Just got this email from
Vince DelMonte during the week that was titled "5 ways I INCREASED my stomach fat this past 8-days". He basically outlines all the mistakes he made while on a recent holiday and in doing so pretty much covers some of the most important tips for weight loss.
Below is the email in full and you can
subscribe to Vince's blog here. Hope you enjoy and please take some time to read and consider these very important points.
5 Ways I INCREASED My Stomach Fat This Past 8-days
I don’t have any official numbers but based on the mirror, I’ve easily gained a few pounds of fat this past 8-days while in the Bahamas… I still have my muscle size but my abs have “disappeared” or went into hiding. I arrived with a solid 4-pack and left with a soft 2-pack. …and I’m going to tell you exactly how I did it so you can avoid 5 big mistakes I made while I was on vacation.
1. No goal. I don’t have any dates on the calendar to be “camera-ready” so every time we were offered the dessert menu I had little motivation to say “No, thanks.” Instead, I introduced a surge of fat and sugar hours before going to bed each night. Not saying, “No thanks,” over the course of 8-days added up. The first thing I did when I boarded the plane was look at my calendar to schedule some filming days to get motivated for.
2. Late night 4-course dinners. The fastest way to get fat is eating a lot of carbs, calories and fats after 6pm. When I'm leaning down I always cut my carbs at 6pm and for the final 5-10 lbs I usually cut all my carbs at 3pm. It's my golden rule that works wonders. This past 8-days I followed the “See Food Diet.” See Food. Eat it. Even if meal times started at 9pm at night. I would devour the bread basket first, then a full course dinner, then I would finish Flavia’s left over’s and then always dessert. I gave into the, “I’ve already screwed up so far so what’s a little more damage going to do?” A lot!
3. Waking up late. Usually I get my first meal by 7am but on the Islands we rolled into the breakfast buffets around 11am. I don’t suspect too much damage occurred here because I stuck to my omelets, fruit, coffee and a few slices of French toast.
4. Not following a regular meal cadence. The majority of our days consisted of a huge buffet breakfast at 11am, mid afternoon snack of ice cream and a beer around 2-3pm and then heading to a late night 4-course dinner around 8-9pm, absolutely famished.
5. More alcohol than necessary. On a few occasions I would finish my beer or glass of wine or Bahama Mamma (island drink) and feel completely satisfied. When the waiter routinely returned, I would somehow justify, “Yeah, I’ll have one more…” which probably enforced more fat storage and hormonal assault.
Seriously, even though I only gained a few pounds of fat – based on how I ate – I feel like I should have gained 20 lbs of fat this past week! That’s the benefit of having a lot of muscle mass on your body – my metabolism is like a furnace so I probably incinerated a lot of the excess calories. I also headed into the week slightly “over trained” so my body probably spent the first few days super compensating and repairing damaged muscles and I probably made some muscle gains.
I know a lot of people reading this will probably say, “Vince, you’re too hard on yourself… live a little… you were on vacation…” Oh don’t worry, I lived more than a “little.” True, I’m super motivated to get back into my training routine and nutrition plan when I get home. Yes, even after 8-days, while walking through the airport, I’m still the fittest looking guy I’ve seen all day. Sure, I can battle the guilt with the fact that I have the tools and knowledge to zap the few pounds of fat I gained by this Friday so in the big picture, I’m okay. You bet I'm fasting all day to get my body back into discipline mode.
But here’s what really disturbed my thinking… How I ate for 8-days -- over 60% of the population does for 365-days a year – year in and year out! My instant thought – DISGUSTING!
As I flew home today I asked myself, “How do people let themselves go THAT far?” How do people get so fat that they look like they are going to give birth to triplets? How do people abuse their bodies and become unattractive, unhealthy and unfit? I answered my own question based on my own experience.
They have NO REASON not to. They have NO MOTIVATION not to.
I can relate. I'm sure you've been there too? I did not have a GOOD reason to: - follow a meal cadence - find the local grocery store and keep my fridge stocked - go to bed a bit earlier and start my meals earlier - get a weekly gym membership and train early am - stop eating when my body was satisfied - pack my bag with fruits and nuts when we went to the beach.
So what’s your take home message? Zero in on what you’re training for. What is YOUR reason for eating clean and training hard? I know you have REASONS to stay healthy, fit and attractive.
Write down your TOP reason right now.
Here is my complete Six-Pack in Six-Months training plan.
http://www.YourSixPackQuest.com <- click here. It includes one of my all-time favorite programs, 5-Day Metabolic Overdrive program which is the plan I used to incinerate 23-lbs of fat in 10-weeks and compete at the World Fitness Model Champs last spring. Check it out, whether you have 10-lbs of fat to lose or 100-lbs of fat to lose.
Until we talk next time, Vince Del Monte
