[Hank D Thoreau]

I just finished the 12 week Gold's Gym Challenge. The Challenge is a 12 week body transformation contest with $80,000 in prize money. I got a big head start on my personal transformation having accomplished much of my change before the challenge officially started. Still, I did pretty well.

Weight
186 to 173.4
Waist
34.5 to 33
Hips
38 to 36.5
Thigh
20 to 19.5
Body Fat
18.4 to 14.3

Total since last summer I have lost a bit over 50 pounds (don't know my exact starting weight) and at least 10% body fat. My weight has been stable for about the last 4 or 5 weeks, however, my body fat and waist size continue to drop. At 6'4", I am probably close to my ideal weight for a thin frame and I am now converting fat to muscle.

Now to wait and see how far I go when the judging starts. I don't expect to advance since I was too far along by the time we started. Even so, the training staff was very impressed, having watched how diligently I worked out, and seeing the resulting change. I would post my before and after pictures but I am afraid I might get banned by the moderator.

 

[Unkle Bond]

Hello
Very nice indeed for mussel tone and your health to boot. Little of that currency wouldn't hurt a bit either. Hope some comes your way.Nice going.

I just lost 14 pounds in 2 months. Like you I hit a stale mate.
But my blood pressure and tying my shoes was my goal. Now have a 38 waist.Can now get more personal with my bow. [ Later

 

[Hank D Thoreau]

Unk_Bond

I was closing in on 230 when I started. I had a spare tire that squeezed the air out of my lungs while bending over to put on my shoes (I even made that comment in the Challenge essay that I had to write). I got to the point where I was throwing my shoes at my feet and hoping they would stick.

This was not only about working out. The Gold's Gym Challenge also emphasized proper nutrition, which contributes to 80% of weight loss. I already had my nutritional plan in good working order long before the challenge began.

Nutritional changes were a big part of my health recovery. I went to two green smoothies from a Nutribullet each day. The smoothies made nutritious food readily accessible while working at a job that did not provide time for meals. I saw your earlier post on eating the same thing every day. I would seriously recommend that you adopt a diet that you can sustain rather than a radical diet that you will eventually have to get off of. Though there was a period of time that I was going low carb, I have lost a significant amount of weight just by eliminating fast food and adopting a more balanced and nutritious diet. The diet I am on now is what I will continue to eat over the long haul.

Accessibility to good food is key. I lost about 53 pounds (in 15 weeks) a few years ago on a doctor supervised diet. I actually got down to a low of 158 morning weight. I kept it off for a long time but eventually, gained the 53, and more, back, because I could not keep up with every other day shopping and the amount of cooking I had to do. My job did not provide me the time. That is why, this time around, I focused on finding a way to make good food readily available. 5 minutes and I have a highly nutritious smoothie with assorted greens, vegetables, fruit, nuts, and multiple boosts (super foods). Exploring the different super foods keeps it interesting.]

Actually, at this point I have not hit a stalemate. I am currently at a very health weight and am focusing on increasing strength and reducing my body fat a bit more. I expect that most of the body fat reduction will be offset by muscle building. I am also going to focus more of my time outside of archery. I will be rock climbing more this year, and am continuing kayak training. I think that I over committed to archery over the past 4 to 5 years.

 

[Unkle Bond]

Hello Hank
Like you said it was a radical diet. This is the second time I have used this home grown diet method. First time was a 28 pound lost. My weight at that time was 226. Had a nice 2 egg breakfast with 2 slices of bacon and grapefruit. And one piece of toast. The rest of my meals included fish and vegetables. Took several years to regain it back.

I worked Lou now being called the Hauk. When we ate supper together at work.
And when he was in training. He would eat one grapefruit and a can of tuna for his supper to tone up before a weight lifting even., and no lady friends. [ Later

 

[Jeff Roark]

super job Hank. Highly impressed.

You've hit the nail on the head with the diet. nothing extreme. Extreme can not be maintained. I try to eat 3 well balanced meals daily with a 24 hour fast 1-2x per week. This keeps me fairly lean without going to any extremes.

 

[Steve]

Hank - would you mind sharing some of your smoothie recipes?
Tks

 

[Hank D Thoreau]

I spoke to Kathy of Wapiti Archery about this at the Western IBO Trad Shoot. She was interested. This is what I sent her.

So here is how I make my smoothies.
I use a Nutribullet, which makes one serving at a time.
I start by filling the cup half the way with greens. I generally use a 50/50 mix of Kale and a Collard Green/Mustard Green/Turnip Green mix. I use prewashed bagged greens. I also use spinach and arugula, usually in addition to kale.
I then add carrots and broccoli. Sometimes I will replace the broccoli with broccoli, alfalfa, or clove sprouts, if I have them.
I then add a small banana. I need the banana to offset the taste of the bitter greens. A banana does this best. I buy the smallest I can find.
I keep several bags of frozen fruit in my freezer. I choose one or two. I have strawberries, blueberries, cherries, peaches, raspberries, black berries, mango, pineapple. My wife uses frozen mushrooms.
Next I add the boost foods. I start with one nut. I keep containers with almonds, walnuts, cashews and pecans. I leave the nuts out if I use protein powder.
Then I will add three or more additional boosts from the following list:
Chia seeds (use the most)
Flax seeds (use most of the time)
Raw sesame seeds
Raw sunflower seeds
Raw papita (pumpkin seeds)
Cacao nibs (from Navitas Naturals. I use this when I add a chocolate protein powder in my evening smoothie) Navitas Naturals - The Superfood Company | NavitasNaturals.com
Goji berries
Acai berry powder (from Navitas Naturals)
Maca powder (from Navitas Naturals)
Camu Camu powder (from Navitas Naturals)
Maqui powder (from Navitas Naturals)
Pomegranate powder (from Navitas Naturals)
Mulberries (from Navitas Naturals)
and a few others. I am searching out new stuff all the time. It keeps things interesting.
Normally, I add a heaping tablespoon of each boost, except in cases where some of the concentrated powders recommend less.
Many items on the list above are considered superfoods and you can find a lot of info on the web about them, including WebMD.
If you want a more tasty smoothie, add more fruit. Less fruit for a diet smoothie.
One option for a really tasty smoothie is to use chocolate almond milk instead of water. My wife loves it. It is too rich for me. This goes well with cocoa nibs (raw dark cocoa bean) and a chocolate protein powder. I use Optimum Nutrition 100% Gold Standard Whey. I make my chocolate smoothie at night after my evening workout.
My wife uses some of the anti-inflammatory foods, such as ginger, turmeric powder, and Italian parsley. This is to help with arthritis.
You can be very creative. You can focus toward packing the most nutrition into the glass, which is what I do, or create more of a balance between taste and nutrition.
I buy my Navitas Naturals on line where they are cheaper. There are a couple of good sites that carry them. I have mostly used The Natural - Save on Vitamins, Herbs, Supplements and Natural Products . Search on Navitas to find the products more easily.
www.thenaturalonline.com
I just tried a new site call vitacost.com. It had a few Navitas items that TheNatural did not have.
Most of the seeds I buy in bulk at Sprouts. The nuts I buy in big bags at Sam's Club, except cashews, which I buy at Sprouts.

 

[Steve]

Thanks Hank!
By far the most complete list I have seen.
I've been playing with shakes sporadically for the last year.
Just had blood work and glucose/ ldl are at high limits of normal as is blood pressure.
All up from last time 2 years ago - time to get serious.
Thanks again.