Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.

0463Van

Love your post on nutrition ,I've just start on my weight lose so your post is inspirational thought provoking and intelligent .thanks

hmseals77

Amazing post and you look amazing! Congratulations!!

healthyme_2013

Fantastic post! Thanks for sharing. You have done an amazing transformation and kept things 'real' ..well done!!

krawhitham

Whoa... what amazing advice and results!! Great job!

puffinbrae

Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can


I have a new mantra!

grum84

Great post and great results! Well done and keep it up.

hmaddpear

Love it, love it, love it.

And the results, I think, speak for themselves.

You rock! And well done!!!

brewji

Thank you for making that light in the tunnel a little brighter!

Inspiring and well-worded post!

miqisha

Awesome job, amazing results and your post made so much sense and I agree with what you say completely.

Who can argue with you anyway, you have the body to prove it

Awesome!!!!!

asdowe13

Motivation for today - found it here!

Thanks for that.

DuckDynastyMakesMeLaugh

Bump

Bluepopsicle_25

I loved this post, especially the title. Thanks for the advice

Always_Smiling_D

Thank you!!!

Squamation

Love the whole post- Great job ultimately sticking with it and achieving your goals!

RedArizona5

I am on the same page! And THAT is why i I don't even eat clean which I attempted once but didn't last long-as a college girl, it takes a lot to do the little things you normally do in a routine and have to prep meals twice a week due to being stucK on campus all darn day and not wanting to being able to afford eating out for an entire day nor is it healthy vs. home made food and snacks and it takes me like at least an hour just to make my meals for the day. My uncle would eat clean when body building- it makes one really cut and healthy for your mind as well but one has to be very disciplined and i feel I am but to make time to find recipes for clean eating and to retrain myself in the kitchen when i need to be doing homework or work at my job it really is a lot of time. Maybe when I graduate and have a steady schedule and weekends off I can but even then its like as long as you do everything else to the T then its not a big deal and goals can and will be achieved. Thanks for post

WhiteRabbit1313

This is roughly a 2-year difference with more off-days (sometimes even weeks) than I often like to admit. Consistency is key!! That and progress photos.. The number on the scale is not too important since it reflects many variables such as potential water retention and food intake among other things. A little about me: I used to be a junk food junkie growing up. My parents spoiled me (but they had good intentions). It wasn't until shortly after high school that I started weight-lifting and learning about proper nutrition.

One point I'd like to make is you should never have to suffer on a diet. Completely removing "junk" will result in weight loss, yes. But it isn't the only way -- not to mention, it just isn't realistic for some (including myself). There is hunger (physiological) and there is appetite (psychological). Find your balance and satisfy both. Everything in moderation. There is no "good" or "bad" food -- only bad quantities. I used to buy into the whole notion of eating strictly "clean" food because I thought that was the one and only way to get lean... I also thought I had to eat 5 meals a day, one every 3 hours. So for half a year, I dealt with the constant meal-prepping and countless Tupperware. A typical lunch would be a boiled chicken breast or some lean ground turkey with spinach.

I couldn't take it. And quite frankly, my lifestyle as a college student was making the meal-prepping more and more difficult. The good news? You don't have to eat 5 meals a day. And you can achieve your fitness goals eating whatever you want -- just not in whatever AMOUNT you want.

The majority of my diet today is from nutrient-dense foods. I still eat chicken breast as a main source of protein. Yams have become a staple carbohydrate. But a small portion of my diet is what I like to call "counter-intuitive" food (burgers, cookies, pizza, etc). Everything I eat is logged.

Your body recognizes food as energy -- not so much as "good" or "bad". Don't get me wrong, I feel a lot better powering through a workout when I fuel up on yams as opposed to Poptarts. But in terms of body composition, it really doesn't matter what you eat, provided you track your calories and are getting sufficient amounts of macro nutrients (protein/carbs/fats) and micro nutrients (vitamins/minerals/fiber).

Long-term adherence to a diet in my opinion should have variety. What it shouldn't have is food limitations/restrictions. I've restricted myself from certain types of food in the past and what often ended up happening was I would cave in and binge, thus setting me up for setback after setback.

