Quan Hodges fitness journal
I've been working out for approximately 13 consistent years and I've finally gotten to the point where I feel I've figured this thing out. In the beginning I made a lot of mistakes that weren't detrimental because of my youth...my metabolism was still at its peak and it compensated for my lack of a good diet. I recovered from injuries extremely fast and I worked out almost every day...but those injuries were caused by improper training, not enough attention to recovery and attempting to lift too much.
So after 13 years here are a few things that I've learned...keep in mind that everyone is different and results may vary, but I think what I've learned could be beneficial for most people.
1. It's 80% diet.
This was me June 2017
This is me 3 months later less 25lbs
I'm currently down to around 10% body fat for the first time in my life. So what prompted this transformation...my x-wife was never really happy with my body. She felt I was a little "chunkier" than what she preferred. Her ideal man was more athletic looking...a sprinter body to be exact. And during the duration of our relationship I actually tried very hard to tone and lose body fat but was never able to really achieve until I realized our relationship was over. I don't know if I wanted to make it harder for her to leave or wanted her to regret leaving. But whatever the reason I decided to do more research to figure out why I couldn't get my body fat below the teens. I worked out 6 days a week. I never ate fried or fast foods. My diet was pretty much clean with the exception of one thing...chocolate chip cookies, they've always been my weakness. I figured I'm working out on the regular and I deserve my chocolate chip cookies on the weekend. My problem is when I love something as much as chocolate chip cookies I devour it. One isn't enough...two isn't enough. I needed to gorge myself to complete satisfaction to where I couldn't fit one more cookie in my stomach. I mean I was riding my bike to work on a regular bases and on the weekends. Sometimes I would strength train for 90 minutes, bike 17 miles then swim and it still could not compensate for my over indulgence on the weekends. So when I realized my marriage was over I thinkk I needed a distraction. I began to really focus and abstain from chocolate chip cookies. I'm former military...I did basic training. I worked full time and paid my way through college. But abstaining from chocolate chip cookies was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. But I did it. I gave chocolate chip cookies up for those few months that it took me to lose 25lbs. I never changed my workout and I ate mostly fish. There were a few minor changes but the most significant change were the chocolate chip cookies.
Listen family, there are new fads every year that people cling to but they're not sustainable. What I'v realized is you can't embrace fads you have to incorporate a lifestyle change. It can't be something temporary that you can't do for the rest of your life. And what I've realized is that it's going to be very difficult to live without chocolate chip cookies for the rest of my life. There are a few things that make me happy...the beach, summer, cultures and countries I've never seen and chocolate chip cookies. Now I have a diet and workout regiment that's sustainable for the rest of my life. What I realized after I lost so much weight is that I didn't like my face...my cheeks were too saggy. I realized I didn't want to be that small, so now I'm in the process of gaining weight. I'm doing this by increasing my carbohydrate intake but I'm only doing it with clean carbs.
My diet:
Breakfast - 7 eggs(4 egg whites 3 whole), spinach, 100% whole grain steele cut oatmeal
snack - smoothie(kale, beets, chard, 1 cup of whole grain oats, whey protein, 2 tbsp almond butter, tumeric)
lunch - 99% lean ground turkey, sweet potato, kimchi
snack - smoothie(collard greens, celery, carrots, 1 cup whole grain oats, whey protein, 2 tbsp almond butter, ginger)
1st dinner(tuna, sweet potato)
dinner(baked or grilled protein with complex carb)
This diet is sustainable and it's been my diet for the last year. I've gained 7lbs in 2 weeks and my face isn't as saggy. I've also gotten a lot stronger. When I initially lost 25lbs I noticed a huge drop in strength. My bench press declined by 25%. Over the last few weeks of increased complex carbs I've made significant progress gaining back that strength.
I've also stopped working out as much due to multiple injuries. Now I'll workout 3 days then rest one day before resuming. I don't think people realize the importance of recovery. Your muscles need protein, complex carbs and rest to recovery from a challenging workout. Additionally, I'll probably bike around 40 to 50 miles per week. It's not a lot but that's the only straight cardio that I actually do.
So to summarize my first blog, you can't out workout a bad diet. Ignore the fads and incorporate eating habits that's sustainable for life. This is just the first of many blogs that I hope you find helpful.
