Six Months in Review

This blog entry is an e-mail I sent to a collegue. I think it works as a blog entry, as I am asked to send information about my transformation. So, at this stage, a summary entry about my program may be appropriate. So, here we go!

I got a lot of inspiration from the Body for Life Program. Although I modified it slightly, it is very easy to follow and explained very well on the site.

I eat 6 'meals' a day. The reason I eat 6 times is it increases my metabolism. It also ensures my nutrition matches my needs for that day (depending on exercise schedule). It also I am not ever horribly hungry when I sit down to eat -- being hungry is bad when you sit down to eat and they drop that damn bread basket in front of you!!!

Now, the only fat I purposefully take in now is cream in my coffee (venti americano). I used to consume an 800+ calorie Venti Mocha. Now my coffee has only 40 calories and it is a real treat that I look forward to. :) I say "NO" to butter, creamy sauces, sour cream -- basically the 'extras' that your body does not need. But, I eat delicious food! (fajitas, steak, sushi, lots of fish, etc.)

I also take supplements that help me a ton.

First, I take a 'thermo'. These supplements usually contain some form of chili pepper and actually slightly increase body temps -- burning more calories for doing the things you do throughout the day. They also contain a natural caffeine based stimulant but not so much it makes me shaky. The best one is Hydroxycut Hardcore. I've also used the EAS ThermoDynamax but it fails to compare to Hydroxycut Hardcore.

Second, I take Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). CLA is a naturally occurring 'good' fat and by taking it, your body does not hold on to 'bad' fat. This increases the burn of the unwanted fats. I take the EAS version. (Sponsors of Body for Life program)

Lastly, I take Beta-hydroxy beta-methylbutyrate (HMB). This is a naturally occurring metabolite (found in grapefruit, alfalfa, and catfish). This helps muscles combat protein breakdown, assists in muscle repair and supports increased endurance. My workouts are much better when I take HMB and it allows me to recover much faster. In a nutshell - The better your body uses protein, more fat will be burned. I also use the EAS version of this.

For exercise, I alternate days between cardio (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday) and strength training (Monday, Wednesday, Friday). For strength training, I alternative upper body with lower body - and focus on core training on each of the strength training days. So, this way, my body has three days to recover before I train the same part again. Strength training burns the fat around the muscles -- and continues to burn fat for a lot of time after the workout is over.

Working in Philly now and am trying out a new gym tonight.

Peace -- :D
JH