The Secret to Weight Loss Dieting… or lack there of.

Before I get into the nitty gritty here I really want to stress how useful a regimented diet plan truly is. I’ve met numerous people who are not only willing but also extremely motivated to hit the gym regularly but when I begin to discuss with them various dieting strategies they will say something like “But I just can’t say no…” No offense meant to anyone who has used it but I call bull shit on this, you simply don’t want to and you just need to realize that. Anyone can eat an exciting diet, it’s one of the easiest things in the world to do, but it takes a person with true mental strength and dedication to achieve an exciting body. If you “can’t” do what’s necessary then you’re simply not one of those people, however if you realize that you’re simply unwilling to do it then that my dear sir/madam is something we can work with! =)

Now that we got that out of the way let me tell you the good news, you DO NOT need to stick to your regimented diet day in and day out every single day. It’s not only OK for you to splurge every now and again but I actually highly encourage you to do it! If you’re dieting correctly you will be forcing your body to eat away at its reserves for multiple days on end, this will have the positive effect of fat loss but if you maintain it for to long without a “re-feed” you could begin to suffer ill-effects the primary of which is Muscle loss. To combat this it’s wise to re-feed your body at least once a week with things that you’ve been taking away from it, I’ll hit more on that later, but rest assured, you’ll still be able to make stops at the Cheesecake Factory, it just can’t be every day. =P

Me giving the "Evil Eye" as I prepare to enjoy a carb up meal >:)

Now how about that Secret… that prize at the end of the rainbow that only a select few people seem to be able to find… well gather around cause I’m about to share it with you, but it’s far simpler then you think. If you look at any diet plan under the sun right now you’ll notice they ALL follow these same 3 rules:

Rule #1 – Restrict your calories

This is the golden rule! It will have the greatest effect by far out of anything you do with a diet. However the reason why some people fail on diet plans while others don’t is because not all people are made the same, and most diet plans don’t compensate for this, they simply stick to the averages. Everyone has a different metabolism and varying degrees of activity in there day, so finding out exactly how many calories you should be getting will take some experimentation on your part initially. Let’s face it, Zangief does not, I repeat DOES NOT, have the same caloric needs as Dhalsim, if they had the exact same diet the effects would be drastically different. I suggest you use one of the many calorie calculators that can be found on the net to find out what the average maintenance level is for someone of your size and stature, this will be a great place to start. Try to get in as close to that many calories as you can each day and if you can go 3 straight days without your weight budging (weigh yourself as soon as you wake up, before you eat) you’ve found your maintenance. If you notice your weight going up then try decreasing the calories by 100, if your weight went down try increasing the calories by 100, your goal is simply to find where you break even at and it will be great practice for you to get used to calorie counting. I highly encourage you to go through this step as this knowledge is invaluable! With it you can easily determine how much you should be consuming for both fat loss and muscle gain.

Rule #2 – Choose your scapegoat

One thing you’ll notice with every diet out there is they pick a nutrient, call it the devil, and then force you to avoid it like the plague! For the longest time Fats were always the problem child that people attacked, but as of recently we’ve also started picking on Carbohydrates. Either case works just fine, it’s all a matter of which is easiest for you to live without. Just don’t attempt to cut both! I couldn’t even begin to imagine what you would be eating if you tried to limit both Fats and Carbs, but don’t even bother trying to figure it out as that’s a very BAD idea. Generally speaking your body will attempt to go after the Carbs in your body initially for energy, when it runs out it will hit up the available Fats from the foods you’ve eaten that day and then it will begin to hit your reserves. If you choose to limit Fats in your diet once your body has chewed it’s way through the Carbs it will revert to slicing the stored fat off for energy. Likewise if you choose to limit your Carb intake then your body will immediately hit up the Fats you’ve consumed in the day and then will smoothly transition to hitting up your reserves. Either way you’re completely removing a step and forcing your body to chew away at your stored fat quicker, both strategies are extremely effective, it’s all a matter what works best for you.

Rule #3 – Learn how to say no to Sugar!

