John Stone
Sat, January 1st, 2011, 08:22 AM
For the January 2011 Transformation Spotlight of the Month I've selected forum member "Foley" (Dave). As a child Dave was overweight and teased constantly. When he decided to make a change, he did so with virtually no information on proper fat loss techniques. Dave may have lacked knowledge when he started, but he didn't use that as an excuse to quit. Instead of complaining, he simply got started, asked questions on the forums, learned and progressed. Dave's transformation is a long-term success story that demonstrates that desire, hard work and consistency are more important than waiting for the so-called "perfect plan". With hard work those of you who are just starting out will see excellent results in a short time, but never forget that real change is a marathon, not a sprint.
PICTURES:
February 2006
35985
March 2006
35986
April 2006
35987
December 2010 [Front]
35988
December 2010
35989
[B]
Why did you decide to make a transformation?
As a child I was always fat. I used to get teased about it all the time. This carried on from age 5 up until I was about 15. Even though I had some good friends, I still got picked on. One day I just had enough and wanted to lose weight. One of my friends actually found the JSF site and linked it to me over MSN. I was a little skeptical but after reading for a couple of hours, I was very much impressed with what John had done for himself.
What sort of planning did you do before you started?
I did the usual thing of reading the sticky threads. My parents were keen to help me, but when I told them I wanted to eat meat 3x a day, they were like NO WAY, you can’t do that. So I had to do my best with the food they had in the house and came up with a very shoddy eating plan.
I spent HOURS trying to perfect a plan and soon found out that this is virtually impossible. I started numerous “help me with my diet” threads and no doubt pissed off some very nice forum members.
What were your initial goals?
At first I just wanted to lose some “weight” but more importantly, feel better about myself. I didn’t have any set goals and I thought I would know when I had done enough to achieve this. I soon learnt that this ambiguous “goal” is NEVER achieved.
I started off at around 182-185lbs and didn’t really have a goal weight.
What was your diet and supplement intake like?
Over the years I have changed my eating habits a LOT. I started logging in my first journal in January 2006, and here is the first entry
Meal 1: 07:30am 50g oats, 200ml semi skimmed milk, 2 eggs, 1 slice of wholemeal bread.
Meal 2: 11:00am Chicken, 2 slices of wholemeal bread
Meal 3: 12:30pm Same as Meal 2
Meal 4: 16:00pm 1 Banana (Pre workout)
Meal 5: 18:15pm 100g-cottage cheese (Post workout)
Meal 6: 18:45pm 1 serving Moussaka
My diet stayed like this for a few months, I lost some weight and then here is a log from March 27th 2006, after being told numerous times that I was eating way too little.
Meal #1 - 2 eggs, 1 slice wholemeal bread, 50g Oats, 100ml semi skim milk
Meal #2 - 2 slices wholemeal bread, 1/2 small can of tuna, 1 apple
Meal #3 - 1/2 can of tuna, salad
Meal #4 - 1 apple
Meal #5 - 1 scoop vanilla p powder, 1 banana, 300ml semi skim milk
Meal #6 - Cod, tomato sauce, beans and mashed potato
I have recently been working with Aram (Mastover (http://mastover.com/)) on my nutrition and so I cannot detail about this here. Saying that, I usually stick to the following guidelines:
Protein: 1-2g per lb of bodyweight
Fats: between 50g and 90g
Carbs: 50-150 (cutting) and 200- LOTS (bulking)
I also drink around 3-4 liters of water a day and try to eat vegetables as much as possible.
What was your training like?
I started off in a very simple gym at my school and did an HIT routine that RTE posted in my journal, of which I am VERY grateful for his input. I continued this for a few months until I joined a much better equipped gym and started doing a 5x5 routine.
I have done MANY different routines over the years, HIT, 5x5, Westside for Skinny Bastards, Stronglifts, Mastover’s 20 rep squat workout, Coan-Phillipi Deadlift program, various powerlifting routines and more currently the second workout on mastover.com (http://mastover.com/)
What I’ve learnt is that most training programs will work, it ALL comes down to the diet you have in place to back you up!
What obstacles did you encounter, and how did you overcome them?
