Eat Fast Food, Not Fat Food

I hear it all the time.

I can't follow a diet, I'm too busy. I'm on the road all the time. I have to eat fast food.

Well now there's no excuse. I've made a guide to get you through any situation.

So without further ado.

HOTEL

May sound crazy but done it plenty of times, I've made oatmeal with the in-room coffee pot by making hot water. Pour them oats in and Wah Lah. See it's not that bad. Not like I'm asking you to make a grilled cheese sandwich with an iron.

You can also make protein shakes.

If they have a fridge and microwave your set, just get some groceries.

TRAVELLING

While driving or flying you can eat oats in a ziplock bag, almonds as well. There's always protein bars as well.

If you're drinking enough water then Turkey Jerky is great. Beward of all the bathroom breaks from the water you're drinking to flush out the high sodium count.

GENERAL EATING OUT TIPS

APPETIZERS

They're okay but don't stuff yourself with bread or chips and dips. Also don't order anything fried.

You can order green salad with a light dressing and no croutons. 

Also Anitposto, or a Lettuce Wrap.

SALADS

I've warned many people about commercial salads, but they can be eaten if ordered right. Go for the calorie reduced version if they have it.

But salads are great for adding the fiber you most likely won't get from your meal. So order one, just order it right.

What really ruins salads. The toppings. Avoid the Croutons, Cheese, Bacon Bits, Noodles, etc.

Nuts and Dried Fruit are okay in small portions, and watch those dressings.

In fact get your dressing on the side, that way you control the portion. You can even just dip your salad.

DRINKING

Stick with water. Stay away from soda, juice, milkshakes, and alcohol (especially if you're driving). You can have Unsweetened Ice tea, and even a glass of red wine.

HOW TO EAT

Eat slowly. Won't know you're full till 20 minutes later.

Ordering first can help resist the temptation of eating like someone else.

Don't eat that whole giant plate. Eat like you would eat at home (considering you eat well at home).

HOW TO ORDER

Just because it's chicken doesn't mean it's healthy. Order Grilled not Crispy.

At Steakhouses, always ask for the lean sirloin and fillet and follow the NO BUTTER rule.

Order meat and veggies and if you need carbs order a dry sweet potato, baked potato, or even rice (get brown if you can)

Make sure to get your veggies steamed without butter. They try to sneak butter onto everything.

For instance, your meat. Ask for it to be cooked dry with no oil or butter.

Also your eggs, ask for it to be cooked in spray and not in butter. Make sure it's all egg whites as well.

Tell them NO SAUCE on everything.

Make sure to control portions. Don't double and triple layer your burgers. 

Same things with tacos, don't double and triple layer these either. Watch out for all the cheese they stuff in there as well.

If you do order sauces or dressings, get them on the side.

TYPES OF RESTAURANTS

AMERICAN

TGIF:

Try the Zen Chicken Pot Stickers

Shanghai Chicken Salad

Santa Fe Chicken Salad

Bruschetta Tilapia

IHOP:

Just because you eat well doesn't mean you can't eat food that tastes good. IHOP, the restaurant of the God's, you can get a Chicken Fajita Omelet with no cheese or sour cream.

also get some Harvest Grain and Nut Pancakes with no butter and sugar-free syrup

DENNYS:

If you ever have the privelage of eating at the 4 Star Restaraunt known as Denny's, order the grilled chicken and egg whites.

OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE

I always order the Grilled Chicken with NON-BUTTERED VEGGIES

But you can order Shrimp, Lamb, Steak, or the Outback Special.

BUFFALO WILD WINGS:

Go for a grilled chicken wrap or sandwich and skimp on the sauces, creams, and cheeses.

HOOTERS:

My dad makes me eat here every time I visit him. So I've had to figure out how to make the most of being surrounded by large chested women. I always go for the Mahi Mahi but you can get a grilled chicken salad or sandwich. Just keep away from the fattening dressings.

CHINESE/JAPANESE/VIATNAMESE:

Don't let them fry anything you eat.

Keep your sauces low in sugar and fat.

Get your noodles and rice BROWN.

