After talking to several people, I had a number of opinions - all different.
I had to get my diet under control, and fast.
"Don't mess around, go straight to the experts, call Beverly International."
I had to get my diet under control, and fast.
"Don't mess around, go straight to the experts, call Beverly International."
My First Nutrition Plan
Meal #1
5 oz. lean beef, 1 whole egg plus 5 egg whites, ½ cup oatmeal
Meal #2
Protein Drink: 2 scoops Ultra Size, 2 TBS heavy cream, 12 - 18 oz. water
Meal #3
8 oz. chicken breast or turkey breast, 6 oz sweet potato or red potatoes or 1 cup cooked rice or beans, 1 cup vegetables (from food list) or small salad with 2 TBS low cal dressing
Meal #4
Protein Drink: 2 scoops Ultra Size, 2 TBS heavy cream, 3 frozen strawberries, 12 - 18 oz water
Meal #5
8 oz 93% lean beef, chicken, turkey, fish and once or twice per week sirloin steak, 2 cups vegetables (from food list), 1 TBS Flax Oil
Meal #6
1 whole egg + 5 egg whites, 4 oz 93% lean beef, 1 cup vegetables (from food
list) or 8 oz chicken breast or tuna and 1 piece fruit (not banana)
Suggested Supplement Stacks - Gain Lean / Lose Fat Cycles
Vitamins:
Super Pak - 1 with meal #1
Lean Mass Support:
Ultra 40 - 4 with each meal
Mass Aminos - 4 with each meal
Protein Powders:
(With meals above)
Final 3 Weeks before October Show:
3 oz. very lean beef
6 egg whites
3 Mass, 3 Muscularity, 6 Ultra 40
3 Flax Capsules
2 scoops Muscle Provider
3 Mass, 3 Muscularity, 6 Ultra 40
8 oz. chicken
3 Mass, 3 Muscularity, 6 Ultra 40
3 Flax Capsules
(pre workout shake)
2 scoops Muscle Provider
3 Mass, 3 Muscularity, 6 Ultra 40
(post workout drink - on non workout days I skipped this meal)
3 scoops Muscle Provider
3 Mass, 3 Muscularity, 6 Ultra 40
2 cups spinach salad
3 Mass, 3 Muscularity, 6 Ultra 40
3 Flax Capsules
Carb meal the evening after every 3rd workout (every 4th day). Off day only eat 5 meals (cut out the post training drink)
Supplements:
1 Super Pak with meal 1
8 Muscle Synergy taken twice daily
6 GH Factor in morning and evening
Creatine Select 2 scoops a day
Meal #1
1 grapefruit
3 oz. very lean beef
6 egg whites
3 Mass, 3 Muscularity, 6 Ultra 40
3 Flax Capsules
Meal #2
1 scoop 100% Egg
2 scoops Muscle Provider
3 Mass, 3 Muscularity, 6 Ultra 40
Meal #3
2 cups green beans
8 oz. chicken
3 Mass, 3 Muscularity, 6 Ultra 40
3 Flax Capsules
Meal #4
(pre workout shake)
2 scoops Muscle Provider
3 Mass, 3 Muscularity, 6 Ultra 40
Meal #5
(post workout drink - on non workout days I skipped this meal)
3 scoops Muscle Provider
3 Mass, 3 Muscularity, 6 Ultra 40
Meal #6
8 oz fish (whitefish only or very very lean)
2 cups spinach salad
3 Mass, 3 Muscularity, 6 Ultra 40
3 Flax Capsules
Carb meal the evening after every 3rd workout (every 4th day). Off day only eat 5 meals (cut out the post training drink)
2 gallons water per day
Supplements:
1 Super Pak with meal 1
8 Muscle Synergy taken twice daily
6 GH Factor in morning and evening
Creatine Select 2 scoops a day
My beginning stats were not pretty. I weighed 270 lbs. at 19.5% body fat, with a waistline that measured 45 inches. In ten months, I went from 19.5% bodyfat to 4.32%.
I continued to enjoy good, down home cooking and did my best to make sure I got as much as I wanted. My new claim to fame was my reputation for eating large quantities of food. Once it was a 30-inch submarine. Another time I spent two hours of constant eating at an all you can eat pizza shop. I loved food, and luckily my age and activity kept my waistline in check. I entered college and played football at a Division II school just outside Pittsburgh. Besides all the food I could eat at school, Mom always sent me care packages. And believe me, they weren't protein shakes and oatmeal!!
I played football three years then focused on my grades my final year. Even though my football career was over, my weight training was not. I joined a gym near my apartment and started following the sport of bodybuilding. I read the magazines, added some cardio and even took an aerobics class. My training and cardio kept me in reasonable shape - it was definitely not my dietary habits.
After college, I entered the workplace, then a year or so later headed off to graduate school. I couldn't afford to go to grad school and not work, so I got a full time job and attended graduate school at night. Full schedule or not there was no way I'd stop training. The pressure was on, work full time, attend class, study, write papers, and workout…how was I going to do it all!!! Indeed this was a true test in time management and planning. I tried my best to maintain a decent diet, but trust me, quantity was always more important than quality.
Grades were good, work paid the bills, and I somehow managed to keep up my training. Then came a new piece of the puzzle, Catherine. Just when I had my schedule worked out, I had another responsibility. Now I had a social life. I now had to work, study, train, and I definitely had to see Catherine! Well, it all worked out, I received my MBA, married Catherine in September 1999, and never had a lapse in my training.