You’re just going to have to face it, sugar is just straight up bad for your physique if consumed regularly. It’s no secret that Sugar is stored as Fat insidiously fast and even when you are active most of it will be stored before it’s actually used. It’ll behoove you to severely limit your Sugar intake on diet days, and when I say limit I mean take in as little as possible, if you can get through a day with 0 sugar by all means do it, the less the better. For me personally I try to shoot for getting less then 10g of Sugar in total on an average diet day. And if you really need to get your sugar fix there’s always artificial sweeteners such as Stevia or Splenda. Now there are studies out there that attempt to link various health issues to artificial sweeteners, and I’m no Nutritionist so I have no idea how true they are or not, I’m just letting you know there are other options. It’s up to you to decide if you want to believe what the researchers are saying and if it’s something you want to do. Me personally, I’ve used both Stevia and Splenda while cooking various things, but I don’t consume them regularly. (I drink my tea straight with no sweetener =P)

And for pretty much any diet plan out there today you’ll find the above 3 rules to be true. And that is the secret, you could never set foot in a gym and as long as the above 3 rules were followed I guarantee you that you would indeed start losing weight. The hard part? Motivation and Willpower. You have to be religious about it, for 6 days a week you have to be in control of your cravings and you have to learn how to say no. It’s difficult at first I’ll admit, but once those results start coming it gets so much easier! And just remember, all those things you’re missing out on… on that 7^th day… oh yah, that’s right, =) go rip that Cheesecake Factory a new one!

Now there is 1 more rule that is very important to follow if you choose to workout, which I highly encourage you to do so:

Rule #4 – Get enough Protein!

When you workout what you’re doing is ripping apart your muscles, which is why they tend to hurt so much, then your body not only repairs them but makes them stronger and more efficient at achieving whatever task was called upon them. Your body needs Protein to do this, so it’s important to get lots of it so that your body is prepared for the task. It’s a common misconception that eating lots of Protein will make your muscles explode like the Incredible Hulk or something, this is completely un-true. The only way to get larger is if you start consuming calories well in excess of your maintenance levels. Regardless of your goals, whether they be getting larger or smaller, it’s important to get plenty of protein when working out, it’s vital to your well being.

This was meant to be a general overview of what you can look forward to with regards to your diet for those of you whose goal is to cut fat. Next time I will dig into far more detail and talk about how much you should be getting of what and why its bad to cut your calories too drastically. I’ll also go into more detail about how exactly I approach my diet and my experiences with both low fat and low carb dieting.

Catch yah next time!

Steve

A bit about me and my goals

Hello everyone!

My name is Steve, also known as Biggs by many of my friends, and my motivation for claiming this little corner of the internet comes from the simple desire to help people. More specifically I wish to help my fellow Gamers and Geeks with something they've probably thought about on numerous occasions but have never had the motivation or know how to accomplish... and what might that be you ask? For you to achieve one of the most sought after personal goals anywhere you go on the planet, to become something more than the stereotype, to be comfortable walking around in your own skin. It's my goal to shatter the image that people have of us, to get them to stare at us out of awe and inspiration rather then some misplaced form of pity. That's right, we're Gamers and proud of it! And we're not only capable of living fit and healthy lives but also having the kind of physique others can only dream about! Join me, and I'll do whatever I can to help you achieve your goals! Just like any good MMO reaching the endgame content is neither quick nor easy, but the rewards awaiting you at the end of your journey will make the hours of work more than worth it. =)

My Gamer Resume

My gaming background is quite diverse and my concentration has changed a lot over the years, there is very little I haven't touched on at some point in my lifetime.

My Game Station

With regards to Video Games I've owned the first generation of every dedicated console and handheld that's ever been released since the Nintendo 64. I regularly keep up to date on computer hardware and every 2-3 years build myself a completely new rig from scratch for the sole purpose of improving my gaming experience. I graduated from Full Sail with a Bachelor Degree in Game Design and Development and I worked for about a year in the industry. I've been to E3, have participated in my fair share of cash prize tournaments and have tried more MMOs then a monkey on speed could shake a stick at! I'm not exactly what you would call a "casual" gamer. =P

The day I installed by GTX280 and my Phenom II Black.

I'm also an extremely avid War Gamer! My current love affair in War Gaming is Warmachine/Hordes but I also still actively participate in Warhammer 40k and to a smaller degree Warhammer Fantasy as well. I'm also in the process of picking up Malifaux, my first real Skirmish game since the days of Mordheim in years past. I've been to Games Day Baltimore and am currently in the planning stages for attending TempleCon in 2011 for the first time. Within the next month or so I will also be the proud owner of a 10' x 5' table specifically designed for my War Gaming needs, complete with cushioned Bar Stools. =)

Freshly painted unit of Khorne Warrios... or Bulldozer Brigade as my friends have come to know them by.

While I haven't done a lot with the CCG genre as a whole I have been playing M:tG since the days of Mirage. I've purchased more then enough Booster Boxes over the years and while I don't necessarily make it to every single one, I've attended a plethora of pre-release events. I'm not nearly as competitive in Magic as I am in other games however, so it's quite rare for me to go to an actual Standard Constructed Tourney, but I have a few friends who do and I enjoy cheering them on from the sidelines. =)

The current pride and joy of my collection, yes she's foil and yes it's her Legions version.

