Why I Did It - Part II

By Showtime Strength Performance Coach John Holloway

Most people think that if you exercise, you'll lose weight just like that. And if that doesn't work, then they give up completely. Well seeing that I was already somewhat active, I was still adding fat and gaining weight. So we know exercise alone won't make it happen.
I had to figure out a way to change my habits. And that meant eating habits, exercise habits, and all the other habits that went into my daily routine. So it was a complete overhaul of what I was doing on a daily basis. They say "it's a lifestyle change" and it definitely is.

The first thing I changed was my eating habits. I decided to schedule my meals on my Outlook calendar at work during the day. My schedule was 8am breakfast, 10 am snack, 11:45 am lunch, 2 pm snack, and then 6pm-7pm dinner, depending on what other things I had to do in the evening. The first meal I changed was breakfast because that was the easiest thing for me to modify. Instead of pop tarts, donuts, or things like that, I went to oatmeal. Once I was consistent with the oatmeal for about a week or so, it really made me conscious of what I was eating the rest of the day. That one change led to better choices for the rest of my meals each day.

I also eliminated most processed foods. No more frozen meals, frozen meat, candy, donuts, cookies, or anything like that.

I stopped over-eating at dinner. If I wanted seconds because I thought I was still hungry, I would only have a second helping of vegetables.

I also started consuming more water throughout the day. A gallon of water a day was my goal. Sometimes I would make it, and sometimes I wouldn't. That's ok, it was the effort in consuming more water that mattered.

Lastly, I trained! I trained at least 3 times a week for an hour a day, plus played basketball on Sundays. I would hit free weights, the machines, the treadmill and the bike. At first I really didn't have a specific plan of attack when I started lifting more. I knew what body part I wanted to train each time I went in to the gym. But I didn't have specific exercises programmed for my sessions. I saw results, but they were slow results. Which is not a bad thing because progress is progress! Once I decided to have a planned attack when I went into the gym, that's when the results got better and came faster.

To date, I've lost more than 40 lbs of fat and gained a good amount of muscle and strength. I'm still on my journey because a new goal is set with every goal met. I'm down to 235 lbs and went from a 42-inch waist to a 38 and also from an XXL shirt down to an XL. The next goal is to get to 220 lbs and down to a 34-inch waist and a L shirt while still maintaining muscle. The goal is in sight and I just need to keep pushing and keep making progress.