No matter what else was happening in my life, training was always a part of it. The other thing that was pretty consistent (but consistently bad) was my eating mantra - eat often, and eat a lot. Even though I always managed to hit the gym, I didn't always watch what was on my plate. Finally in the fall of 2002, I'd had enough. The big man (as I was often referred to) was tipping the scales close to 270 lbs. Over the years, I would read the articles on nutrition in FLEX or Muscle & Fitness and try to eat right, but it never really worked. I'd drop 20 pounds maybe, then end up putting it back on. I was never able to find a solution that I could stick and that actually worked.
Beverly gave me the plan. I followed it. It was that simple.
I'd been training for a long time, there had to be some decent muscle under this layer of fat, but how do I get rid of all this fat? I decided to try a competition type diet to get the fat off, even though I had no plans at the time to compete. After talking to several people, I had a number of opinions - all different. Then one day, my friend and sometime training partner, Martin Glaz, said, "Don't mess around, go straight to the experts, call Beverly International." I said, who? He said, "Get on their website and download the profile, fill it out and email it in." So, I started reading about Beverly. I was impressed but thought, this service is free, "how good can a free service be?"
So, just before I went home for Thanksgiving, I completed the client profile and emailed it in. My stats were not pretty. I weighed 270 lbs. at 19.5% body fat, with a waistline that measured 45 inches. When I returned back from visiting my family, I had a response from Beverly including a food list, diet, and supplement recommendations. I ordered the supplements and began the following diet immediately:
I knew it would be difficult for me to follow a structured diet without setting a goal. So, I set a goal to compete - first in the spring to get my feet wet, then do another in the fall. Now I had to get my diet under control, and fast. Which I did. By Christmas I'd already lost eight pounds. By the end of January my weight was 246 lbs! I was ecstatic! I continued checking in with Beverly via e-mail at four-week intervals. Another month passed and I continued to lose, I was now 233 pounds.
March rolled around and I met the Beverly staff at the Arnold Classic. Jeremiah did my body comp and tweaked my diet. At that point, my body fat had dropped from 19.5% at the end of November, to 12.4%. What a change!! At this point, he recommended I skip the April contest and set a new target for May. Four weeks later my body fat was 7.92%, I'd lost nearly 40 pounds of fat with three weeks to go. On May 3rd at the Canton Bodybuilding Championships I weighed in at 194.5 lbs with a waist measurement of 34.5 inches! I finished 10th out of 13 in the LHW class but Goal #1 had been achieved!
For the two months following the show I concentrated on training and keeping my weight in the 215 lb. range. I officially began my preparation for the Natural Northern USA in July. This time was different. At 12 weeks out I was 212 and 7% BF. I'd bought a mountain bike and my wife and I rode every chance we had. Not only could I get some great cardio in, but more importantly, I was able to spend quality time with my wife. It was great. As we all know, this sport can be very time consuming if you do the competition thing, family has to remain #1.
As the countdown continued, I continued progressing and surpassing all the goals that I set for myself. In order to crank up my metabolism, I switched to the fat burn diet with carb up meals; I wanted to make certain I was ready for my show date, October 4. I trained 3 on and 1 off. At the 10-week point, I switched my normal carb up meals from Monday-Thursday to after every 3rd workout, which was every 4 days instead of every 3 days. This was a big change and shocked my system; I was burning fat like a machine. At 8 weeks out I was already at 5.5% BF at 206 lbs., in better condition than for my first show. My training was going good, my strength maintained as my body fat dropped. I did a lot less cardio for this show, (5 sessions - 3 HIIT 20 minute sessions, and 2 - 45 minute moderate sessions). I continued updating with Beverly, now every two weeks. This time there weren't many changes, my body was responding, why change what's working. I continued to drop fat and I was eating more than I had for my previous show! At 3 weeks out, I was 201 lbs., 4.77%BF, and my waistline was 33.5, a full inch smaller than back in May! In the column to the left is the final adjustment to my diet.
One week out, I was ready. I was anxious. My goal was aggressive, but realistic. I wanted to place in the top five in my weight class. I had my final body comp done, I weighed 190.5, 4.32% BF. Can you believe that! In ten months, I'd gone from 19.5% to 4.32%. I was happy with my condition and I wanted the judges to confirm it.
As my weight class came out, I felt nervous, but confident. There were thirteen in my class. We did our quarter turns and were separated into two groups. I thought, here it is, the moment I've been waiting for - the call out. Then it came,... "Number 88 please step into the center" Hey, that's me!!! I was the first call out, I couldn't believe it, I made it! I went on to finish 4th place! I did it! What a feeling, goal achieved, I was overwhelmed.
Consistency, consistency, consistency. That's one thing that I have learned through this experience. I always got to the gym no matter what else was going on in my life. My eating habits were consistent, first consistently bad, but once I hooked up with Beverly they became consistently good. I just needed a plan to follow. I can proudly say that I did not cheat in the 4-month period preceding my contest. My focus was "be consistent and be patient". My progress each week motivated me to continue. Sure there were times I wanted to quit. As the first show approached it seemed I was hungry the minute I finished eating. Yet I kept going. The next show was easier. I knew what to expect. Fortunately, this time the calories were not as restricted since I was already in much better condition.
Of course, I wouldn't have been able to achieve these goals on my own. First and most important, thank you Catherine for getting me through this, you're the best! I couldn't have done it without you. And second, a big thanks goes out to Beverly International who kept me motivated and kept my diet on track. Their supplements advice, and support were all to the point and top notch. And thanks to my friends and family to had to put up with me through ten months of dieting!