And last but not least that brings us to Roll Play, what devout gamer doesn't love exploring their imagination every now and again? =) I've played D&D 3.0, 3.5 and 4.0 and most recently have been dabbling into Pathfinder. Even more so then D20 I'm a HUUUGE fan of White Wolf's World of Darkness , I've wasted many hours creating characters and scenarios for that world. I've also participated in (and GMed for) some of the not so widely known systems out there, like the suspenseful and intense Dread.

Love me some White Wolf!

My reason for sharing these things about myself are to show you that when I say I'm a hardcore Gamer I mean it with every ounce of my being. I'm not some guy who plays nothing but sports games, I'm not some ordinary Joe who got sucked up by the WoW craze and I'm not a casual gamer who spends most of his time with Java/Facebook games. Like many of you gaming is my life, it's something I take quite seriously and I'm certainly not willing to give it up. And let me be the first to tell you that you don't have to, I have a 9-5 job and a Wife and still have plenty of time to enjoy my hobbies while working out and keeping fit. =) It's a goal that's very much within your reach, you just have to make the effort to leap for it!

My Transformation

While in High School and College I very much fit right into the stereotype of being an overweight gamer. I would eat high calorie and high sugar foods constantly throughout the day while downing soda after soda and would rarely get up to move around unless it was to get more food/soda or use the restroom. My only saving grace was the fact that I'm fairly tall standing at 6'3", but by the time I was approaching my graduation date my weight was breaking 270lbs! I loathed the way I looked but felt helpless to do anything about it... it wasn't until 2005 when I had to get my Gallbladder removed mere days after my birthday that I finally decided to make that leap and reach for something I'd always wanted. And thus my journey began.

This was me not quite at my biggest, I packed on another 20lbs before I made the leap.

I started off easy enough, I simply tried to eat what I thought were healthier foods at regular times throughout the day and stopped drinking any and all liquids with calories in them. I did this religiously for a year straight and managed to drop from 270lbs down to 190lbs, all without setting a foot in the gym! As excited as I was about my transformation I was still very self conscious about my physique except now it was for quite the opposite reason. I naturally didn't have a whole lot of muscle on my frame thanks to years of doing mostly nothing but sitting and eating. And since I lost all the weight purely with dieting it certainly didn't help to put on any muscle... so now I looked like a stick and while I certainly felt better than before, I still wasn't overly thrilled about myself.

The day I weighed in at 190lbs, I had now hit the opposite extreme of being overly skinny.

And thus, my first ever bulk cycle began! I started going to the gym regularly in an attempt to get bigger, except this time I was doing it in a good way. =) It was really slow at first of course due to my complete and total lack of direction. I wasn't sure which lifts to do and how to correctly do them, I didn't know what would be the correct way to do cardio, I was having issues figuring out how to approach my diet, I was like a fish out of water. So my gains were quite mediocre the first few years.

After a little more then a year of trying to gain muscle, an obvious improvement but still quite slow.

That was until I met Carl, my first and only personal trainer. I worked with him for 5 days a week for 3 solid months and in that time he gave me the tools necessary to reach my goals and completely change my way of life. Ever since then my life has completely changed and I couldn't imagine ever going back. I'm in the best shape I've ever been in and I still feel like I'm improving every week.

Me today, weighing in at 202lbs with %10-%11 body fat.

My Objective

With this blog I hope to help you on your journey, I want to show you that you don't need to sacrifice everything in order to obtain that great physique. You'll still be able to order in some pizza with the guys on game night, you'll still be able to sooth your sweet tooth with your favorite dessert and you'll still be able to game your heart out! =) And I hope to get you started off on the right foot, so that you don't have to spend years doing trial and error while you attempt to figure everything out.

In the following days/weeks/months I plan to use this blog as a means of sharing with my Gamer community how exactly I went about achieving my goals. I will cover as much of the spectrum as I can from how I diet to how I lift to how I do my cardio. I'll even share with you my inspirations and try to share the knowledge I've obtained from the various people who've assisted me over the past 4 years. I will also touch on the various things I've tried in the past and how they did or didn't work for me and keep people updated on my own personal progress as I'm constantly trying to improve myself. And if anyone has any questions for me don't hesitate to ask! I'll do what I can to make sure I personally answer any questions you may have.

And of course, I'm sure game related news will find it's way on here every now and again as well, we are Gamers after all. =P

Make the leap! I promise you wont regret it!
Steve