Thank you and have a great weekend :)
I've been working out for approximately 13 consistent years and I've finally gotten to the point where I feel I've figured this thing out. In the beginning I made a lot of mistakes that weren't detrimental because of my youth...my metabolism was still at its peak and it compensated for my lack of a good diet. I recovered from injuries extremely fast and I worked out almost every day...but those injuries were caused by improper training, not enough attention to recovery and attempting to lift too much.
So after 13 years here are a few things that I've learned...keep in mind that everyone is different and results may vary, but I think what I've learned could be beneficial for most people.
1. It's 80% diet.
I'm currently down to around 10% body fat for the first time in my life. So what prompted this transformation...my x-wife was never really happy with my body. She felt I was a little "chunkier" than what she preferred. Her ideal man was more athletic looking...a sprinter body to be exact. And during the duration of our relationship I actually tried very hard to tone and lose body fat but was never able to really achieve until I realized our relationship was over. I don't know if I wanted to make it harder for her to leave or wanted her to regret leaving. But whatever the reason I decided to do more research to figure out why I couldn't get my body fat below the teens. I worked out 6 days a week. I never ate fried or fast foods. My diet was pretty much clean with the exception of one thing...chocolate chip cookies, they've always been my weakness. I figured I'm working out on the regular and I deserve my chocolate chip cookies on the weekend. My problem is when I love something as much as chocolate chip cookies I devour it. One isn't enough...two isn't enough. I needed to gorge myself to complete satisfaction to where I couldn't fit one more cookie in my stomach. I mean I was riding my bike to work on a regular bases and on the weekends. Sometimes I would strength train for 90 minutes, bike 17 miles then swim and it still could not compensate for my over indulgence on the weekends. So when I realized my marriage was over I thinkk I needed a distraction. I began to really focus and abstain from chocolate chip cookies. I'm former military...I did basic training. I worked full time and paid my way through college. But abstaining from chocolate chip cookies was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. But I did it. I gave chocolate chip cookies up for those few months that it took me to lose 25lbs. I never changed my workout and I ate mostly fish. There were a few minor changes but the most significant change were the chocolate chip cookies.
Listen family, there are new fads every year that people cling to but they're not sustainable. What I'v realized is you can't embrace fads you have to incorporate a lifestyle change. It can't be something temporary that you can't do for the rest of your life. And what I've realized is that it's going to be very difficult to live without chocolate chip cookies for the rest of my life. There are a few things that make me happy...the beach, summer, cultures and countries I've never seen and chocolate chip cookies. Now I have a diet and workout regiment that's sustainable for the rest of my life. What I realized after I lost so much weight is that I didn't like my face...my cheeks were too saggy. I realized I didn't want to be that small, so now I'm in the process of gaining weight. I'm doing this by increasing my carbohydrate intake but I'm only doing it with clean carbs.
My diet:
Breakfast - 7 eggs(4 egg whites 3 whole), spinach, 100% whole grain steele cut oatmeal
snack - smoothie(kale, beets, chard, 1 cup of whole grain oats, whey protein, 2 tbsp almond butter, tumeric)
lunch - 99% lean ground turkey, sweet potato, kimchi
snack - smoothie(collard greens, celery, carrots, 1 cup whole grain oats, whey protein, 2 tbsp almond butter, ginger)
1st dinner(tuna, sweet potato)
dinner(baked or grilled protein with complex carb)
This diet is sustainable and it's been my diet for the last year. I've gained 7lbs in 2 weeks and my face isn't as saggy. I've also gotten a lot stronger. When I initially lost 25lbs I noticed a huge drop in strength. My bench press declined by 25%. Over the last few weeks of increased complex carbs I've made significant progress gaining back that strength.
I've also stopped working out as much due to multiple injuries. Now I'll workout 3 days then rest one day before resuming. I don't think people realize the importance of recovery. Your muscles need protein, complex carbs and rest to recovery from a challenging workout. Additionally, I'll probably bike around 40 to 50 miles per week. It's not a lot but that's the only straight cardio that I actually do.
So to summarize my first blog, you can't out workout a bad diet. Ignore the fads and incorporate eating habits that's sustainable for life. This is just the first of many blogs that I hope you find helpful.
Thank you and have a great weekend :)
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