Captain Ahab’s BodyBlog

I was discussing fitness with my doctor the other day and he said that the number one thing he is telling his patients is that they need to lose weight. He says that they then ask him the best way and he tells them they need to eat a number of smaller nutritious meals rather than 2 or 3 big ones, lift weights along with doing cardio. He then says that about 9 out of 10 of his patients then ask if there is an easier way to do it. They usually ask if he has any recommendations for pills for them and some even ask about gastric by-pass surgery, anything other than changing what they eat and exercising.
What is wrong with our society?
Using my wife (bodyspace: judimax) and myself for examples it took us 12 weeks (using the Body for Life program) to get our body transformations. Out of those 12 weeks we went to the gym 3 times per week for a total of 36 workouts. These workouts consisted of lifting weights for 1-hour maximum followed by 20 minutes max. of cardio, for a total of 80 minutes spent in the gym 3 times per week.
We ate 5 to 6 high protein, low carb, low fat meals per day with 2 to 3 of those meals being in the form of either a protein shake or a protein pudding (that my wife made). Following Body for Life allowed us to have one built in “cheat” day per week so that if we had any cravings we wanted to address or an event or party to go to we could eat as we pleased rather than just pick at some vegetable so out of the 12 weeks of eating correctly we also had 12 cheat days where we could eat anything and everything we wanted.
So by going to the gym and doing both weights and cardio for 80 minutes per session we had 4 days off from working out every week plus 1 cheat day every week. At the end of the 12 weeks I had lost over 50 pounds and gone from more than 36% to about 10% bodyfat and my wife had gone from a size 12/14 to a size 4/6.
I don’t say this to brag but to showcase how easy it actually is to change our shapes and achieve a complete body transformation. I do not believe that my wife and I are special human beings with an extraordinary ability to lose weight and get into great shape. I think we are just two ordinary folks who made fitness a priority and followed a proven program that took us step by step through the whole process over the course of 12 weeks. I have gone on to use the Body for Life program with a number of my clients and only 1 out of about 20 did not see the same kind of results as my wife and I did. The 1 person who did not respond was someone who did not challenge themselves while lifting weights and did not follow their meal plan. They would work at cardio but with all else no matter how I tried to get them to push themselves they just basically went through the motions and the end result was they got out of it exactly what they put into it. The other 19 all had from good to absolutely astounding results.
So my questions to you is, if it really is as easy as I have proven it is, then why won’t people try it rather than looking for the magic pill or an operation?
 

72 – 36 – 12
No these are not the measurements of some wildly out of proportion exotic dancer, but rather they are how many days I followed the nutrition program set out by Body for Life, along with how many weightlifting workouts combined with cardio sessions it took me to achieve my body transformation and also how many cheat days I had during this time period.
I was doing a bit of thinking the other day and it dawned on me that it didn’t really take me the full 12 weeks to get into the best shape of my life and achieve the body transformation that saw me judged 10^th overall in the 2007 Body for Life Challenge. I did a bit of basic math and figured out that of the 84 days (12 weeks) that I was doing the BFL Challenge I was not following their nutrition program each and every day because I was able to take advantage of their built in “cheat” day once every week, to eat whatever I wanted and to satisfy any cravings that I might have been having.
So out of the 84 days of the challenge I had 12 “cheat” days so my math brought me from 84 to 72 actual days of following their nutrition program.
The number 36 was the number of combined workouts (weightlifting & cardio) that it took me to go from what I saw as my “ 36% bodyfat, muffin topped fat body” to my “approx. 10% bodyfat completely transformed best shape of my life body.” I was quite pressed for time, which I am sure many other people are and so I did my one hour of weightlifting and followed that by doing my 20 minutes of cardio right after. This is all that Body for Life asks you to put in for weights and cardio. This really helped me especially in the beginning because I was only working out every other day and had and needed lots of time to recover.
With the Body for Life nutrition program they have you eat 5 to 6 small, protein rich, low (high glycemic) carb, low (bad) fat meals per day. This way you are having something to eat every 2 ½ to 3 hours and really revving up your metabolism and just so that you are not always sitting down to either prepare or eat what I call a “chewable” meal, 2 to 3 of your 5 to 6 meals can and should be in the form of protein shakes. Unlike many other weight loss programs that have you eating less and feeling hungry a lot of the time, what I found with Body for Life was just the opposite, I found that I was watching the clock and I had to actually make myself eat more often than I normally would and never once did I feel hungry. One of the beautiful things (I believe anyway) about BFL is their built in cheat day. One day per week you are allowed to eat anything and everything your little heart desires. If it is Big Mac’s or Whoppers or half a dozen Baconators ( I exaggerate but you get the picture) followed by Blizzards or cheesecake at every meal of the day then go for it. This is totally acceptable. I believe also that this is a good thing because many of us have parties to go to (birthday, anniversary etc.) and this way we can partake of the wonderful goodies people have on hand and not have to bring our own “healthy” snacks. The only requirement is that the next morning and until your next cheat day, you go back to the 5 to 6 meals per day. So I figured out that I used 12 cheat days out of my 84 days following BFL eating program so I only ate correctly for 84 days minus 12 cheat days equaling, 72 actual days.
I did this bit of simple math and used these numbers as an example of how little it really takes to go from fat to fit. I would like everyone who reads this and is thinking that it must have taken an enormous amount of time for me to go from a muffin top to a six pack to see just how easy it is and how little time it does take if you make fitness a priority and follow a good nutrition plan along with weightlifting and cardio.
Hey folks, if I can do it, I know you can too.
 

