 |
| Image 1: Outstanding progress, right? And as you will learn in today's installment of Adelfo's SuppVersity posts Mr. the belly is melting although Mr. C. still does not like his veggies ;-) |
I guess that's about enough of promotion for now, let's get to what most of you are actually here for... your's truly, Adelfo Cerame Jr's Thursdaily SuppVersity post with: An update on Mr. C.'s progress!... ah, you did already recognize that it's him and not Adelfo in image 1, right? Well, if both of them are continuing to do such an awesome job - Adelfo as a trainer and Mr. C. as a trainee, Adelfo will have to be cautious that Mr. C. won't catch up to fast ... physique-wise, I mean ;-)
A Brief Update on Mr. C!
 |
| Image 2: Even you are not visiting friends at family "at home" (wherever yours may be) but are on a regular vacation, there are culinary pitfalls waiting for you almost everywhere |
Image 1 (see above) shows him a couple of days before the trip. We had been working together for about 6 weeks, 38 days to be precise; and he was already down from 175lbs to 170lbs - I know compared to the promises you will see on the next best magazine cover that does not seem to be much, but I'd say that you can easily see in the photos, where the difference between losing weight and losing fat, lies - right?
The fact that we got in contact ~6 weeks ago, but he did take up his training right, only after I introduced him to you here, at the SuppVersity (cf. Adelfo Cerame & Mr C: A Basic Workout + Nutrition Plan for Average Joes Trying to Get Stronger, Leaner & Healthier) reduces the "active" phase even more, so that you could justifiably say that he has not been training and dieting (remember, I put him on an Intermittent Fasting routine) for more than 4 weeks, now.
Vacation means trouble - especially, when you are just about to make the switch
So when I got that news, that he was going to take another vacation for 2 weeks, I had to put my excitement on hold, because I knew that all the momentum he gathered could be lost within 2 weeks of sloppy dieting and laziness (when you've been training for years, you may be benefiting from taking 1-2 weeks of, when you have only just begun, it can easily set you back to where you came from)... but what could I do, sh*t... or better "life happens", and as hard as this family guy works during his 9AM to 5PM grind; he more than deserves his vacation!
Therefore, it was my job to give him some advice on how he would make it through the vacation without (a) doing too much damage and (b) getting completely out of his newly acquired healthy habits, while (c) still having fun... it's not easy and to be honest, I don't thing that there are any hard and fast rules that apply to everyone, but still, I do believe that Mr. C. and you as well could benefit from following at least one or two of the following rules / tips.
How to not fall off the wagon while on vacation, and how to get back to the grind afterwards…
I know my people and I know my culture… When one goes back home to the motherland (Philippines) to vacation, it is a 24/7 party filled with eating and drinking with family and friends… well, at least for me it always was and the same applies for the majority of people that I know who go back home. Lol.
If I put faith into Mr. C.'s own words, though, things are somewhat different for him, as he claimed that he was actually quite surprised in the years before that he was doing pretty, when he went back home; he said, he was deliberately controlling himself and I took his word for it and hope he is coming up to his own high standards just now and not strolling around and eating whatever delicious, but profoundly unhealthy food his relatives are offering him ;-)
Still, before he left, I offered a couple of suggestions that might help him to keep the damage at bay and told him that I would not expect that he came home leaner than before but would be happy if he did his best not to destroy all the progress he has made, already:
- With the 16/8 intermittent fasting regimen in place, he may even manage to stay in some sort of a caloric deficit and even if he does not, there are physical limits to the amount of food you can consume in a given timespan and he won't be able to do as much damage within his 8h feeding window as he would, when he was eating 24/7. Lol.
Stick to his 16/8 intermittent fast protocol – When you’re in the Philippines, there’s no way of avoiding food, especially when you’re visiting the motherland from America, because food will be thrown your direction on a daily basis. It’s just a sign of hospitality to always feed your guests. Intermittent fasting allows you,... no it forces you to say "no" - and a categorical "no" is often much easier than a "I just take a bite", where your host will then think you did not like what he / she offered, when you actually adhere to your plan and leave it to that one bite.Image 3: All natural morning workout before you break the fast - get yourself a coconut for break-fast (learn the difference between breakfast and breaking the fast)! - Do body weight training on a daily basis - With regards to training; the Philippines is a 3rd world country. I’m further assuming that his family is also from a poverty stricken province like mine were from, so I don’t expect there to be any real training facilities, let alone something you would recognize as a "fitness center" within reach for him. Consequently, I told him that he had to get a full-body 30-min body weight workout in every morning that would comprise push up; sit ups, pull-ups and dips - I gave him the exact routine as a printout, but, at the end of our conversation, I told him that all that must not hinder him to have fun, and enjoy his vacation: "If it happens that you cannot follow the guidelines to the T, don't stress about it, get back in the saddle as good as you can and we are going to dial you back in, when you put your foot on American soil, again!"
 |
| Image 4: Actually the next contest, the Wheelchair Nationals in October are not too long away. |
One last thing, though: I have been really enjoying and answering the questions and commenting on all the feedback you have been posing / giving me as of late, here at SuppVersity, so keep them coming - even if the questions don't relate directly to this weeks topic... I could imagine not all of you have relatives in the Philippines, right?