Transforming the human body is far from easy. It takes hard work, commitment, and strong willpower. These are three men we got to meet over the last year to discuss their ups and downs. Their stories are proof that anything is possible.
#2. Lionell Dixon, 150 pound weight loss
Lionell Dixon (@LonnieFresh84) didn’t have it easy growing up. He was constantly stressed out and ate to tame it. At one point he was even sneaking food from buffet tables and putting it in his pockets for later. The eating habit was simply out of control for him. His tipping point finally came while he was on vacation in South Beach with a group of friend. He didn’t feel comfortable or like he fit in. After a final food binge that last two weeks, he decided it was time to hit the gym and make a change.
He began with hardcore cardio. His thought process was that if he burned the maximum amount of calories, the faster he would lose weight. He then added resistance training on top of it to put on the muscle. Coupling all of that training with a reduced carb diet and in the first three months he had lost 70 pounds.
But, it wasn’t over for him at the point. He fell off the wagon, lost focus, and gained all the weight back. He then had to dig deep once more, restart the process and get back on track for a part two of the transformation. Finally, he lost a total of 150 pounds.
He’s now a motivational speaker, trainer, and author.
Want to know more on how he did it? Give him a follow on Instgram @lonniefresh84
#2. Sterling Duncan, 130 pound weight loss
Sterling Duncan (@ProgressNotPerfection1012) was thin, athletic, and played quarterback. After a career-ending knee injury in college he came back home, started working, and slowly let the pounds pile on. Depression was the underlying cause of his downward spiral. The fact that he couldn’t play sports anymore killed him on the inside and he turned to food for comfort. After a few years of continuously gaining weight, his wife desperately urged him to see a doctor. He ended up weighing in at 319. (And he only thought he was 240). This was the tipping point for him.
His first order of business was to get his diet in line. He started eating six times per day and relied on lean proteins such as chicken, turkey, and eggs. For quality carbs he stuck to brown rice, sweet potatoes, and sometimes oatmeal.
Next came the training. He was embarrassed to start in the gym right away so he used Shaun T’s “Insanity” programs to get it in a home. [Read also: How I got over my fear of the gym] He’d do them over and over again until he got to a comfortable place with himself. Then, he got into the gym and started with more traditional bodybuilding styled programming. After a lot of hard work and dedication, he lost a total of 130 pounds.
He now trains six days per week and participates in physique competitions.
Want to know more on how he did it? Give him a follow on Instgram @progressnotperfection1012
#3. Daniel Ramos, 100 pound weight loss
Daniel Ramos (@Mr.DanielRamos) started out being underweight. He was 120 pounds at age 16 but began working out and starting to eat more. The problem was: he was eating all of the wrong stuff. He first noticed the changes when his cloths stopping fitting and he was constantly out buying new shirts. Then his stomach started hitting the steering wheel. Finally, a few friends had mentioned to him that he was breathing heavily (and he didn’t even notice).
Things took a turn for the better once he started paying closer attention to his diet and began eating more protein, more fat, but less carbohydrates. He even saw some success with training in a fasted-state. And as for the gym, he began integrating calisthenics into his routines and started to use lighter weight to failure or exhaustion rather than simply going heavy. After six months of spending 5-6 days in the gym with a carb reduced diet, he lost a total of 100 pounds.
Daniel is now pursuing a career in acting.
Want to know more on how he did it? Give him a follow on Instagram @Mr.DanielRamos
Five key pieces to your own transformation
Invest in the future
Chasing quick fixes and gimmicks don’t last, more importantly, they can be unsafe. Accept the fact that you need to be in this long-term. What it takes is a finely tuned well-rounded diet and an aggressive resistance+cardio training plan.
Build on small wins
While this is a long-term game, you’re going to make lots of short-term progress too. Use that as motivation to keep going hard every day. Speaking of motivation, check out this piece on how to always have your best possible workout. Stuck in a plateau? Try these 7 euphoric training technique for skin-tearing pumps.
Learn and connect with your body
Don’t just follow a healthy diet and a tough workout plan. Take the time to learn about protein, carbs, fats and how they react in your body. Check out this piece on intuitive eating for lean muscle. It’s not easy, but you can get there.
Use your support system
If you’ve got a bunch of negativity or people around you that will bring you down—cut them. Having a solid group of people in your corner rooting for you to succeed makes a huge difference. Find like minds.
Persevere
It won’t always be easy. There’s days you’ll feel tired, you’ll be tempted to eat junk, and you’ll hit plateaus. You might even completely fall off the wagon, but the important thing is to always get back up. Alway keep moving forward. Never, ever quit.