At first I was very enthusiastic and made tremendous changes. However, after my initial change, I went through a few months of eating shit and not exercising. I thought that I didn’t have to do anymore and that I could go back to my old ways. This is totally wrong; it is lifestyle change, which impacts your life, rather than a 3-month stint. To overcome this I had to realise this was a lifestyle change and once I had done so, I changed my life to accommodate this new way of living.
How has your life changed?
Dramatically. I am no longer called fat, I no longer look fat and more importantly, I no longer feel fat. Moreover, I now have this feeling of improved confidence, I feel like anything is possible. I have gone from being the fat kid to the strong, lean, happy teenager.
How did JSF and the JSF Forums help you?
JSF and the forums helped me immensely. They have been a great source of information. Even now I am still searching old threads when I need the answer for something.
There are also a few members in particular that I would like to thanks, including RTE, 1FastGTX, mastover, gazareth, Big_D, chicanerous, Pete5. There are so many more, and I would like to thank EVERYONE who has helped me at some point over the many years I’ve been a part of this community.
What advice would you offer to others?
For those that are contemplating making a transformation:
• Don’t leave it till the New Year, next week or even tomorrow to change. Start NOW!
• Read some of the sticky threads here and then start with a plan. It may not be the RIGHT plan, but this is only found by doing trial and error.
• Once you have your plan, stick to it for a few months. DO NOT GIVE UP.
For those who have already embarked on change:
• When you step into the gym, you are not there to talk and make friends. You have a job to do. You must go in there and beat what you did last time. This means more reps or more weight. This is the mentality you must have.
• If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. If you have a nutrition plan that is working, don’t change it.
• Keep your protein high, your fats moderate and tinker with your carbs.
• Don’t let one mishap turn into two, turn into three, turn into a bad month. Get back on the wagon and continue on your plan!
What are your future plans?
I have a lot of things coming up, some fitness related and some non-fitness related. Here are some of my goals for 2011.
- Graduate university with a first class mathematics degree
- Pass my BCU 5 star kayak award and get paid to do a sport that I love, in my spare time.
- Get accepted into a graduate job, set up my life and move into a small house with my girlfriend.
- Find a happy medium between being strong, being lean and having fun.
- Deadlift 230kg, Squat 180g and Bench Press 140kg.
Any closing thoughts?
A massive thank you to anyone who has ever helped me. If any forum member would like some help I am more than happy to point your in the right direction. YEAH BUDDY!!!
Thanks for your time, Dave - congratulations on your incredible progress!
PICTURES:
February 2006
35985
March 2006
35986
April 2006
35987
December 2010 [Front]
35988
December 2010
35989
[B]
Why did you decide to make a transformation?
As a child I was always fat. I used to get teased about it all the time. This carried on from age 5 up until I was about 15. Even though I had some good friends, I still got picked on. One day I just had enough and wanted to lose weight. One of my friends actually found the JSF site and linked it to me over MSN. I was a little skeptical but after reading for a couple of hours, I was very much impressed with what John had done for himself.
What sort of planning did you do before you started?
I did the usual thing of reading the sticky threads. My parents were keen to help me, but when I told them I wanted to eat meat 3x a day, they were like NO WAY, you can’t do that. So I had to do my best with the food they had in the house and came up with a very shoddy eating plan.
I spent HOURS trying to perfect a plan and soon found out that this is virtually impossible. I started numerous “help me with my diet” threads and no doubt pissed off some very nice forum members.
What were your initial goals?
At first I just wanted to lose some “weight” but more importantly, feel better about myself. I didn’t have any set goals and I thought I would know when I had done enough to achieve this. I soon learnt that this ambiguous “goal” is NEVER achieved.
I started off at around 182-185lbs and didn’t really have a goal weight.
What was your diet and supplement intake like?
Over the years I have changed my eating habits a LOT. I started logging in my first journal in January 2006, and here is the first entry
Meal 1: 07:30am 50g oats, 200ml semi skimmed milk, 2 eggs, 1 slice of wholemeal bread.
Meal 2: 11:00am Chicken, 2 slices of wholemeal bread
Meal 3: 12:30pm Same as Meal 2
Meal 4: 16:00pm 1 Banana (Pre workout)
Meal 5: 18:15pm 100g-cottage cheese (Post workout)
Meal 6: 18:45pm 1 serving Moussaka
My diet stayed like this for a few months, I lost some weight and then here is a log from March 27th 2006, after being told numerous times that I was eating way too little.
