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

zipnguyen

Terrific documentation all the way through. I will refer back many times. Mostly for the information Sometimes just to ogle. Thats your own darn fault! (Don't worry, I'm 60!)

Yes. The blood test results and what not and future updates will be posted as well.

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.

really ?? 271 !!!

Yep, 271lbs at the heaviest. Most people thought I wasn't that heavy. It's not until I stand next to my 110lbs wife that you'll notice the size difference. That and I've always lifted weights so I will not look as heavy if someone my height with less musculature at that same weight.

Pronoiac

Bump

zipnguyen

Many of you asked how to plan meals and what not. I have three kids. I lecture at two universities as well two separate businesses and my wife is has a business of her own. So time is somewhat short. So we plan way ahead of time and cook in large batches and eat permutations of food sources.

Chicken and Beef is supreme in our home . Fish will usually be cooked on the spot that day when eaten. But again I cook in large batches and vacuum seal them with that vacuum sealer you've all seen in infomercials. When its lunch or dinner time, my wife just has to figure out a carb source for her and the kids. I eat weird stuff with my protein sources so for her and the kids if they are having chicken, then I know chicken will be thawed and I have to make my own carb source. If they are having pasta, I'll have wheat pasta. If they are having rice, I'll have brown rice. So on and so forth.

Here are some examples of how much food I usually cook every 2 weeks or so. To give you scale. The grill I have is the Weber Ranch Kettle grilled which I believes measures 42" in diameter so it's pretty big. I have like four grills at my home and I'm a bit of a grill-enthusiast.:bigsmile:

grilled herb chicken drumsticks with brown rice and broccoli (boring I know)



1 whole package of chicken breast from Costco. About 8 lbs of chicken breast. Grilled with salt/pepper/Italian seasoning it will fit in a lot of different recipes, soups, and salads. Note the strong product placement of the Coke Zero (don't judge) and the Super Mario decals on my fridge (we just had a birthday party)



5lbs of tri-tip cut across the grain and marinaded Korean BBQ style. That is all...:bigsmile:




Meat on the grill...




So here is a ton of protein (more like 20lbs, not a ton, but you get the point :laugh:) Now I usually vacuum seal about 4-6 drumsticks per package and I partition out the beef in 8ozs increments.



So this is how I manage the meat consumption in our house. I precook everything, then vacuum seal and voila, my wife doesn't really have to cook other than boiling pasta, cooking rice, or chopping lettuce for salad. Like the pizzas, it's premade at home and my wife and I just pick and choose what we like to eat. Now granted I'm cooking for about 1-2 hours grilling or prepping food on Sundays, but it frees up SO MUCH TIME during the week.

When my kids start heading off to college (hopefully locally) I will be doing this for them because (1) I want them to eat wholesome foods and (2) I get to hover and spy on them when I visit - YES, I plan ahead...

zipnguyen

Found some older pictures of me using all 4 grills making not-so-healthy foods for a family party (I was about 240lbs in that photo, down from 270lbs)


Getting the fire started and tamed. The big Ranch kettle was used to grill while the two regular web grills was used for rotisserie and the smoker was to smoke something like 6 or 7 pork butts for pulled pork goodness <

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trying to drool, but there's no drool smiley face.




Grills..............................................................................




mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, pulled pork with smoke ring bark. Incidentally, I ended up vacuum sealing this and people took it as freezeable leftovers.:grumble:

suzy50minus

Wow what a success story!! You look GREAT!!

zipnguyen

Wow what a success story!! You look GREAT!!

Thanks. If you have questions, my diary is pretty much opened.

melonsss

your story is very motivational and proves excersie does work in this weight loss process. sending friend request.

zipnguyen

your story is very motivational and proves excersie does work in this weight loss process. sending friend request.

thanks - my turn to give back...

Silverkittycat

Look at all those grills! 4?!

Heading back to the turkey chili.

zipnguyen

Look at all those grills! 4?!

Heading back to the turkey chili.

The chili gets better a day after. I think it's the beans and how the starches leach out of them into the spicy tomatoey broth that makes it's ungcious.

MommyOfTwnz

hi

FindingTotalHealth

finally got on a real computer to be able to come see this. Thanks for the info and I can't wait to try the "ice cream"

FindingTotalHealth

please tell me they have cinnamon pop tarts...

zipnguyen

please tell me they have cinnamon pop tarts...

I buy my pop tarts from a company that makes the organic-like. www.NaturesPath.com

Tarah1218

My husband use to be like you with the grills....I bought him one of those 2 in 1 grills, both gas and charcoal and told him no other grills allowed on my deck! He gets upset though because he cooks a lot at one time in meat and complains about having to do it in 2 or 3 rounds.

Cooking in batches saves my booty around here too. Not because I don't have time to cook but because I always forget to thaw out meat. If it is precooked I can just throw in the micro or on the foreman, if we don't want it dry, lol.

zipnguyen

My husband use to be like you with the grills....I bought him one of those 2 in 1 grills, both gas and charcoal and told him no other grills allowed on my deck! He gets upset though because he cooks a lot at one time in meat and complains about having to do it in 2 or 3 rounds.