Get your vegetables steamed.

Some examples of what to eat:

Szechuan Shrimp

Shrimp with garlic sauce

Stir Fried Vegetables

Chicken Chow Mein

You can always sub Tofu or Chicken for the meats.

ITALIAN:
First of all, always make sure there's some protein found within all those noodles. Get some chicken, turkey, fish, or shrimp thrown in that bowl of carbs. Watch all the bread, pasta, cheese, wine, and sauces they throw at you.

Order wheat spaghetti if possible.

Stick with red, low fat sauces.

No pork allowed.

Watch out for cheese, keep it minimal.

Pasta will not be a great choice. If you have to, choose red sauce over white. But avoid all together if possible.

Pizza too. As much as it pains me to say. My favorite cheat food.

You should however go for chicken, steak, or fish with green vegetables. Pretty obvious.

Salad with protein and light dressing.

Broth based soup with protein and NO bread sticks.

If you're going to eat dessert, try to keep it fruit based.

Go for Chicken Giardino

Grilled Chicken Spiedini

Garlic-Herb Chicken con Broccoli

Chicken Scampi

Shrimp

Fra Diavolo

Venetian Apricot Chicken

MONGOLIAN/THAI:

They roast most of their meats and you'll also find a lot of goat and sheep in the menu. Don't worry I'll guide you through this cultural hurdle.

First of all, most of the seafood is a good choice. Use common sense.

Don't touch the high calorie sausage, pork, and duck.

Also avoid the sesame, peanut, and vegetable oil sauces as they're also high in calories and fat.

Use the soy, teriyaki, marinara, wine, sweet and sour, or lemon sauce instead.

Choose lo mein over pasta noodles.

Watch what you add. Tofu adds more protein, Egg adds more fat, and Potatoes add more carbs.

Don't let them fry your meat or your rice.

Lean beef, chicken, etc. with steamed veggies and brown rice is an example of how to eat healthy Mongolian and Thai.

MEXICAN:

Lot's of spice, protein, carbs, and fat. Similar to Italian in that aspect.

Spicy food is great for your metabolism!

First of all avoid the chips and dip. Don't touch either.

Guacamole is a killer in disguise. 

Stay away from the Sour Cream, and all the added Cheese they put on everything.

Did I mention stay away from the endless chips.

Chicken and Steak Fajitas are great! That's always what I order.

Always choose black beans.

Chipotle typically has some healthy choices.

MIDDLE EASTERN:

Mansaf is a Jordanian dish that is made up of lean lamb, whey, and rice. Covered with flat bread and almonds. 

High protein, slow carbs, makes for a great dish for those that exercise often.

Maklooba is also a popular dish in Jordan, and Palestine as well. 

Chicken, Rice, lot's of veggetbles, and typically served with a salad.

Lean and full of protein.

Tabouleh is an unbelievably popular salad from Lebanon. 

Wheat, chopped mint and parsley, tomatoes, onions, olive oil, cucumber, and lemon juice.

Filling, low in calories, high in vitamins, fiber, and minerals.

Also, in case it interests you, it tastes great.

Kebab for those that don't know is just roasted meat with tomatoes and onions. 

You can add flat bread for carbs. 

Can't go wrong with this.

FAST FOOD

Wendy's 

Get the Grilled Chicken Wrap or Sandwich. If you're sick of poultry and have to have a hamburger the Jr. Cheeseburgers are actually very low calorie options.

Also Chili and Mandarin Chicken or Chicken Caeser Salad's are good options.

If have to have a snack, get the small frosty. NOT THE TWISTED ONE.

Do you want fries with that? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Burger King

Breakfast get the Croissan Wich Egg and Cheese or BK Breakfast Shots.

For lunch get the Whopper Jr.(see a theme here), Veggie Burger, or Tendergrill WITHOUT MAYO or 4 piece Tenders (though lower in protein) or the Tendergrill Chicken Salad.

McDonalds for breakfast you can have the Egg McMuffin (which is what I had for breakfast a week ago at the airport), English muffin, or Sausage Burrito.

