!!
Like I said before my motivation was to keep my mind busy while I was at school and she was at school.
My motivation stayed when I stopped seeing her... It stayed because I was committed to losing more weight.
When I was in high school I played football and was in great shape, I have always regretted not staying that way and letting my self go.
I WANTED to get back to my glory days and knew now that I could do it.
How I got started:
That one little run around my block slowly changed in to doing 2 laps, then 3 and so on. I did this for about a month and I lost a total of about 15lbs just running everyday and trying to eat right.
Next came the weight training. From my previous experience with weight training from football, I knew what I needed to do and how to do it. It took me about a good month to get back into the groove of things. It was a LONG time since the last time I worked out like this.
Soon with the running and the weight training it all started to come together...
All though the weight started to come off slower and slower I stayed motivated and didn't let myself get down and back to my old habits.
My Diet:
All I had to drink was only water and milk.
I started my diet with eating about 4 times a day. It was hard, I was hungry all the time but I forced myself to do it like this for a while, until I became more educated on diets and successful ways to reach my goals.
Cereal in the morning for breakfast.
Tuna sandwich for lunch.
Chicken or steak with white rice and veggies for dinner
Cereal again at about 8 o-clock... This was my last meal of the day. It was hard not to eat after that because I didn't go to bed till after midnight, so I was hungry.
I started to do a lot of reading on the internet, magazines and what ever kind of health related material I could get my hands on...
I learned about good fats, bad fats, the importance of protein in your diet and how it could help lose weight. How eating 6 times a day and spreading meals out could help in weight loss and curb my appetite. How eating a big breakfast can make you less hungry come later in the night. Multi-grain foods and how much better than white flour foods. I switched all my breads, pasta and rice to brown multi-grain foods. I learned how olive oil can be great for your diet. Also, the importance of vegetables, and much more along the way.
So my new diet plan became just that....
Example:
Breakfast - 3 eggs, 2 slices multi-grain bread
Protein shake right after work-out: ( I will talk about my learning of supplements soon)
Lunch - Tuna Sandwich ( light mayo, multi-grain bread)
Snack- Bag of almonds
Dinner- Steak, potato, brown rice , veggies
Snack- multi-grain cheerios and whole milk
This is how my diet has been for almost a year, with a few variations here and there.
My Workout & Supplements:
My first month of weight training I had just a simple workout plan and was still mostly concerned about losing weight and did not have my mind and body fully committed to weight training.
I did a lot of reading and put together a serious workout program and stuck with it.
I lifted 5 days a week, and I did at least a mile of cardio after lifting.
Monday - Chest, Shoulders, Triceps
Tuesday - Back, Traps, Biceps
Wednesday - Legs
Thursday - Chest, Shoulders, Triceps
Friday - Back, Traps, Biceps
I did this work out for four months; It is what is responsible for most of my success.
About two weeks in, my friend Rocco told me that it would be a good idea to buy some protein. He suggested I buy some Isopure 100% whey. This was my first kind of any supplement I have ever done.
When I first joined the gym I am at now, I used to look at people there and see how great of shape they were in. I never thought I would be able to look like that. Now being a year in, I see that I have surpassed many of those people that I looked up to. Instead of me asking what they do, and how they do it, they ask me now. I am not being cocky in any way; I am just stating how good it feels to be where I am now.
The Supplements:
I was mislead about creatine in my past. I began to do a lot of research about creatine and realized just how misinformed I was.
So one day, my friend Freddy was telling me about this pre-work out stuff called SuperCharge. I had no idea what he was talking about. He showed me the bottle and I took a read. He told me it was a great product and he loved it, so I went ahead a bought a tub of it.
This idea of a pre-work supplement kicked my interest into high gear and I began to research all kinds of supplements, creatine products, proteins, amino acids, nitric oxide, fish oils, multi-V.....I could not believe how many products and companies that there were!
The 3 products that called out to me were BSN, No-Xplode, Cell mass, and also BSN Syntha -6.
So I was now doing..
GNC Multi Sport with breakfast
NO-Xplode pre-work-out 2 hours after breakfast.
CellMass right after my work-out
Syntha-6 a half hour after CellMass
CellMass right before bed
The NO-Xplode gave me a feeling of immortality at the gym. I never had that feeling before. I loved it. I put my headphones in my ear and just worked for 2 hours a day.
My workouts became intense and addicting.
I found myself going to bed earlier than I have ever have just so I can get up and go to the gym. I was hooked on the workout, my diet became so strict. I did not go to a bar in 4 months. I went to the gym, school and home. I would go out to eat with some friends on the Friday nights, then I would work the rest of the weekend
Like I stated earlier, I was fully addicted to working out and eating right. Besides doing school work, it was all I thought about. I didn't think about what my friends were doing, where all the girls were, where all the parties are at. I thought about what I was going to do at the gym the next day.
I felt guilty if I ate wrong, even if it was something as simple as a cookie. I would put my running shoes on and go run a mile.
It was like this for about 4 months. The addiction and sacrifices all paid off.
I saw my body transform every week. There was less fat and more muscles showing all the time. I would be at the gym for close to 3 hours. I would lift for 2 hours and do cardio until my legs cried.
After those months, I started to relax a little bit. The addiction went away, but the fire and passion were still there. I took a week off from working out. I was afraid to take that long of a break in fear of losing my gains, but it was advice well taken and it was a great thing that I did so. After the week break I felt relaxed, my body grew that week. I realized how important taking a break is every few months.
My diet started to loosen up as well. I now eat clean about 90% of the time. I treat myself at least twice a week with a pizza or a nice greasy burger and fries (DO NOT DO THIS IN THE FIRST TWO WEEKS OF YOUR WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAM). And I do not feel guilty about it.
I stayed with my diet and my work outs everyday. Never once missing a day at the gym, it started out as an inconvenience, and a pain in the ass! The workouts and the diet are now part of my everyday life.
I went from about 225 pounds down to my lowest weight at 170. I now weigh a happy 190 pounds. The past 2 months I have been trying to gain some pounds, never thought that would happen.
6-Pack abs...
Another thing that I thought would never happen is me having a 6-pack!!!! My, my, my! When I saw my upper abs popping out, I could not believe it. I thought to myself, is this really happening?? Can I really achieve a full 6-pack??
I stuck to my diet and did more cardio than I was used to. I kept my weight training the same, with just adding in a full ab workout every other day. I mean I was doing ab work outs before, but now I had that extra motivation. I learned that no matter how many ab exercises you do, if your body fat % is not low enough, those abs will just sit there covered in fat.
When I did cardio, I did?
10 minute warm up on the bike
1 minute fast walk, 1 minutes fast run at 8mph on the treadmill.
I did that for 25 minutes.
In Conclusion:
What I have learned:
1. It takes time to change your body and to make it how you always wanted.
2. What the right kinds of foods are and how to get the best out of them.
3. I learned about supplements.
4. Workout routines.
5. All types of exercises.
I came a long way in a year. I look at my before & after picture and I'm just amazed with the progress I've made.
I transformed my body from 228 pounds of fat, out of shape, to 190 pounds of lean muscle in 365 days!
My Final Thoughts:
It has been said before and I will say it again, if I can do it, anybody can!
With the right motivation, the proper knowledge and TIME, we can all do it!
Thank you for reading my story and I hope it helps you along your way..
Brian L. DiMattia"
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