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My Belly Be Gone Moment

About 4 years ago, I was in a hotel room desperately trying to button up a pair of dress pants that only 7 months prior, were too big for me.  I buttoned up my pants (after a few tough minutes) and I looked in the mirror and couldn’t recognize the fat dude staring back at me. My gut was hanging over the pant waistline and I was actually sweating and breathing heavy just from squeezing into my dress pants.
I had to give a digital business presentation the next morning and I remember feeling absolutely horrible. I hated the way I felt and worse, I hated the way I let myself go. I really didn’t want to give that presentation because I was ashamed. Ashamed not only because of the way I let myself go but because of the way I felt, doubting my confidence.

That was my Belly Be Gone Moment.

You see, 7 months prior I was in the shape of my life. I was a solid 207 pounds, I was strong and I was in fantastic shape. I felt absolutely great! But as things go in life, you never can tell what’s going to happen around the corner that will shake your entire life up. 
For me, it was two things.

First, I tore my rotator cuff while doing an incline bench press. That really sucked because up until that point, everything was going great. I had to take two weeks off from training which at the time didn’t bother me too much and I chalked it up to a well-deserved rest.

Secondly, I accepted a digital consulting contract that was 8 months in duration. The work didn’t bother me but it was super busy and I was flying all over the province most weeks. A two week layoff turned into a month, which turned into two months which turned into 4 months and before I knew it, I was fat, soft and out of shape. You want to know the funny thing? During that time, I had the image in my head that nothing in my appearance had changed (prior to getting out of shape). I mean, I kept on eating bad restaurant foods and stopped training and in all that time, I thought I looked the same as always. It’s funny how that works but I think we all do this.

Here’s the thing about the human body. It will adapt to any consistent behaviour – Quickly. God or bad, our bodies are hard wired to adapt to whatever we ingest or do – on a consistent basis. Eat enough good food on a consistent basis and our bodies will adapt by using those nutrients to heal and grow. Eat enough bad food on a consistent basis and the opposite will happen. Remember, the key to transformation is consistency.

The old adage, “eat and apple a day to keep the doctor away “ is set on the foundation of consistency.  It doesn’t say “eat an apple every once in a while to keep the doctor away”. It’s every day so consistent patterns and habits are the key to allowing our bodies to adapt and change. 

Anyways, it wasn’t until that night in my hotel room that I had my “belly be gone” moment. I basically broke down and made a silent promise to myself that no matter what, I was going to get back into shape before the summer (it was February when I made the commitment) - which was 3 months.

Physical Activity Was Always a Part of My Life

Up until that point, I was always very active. It started at a very young age and as with a lot of boys my age in my area, hockey was a rite of passage. I loved playing the game - I loved the practices, the games, and most of all the tournaments. I loved everything about the game of hockey.

It wasn’t until I was about 14 when I got my very first dumbbell set that I fell in love with the challenge of training for hockey. My main goal was to get faster and stronger for hockey so I started to lift weights and did so at a very young age. In high school, I went full on with my training competing in cross country running events and training every morning and evening in the weight room. I was that kid who showed up before all the other high school kids and ran the stairs, hit the weight room before classes. I was also the last kid to leave after hitting the track and weight room.

I knew what I wanted and was pretty driven to reach it. 

As I got stronger and stronger I started to fall in love with another passion, weight training. It wasn’t until I joined my first gym at the age of 18 that I wanted to become a body builder.

I learned as much as I could from my mentors and coaches and in that time I participated in body building competitions as well as power lifting events. It became a passion. It became a part of my lifestyle. It became a part of who I was.

As I got to university I weight trained more than I attended my classes! At this point, it was more than a passion it was a part of who I was.

I carried this mentality right through my 20’s and my 30’s building my life around physical activity and weight training. I remember moving across the country for a job back when I was 31 and when looking for a place to live, my first instinct was to find a gym close by. If there wasn’t a gym, I wasn’t going to live there. I know, pretty crazy but that’s how immersed I was in weight training.

So when I looked into the mirror on that faithful evening in my hotel room, I realized something pretty profound. I realized that I changed into something that I swore I’d never become and that was a hard pill to swallow. It was then and there that I swore I’d never, ever let anything come between my health, wellness and happiness every again.

I set on my journey to drop close to 50 pounds in 3 months.

How I Dropped Close to 50 Pounds in 3 Months

The first thing I did was to make sure my commitment was there. I knew what I wanted but I also knew that if I wanted to succeed I needed to make sure my heart was in the right place. I knew it was going to be tough and I knew it was going to take hard work and effort. With that in mind I had to make sure that my motivation to succeed was strong enough.

I had no doubt that my motivation was strong enough.