For Lunch you can have a PLAIN hamburger (weirdly is how I already ordered it as a kid).

For salads you can order the Premium Southwest or Caeser Grilled Chicken Salad. You can order it Crispy but will be higher in fat, calories, and carbs. But not horrible.

Desert you ask? Kiddie Cone is your best option. 

TACO BELL won't be so much of a TACO HELL if you follow these rulues

Fresco Fajita Burrito Supreme-chicken or the heavier Grilled Stuffed Steak Soft Taco.

DON'T TOUCH THEIR SALADS.

Soft Taco Supreme and Gordita Chicken Supreme.

Fiesta Chicken Burrito is the only burrito I can reccomend unless you do weekly Iron Man competitions.

Lastly Dessert. Cinnimon Twists can't be missed.

SUBWAY

Mini Subs are great for obviously being lower in calories.

Ham Mini Sub, Roast Beef Mini Sub, Turkey Breast Mini Sub. NO TUNA, too much Mayo.

Those there 6 Inch with 6 grams of fat or less MENU

12 Inch will be double whatever the 6 inch is. So you're looking around 600 Calories as well as a much higher carb count.

Only Breakfast I can reccomend is the Ham and Cheese.

Roasted Chicken Noodle, Chicken with White and Rice Noodles, Ministrone Soup.

No Dessert for You.

Dairy Queen

Don't ever eat breakfast there, but I doubt anyone thinks DQ for Breakfast.

If you have to get a Pancake Platter with Ham.

Grilled Chicken Wrap is great. Again if you're tired of chicken, you can get an original hamburger. Won't be as healthy though.

DESSERT is what they're known for, but that's all the more reason to stay away from it.

All I can reccomend is the DQ-Fudge bar WITHOUT SUGAR.

Possibly a small vanilla cone, but will be much higher in calories.

CHICK FIL-A

Breakfast get the Chicken Mini's

Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich is the best option all around.

Nuggets aren't bad but much higher in fat in calories.

Chargrilled Chicken Salad, or Chicken and Fruit Sald, and the Southwest Chargrilled Chicken Salad are all good in the hood.

Spicy Chicken Cool Wrap is decent.

Hearty Breast of Chicken is soup is good for a side item.

And for Dessert, Icedream may have a corny name but is actually not that bad as far as healthy desserts go.

ARBYS

Ham and Swiss Melt

Regular Popcorn Chicken

Roasted Chicken Fillet Sandwich

Chopped Turkey Club Salad

KFC

Roasted Chicken Caeser or BLT Salad WITHOUT Dressing and Crutons

Chicken Breast without Skin and Breading

Grilled Chicken Breast

And lastly Strips

Carls JR

All I can really reccomend is the charbroilded chicken sandwich.

RECIPE TIME:

Pumpkin pancakes without guilt. Made with almond meal and eggs.

Get great taste without ruining your waistline.

Servings: 5

You need…

• 4 large eggs 
• 3/4 cup egg whites 
• 1 can of pumpkin 
• 1 cup almond meal 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• dash of nutmeg 
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• cooking spray 

1. In a medium bowl, mix all of the ingredients together. 
2. Heat pancake griddle to medium heat and coat with cooking spray. 
3. Cook each side about 3 minutes until brown, then flip and cook remaining side. 

Nutrition: One serving: 255 calories, 15g fat, 112mg sodium, 

11g carbohydrate, 5g fiber, and 19g protein. 

Spread the word if you want. You can  forward this newsletter to your friends, family and co-workers...unless you want them not be as in shape as you.



This is Steven Farmer of Austin F.I.T. signing out.
www.atxfitbootcamp.com

DIETS ARE STUPID

So we live in a day where there's more diets, magazines, websites, exercise equipment, and even apps than ever. Yet the nation is more obese than it's ever been. Hmmm, maybe it just all comes down to proper eating and exercise?

Out of all the people that start a diet only about 5% of them actually get any results. But the results don't last long. Why? Well, let's think about it.

What's a diet? A temporary thing where you take a drastic cut in calorie intake.

Basically starving yourself. What happens when you starve yourself? You go into starvation mode.