Disclaimer: I have nothing against eating 5 meals a day or eating every 2-3 hours. Nor do I have anything against avoiding carbs before bed time. (Do I avoid them before bed? No.) What works for me may not work for you. Everyone has different preferences so find your niche and do what works best for you to ensure longevity and most importantly, happiness. I just wanted to get a point across that meal timing and (manipulating) meal frequency does NOT "boost" your metabolism or make your body more "efficient". I mentioned this in another post but: take your standard 2,000 calorie diet. If you eat 5 meals a day, each would amount to 400 calories. On the other hand, if you eat 2 meals a day, each would be worth 1,000 calories. At the end of the day, the energy your body expends to metabolize these calories will be the SAME. This is the thermic effect of food (TEF). It is the law of thermodynamics.

Sorry for the long post. Feel free to add me! I'm here to motivate and inspire anyone who has just started their fitness journey or anyone that is currently on it and is lacking motivation to keep going!!

I like this thread's title. Stealing it.

You look amazing, btw!

skeo

Amazing transformation and even greater read. :drinker:

How often were you working out and what does your routine look like? Did you hit any cardio in the beginning or just started with the weights..curiousity is getting the best of me. :flowerforyou:

aarondnguyen

Amazing transformation and even greater read. :drinker:

How often were you working out and what does your routine look like? Did you hit any cardio in the beginning or just started with the weights..curiousity is getting the best of me. :flowerforyou:

Thanks! I was working out anywhere from 3 to 5+ days a week.. initially I knew nothing about dieting so although I was putting on some muscle (left picture), I generally just thought the hours I was putting in the weight room justified my spontaneous eating -- whether I was bored or legitimately hungry. Cardio was always a bare minimum mainly because I was never much of an endurance type of person. I would much rather prefer HIIT (high intensity interval training; i.e. sprints).

Nowadays I still don't do cardio in the gym (aside from biking to and from classes on campus) because I stay in a calorie deficit by just eating less. My current workout routine is a three-day split that consists of back & shoulders, chest & arms, and legs!

Nascha333

my thoughts exactly!
I am just finding my balance and it's been going great! I don't feel deprived and i'm working towards my goals.
My friend eats completely clean and it works for her, i think it's about finding what works for you.
You look AMAZING by the way! congrats!

skeo

Amazing transformation and even greater read. :drinker:

How often were you working out and what does your routine look like? Did you hit any cardio in the beginning or just started with the weights..curiousity is getting the best of me. :flowerforyou:

Thanks! I was working out anywhere from 3 to 5+ days a week.. initially I knew nothing about dieting so although I was putting on some muscle (left picture), I generally just thought the hours I was putting in the weight room justified my spontaneous eating -- whether I was bored or legitimately hungry. Cardio was always a bare minimum mainly because I was never much of an endurance type of person. I would much rather prefer HIIT (high intensity interval training; i.e. sprints).

Nowadays I still don't do cardio in the gym (aside from biking to and from classes on campus) because I stay in a calorie deficit by just eating less. My current workout routine is a three-day split that consists of back & shoulders, chest & arms, and legs!

Good to see that you don't do "ab" specific work, but that those are worked secondary with your other exercises. I'm turning blue trying to convince my husband that I don't need to do 300 crunches a day, but when I do my compounds and maintain a slight deficit that those abs will just pop out of nowhere.

mizpoke

Great post. Awesome results. You look fabulous, well done.

nneka86

This post was just what I needed. Thanks so much for the inspiration and motivation! I'll be saving this, sticking it up on my fridge, putting it in my phone, etc.

aarondnguyen

Good to see that you don't do "ab" specific work, but that those are worked secondary with your other exercises. I'm turning blue trying to convince my husband that I don't need to do 300 crunches a day, but when I do my compounds and maintain a slight deficit that those abs will just pop out of nowhere.

Don't get me wrong, I think abs are like any other muscle and should be targeted... I'm slowly beginning to work them more into my routine. If school wasn't so demanding, I'd probably hit them twice a week haha.

This post was just what I needed. Thanks so much for the inspiration and motivation! I'll be saving this, sticking it up on my fridge, putting it in my phone, etc.