From there I created my plan.

The Start of My Belly Be Gone Challenge

I knew that if I wanted to get down to my previous weight of 200 – 205 pounds in 3 months, I needed to drop about 3 to 4 pounds of body weight per week. To reach this goal I had to cut out all the guesswork and use a strategy based on proven methods. This meant using my basal metabolic rate as my starting point for my journey.

Basal metabolic rate is the amount of daily calories you need to function and sustain your current body weight. Eat less than what your body needs for its energy output and you will lose weight be creating what is called a “calorie deficit”. Simply put, eating less that your basal metabolic rate will put your body into a calorie deficit which will allow you to lose body weight. The same holds true for gaining weight, eat more than your basal metabolic rate and your body will start to store energy (calories) via a calorie surplus.

It is critical that you understand what your basal metabolic rate if you truly want to consistently lose weight and belly fat. It takes out a lot of the guess work and allows you to get started on the right path.

At the time, I weighed close to 240 pounds so my basal metabolic rate was close to 2,100 daily calories. I knew that if I wanted to drop 2 pounds per week I needed to cut my daily calorie intake to about 1,500 daily calories.

My Belly Be Gone Meal Plan

Armed with my basal metabolic rate I created a meal plan designed for 1,500 daily calories. During those 7 months I became dependent on processed starches. I ate a lot of potatoes, pasta, bread and other calorie / carbohydrate dense foods for breakfast, lunch and dinner. If I wanted to reach my goal I had to cut out calorie / carbohydrate dense foods and replace with low calorie, nutrient rich alternatives.

I created a meal plan that cut my carbohydrate intake to 70 grams per day. I kept my protein intake to about 150 grams per day and decreased my fat intake to about 40 grams per day. Cutting out the processed starches was the hardest because my body had become so addicted to them. Also, I cut my sodium and sugar intake to less than 3 grams and 30 grams per day, respectively.

The first week was tough! I found myself feeling tired, exhausted and getting headaches. This was part of my detoxing stage and I felt pretty horrible. However, I knew that once my body got rid of all the excess water, toxins and started to stabilize my sugars that I’d start to feel a heck of a lot better, which I did.

My daily meal plan looked something like this:

- Wake up 7 am: One glass of water with pinch of ginger, cayenne pepper and 1 tablespoon lemon juice.

- Walk for 45 minutes

- Breakfast: 1 boiled egg, half a cup of grapes and cheese twist snack. 16 ounces of water

- Mid-morning snack: One Greek yogurt cup, plain with ¼ cup blueberries and 1 tablespoon of slivered almonds. 16 ounces of water

- Lunch: 1 chicken breast (skinless, boneless) roasted using a salt substitute, pepper and Mrs. Dash seasoning (no salt added). 2 cups of steamed broccoli with ¼ cup of corn niblets. 16 ounces of water

- Mid-afternoon snack: ½ cup of smooth cottage cheese with ¼ cup of sliced strawberries and 1 tablespoon of pumpkin seeds (unroasted, no salt, no shell)

- Workout: 16 ounces of water

- Post workout: ¼ cup of sliced strawberries

- Dinner: 3 ounces of cooked strip loin (roasted) seasoned with salt substitute, pepper and no salt steak spice. 2 cups of baby spinach, 2 tablespoon of chopped carrots and celery, ½ cup sliced cherry tomatoes and 1 tablespoon vinaigrette (olive oil and balsamic vinegar). 16 ounces of water

- Evening snack: 1 boiled egg, ¼ cup of red, seedless grapes and 1 cheese twist snack

This is one of my daily meal plan samples but it generally followed the same format (other days I use fish, turkey or other lean protein substitutes and vegetable sources).  The above meal plan is about 1,400 daily calories with no processed starches. It has less than 2.5 grams of sodium and less than 25 grams of sugar per day. If you need help with your belly be gone meal plan, see my diet to lose belly fat page here.

I knew, without a doubt that my meal plan was going to allow me to drop between 1 and 3 pounds of body weight each and every week, based on my basal metabolic rate calculation.

The next step was my training.

My Belly Be Gone Training Plan

If I wanted to lose an average of 4 pounds of body weight per week I knew that I had to have a progressive training plan in place. My plan had 3 stages to it. The first stage was my adaptation plan which allowed my body to adapt to training again. The second stage was my transition plan which allowed me to progress from my adaption stage to a more progressive plan. The third stage was my transformation plan.

Why use stages?

Here’s the thing. I was drastically out of shape and needed to use a progressive fitness plan designed to change as my body improved. There was no way that I was going to try and use the same routine prior to my injury because two things would happen. First, I’d over exert my central nervous system which would have made me feel horrible – exhausted and sore for days.

