Guest Post: Randy Gill

The Evolution of Randy

341 lbs. March 3rd

254lbs August 27th

218 lbs on November 24th

RANDY:
"Since I've started my weight loss journey with Steve, I've lost 123 LBS. Never thought it would be attainable, but it was. Steve's been drilling my head with plenty of nutritional counseling, stating that it's 40% exercise, 60% diet. So I figured I'd give it a whirl. Low and behold it worked. Not only do I work out but have changed my eating habits as well. First it was gradual and then progressed to a well established diet. I started by giving up white breads and sodas and at this point Ive done away with red meat, processed food, and even abstain from fruits after 3pm. Not easy, especially for a bread eating, fruit craving, carnivore. I've learned to trick my mind into enjoying and filling up on vegetables and water, rather than starchy foods. I still enjoy a cheat day about once every two weeks. Ive learned to be disciplined yet I enjoy life and the things that life offers, such as food. I know that if I could do this with all the weight obstacles, anyone can succeed at their weight loss endeavors."

My diet consists of :

Breakfast - Fiber-one cereal with soy milk and almonds.

Snack- Apples, water and almonds.

Lunch- Chicken or turkey salad, wish bone salad spritzers, carrots, Greek yogurt and fruit.

Snack- Water, apple slices and almonds

Dinner- Baked fish or chicken, vegetables and water.

Snack- Air popped popcorn or celery sticks with peanut butter and water.

"One very important concept that Steve has taught me is that I need to fuel my body in order to burn up energy, that leads to weight loss. At the begging of my journey I was under the impression that if I were to starve myself Id loose weight. Wrong! Once I started fueling my body and eating more frequently, I began seeing dramatic weight loss. I'm not eating tons of food, but eating smaller frequent meals. Just when I begin with hunger urges, it's time for a healthy snack. Don't get me wrong it is a struggle not to enjoy the easily accessible junk food, but I've changed my mind set. I have a goal."

Dieting can be an obstacle, but when you start seeing the results of your sacrifices and determination you'll stay motivated. Dieting and exercise will longer be a chore, but a lifestyle change. A change that you will not mind especially when you need a new wardrobe and receive so many complements you never thought you could have ever received. You'll no longer require the blood pressure medication and start noticing the brighter side of life. So when Steve gives some great advice you might want to listen, it works. Be encouraged all."

For those have a similar journey ahead of you, and even more for those that a much simpler goal. Think about Randy every time you feel like it's impossible and you were foolish to even try. Randy get's tired, has cravings, has a busy life, but does what he has to do regardless. Randy couldn't even remember ever not being overweight, but decided it could be a possibility. Randy doesn't come from a small and fit family, but decided to be the first anyway.

Randy as of right now is only 218lbs, and has gone from 38% body fat to 24%. Just out of the obese range. He plans to be around 200lbs by the end of the year.

MEAL IDEAS

I was going to send everyone a full Nutrition Guide this weekend but in the process of updating to Windows 7 I lost my Microsoft Word. But don't worry I recruited a fellow nerd to fix this problem, but in the meantime I've got something to hold you over.

MEAL IDEAS

Breakfast - 7:00am

Bowl of Oatmeal w/

Almonds

Tablespoon Flax Oil

Skim/Soy/Rice/ or Almond Milk

Snack #1 - 9:30am

Plain Greek Yogurt

(Fage) with honey and

almonds

Bottle of Water

Lunch - 12:00pm

Mixed Green Salad with

Grilled Chicken,

pineapple, and orange

slices

Bottle of Water

Snack #2 - 3:00pm

Bag of Homemade Trail

Mix (coconut, almonds,

Kashi Go Lean cereal,

walnuts, sprinkle a few

chocolate chips)

Dinner - 6:00pm

Grilled Chicken Breast

w/ roasted apple/onion

Mixed Grilled Veggies

Bottle of Water

Snack #3 - 9:00pm

Muscle Recovery Drink

(Prograde Strength

"Workout" Drink or EAS

Muscle Armor

recommended)

SNACK IDEA

Strawberry Salad

Ingredients

2 teaspoons strawberry jam (I use Simply Fruit)

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

Chopped romaine or other greens

Sliced strawberries

Crumbled goat cheese (or feta)

Chopped toasted walnuts

Wisk(first time I've ever used that word) together the jam, vinegar and oil. Season with salt and pepper. This amount of dressing is enough for 2 or 3 salads. Toss the greens, strawberries, crumbled cheese and walnuts with the dressing and enjoy.

It’s not strawberry shortcake but close.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Just because Summer is coming to an end doesn't mean it's time to slouch. Let's use this time to have the best Summer body of all time. Hell you might even start wearing tight sweaters to show off your body this Winter.

THIS BLOGS TIP

Don't workout too soon after eating. Try to eat at least 1 hour before working out. This will allow your muscles to receive the blood flow instead of your stomach

NEXT BLOG

Readers Choice.

Breaking Bad Breakfast

I pity the fool that eat's this!

Breakfast cereals are always said to be part of a complete breakfast. But what exactly is a complete breakfast?

Part of a complete breakfast...if you're a lumberjack in Saskatchewan.

Like every other meal you should get your protein, and your carbs. This is actually a great time to start focusing on getting your carbs, you'll be burning them off with all your activities and it'll help you with your energy.

Don't skimp on the protein either. Egg Whites are always an easy quick way to get your protein. Hate eggs or tired of them . Add Protein Powder or Almonds to your Oatmeal. Turkey Bacon is good as well.

Cereal is a great food if you eat the right kind. So many of them are so full of sugar you might as well be pouring skittles into a bowl of milk.

You want a cereal that has less than 12 grams of sugar per serving. One of the worst is Raisin Bran, and even worse is Raisin Bran Crunch with 20 grams of sugar per serving. Also, watch the serving size. Some may say only 5 grams of sugar, but the serving size is a tablespoon!

Good cereal would be Kashi Go Lean (not Go Lean Crunch) or Kashi Heart to Heart.

Just to let you know. Cereal, like bread, is a processed food. Which is why I don't eat cereal anymore. One of the toughest things I've ever given up. I've been eating cereal 2-3 times a day since before I had the ability to remember doing it. But to get down to the low single digit levels of body fat I had to make that sacrifice. You can still get into great shape eating cereal, but if you want to get to that perfect body you've been working for than trade the cereal for some Oatmeal.

As for milk, you want to keep it very low on fat and sugar. For you 2% and 1% people, quit putting one foot into the weight loss game, and take it all the way with Skim Milk. For those that aren't into pus and hormones(Cows Milk) and want an alternative there's Soy, Almond, Rice, and even Hemp Milk. All of these taste good but can have up to 7 grams of sugar per serving. I buy this kind of Soy Milk from HEB which has LESS THAN 1 GRAM OF SUGAR PER SERVING!

MEAL IDEA

A basic breakfast for me.

Egg White Omelette

Bowl of Oatmeal with Cinnamon and Pumpkin Pie Spice

IN CLOSING

That should be enough for now. As long as you eat properly, meet with me 2-3 times a week at the gym you'll be getting lean in no time. For those that want to accelerate their results, do 30-45 min. of cardio on your off days.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Everyone looks at how much fat is in something, but many people forget to look at sugar and sodium. Believe me, it adds up quick.

THIS BLOGS TIP: Before Breakfast drink 2 glasses of water. Everyone wakes up dehydrated from sleeping and it will help you reach your water drinking goal for the day.

NEXT BLOG: Readers Choice. Let me know.