What does starvation mode do? It slows your metabolism as to not burn too many calories and keep you alive.

Why is it so worried about keeping you alive? Because your body doesn't know you're trying fit into some skinny jeans for a high school reunion.

Your body thinks that it's still caveman days and doesn't know when the next meal is coming. So it slows calorie burning to keep you alive longer. Rationing out your calories, holding onto your fat.

What it also does is burn off your muscle for more fuel. Meaning that in addition to having less tone and firmness to your body, you also have less muscle to burn your fat.


Muscle burns your fat, because muscle is high maintenance and need a lot of calories to exist. So muscle is constantly burning your calories like a furnace burning coal. So while you're driving, watching TV, reading, sleeping, muscle is always burning calories.

Which means....drum roll....the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn, meaning you get a better metabolism. Getting to eat more, and not have to do as much cardio. That's a Win-Win.

If you lose this muscle you will lose a lot weight, but it's not the weight you want to lose.

When people lose weight quickly most of it is either water or muscle, so it's not good.

After the diet is done and the weight loss is achieved what now? That means one of 2 things

1) Time to gorge and give into those cravings.
or
2) Back to business as usual.

Either way you're metabolism is now worse than it ever was.

So now the result of those two is...

1) Of course it's bad, but it's now with a damaged metabolism so it's even worse.
2) You now are worse than you originally started, you now gain even more weight than you used to when you ate the way you did.

But people do this all the time. Ever notice someone lose weight then gain it back even worse?

Then they repeatably do it over and over again, getting worse and worse. This is what they call the YoYo Effect.

Make a small cut in the amount of calories you eat, and burn the rest off with exercise.

Yeah, that's the answer. I could go into more detail and I will...NEXT BLOG.

For now, just do what I said and eleminate this bad habit of "weight loss".

MEAL IDEAS

Breakfast 
Turkey Bacon
English Muffin

Snack
Peanut Butter
Apple Slices

Lunch
Grilled Chicken Salad

This Week's Tip:
What are some healthy foods you actually ENJOY eating. Start replacing the food's you eat with healthy alternatives. Sounds simple and obvious, but have you done it yet? Lucky Charms<Oatmeal, Hamburger<Turkey Burger,  Microwave Buttered Pocporn<Air Popped Poporn, French Fries<Sweet Potato Fries.

So if you've been reading this blog at all you know what you have to do.

Hell, you've always known at least that you need to eat better and exercise more.


But why do you not do it?

It's not for lack of information, but lack of motivation.


At the risk of coming off like some kind of self help guru I'm going to tell you a lot of things that involve self improvement and self worth so bare with me. Because it's necessary.


Change isn't easy. You've basically established who you are and always will be at the age of 7. There was even a documentary about this where a filmmaker recorded many several children at 7 and returns every 7 years to see how they've developed. All of them retaining the same traits they had as children.


So if anyone wants to have a complete reprograming of oneself, then there is a lot more necessary then just a few tips on how to hold a dumbbell. You're going to have focus, visualize, and sacrifice a lot of things to make this improvement. But if you truly desire this change, then it will happen. But first hang on let me get off my high horse.


So for most of you going to the gym is tough. You have to drag yourself there.

I've got plenty of clients that used to be that way. Guess, what though after you force yourself to do something long enough it becomes a habit.

Meaning you've formed a good habit. Sub-consciously you're driven to have a routine of something actually positive.

Going to the gym and eating right should be like brushing your teeth. Granted you brush your teeth a lot.

I know people who could barely drag themselves to the gym when they first started, now go crazy if they can't get to the gym.

You're not in control, your subconsious is.

99% of what you do is habit. Think about it. Check your facebook, eat the same foods, go to sleep the same time, do the same things.

Change it up!

You need to make goals, and don't make some wimpy small goals. Think big.

Small is boring and uninspiring.

Make an end goal. What you ulitmately want. To win a figure competition, or look like a celebrity.
12 Month goal. A big milestone. Be down to 13% body fat.
3 Month goal.  Smaller goal but adds up big. Lose 5% Body Fat.
Weekly goal. Weekly check up on how you're doing. Measure yourself to see how you're doing.
Daily goal. Habitual things. Work out, count calories, drink lot's of water, go to sleep on time.

