January 31 2020

 

Obviously, we’ve have had some really great results in years past with the weight loss challengess and I expect this year to be no different.  The only thing standing in the way of you changing the way you look and feel and ending up being the next before and after picture are your dietary decisions and commitment over the next 10 weeks. Weigh Ins will start Monday.  Entrance to the contest will cost $20 cash due at your first weigh in and we will hold weekly weigh ins to track your progress and also hold you accountable.  Any pound gained from your first recorded weight at any of the weigh ins will cost you 1 dollar per pound and go directly into the pot for the winner at the end. Losing zero lbs at a weigh in will cost nothing.  The winner on April 6th will get 100% of the money raised. To make things easy and give plenty of opportunity to be here for weigh in each week, weigh ins each week can be done as early as Friday but must be recorded by 7PM on Mondays.  The final weigh in must be done on either Friday April 3rd or Saturday the 4th.  All weigh ins will be as confidential as you like and must be done at the gym, on our scale, with me.  Missed weekly weigh ins will cost 5 dollars and go into the winners pot as well.  The winner will be decided by the total percentage of weight loss, not pounds lost.  What does that mean? Basically it corrects things for the people who don’t have a lot of weight to lose and evens things out for women competing with men who generally weigh more and lose pounds at a faster rate.  So if I weigh 200lbs and lose 5 lbs, I have lost 2.5% of weight but if you weigh 150lbs and lose 5 lbs you have lost 3.33% meaning you lost more and you win…  This is a great way to ride out the rest of the winter and stay motivated to go into spring feeling healthy with real results.  Just coming in a couple of times a week and going through the motions and then eating everything in sight the rest of the week and drinking all weekend doesn’t balance out, let’s balance some things out. Everyone is encouraged to participate.

So what do you eat?

The tough part for me about suggesting how you should diet throughout our challenges is that none of my suggestions ever change during the weight loss challenge or in everyday life because it’s really not as complicated as the diet industry that gets rich off of your need to try and find the next groundbreaking fat loss secret and inability to remain consistent when it comes to eating would like you to think.  It really is just as simple as eating real food, not too much and doing it everyday.  I am 100% aware that there are a million different diets out there that do everything from restricting all fats or all carbohydrates or any foods after certain times of day and yes, they all work (for a time) but I’m not looking for you to temporarily follow a set of rules, I am looking for you to LEARN how to match your activity level (calorie output) to the amount of food you need (calorie input) with real food (plants and animals) and be able to live your everyday life understanding that what you put in is what you get out.  I don’t want you all trying to manipulate the scale for a few weeks with water loss or diet tactics that just aren’t sustainable just to get through the challenge and then watch the scale go right back to where it was once we stop weighing in every week.  So I’m going to give you a few easy guidelines to follow (that I always give) that if you follow honestly will help your body move towards its optimum weight.

The first thing you need to understand is that in all reality there is no way to change your bodyweight, up or down, without either a calorie surplus or calorie restriction.  If you are consistently eating the same amount of calories daily and the scale is not moving, you are eating the correct amount of calories to maintain your current bodyweight.  If you want to weigh less you must eat less, if you want to weigh more, you must eat more.  So where do we start;

(Goal weight) X 10 = Daily amount of calories to eat

Now I already know the nonsense that is floating around in your heads about how you think you should be eating 2000 calories a day because that’s what it recommends on the back of your cereal box and has been beaten into your head for your whole life and I already know that you think that if you only ate that much you would lose muscle or not be able to perform in the gym, PLEASE STOP because it's just not true. 

BOTTOM LINE: IF YOU ARE NOT LOSING WEIGHT YOU ARE STORING (Eating) MORE ENERGY THAN YOU ARE SPENDING (Moving).

Chances are you are either sitting at a desk all day or sleeping 10 hours a night or sitting down to drive 2 hours a day and all of these things are burning calories at the lowest level and are paramount when it comes to why you aren’t losing weight at your current caloric intake.  So give it a chance and see what happens, this equation gives you a starting point and if you stick to it for two weeks (honestly) and see no change, you will cut it down another 300 calories and see how that goes for another 2 weeks. Why? Because we are trying to calculate the difference between YOUR activity level and your calorie expenditure and if you haven't lost any weight your activity level is less than your calorie intake.....PERIOD

How do I know? Same answer as before;

IF YOU ARE NOT LOSING WEIGHT YOU ARE STORING (Eating) MORE ENERGY THAN YOU ARE SPENDING (Moving)

Might you feel hungry? Probably…. Does it mean you need to eat more? NO.  You’re stomach can have hunger pains out of habit and because it is usually stretched further than it currently is so when it retracts you feel it….It does not mean you need to react. 

Will it be difficult? Most Likely, but nothing will change without some sort of sacrifice and habits don’t change without a bit of discomfort and soon enough that discomfort will pass and be replaced with results, if you decide to allow it.  

Answers to the questions you will ask that you already know the answer to but ask anyway:

What about Alcohol: You're trying to lose weight right? All calories count...
But my magazine told me wine everyday is good for you: So is not being fat
Is coffee ok?  Yes, but the spoonfuls of sugar and milk (and whipped cream and flavorshots) are all unnecessary calories and are making you fat and count towards your days total calories so choose wisely..or drink it black..
These foods are boring and I dont like them: You're not ready, better luck next year...
I don't want to get too skinny/muscular: See above answer (also stop lying to yourself)

A few easy guidelines:

To start -  Men should be eating 4-5 Meals per day

To start  - Women should be eating 3-4 Meals per day 

ALL Meals should come from true food sources and look like this:

About a fist size of dead animal (3-5oz)

About a fist size of Carbohydrate (Fruit,whole grain rice, oats, potatoes, beans etc) (25-30g)

About a thumb size of good fat,  (Nuts, oils, avacodo, cheese) (7.5G)

About two fists of Greens (Broccoli, spinach, asparagus, lettuce,kale, etc) (2 cups)

FEW RULES OF THUMB: 

* If the eggs have yokes these count as your fat for the meal

* If you’re cooking in oil this counts as your fat for the meal

* If your meat is less than 90% lean (Including chicken with skin and restaurant meat) this counts as your fat for the meal

* If you’re drinking Whole Milk this counts as your CARB and Fat for the meal
* If not losing weight at 2 week mark reevaluate your fist size and cut 300 cals

Lastly, portion sizes are everything, you should be weighing and measuring your food at least until you understand what a true serving is so that you can accurately track your calories which as I wrote earlier is the end all be all in whether you will lose, gain or stay the same.  Using the (Goal weight X 10) equation to start and eating these quality foods to that total daily number is what I believe to be the most manageable and simple way to go BUT IF YOU ARE GUESSING AS TO WHAT A TRUE PORTION SIZE IS and not weighing or measuring your numbers could be and probably are way off … Get a food scale...Good Luck

Class at 5PM Today  

Conditioning:

5 Rounds for Time of: 

25 KB SDHP

15 Pullups 

12 Hang Power Cleans 95/65

15 Toes to Bar 

Strength:

Barbell Row

8-8-8-8-8