Secondly, I would have put my body at risk of further injury. Because of my rotator cuff injury I had to approach my weight training from a different angle. I basically had to re-learn how to train, walk, sit, sleep and fix my posture so that my entire upper torso got back into proper alignment. This meant starting from the beginning and gently adding more progressive elements into my program.

My regiment included a combination of mobility work, weight training, cardio and stretching exercises using special stages that allowed me to make the kind of steps needed to reach my goal.

Stage 1: Adaptation stage

There was no way I was going to be able to hop right back into a training plan prior to my injury. I basically had to start from scratch. This meant creating a routine that allowed me to work my entire body 3 times per week while using two days for cardio, abs and stretching.

My routine looked like this:

Monday: Full body workout

Tuesday: Cardio / abs / stretching

Wednesday: Full body workout

Thursday: Cardio / abs / stretching

Friday: Full body workout

My full body workout consisted of one exercise per body part using 2 sets of 12 repetitions each. I performed 6 minutes on the exercise bike prior and 10 minutes after. My cardio, ab and stretching routine included 10 minutes on the exercise bike, 3 ab exercises (2 sets each) and 5 minutes on the elliptical trainer. I performed 10 minutes of stretching afterwards.

I performed this routine for 3 weeks until I was confident that my body was getting stronger and I was losing weight.

Stage 2: Transition stage

I redesigned my routine based around the following schedule:

Monday: Chest /  arms / cardio
Tuesday: Legs / abs
Wednesday: Back / shoulders / cardio
Thursday: Cardio / abs / 
Friday: Repeat sequence

Since I was getting stronger and my cardio was starting to improve I changed up my routine to add in more exercises and volume. I chose 2 exercises per body part and performed 3 sets of 20 repetitions per exercise. I performed 10 minutes of cardio before each weight training session and 15 to 20 minutes prior. On my cardio and abs day I introduced the elliptical trainer. I performed 10 minutes on the elliptical afterwards, increasing the time by a few minutes with each session.

I followed this routine for another 3 weeks which allowed my body to start its transition into transformation.

Stage 3: Transformation stage

By week 7 my body was starting to change. I was stronger, my muscles were starting to gain shape and I was aggressively losing weight. I knew from my previous training that I had to start ramping up my cardio in order to stimulate further fat loss. In addition I had to start increasing my muscles oxygen uptake. I used the following format for my training:

Monday: Chest / abs / cardio
Tuesday: Legs / abs
Wednesday: Shoulders / cardio
Thursday: Back / cardio
Friday: Arms (biceps and triceps) and cardio
Saturday: Cardio / abs
Sunday: Repeat sequence

This format allowed me to concentrate on increasing my cardio time in addition to adding more volume to training each muscle group. I increased my repetitions to 20 and added in intensity boosting techniques to get as much oxygen into the muscles as possible. The net effect was to improve the way my body burned fat and built muscle.

I performed 3 exercises per body part using a compound exercise to start, one superset exercise afterwards and a “muscle flush” method to get as much oxygen into my muscles as possible.

- Compound exercise: Example – Shoulder press
- Superset exercise: Example - Seated dumbbell press superset with bent over laterals
- Muscle flush: Example - Single cable laterals performed in consecutive manner (back and forth)

My cardio sessions consisted of 15 minutes on the exercise bike prior and 25 minutes on the elliptical trainer afterwards. My ab session included 4 to 5 exercises using a combination of regular and super sets. For more information on routines and belly fat workouts click here. 

I performed this routine for 6 weeks.

My Belly Be Gone Results!

My nutrition plan allowed me to lose up to 2 pounds per week. My fitness plan allowed me to burn another 1 to 2 pounds per week. At the 8 week mark, I was losing about 3 to 4 pounds per week and by my final week I was 197 pounds - A total weight loss of just over 40 pounds in 12 weeks.

Here are my changes:

My Belly Be Gone Success Factors

One of the main reasons for my successful transformation came down to 2 things.

·         Consistency

·         Continual improvement

Without a doubt, these two elements made the difference. Just consistently showing up for your training sessions will be 50% of your success. If you add in gradual and consistent improvements to your program on a week by week basis you will not only increase your chances of success but you will speed up the process.

What is continual improvement? It’s making sure your body improvements on a week to week basis in your fitness sessions. For example, let’s say in week one you perform 8 wall push ups. To ensure you keep your body improving, the next week you will want to perform 10 wall push ups and the week after that 12 wall push ups and so on and so forth. It’s a matter of allowing your body to heal, grow and to become stronger and more efficient at absorbing nutrients.

Inconsistent training and nutrition protocols will deliver inconsistent results. Remember, the more consistent you are, the more consistent your results. Add in continual improvement and you improve the efficiency at which your experience those results.

