Hello all!

I'm a long time lurker of the JSF forums after having found the site in Jully of '06. I was *completely* amazed at what John Stone had been able to do.

I signed up for a gym membership in February of '07 with an old highschool friend and started working out 2-3 times a week after work with him.

I saw some results and went from 195lbs to about 180lbs, but still felt "chubby".

Finally I started examining my diet after re-reading someone's post here who said "Abs are made in the kitchen, not the gym". I'm not a fan of hard core calorie counting and enjoy my cheat meals, but I find myself wanting Big Macs and Taco Bell less and less.

An average daily diet:
6AM
8-12oz Skim Milk w/whey protein powder

7AM
6-10oz of Cheddar cheese
16oz of coffee (no sugar, skim milk)
10AM
1-2cups Oatmeal
Possible another cup of coffee

11:30-12PM
Leftovers from dinner or 1-2 PBJ sandwichs

2-3PM
Apple, Carrots, Orange, Banana, whichever I'm in the mood for

5-7PM (depending on when my wife or I cook)
Ground turkey breast/turkey/chicken cutlets
Vegetable serving (brocolli, greenbeans, peas, corn, etc)
Serving of brown rice

I'm sure my diet could use work, but I don't find myself hungry throughout the day, and I drink water frequently.

I'll save my workout for later, but wanted to attach two pictures of where I was, and where I am now. I went from 198lbs and at least 25%BF to 167lbs and 12%BF (using accu-measure calipers)

And of course, the reason I decided to make a change...My wife and I are expecting our first child any day now, a little girl, and I wanted to live a healthy life and lead by example.

for abs, i would ditch the milk an the cheese. and eating 2 peanut butter an jelly sandwiches is probably a bad idea. there is nothing wrong with the natural peanut butter, but all that bread (4 slices for 2 sandwiches), along with all that sugar in the jelly (unless you use sugar free). when u make a pbj sandwich u have the tendancy not to measure it out and end up adding more fat into your diet than you thought. to be more precise, measure out how much pb you are having, where 2 tblspoons is roughly 15g fat.

Thanks for the advice, I'll try adjusting my diet for a few weeks and let you know how it works out!

for abs, i would ditch the milk an the cheese. and eating 2 peanut butter an jelly sandwiches is probably a bad idea. there is nothing wrong with the natural peanut butter, but all that bread (4 slices for 2 sandwiches), along with all that sugar in the jelly (unless you use sugar free). when u make a pbj sandwich u have the tendancy not to measure it out and end up adding more fat into your diet than you thought. to be more precise, measure out how much pb you are having, where 2 tblspoons is roughly 15g fat.

Excellent progress man! You really trimmed out that stomach..If I can make two suggestions, I'd definately watch out for the sugar intake from the PB&J--..Also, I would add some form of protein with your 7 am meal..Perhaps some eggs? Anyways, Keep up the good work man

Thanks for the comment! I was hoping to get protein and some fat from the cheese at 7AM, but MeanStang is suggesting I drop the cheese. What would either of you suggest as a replacement? I usually eat the 7AM meal on the way to work or at work.


Excellent progress man! You really trimmed out that stomach..If I can make two suggestions, I'd definately watch out for the sugar intake from the PB&J--..Also, I would add some form of protein with your 7 am meal..Perhaps some eggs? Anyways, Keep up the good work man

How about some cottage cheese instead of cheddar cheese. It's about half the protein but has 20g less saturated fat (based on 4oz, full fat cottage cheese, even less saturated fat if you get 1% or 2%).

That works well, I can get the lowfat cottage cheese single serving containers and take them to work.

How about some cottage cheese instead of cheddar cheese. It's about half the protein but has 20g less saturated fat (based on 4oz, full fat cottage cheese, even less saturated fat if you get 1% or 2%).

Sounds like a good plan. Just make sure you are getting enough fat in your diet too. One mistake I often see people make is that they try to cut fat out of their diet completely. The idea is to eat the right proportions of each macro- fat is not just used to make big beer bellies but is used to build cell walls, protect organs, etc. It's an essential nutrient so make sure you are getting enough.