No problem! I'm glad this post is serving its purpose

pippabc

Thank you for posting your story and pictures. I really liked what you are saying, and the way you said. Congrats to you, and thanks for being an inspiration to me.
I love the success stories, they are addictive reading!

katkat28

Awesome post, thank you for this valuable knowledge. I'm starting my journey and its nice to have a reminder that this is a lifestyle, so it better be manageable and enjoyable:) Adding you now

PcchioRun

This is roughly a 2-year difference with more off-days (sometimes even weeks) than I often like to admit. Consistency is key!! That and progress photos.. The number on the scale is not too important since it reflects many variables such as potential water retention and food intake among other things. A little about me: I used to be a junk food junkie growing up. My parents spoiled me (but they had good intentions). It wasn't until shortly after high school that I started weight-lifting and learning about proper nutrition.

One point I'd like to make is you should never have to suffer on a diet. Completely removing "junk" will result in weight loss, yes. But it isn't the only way -- not to mention, it just isn't realistic for some (including myself). There is hunger (physiological) and there is appetite (psychological). Find your balance and satisfy both. Everything in moderation. There is no "good" or "bad" food -- only bad quantities. I used to buy into the whole notion of eating strictly "clean" food because I thought that was the one and only way to get lean... I also thought I had to eat 5 meals a day, one every 3 hours. So for half a year, I dealt with the constant meal-prepping and countless Tupperware. A typical lunch would be a boiled chicken breast or some lean ground turkey with spinach.

I couldn't take it. And quite frankly, my lifestyle as a college student was making the meal-prepping more and more difficult. The good news? You don't have to eat 5 meals a day. And you can achieve your fitness goals eating whatever you want -- just not in whatever AMOUNT you want.

The majority of my diet today is from nutrient-dense foods. I still eat chicken breast as a main source of protein. Yams have become a staple carbohydrate. But a small portion of my diet is what I like to call "counter-intuitive" food (burgers, cookies, pizza, etc). Everything I eat is logged.

Your body recognizes food as energy -- not so much as "good" or "bad". Don't get me wrong, I feel a lot better powering through a workout when I fuel up on yams as opposed to Poptarts. But in terms of body composition, it really doesn't matter what you eat, provided you track your calories and are getting sufficient amounts of macro nutrients (protein/carbs/fats) and micro nutrients (vitamins/minerals/fiber).

Long-term adherence to a diet in my opinion should have variety. What it shouldn't have is food limitations/restrictions. I've restricted myself from certain types of food in the past and what often ended up happening was I would cave in and binge, thus setting me up for setback after setback.

Disclaimer: I have nothing against eating 5 meals a day or eating every 2-3 hours. Nor do I have anything against avoiding carbs before bed time. (Do I avoid them before bed? No.) What works for me may not work for you. Everyone has different preferences so find your niche and do what works best for you to ensure longevity and most importantly, happiness. I just wanted to get a point across that meal timing and (manipulating) meal frequency does NOT "boost" your metabolism or make your body more "efficient". I mentioned this in another post but: take your standard 2,000 calorie diet. If you eat 5 meals a day, each would amount to 400 calories. On the other hand, if you eat 2 meals a day, each would be worth 1,000 calories. At the end of the day, the energy your body expends to metabolize these calories will be the SAME. This is the thermic effect of food (TEF). It is the law of thermodynamics.

Sorry for the long post. Feel free to add me! I'm here to motivate and inspire anyone who has just started their fitness journey or anyone that is currently on it and is lacking motivation to keep going!!

Are you Vietnamese?? :DD

And dude, I am so adding you.

YOU ARE SUCH AN INSPIRATION!!!! I THINK I'LL ACTUALLY WORK OUT TODAY!!!! Thank you

aarondnguyen

Are you Vietnamese?? :DD

And dude, I am so adding you.

YOU ARE SUCH AN INSPIRATION!!!! I THINK I'LL ACTUALLY WORK OUT TODAY!!!! Thank you

Much obliged. And yes, yes I am haha. Let's get it! Kill that workout.

aarondnguyen

Bumping

claudineer

Incredible work. You look like sculpted artwork. Thanks for sharing.

Booksandbeaches

This is such a sensible post chock full of good info. You look ripped!