I Started at 435lbs.
...and hit 205 POUNDS DOWN!!
Find out how i Lost 200+ LBS using Metabolic Conditioning, Lifting & Nutrition.
Where I Started.
When I started working out, I weighed 435 pounds at 6'4"
But I wasn’t always 435 lbs. After moving to a new city in 2003, I let my fitness habits slip…and the weight slowly started to creep UP!
Actually… before i started gaining weight, i was a strong 230 lbs. I worked out & played basketball at least 2-3 times a week.
Why I Decided to Change.
I was embarrassed, I didn’t recognize myself & I was pissed. Bottom line.
I knew I was stronger than this; more disciplined than this!
But it took me a while to realize & remember that.
As I started gaining weight, i just shook it off, blamed it on all the food choices in Houston.. and kept buying bigger clothes.
I did have family & friends who tried to “remind me” about my weight gain & tell me i was getting fat as hell!
But, i was stubborn & I didn’t listen. I just kept rationalizing it and making excuses.
My shirt sizes kept getting larger, the airplane seats kept getting “smaller“, my seat belt kept getting “tighter“
… and in 2011, I was the heaviest I have ever been in my life.
I remember the day i finally realized how bad it really was. I woke up that morning and, for the first time in years, saw a “sideview” of myself in the mirror.
My “front-to-back” girth was ridiculous!!!
I didn’t recognize myself at all! I generally have a positive “cool, big dude” image of myself in my head…. and THIS fat a$$ in the mirror was NOT IT!!
That’s when I realized:
- I was lying to myself
- I was in terrible shape…
- and it was time to change. Period.
How I Lost the Weight.
LIFTING & NUTRITION. PERIOD. NO MAGIC.
Just Movement & Math. It took me a while to cut through all the bullsh*t info + product gimmicks and figure out what really worked.
After starting to walk/run outside (but still eating terrible), I spoke to a Houston Fitness Trainer, who gave me some insight on macros and my calorie limits.
Soon after, I joined a local gym, found a workout program online… and went from there.
I definitely didn’t start out great. It was downright comical at times lol… but I was determined.
As I learned more, I lost more and slowly started to get the hang of tracking macros & working out consistently.
Remember… It’s not Magic. It’s Math. Eat Less + Work More = Lose Weight.
What I've Learned So Far.
Besides literally becoming a Certified Personal Trainer in the process…. I’ve learned a lot about training, workouts, motivation and what it takes to make a major difference in your life.
Here are 4 MAJOR POINTS to Remember!
1. It’s more about BODY COMPOSITION, Less about WEIGHT.
- Increase LEAN MASS & MUSCLE
- Decrease BODY FAT
Increasing your Lean Mass will tone your body, get those muscles stronger, increase your metabolism (which burns more fat) and may actually raise your weight on the scale. Decreasing your Body Fat will make your clothes fit better, shrink your waist and may lower your weight on the scale.
- Track your changes in body fat (with a digital scale or caliper)
- Take progress pics for yourself
- Keep track of how your current clothes fit
2. Get TWO GOAL Shirts
One of the most motivating things you can do is fit perfectly into a #TestPolo (GOAL shirt) that absolutely didn’t fit a few months ago. It’s a real-life, visual representation of your fitness progress. It charged me up MUCH MORE to watch myself go from a 5X to an XL in GOAL Shirts… than it did to hover over a scale, hoping for an arbitrary low number. (I swore my scale was broken for a month)
So hit the store and get TWO SHIRTS:
- A BEFORE Shirt (Get a DRXVE Shirt at the size you wear now)
- A GOAL Shirt (Get a GOAL Shirt at your Goal size)
The more “impossible” the Goal Shirt, the better! If you have a lot of weight to lose (over 50lbs)… buy a Goal Shirt that’s about 2 sizes down and just repeat the process in milestones until you get there!
3. Eating Is Key
Fitness is an 80/20 Process. 80% Nutrition. 20% Workouts.
I wish I would have listened to that simple formula earlier in the process. I literally wasted 6 months KILLING MYSELF in the gym …and being proud of it, only to come home and eat back all the calories on the weekends. It was sabotage. Don’t do it! lol
Weight Loss success ALL starts with:
- Calculating your macros as a part of a ‘Flexible Eating Plan’
- Working out to get stronger & burn more fat, faster.
4. Track Your Food, No Matter What!
I used the mobile app, MyFitnessPal, to track my daily food intake and macro count.
Some days are great. I hit my macros, I stay under my calories & I’m on track to hit my goals.
Other days are not so great. I go a little over my calories and eat WAY to many carbs.
And… other days are pretty much terrible. I eat a huge meal & dessert at restaurant… eat Frosted Mini-wheats all day…. or just eat a whole bunch of crap that takes me WAY OVER my calorie limit.