Cooking in batches saves my booty around here too. Not because I don't have time to cook but because I always forget to thaw out meat. If it is precooked I can just throw in the micro or on the foreman, if we don't want it dry, lol.

make a lot and vacuum seal them; it's never dry once thawed or nuked in it's own sealed bag. If it was dry, I wouldn't eat it. I mean chicken breast is already kinda dry to begin with

caveats

Bump 'cuz your "ice cream" photos look AMAZING ... I also like how you took photos of the steps in between. I've been struggling with homemade frozen yogurt without an ice cream maker ... I love that your fluff -> ice cream doesn't require one!

Also, awesome progress pics, too! I know what you mean about the size difference ... back when I did weigh 110, I was dating a nearly 300 lb. guy (he was 6'5" and big boned, so he wasn't ALL fat). Standing next to him, he looked MORE like a giant than he already was. :laugh:

zipnguyen

Bump 'cuz your "ice cream" photos look AMAZING ... I also like how you took photos of the steps in between. I've been struggling with homemade frozen yogurt without an ice cream maker ... I love that your fluff -> ice cream doesn't require one!

Also, awesome progress pics, too! I know what you mean about the size difference ... back when I did weigh 110, I was dating a nearly 300 lb. guy (he was 6'5" and big boned, so he wasn't ALL fat). Standing next to him, he looked MORE like a giant than he already was. :laugh:

Thanks. The photos were taken with my iPhone. And with that said, I am waiting for a promo plug payment from Apple.

caveats

OK, maybe I'm blind, but ... do you have a recipe posted for the strawberry oatmeal one? I see the pumpkin one, but the strawberry is calling ...

zipnguyen

OK, maybe I'm blind, but ... do you have a recipe posted for the strawberry oatmeal one? I see the pumpkin one, but the strawberry is calling ...

my bad. the strawberry one was for my kids hence the kiddie protein powder. But here's the recipe. Just sub out the kiddie protein for adult whey protein and instead of sugar, use whatever sugar substitute you like.

1 cup of 2% organic milk.
2 oatmeal cookies that my wife made.
2 scoops of that kid's protein powder because my kids don't get enough protein. They will get protein if it's in a McNugget form (LOL).
350 grams by weight of Frozen Strawberries from Costco. I believe the brand is Kirkland.
1.5 TBLS of Stevia
1 TBLS of Sugar

If making for yourself and keeping the carbs "somewhat" low, use Stevia in it's entirety and not the sugar. Or sucralose or equal or whatever your favorite sugar substitute is.

Follow the instructions and or "concepts" from www.proteinfluff.com and voila. Freeze for 4-6 hours and it should come out like the Dryer's or Edy's "Slowchurn" line of ice creams. Slowchurn line of ice creams from these companies just means they whip more air into the ice cream making the calories lower and when frozen, you have more space in between the ice cream crystals although actual volume and mass is kept low.


ENJOY:drinker: <

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there's no eating smiley face, so this will have to do.

zipnguyen

And that my friends is how POP TARTS negotiations are done!!!:bigsmile:

I went into the store with this coupon



and note the limit 5. I spoke with manager and told him do I just walk out of the store and walk back in OR can I just ring it up under different transaction. My assumption to the manager was that I am in fact buying all these and there's nothing he can really do to stop me. His response was, "...sir I have to leave product here at the store and you can't just clear out our shelves... BUT sir, I can put an order in for you and you can pick it up on Saturday..."

SWEET. I will upload photos when I make the score. At these prices I really don't care if they are organic or not.:bigsmile:

Jdinh04

$0.18 per pastry!

zipnguyen

$0.18 per pastry!

HECK YEAH they are ordering me up 50 boxes where each box contains 8 of them - GOLD HAS BEEN STRUCK my friend. Will pick up Saturday morning and photograph

Silverkittycat

there's organic PopTarts? what? so confused....I'll read back a few pages. :embarassed:

zipnguyen

there's organic PopTarts? what? so confused....I'll read back a few pages. :embarassed:

Yes there are. Natures Path organic pop tarts. But I am going back to Kellogs at these prices.

zipnguyen

Here we go.





The far left photo, I'm 185lbs and the far right photo I'm 185lbs. The photo with the white trunks I was my lightest at 175lbs. Keep in mind for me to be in contest shape, I would need to lose ANOTHER 20lbs off that far right photo. Sucks, I know!!!

Jeff92se

What was your diet like during that period? Calorie deficit? Surplus? Both?

zipnguyen

What was your diet like during that period? Calorie deficit? Surplus? Both?

There were a lot more photos than this. I didn't even put up the ones when I was 270 to 240. I don't even know where I saved them. Good riddance if you ask me.

From 240 to 185 was nothing but slight caloric deficit and cardio+weightlifting. But I am not new to weight lifting at all; been lifting for 19-20 years now. So even when I was 271lbs I didn't really look like I was 271lbs.

zipnguyen

The far left and far right photos I'm 185lbs. In the white shorts I'm 175lbs.