Health & Fitness

From Fat to Fit.  How I Lost 80 lbs

From Fat to Fit.  How I Lost 80 lbs. 

If you started your fat to fit transformation process but fell off, maybe because your weight loss stalled or plateaued. You weren’t motivated anymore, or you got frustrated. You started losing weight in 2023. Then it stopped. If you’re struggling with your fitness journey, please read this information. I promise you I will make it worth your time. I speak from my own experience because I believe my experience is like many guys out there who are trying to achieve their health and fitness goals.

This was a game changing moment that really kick started my fitness journey. I felt tired.  I had had enough.  January 13th, 2021.  I took this photo and I knew I had to make a change. I knew I had reached a pivotal moment. I was willing to do whatever I needed, for however long I needed. 

I would go to the gym with really no direction other than watching some of my favorite Youtuber’s.  But then I met a guy by the name of Robert at Planet Fitness. For whatever reason, he really took me under his wing, shout out to him. He used to be a bodybuilder. He showed me some core principles of training with a focus on hypertrophy. He emphasized really controlling the weight and time under tension.  I created a foundation, I guess you can say more of a philosophy of training that worked for me based on insights I had gotten from other people and training w/ Robert at the gym and just kind of listening to my body and how my body would respond to certain exercises, mainly focusing on really targeting the muscle with a focus on the pump and the burn if you will. 

6 Powerful Concepts I Learned in My Fat to Fit Transformation

Along the way I learned and picked up a few things that were really game changers for me in terms of keeping me in shape. These are my core principles. I will discuss how I implement them in future blog posts.  But here they are:

  • Consistent cardio separate from weight training
  • Intermittent fasting
  • Diet breaks
  • Hypertrophy training for muscle development
  • Cardio breaks
  • Tracking calories

     

When I started my diet in January 2021 I committed myself to a process of self-improvement not necessarily tied to a time frame or an end result but rather a transformation—a different way of living life.  And really arriving at that point was just kind of like something just clicked. I didn’t care about how long it was going to take or having a six pack, I just wanted to become a higher version of myself. Maybe that’s why I didn’t hire a personal trainer or subscribe to any particular meal plan. I took the principles of losing weight that I learned  which is largely tied to being in a caloric deficit. I started doing consistent cardio. I was already weight training. I combined all of that into a system that worked for me.  It was really that simple. But the core principle in all of this that holds it all together is self discovery. What are you made of and are you truly being honest with yourself when you start this process. It should be a life transformation, not just a 90-day or gimmicky transformation plan. You should take this process with you for the rest of your life that can be used in other areas of your life.

Why Your Fat to Fit Transformation Stops

 According to Medium, the Ides of March holds strong significance on the Roman calendar.

“ It’s a time on the Roman Calendar notable for the settling of debts, on the eve of the end of winter and the beginning of spring. On my calendar, it’s a time to reckon with the goals I’ve set for myself for the year, and as with most people, it’s unfortunately a time when I begin to smell the stench of my New Year’s resolutions rotting.

In fact, most people’s resolutions die by February 4. There’s data to back that up. Foursquare and Swarm, two location-based apps, analyzed check-ins at fast food restaurants and gyms over an entire year. They found a 36 percent increase in gym visits during the weeks following New Year’s Day, along with a 13 percent decline in visits to fast food restaurants. But by February 4, the trends had reversed. Gym visits declined, while fast food check-ins started to rise.”

Surely by March you will have given up on your New Year’s resolution.  

 

Weight Loss Plateau

Maybe the Ides of March is just a legend but I do believe around day 90 from the start of the year is a problematic time for most people.  Beware of March, I’m telling you this is a real thing, and for those of you that have been on this journey and have failed for whatever reason you know what I’m talking about; around day 90 something happens.  What was working stops; you stop losing weight or you hit your first plateau, you start getting tired of eating the same thing over and over again, you get tired of meal prepping, you get used to the cardio.  You’re not getting the same pump you got from the exercises you’ve been doing, scheduling conflicts start occuring where you can’t make it to the gym, all these things start to become hindrances to you staying motivated, staying disciplined.  And so for all these reasons you start losing motivation, slowly but surely you miss workouts, you start cheating on your diet and before you know it around day 90 you have completely fallen off. 

Today, I’m speaking to you on day 90. You want to give up and quit for all the reasons I outlined above.  We must speak to this person today. Today, you need to make a plan to deal with whatever that version of yourself will give you.  If not you will ultimately fail in achieving your goal.  So how do we deal w/ the adversity that this version of yourself will ultimately pose? 