1. Make fitness a priority.

Schedule and mark on your calendar your workout times. Make the commitment. It is a lifestyle change rather than a temporary fix.
 
 

2. Choose a convenient gym or workout facility.

Choose a place to workout that is convenient and close. If you have to travel a long distance or through heavy traffic you may find yourself finding reasons not to go.
           
3.    Set realistic & attainable goals.

Instead of saying I think I will lose 40 lbs this year, set weekly and/or monthly goals of losing 2 lbs per week or even 5 lbs this month. Small accomplishments feel wonderful, and can be just the motivation you need to push on to the next small accomplishment
 
 

4. Start off slow.

Don’t start by working out so hard that you end up making yourself too sore to move. Focus on learning correct form and using weights that allow you to continue with correct form.
 

5. Change up your routine.

Following the same routine continuously can result in either boredom or a plateau. Change your routine every 3 months. If not your routine then your sets, reps weights and/or rest periods between sets.
 
 

6. Keep a workout journal.

Keep a workout journal and hold yourself accountable to making improvements. It will help to be able to look back and see where you started and how far you have come.
 

7. Find a workout partner.

It helps to workout with either a partner or friend. Friendly competition can push you to greater gains.
 

8. Hire a personal trainer.

If you are not sure of correct form or what routine will give you the best results hire a personal trainer. If even for a week it will be money well spent if you are shown how to lift correctly. Some people may also need a personal trainer to motivate them, especially if they are not used to pushing themselves.
 
 
 
        9. Make sure you get enough sleep.

The fastest way to derail a good workout routine is by not getting enough sleep. Many times lack of sleep will lead top overeating, lack of energy and/or skipping workouts altogether.
 

10. Be patient.

Make a firm commitment to stick with it for at least 3 months, preferably four. Remember that it took you years to get into the shape you are now in and it takes a while for your body to adjust to your new workout program and the average time for a good body transformation is approx. three months, so be patient and give yourself a chance.
                      
 
 

I like grapefruit and many times I use grapefruit juice instead of water or milk as the liquid in my protein shakes. I also take some of my prescription medications with my grapefruit juice as well as some of my supplements. Now I find out that my beloved grapefruit increases blood levels of some medicines. I say this because when I had high blood pressure, (before losing weigh, getting fit and finding my blood pressure to be at a normal level) I used to take my blood pressure medication with swallows of grapefruit juice.
The findings show that the effects of consuming grapefruit and grapefruit juice stay around for 24 hours. The handful of medicines affected by grapefruit and/or grapefruit juice should not be taken if any grapefruit product has been consumed in the previous 24 hours.
Studies show that grapefruit and its juice are great for weight loss, but many times these same people who are overweight and who are eating and drinking grapefruit and grapefruit juice have also been diagnosed with high blood pressure, and are using a blood pressure medication (like Adalat, for example) that has negative reactions (could drop blood pressure too low) when combined with either grapefruit or its juice.
The way around this predicament is to check with your doctor or pharmacist and see if there is an alternative medicine that does not have the same problems when combined with grapefruit or it’s juice.
If you are not sure about what does or does not go well with grapefruit I advise you to 1) read the warning pamphlet that comes with your medication. 2) Ask your doctor or pharmacist.