Supplements

I didn’t introduce supplements until I was 4 weeks into my program. I wanted to make sure my nutrition and training were on point first taking any type of supplement. Once I started losing weight on a consistent basis I introduced certain supplements I knew would work with my plan.

Here are the supplements I used:

Green tea extract and raspberry ketones: 1 capsule first thing in the morning and 1 capsule 30 minutes prior to lunch

Whey protein: 1 drink as my mid-afternoon snack and 1 for my post workout drink

Creatine: I added 5 grams to a glass of water 30 minutes prior to my workouts

I didn’t include a vitamin or mineral tablet because of the amount of fruits and vegetables I was eating on a daily basis. I didn’t need any other fat burner because the green tea extract and raspberry ketones were enough to supplement my fat burning efforts.

If you are interested in finding out more about supplements, see my bell fat burning supplements page here.

Are My Results Typical?

No, these aren’t typical results because of a few reasons. Firstly I have knowledge and experience in this area so I knew what exactly what was needed. Secondly, my body already had a road map on how to get there in terms of knowing what foods to eat and what exercises to perform. Thirdly, I was committed 100% and all in, right from the start.

However, I have trained clients who have had similar results losing up to 50 pounds in only 90 days. I've used my system called the 90 Day Total Body Transformation Program for clients that want to use my program to drastically change the way they look and feel in 3 months. I only take on a few clients for this program so if you're interested in finding out more, send me an email at: bodyfit@vianet.ca. Click play on the video below to see some of the 90 day total body transformation results.

I’ve also had participants of my Belly Be Gone Challenge lose up to 25 pounds in 30 days.  If I had to pick which characteristic for success at losing weight and getting rid of your belly it, it’s committing from the start. It’s about making the commitment from the heart (not the mind) that you want to change. Once you commit and make your promise, you have a good chance of succeeding. Click play on the video below to see some of the results of my 30 Day Belly Be Gone Challenge.

For more information on the Belly Be Gone Challenge and when the next one is starting, see the Belly Be Gone Challenge page here.

The Real Key To Belly Be Gone Success

You want to really know what the key to success is when it comes to losing weight or getting into shape?  It’s not the fitness routines, or your nutrition plan or the types of supplements you take. Mind you, fitness and nutrition are important but the true success factor is how you change your daily habits that will ultimately shape your future.

Small habitual behaviors will shape your future.

Remember what I said about consistency earlier? Make small consistent changes to your daily habits and over time they will become the part of the new, healthier  you.  These small changes will weave the new fabric of your new and healthier life.

We are creatures of habit and comfort. We choose certain habits because we are comfortable with them. Anything that takes us away from our comfort zones are deemed “too hard”. Once you make one small change to your daily schedule without causing too much distress to your comfort zone, you’re on the right track. It’s the summation of these small changes that will ultimately affect the outcome of your future results.

For example, instead of having two creams and two sugars in your coffee have 1 cream, 1 milk and half a sugar. Instead of having a bag of chips at night, try having a small bowl of popcorn. It’s these small changes to your habits that make all the difference.

Want To Succeed? Ask Yourself These Two Questions

Before beginning your belly be gone journey you need to ask yourself two questions:

·         Am I happy with the way I look?

·         And am I happy with the way feel?

You need to be very honest with yourself here. Really search, in your heart if you are happy with the way you look and feel. When I looked into the mirror in that hotel room in that night, I almost cried. I knew, in my heart that I didn’t want to look and feel that way anymore. I knew right then and there that I was never, ever going to let anything stop me from reaching my goal.

Be honest with yourself and your body will follow.

There is plenty of information on the Belly Be Gone website to get your started. I suggest reading over this page here – how to burn belly fat first.

Also, find out more about my Belly Be Gone Challenge which I usually put on every quarter. It’s a 30 day challenge and I provide you with the following:

This is a 30 day challenge that will help you drop pounds of body weight and firm up those problem areas (Belly, Butt and Arms). Here's what will be in your package (but not limited to)

·         Fat burning meal plan and grocery list

·         Home dumbbell and cardio workout plan prioritizing the belly, butt and arms

·         30 Day supply of my Belly Be Gone fat burner (all natural capsules)

·         Special closed Facebook group that will have special tips, methods, recipes, and other cool stuff to help you succeed

·         Tracking and logging sheets

·         Calendar

·         Daily planner schedule

·         Prizes for best before and afters

Go to the Belly Be Gone Challenge page to find out when the next one is going to be posted.

I hope my Belly Be Gone story was helpful.

Remember...Stay strong and Stay safe!

Blake Bissaillion
Owner, Belly Be Gone

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