The ONE thing I’ve learned from tracking food on daily a basis: ENTER THE FOOD, NO MATTER WHAT. No matter what you eat. It’s always good to see the “Alverez stayed under his calorie goal” message in the app’s newsfeed. But if you didn’t…so what! ENTER THE FOOD!!! Chalk it up as a loss, admit you ate more than you should have… and get ready to win again tomorrow. This process is about Growth… not Perfection.
The idea is to set a healthy trend for yourself. One bad day of eating won’t completely kill your goals. But a series of consistent bad eating days will. Your brain NEEDS to see those “RED NUMBERS”! Seeing a few days of red “over limit” numbers always got me back on track.
MyFitnessPal is a nutrition tracking system built to help YOU reach YOUR fitness goals. If you hide food from yourself & the system:
- You can’t accurately hold yourself accountable and…
- You won’t get the results you expect from this process.
Don’t sabotage yourself. Track Your Food, No Matter What.
How I Eat Now.
FLEXIBLE DIETING
Flexible Dieting is basically just eating the “right” amount of calories and macronutrients to fit your body’s needs and fitness goals. Along with staying in a “calorie deficit” when you’re losing weight, it’s also important keep track of what makes up those calories. The calories we eat in food are primarily made up of 3 Macronutrients (ie. MACROS):
- Proteins
- Carbohydrates
- Fats
By focusing more on the content of the calories we consume, Flexible Dieting plans help us eat an optimal percentage for of Protein, Carbs & Fat on a daily basis. It’s a little different than “Clean Eating” in that there is a slight allowance (10%-15%) for “junk” calories…. as long as you hit your main macro numbers. It’s still a good idea to stick to mainly “whole foods” and eat as clean as possible for best results.
You actually end up eating more than you would think on a normal diet plan, because optimal nutrition is not really about starving your body (which shrinks your metabolism)..as much as it is about feeding it the right fuel to help burn fat & build muscle.
How I Track My Calories
TRACKING MACROS & FOOD INTAKE
I use the MyFitness Pal app to track my macros & daily food intake. The basic version is free and it has an extensive food database that allows you to find foods you eat, scan foods you eat (with a barcode) or manually enter foods you eat. After you login and view the app… Get accustomed to the “Diary”, “Goals” and “Nutrients” tabs:
- Diary – This is where you enter your food on a daily basis
- Goals – This is where you go to enter your daily calorie amount & the macro nutrient percentages you got from the Calculator (above)
- Nutrients (at bottom of Diary section) – Click this button to view the your macronutrient percentages on a daily basis (Carbs Vs Proteins vs Fat)
How I Plan My Meals
PLANNING MEALS ON MACROS
Here’s the best advice I ever received about flexible dieting & clean eating. Start simple: Chicken, Rice & Broccoli. Every meal. Every day. (with the exception of breakfast). After a week or two, you will get the hang of tracking your macros & move on to other similar substitute foods and meal plans. One of the main reason’s this works well is all three foods (Chicken, Rice, Broccoli) are easy to measure on the scale, and the macros don’t really overlap (ie. Chicken is mainly protein, Rice is a starchy carb, Broccoli is a fibrous carb)
If you can stand it… for the first two weeks: eat Oatmeal, Eggs & Fruit for Breakfast… and Chicken, Rice & Broccoli for 4-5 even meals throughout the day. It helps to build your initial discipline, its a simple way to start meal prepping and it will help you kickstart your flexible dieting plan!
Here’s an example daily meal plan I use for some of my new online fitness training clients
After 4-6 Weeks, Add Variety to Your Meal Plan
Add Protein Recipe CTA
How I Train
WORKOUTS & EXERCISES I DO
Throughout the process I did a number of pre-built workout plans and workout challenges that incorporated elements of:
- Strength / Resistance Training
- Fat Burning HIIT / High Intensity Interval Training
- Tabata Rounds
- Circuit Training
- Corrective, Stability Training
- Metcon / Metabolic Conditioning
- Steady State Cardio / Cardiovascular Training
I also did workouts that included a lot of dynamic stretching, yoga and isometric holds to build balance, stability and core strength.
But by far, my favorite workouts were “full body AMRAP combos”. These metabolic conditioning workouts combine elements from all of the workout styles above, work entire body and test your limits by doing “as many rounds as possible”. They aren’t necessarily for beginners, but after a few months in the game, they can be great to challenge your resolve.
As i progressed through my various workout plans, I began to design my own training days. After months of testing workout plans on myself, friends & family, I decided to look closer at the scientific research to gain more fitness programming knowledge. My goal was to create more effective workout & transformation programs built on a proven, evidence-based training model.
So I studied to become a NASM Certified Personal Trainer and started creating workout & nutrition plans for online training clients and online fitness proejcts like Wed Workout & Active Factor.
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