Meal #1 - 2 eggs, 1 slice wholemeal bread, 50g Oats, 100ml semi skim milk
Meal #2 - 2 slices wholemeal bread, 1/2 small can of tuna, 1 apple
Meal #3 - 1/2 can of tuna, salad
Meal #4 - 1 apple
Meal #5 - 1 scoop vanilla p powder, 1 banana, 300ml semi skim milk
Meal #6 - Cod, tomato sauce, beans and mashed potato
I have recently been working with Aram (Mastover (http://mastover.com/)) on my nutrition and so I cannot detail about this here. Saying that, I usually stick to the following guidelines:
Protein: 1-2g per lb of bodyweight
Fats: between 50g and 90g
Carbs: 50-150 (cutting) and 200- LOTS (bulking)
I also drink around 3-4 liters of water a day and try to eat vegetables as much as possible.
What was your training like?
I started off in a very simple gym at my school and did an HIT routine that RTE posted in my journal, of which I am VERY grateful for his input. I continued this for a few months until I joined a much better equipped gym and started doing a 5x5 routine.
I have done MANY different routines over the years, HIT, 5x5, Westside for Skinny Bastards, Stronglifts, Mastover’s 20 rep squat workout, Coan-Phillipi Deadlift program, various powerlifting routines and more currently the second workout on mastover.com (http://mastover.com/)
What I’ve learnt is that most training programs will work, it ALL comes down to the diet you have in place to back you up!
What obstacles did you encounter, and how did you overcome them?
At first I was very enthusiastic and made tremendous changes. However, after my initial change, I went through a few months of eating shit and not exercising. I thought that I didn’t have to do anymore and that I could go back to my old ways. This is totally wrong; it is lifestyle change, which impacts your life, rather than a 3-month stint. To overcome this I had to realise this was a lifestyle change and once I had done so, I changed my life to accommodate this new way of living.
How has your life changed?
Dramatically. I am no longer called fat, I no longer look fat and more importantly, I no longer feel fat. Moreover, I now have this feeling of improved confidence, I feel like anything is possible. I have gone from being the fat kid to the strong, lean, happy teenager.
How did JSF and the JSF Forums help you?
JSF and the forums helped me immensely. They have been a great source of information. Even now I am still searching old threads when I need the answer for something.
There are also a few members in particular that I would like to thanks, including RTE, 1FastGTX, mastover, gazareth, Big_D, chicanerous, Pete5. There are so many more, and I would like to thank EVERYONE who has helped me at some point over the many years I’ve been a part of this community.
What advice would you offer to others?
For those that are contemplating making a transformation:
• Don’t leave it till the New Year, next week or even tomorrow to change. Start NOW!
• Read some of the sticky threads here and then start with a plan. It may not be the RIGHT plan, but this is only found by doing trial and error.
• Once you have your plan, stick to it for a few months. DO NOT GIVE UP.
For those who have already embarked on change:
• When you step into the gym, you are not there to talk and make friends. You have a job to do. You must go in there and beat what you did last time. This means more reps or more weight. This is the mentality you must have.
• If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. If you have a nutrition plan that is working, don’t change it.
• Keep your protein high, your fats moderate and tinker with your carbs.
• Don’t let one mishap turn into two, turn into three, turn into a bad month. Get back on the wagon and continue on your plan!
What are your future plans?
I have a lot of things coming up, some fitness related and some non-fitness related. Here are some of my goals for 2011.
- Graduate university with a first class mathematics degree
- Pass my BCU 5 star kayak award and get paid to do a sport that I love, in my spare time.
- Get accepted into a graduate job, set up my life and move into a small house with my girlfriend.
- Find a happy medium between being strong, being lean and having fun.
- Deadlift 230kg, Squat 180g and Bench Press 140kg.
Any closing thoughts?
A massive thank you to anyone who has ever helped me. If any forum member would like some help I am more than happy to point your in the right direction. YEAH BUDDY!!!
Thanks for your time, Dave - congratulations on your incredible progress!