Macho Man!!

While I wasn’t sure precisely what Jose did for work, he appeared to be one busy guy with his cell phone almost permanently attached to his ear.  Between mostly Spanish and the occasional hint of English, I finally figured out that he was, in fact, a realtor.  Soon afterward, we introduced ourselves one day in the Life Café, and the conversation quickly shifted to nutrition.  Jose confessed to being lost.  He and Susie slaved away in the gym almost daily, yet they saw no results.

I shared that proper nutrition, regardless of building muscle or dropping body fat, is critical.  You can kill yourself in the gym; however, you will never out-train a poor diet.  From that simple conversation, I offered to give Jose a complimentary consultation.  He accepted, and we agreed to meet the following week.

When I first looked at Jose’s nutrition, it was not pretty.  Can you say taquitos for breakfast during the week from Quik Trip or pancakes from IHOP on the weekends?  As busy real estate professionals, they worked 24/7 and ate out most meals.  Jose started his day with coffee and water and then hit the gym doing group fitness classes, running on a treadmill, or pounding away on a stair master.  Lunch and dinner were typically chicken and rice with a few veggies, followed by cereal and milk before bed. 

Jose tipped the scales at 203.8 lbs from day one with a BMI of 33.9 and a body fat percentage of 39.4%.  I told him point-blank that his nutrition had to change if he wanted to see results.  He said he was ready and would do whatever I suggested.  Fast forward to the present, and Jose is now just under 160 lbs.  His BMI is down 7.3 points to 26.6, and his body fat is down to 24.4%, almost half where he started.

The fantastic thing is that he’s only lost 2 pounds of muscle while dropping over 40 lbs of body fat.  Under the circumstances, we’re not worried about fractional muscle loss.  Once Jose reaches his desired body fat percentage, and we’re getting close, we will build back the lost muscle and much more.

So, how did we do it?  The secret is that we took it one small step at a time, building in new and positive behaviors that are now primarily a habit.  Jose is running on autopilot based on the programming I’ve shared with him over the past ten months, and the best is yet to come. 

On January 22nd, we started his bi-weekly nutrition coaching sessions, and the results came quickly.  Jose dropped 6.6 lbs in the first month, including a 2% drop in body fat and no muscle loss.  While he continued to attend group fitness classes almost daily, the positive changes in his nutrition kicked his body into gear.

Jose’s plan was based on roughly 35% protein, 35% carbs, and 30% fat for those interested in counting macros.  It was simple and very effective.  

Early Morning – coffee & water
Workout – followed by a protein shake
Mid-Morning – breakfast including protein & carbs
Mid-Day – lunch including protein, veggies, and carbs
Mid-Afternoon – 2 protein bars
Evening – dinner including protein, veggies, and carbs
Evening Snack – 1 protein bar

By the middle of March, I had gained Jose’s complete trust, and he started training with me two days a week in addition to his nutrition coaching.  He continued doing some group fitness, although I encouraged him to scale back on the volume to allow his body to fully recover.  By April 16th, he dipped just under 190 lbs, with his muscle holding and body fat down 4% from the start.  He was down to 178 lbs by early July, with his body fat down another 3 %.  That’s when we switched his training to working with me exclusively, leaving the group fitness behind.

Jose continued to train one-on-one with me two days per week; however, he also did three additional days a week based on the overall program I designed leveraging our virtual training app.  He loved the change in training, and his body continued to respond.  By mid-August, he hit 168 lbs, and then finally, on October 2nd, Jose dipped below 160 lbs.  Our ultimate weight loss goal is to hit roughly 150-155 lbs.  At that point, we will switch our focus to adding back quality muscle while minimizing any gains in fat.  

When the student is ready, the teacher will appear, and when we first talked, Jose was ready for a change.  He knew he needed help and was willing to listen and take action for his sake.  I told him early on that if he could be successful as a realtor, he could learn to eat healthily.  When we first started, he and Susie ate out most meals.  Today, Jose meal preps weekly and eats mostly their food from home.  That’s not to say that they never eat out, but it’s now with a completely different mindset and perspective, which could be summed up as eating to live rather than living to eat.

Jose is a talented businessman and is exceptionally bright.  He is blessed to have his wife, Susie, expecting their second child and their first daughter Sophia supporting his efforts.  Jose has been a pleasure to coach over the past ten months, and I’m expecting only the very best as we continue to work together on his fitness journey.  

​Closing thoughts for my readers:

Jose is one of the most consistent and hard-working individuals I’ve ever known.  And while the program design I’ve given him is solid, the secret to his success has been his overall consistency in the gym and willingness to change his nutrition.  Small steps add to massive change for the positive, and that’s Jose’s journey.

If you’re looking to change your body composition, by all means, you need to do strength training and cardio.  However, if you’re struggling with your food, be willing to get some help.  Change can occur quickly with the proper plan in place.  Life is too short to spin your wheels in frustration.  Jose is a different man today because he was willing to change, and you can do the same.

Best of luck in your journey.

“Working with Kelly Amidon is the best investment I’ve ever made.  I’m in my 40s as a Texas Realtor and have stayed somewhat active in my adult life like most of us try to.  I’ve had a consistent gym membership for years and thought I knew how to work out.  I thought I knew enough about food and eating healthy to have a decent physique if I did both regularly, but we know the mirror doesn’t lie.  I realized that if I wanted to make a change, I would need to work with a professional.