Make deadlines too. REALISTIC ONES. So you don't break yourself.

It's good to have a great end goal, but don't focus on it too much or you'll get discouraged. See the forrest for the trees. Keep meeting those deadlines and feel great about it.

Remind yourself of all the small accomplishments you've achieved to keep fueling you.

What are some things you've done in your past you wouldn't think you could've done, but you did. Exactly, you can do this as well.

Also what's important about this goal, and why is it important?

You want to date more, tired of getting turned down. Must not be that tired because you haven't done anything yet. Actions speak louder than words.


Is that pizza and beer worth your current body?


Or is an hour of working out that time consuming?


Health reasons? Want to keep up with your friends or even your kids? Want to go to the pool without wearing a shirt?

When you add an emotion to your drive you will physicalize that part of your dream.

Also, only dwell on what you want. Not on what you want to avoid.

Don't think about how you might fail, how you could waste time, how you don't want to eat bad.

Focus on how you'll eat healthy food that you actually enjoy, how you're going to make a huge transformation.

Negative people and thoughts. When you first start this life change, there will be people who won't like this. They won't tell you this outright, but they'll not be supportive and put their own guilt and doubts unto you. I've had clients who have made vast improvements in their life but hear negative comments by people all the time. "You're getting too skinny". "You're getting too obsessive, you need to just eat what you want every now and then".

If someone is working so hard to make an improvement in their life, why would you want to make that path even harder? These are the people you need to avoid. Sorry to say, some of them will be family and friends of yours.

Even if you don't think you can, believe you can anyway. We've all heard if you tell you're self a lie enough times you believe it, well it's true.


When writing and reciting your affirmations always make sure they're present tense. If they're future tense, as in something you will be doing, then you always will eventually be doing it but never doing it. Keep saying it until you believe you've done it. When you're already there in mindset, then there's no reason to ever doubt yourself.

I AM IN GREAT SHAPE.
I WORKOUT AN HOUR A DAY PROPERLY.
I HAVE MADE  A LOT OF PROGRESS IN A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME.
I PORTION MY FOOD CORRECTLY.

Always reflect on your past accomplishments for even more motivation.

Make sure to compare yourself to others if want a life of misery.

Visualize in your mind you doing what you're setting out to do. Visualize you succeeding in your goals. Visualize the life you want to live.

Don't visualize mistakes you could make, or you failing. No point in that. That's doubting.

The question is: Will you write your a goals list, will you visualize yourself succeeding, will you recite your affirmations or even less write them out.

The answer for most of you will be no. For those that do heed this advice, a smaller percentage will actually follow through and stay consistent with this. But if only 2% of the people that read this have their lives change, then this post had made a larger impact than a Rocky Montage.


Let me know if you've taken any steps toward this, I'm interested in hearing about it.

Steven Farmer
www.atxfitbootcamp.com

This Weeks Tip:  TAKE ACTION NOW AND DO THIS!!!

So now that you know how many calories you need, now you need to log them.


Go to www.livestrong.com and log your calories in the myplate portion.

The cool thing is most foods are already accounted for so you just enter it what you ate and the portion size.

If it's not there, put it there.

Also, enter in your target amount of calories.

It will try to tell you how many calories you need but don't listen to it, go by the amount calculated from the link I put in the last blog.

Keep track of how you're doing. You'll see a pie chart on the bottom right. You'll want 50% carbs, 30% protein, 20% fat.


You gotta read those food labels as well.

So looking back at what we learned last week let's take it to the next level.

When it comes to protein, you have to make sure it's complete protein. The protein in your oatmeal and rice doesn't count.

Protein must come from animal, milk, cheese, nuts, protein powder or bar.


You can combine other protein sources to create complete proteins.

Beans + Rice
Legumes + Grains
Nuts/Seeds + Legumes/Grains
Meat/Animal Products + Vegetables

Beware when doing this that some of these can end up being high in fat or carbs.