First you have to understand that getting in shape especially if you are really overweight is an evolving process in which you crank up the intensity of your program the closer you get to how you want to look.  You are literally transforming and becoming a different person.  Your mentality has to change from accomplishing a goal to becoming someone.  Having said that, you also have to understand that on a practical level things like the calories, cardio, and in some cases the weight lifting exercises may need to change in order to continue getting results.  So for example,  when I first started I weighed 265 lbs and I was eating in a 500 calorie deficit.  I hit my first plateau around 240 lbs around day “90’ish”.  I reduced the calories again by around 200-300 calories which was simply swapping a bagel and cream cheese out for an english muffin, and doing a little bit more cardio on the stair climber.  Or, instead of eating rice for lunch I would replace the rice w/ a salad, or I would add in a day of intermittent fasting maybe like on a weekend.  That kick started my weight loss again.  

My routine from the very start was achievable. It was do-able. When day 90 came around it was a little bit easier to crank up the intensity a little bit more because I started with a realistic plan and I didn’t tie myself to a specific date.  You can’t tie your transformation to a date because a transformation is for the rest of your life. 

By setting realistic goals in the beginning, you accomplish 2 things:  First, it’s easier to stay on the plan because it’s realistic; you can actually do it.  So you need to be really honest with yourself on what you can and cannot do.  Even if it means you don’t exactly accomplish your goal in the way you want because at the end of the day, if you can’t keep up w/ the routine you’re not going to get anything.  So for example,  if you say I want to get shredded in 90 days and your 265 lbs starting out; you get super inspired and you come up with this crazy workout schedule and diet you know you can’t keep up with not only will fail to get shredded, your probably going to fail at even seeing a decent amount of weight come off.   Second, when it’s time to change up your routine it’s not so hard because you’re not doing something that was super hard from the beginning.  Third, by setting realistic goals you don’t get defeated mentally, lose motivation and discipline and fall off the plan when stuff stops working. 

Understanding the actual path of my journey was a game changer for me. I saw the adversity that would come up and prepared myself for it ahead of time.  After all what soldier walks onto a battlefield not ready for the impending war.  

My 6 Step Plan

In order to accomplish my weight loss goals, here is a 6 step plan I outlined for myself.  This is exactly how I started out: 

  • Step 1: Nutrition is the foundation for it all. For 3-5 days or maybe even a week I made a list of the foods I was eating.  I would google the calories in these foods (Now I just use my fitness pal app), and I plug them in to figure out how many calories I was and am eating.
  • Step 2: I Figured out what my weight loss calories were by using a calorie calculator similar to this one. The calculators are a guide; they are not an end all be all solution.  Some calculators can be inaccurate.  Which is the reason why you have to weigh yourself and make adjustments to the calories as you see fit. 
  • Step 3: I would replace foods high in calories w/ alternatives low in calories. Prioritize lean meats and vegetables. Add clean carbs, like rice and potatoes. If you’re unsure, simply google “clean carbs” and “clean snacks.”  Around 70% of the meals I eat in a week are the same meals.  Simplicity is key for me.  Once I  found a set of meals that work, I started eating those meals over and over again remembering that this process is not a matter of solely pleasure but its about results.  You have to think of efficiency, not leisure and pleasure.  I eat the same breakfast at least 5 days a week. Why? Because it fits my calorie and macro goals.  I know what it’s doing to my body and I’m getting sufficient protein, fats, and carbs. Eating out the only fast food I eat is Chipotle. If I eat out at a casual restaurant during the week, I follow a simple rule: I eat foods that fit within my calories.  This will typically be a sirloin steak or chicken breast and a salad. If bread is there I may have a maximum of 2 cut pieces of the bread with no butter.  When in doubt I just eat a salad w/ lean protein and low calorie dressing (balsamic vinaigrette).  I have a cheat meal on Friday and sometimes Saturday depending on my weight loss goals for the week.  
  • Step 4:  I created a workout schedule that works for me.  What has been working for me lately is more of a bro split but I have done early on a push pull legs routine.  I lift weights in the morning before work and do cardio after work in the afternoon or evening. 
  • Step 5: My main source of cardio is playing some type of sport. I play basketball in the spring, summer and fall.  In the winter I take a break from this and I have a boxing routine I do in my garage  I wear a fitness tracker that tracks my steps and I try to hit 10k steps at least 3 times a week.  This is really big key to getting lean.  Another cardio alternative I did when I first started out was the stair climber.  I would target around 300-400 calories burned which would typically be about 45 min.  I found tracking steps to be more reliable than how many calories I burned.  
  • Step 6: I weigh myself everyday so I can track my progress and simply look in the mirror. 

If all this sounds like too much, then just remember this: 

  • Diet: Eat lean proteins, fruits, veggies and clean carbs. 
  • Exercise: Push pull legs routine for weight lifting.  For cardio you can always just walk 2-3 week and try to target 8-10k steps.  You can track steps using an apple watch and even on your phone.  I use a fitness tracker.  I’m in the process of putting together a cardio routine that will help you burn calories so stay tuned for that.  

Hopefully I’ve given you some good information to help you in your fitness journey.  If you would like would like to speak to me one on one you can schedule a call here

Happy New Year.  Peace!

Johnny