Lost 96lbs and made top 10 in physique contest...

zipnguyen

Hi,

I was 271 lbs. and then I dwindled down to 175 lbs. with Layne Norton's help. I made top ten in a physique competition out of 215 competitors. I've been reverse dieting for what seems like forever, but it's only been about 3 months. I'm currently bouncing around between 175 to 180 and honing in on 177. However, I'm much leaner at 177 and larger at 177 than I ever was the last time I was 177.

I believe I'm currently consuming my TDEE because I'm getting leaner in some areas and getting stronger while maintaining weight - (thanks coach Norton).

And I actually look completely different at 177 compared to 175...

Oh...I forgot, ADD ME, I need friends... :bigsmile:

Silverkittycat

Fantastic!

servilia

That's awesome, congrats!! Request sent

ycc1964

Fantastic job.

Victoriav99

WTG! Request sent as well! Keep it up!

coyoteo

Wow, good for you!

turningstar

Great job! Sending request!

katz22

epic win!

zipnguyen

stupid question, but how do you add a photo here...there's no attachment button...

Jeff92se

stupid question, but how do you add a photo here...there's no attachment button...

is up uploaded already?

ie.. Just hit the quote button to see the bb code.

BTW, you're looking good bro. Way lean and way strong. Damn good job.

zipnguyen

awe shucks thanks... another dumb question, what's a bb code?

Silverkittycat

I upload a pic to flickr or imageshack, then copy and paste the image code here, with after the code but change the IMG to lowercase letters. I hope I explained it correctly.

zipnguyen

Let's see if the pic posting works...

ALRIGHTY...

GOLD HAS BEEN STRUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For those with a sweet tooth, I have found the IMO a great alternative to Haagen Daz. Don't get me wrong it's not going to taste like Haagen Daz, but it sure does satiate the need for ice cream if you are dieting.:happy:

Here's the break down.......
150 Calories per pint, NOT per serving. PER PINT. This is where everyone says YAY...
14-16 grams of whey protein per pint.
7 grams of of carbs
ZERO fat...

That there is what I call post-workout-meal, but it would seem like we would need to eat 2 at one sitting... Now what to do with this insulin spike:bigsmile:

zipnguyen

Got it to UPLOAD FINALLY. I only had to upload the photos from my www.bodybuilding.com account and copy/paste the photos here....Sheesh the hassle...

mrsredneckmorris

I would really like to see some of your before pics, when you were at your heaviest....you have clearly done an amazing job!!!

zipnguyen

as soon as I can figure out how to upload the 3 prior photos of my ice cream, i will upload other photos.

HeikkiLaukkanen

Very inspiring. Friend request on the way, I could use friends who have figured out how to dial in their eating!

zipnguyen

I would really like to see some of your before pics, when you were at your heaviest....you have clearly done an amazing job!!!

Here you go...

Left photo 271 lbs.
Middle photo 200 lbs.
Right photo 175 lbs.

zipnguyen

My weakest part was always my arms, but with my coach's help, I am making them catch up substantially...

Below is 4 photos of my arm progression.................

zipnguyen

the 4 photos above are actual pumped and relaxed. My avatar shows my flexed arm, but about 1.5 hours after a meal with relatively high sodium so I "fill out" and look vascular...

zipnguyen

This photo is of me bouncing around 178-180 lbs. and I'm leaner here than when I was at 175 lbs. Wife doesn't dig the vascularity much, but oh well...

advan031

Very impressive transformation....great job

zipnguyen

Thanks...Now that I got the photos up and running, I'm open to answering questions.

allenpearcy

Awesome! Incredible definition!

zipnguyen

^^^Thanks. I have to get my back photos together from when I was 200 lbs. vs. now at ~177lbs. My back really leaned out and my waist got way smaller making that V-taper pretty awesome...

Will post as soon as I can find them.

foremant86

awesome, congrats!!! you look amazing

zipnguyen

thanks will upload more photos when I find them...

Annemiles

Wow - such a difference, you must feel fantastic. Do you just do lots of weights or gym/run as well?

zipnguyen

Wow - such a difference, you must feel fantastic. Do you just do lots of weights or gym/run as well?

To be honest, I lifted weights all through high school and college. But then grad school, post doc, marriage, kids, 4 businesses later and you can guess what happened... I ate the same as "if I was still working out..."

Then it was a battle to start an on-again and off-again exercise regimen that didn't pan out as I planned for about 6-7 years. Gaining roughly 10-15 lbs per year and voila I was 96 lbs. heavier than what I was.

So I came to the conclusion that I just didn't want to lose weight, but rather get back to the shape (if not bigger) than what I was in my highschool/undergrad years...

I started lifting weights, cardio was kept to a minimum (other than for cardiovascular health reasons) and I lift 5x per week; my lower body is actually overdeveloped and dwarfs my upper body (product of being a volleyball player and being only 5'8" means I had to train my legs to jump higher than dudes 6'4"). Lower body workouts are usually 1-1.5 hours. Upperbody or arm/shoulder workouts are in excess of 2 hours. Currently cardio is kept to 2x per week at no more than 35 mins per session...

What really motivated me was entering a physique competition - I'll tell you the day you enter and you know how much time you have left to get your butt in gear you can "Feel" the difference in the gym. You are more motivated and more focused to OUTWORK the next guy that's going to show up. And the kicker is, you don't know who's going to show up...So then it's just you vs. you.

Cardio during the contest prep was only 5x/week at no more than 30 mins per session. The ABSOLUTELY GOOD THING about having more musclemass is getting away with less cardio to get lean.

For every 1-pound of muscle you add, you get to eat 50 more calories. Doesn't sound like a lot but pack on 10 lbs of muscle and that's equivalent to eating an extra Big-Mac from McDonald's without gaining any additional weight. However, I don't eat at McD anymore...But you get the point.

From now until next year I will be in my mass gaining phase, and hence, cardio is kept to a minimum of 2x per week and lifting 5x per week. So essentially I'm working out everyday, but it's not taxing. It's the nutritional habits that's taxing, but I've nailed it now thanks to my coach, Layne Norton. Google him. He has a lot of free articles and research papers publish. Guy has a Ph.D. in skeletal muscle protein synthesis and is a pro natural bodybuilder and has given back so much to the community.

Because of his expertise, I'm leaner and bigger and more enegetic than I've ever been. When you're deadlifting heavy or squatting or bench pressing heavy, playing with your kids or dealing with stresses at work just doesn't seem as tough any more. Now squatting with +300 lbs on your back that's OR deadlifting 335 lbs 4-5 times off the ground for 1-2 hours - that's tough!!! Running around with the kids - easy! Looking like the most ripped dad/husband at the beach - priceless :bigsmile:

jamielr84

Wow! Awesome transformation! You look great. Thanks for sharing!

zipnguyen

Found them...

Back when I was about 188 lbs.





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