Make sure your protein sources are lean enough so that you don't overshoot your target amount of fat.

When getting carbs, make sure you don't eat any simple carbs after 3.



No complex carbs after 6.

And you should get your biggest amount of carbs during breakfast and your workout.

"But Steve!  How am I supposed to not be hungry if I can't have carbs later in the day?"


You can still have fibrous carbs, meaning vegetables. In fact you can have as many vegetables as you want.

By the way, don't log in your vegetables. They don't factor on account of fiber.

For fat, we'll keep it simple for now. Get your target fat and try to keep it as unsaturated as possible.

Keep your sugar very, very, very low. Sorry Sweet tooth's.

Sodium keep that low too. A teaspoon of salt is your daily limit.

But if you exercise and drink lot's of water you have a lot more leeway.

That's it for this post, let me know if you have any questions.

TIP: Add vegetables to every meal. It will fill you up and keep you from wanting to overeat.

How to Eat Perfectly

So right now I'm going to teach everyone how to eat perfectly. Not hard right?

So first you enter all your info on this site.
http://www.cordianet.com/calculator.htm

Here's where the math comes in.

Then from there you want 50% to be from carbs, 30% to be from protein, and 20% to be from fat.

Still with me?


I'm bad at math and from Arkansas, so I already have 2 strikes against me. Which means if I can do this, then you definitely can.


It's gonna get a little tougher here, but I'll hold your hand through it.

1 gram of protein equals 4 calories.

1 gram of carbs also equals 4 calories.

And 1 gram of fat equals 9 calories.

So if I needed 2000 calories a day, that means I need half of that from carbs. I'm sure most of you won't complain about that.




Why so high? You need it for energy. But it can easily put fat on you which is the catch 22 of carbs, and is why people fear it so much they do that stupid Atkins fad diet.



But I digress, so half of 2000 is 1000 if my math serves me correct. Now, 4 calories equals 1 gram of carbs. Divide 4 into 1000 and you end up with needing 250 grams of carbs for the day.

How you feeling so far, pretty confident?  Good we're almost there. Let's do the same with protein.

Now with protein the standard rule is 1 gram per pound of bodyweight. Unless you're a huge bodybuilder who does up to 2 grams per pound of bodyweight and are usually doing more than just protein shakes(steroids). Stear clear of those guys, they usually have protein farts.




Anyways, we're going to get a little more specifice. Don't worry you don't have to break out the calculator yet. 30% of 2000 is 600, divide 4 into that and you get 150. So 150 grams of protein a day.

Now for the final part. Fat. We know to stay away from fat for the most part. It's called FAT. How can it be any more obvious that it could possibly make you fat. Now I'm not going to make you learn the difference between saturated, non-saturated, poly-saturated fat, etc. right now. I will later. But not now.

You'll also find that you'll get most of you necessary fat while trying to avoid it all together. But remember that you do need your fat, remember to keep it limited. And as you noticed fat is what we try to get the least percentage of.

So with all that said let's do some more math. 20% of 2000 is 400.  Okay, here's where we dust off the calculator. Just kidding, use your cellphone. Does anyone still cary around a TI-81 with them?


400 divided by 9 is...hang on...225...wait what the hell did I do.  Okay, sorry it's 44.44444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444 you get the idea.

So 44 grams of fat a day. Trust me, not hard to do. But necessary.

So we just figured out what a person on a 2000 calorie diet needs. 250 grams of carbs, 150 grams of protein, and 44 grams of fat.

And of course you want to keep your sugar and sodium low. Though if you're working out a lot and drinking lot's of water, sodium won't hurt you that much.


Now the hard part, knowing what food to throw together to meet those requirements.

I have a nutritionist that makes these plans for people for only $100. She's great at it and experienced, and I even had her do mine. I would suggest you do the same, especially for those just starting out.


Here's a link to her on my page.
http://atxfitbootcamp.com/sign-up/

Click the order a meal plan button.

But if you don't mind spending the time and effort doing it yourself, as well as making mistakes, than be my guest.

Next week we'll go over reading food labels, which will help out those poor souls trying to make their own meal plans.

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.