It's time to take life back again.

It's been a while since I have posted anything on this blog. Last time I tried to keep up with posts was when I was starting my fitness journey over again. Well, obviously that didn't last long. Shortly after I started changing things in my life, my life started changing again. My uncle passed away, then I received a throat injury that kept me from working out, then my back hit issues again. So it seemed like I was back on the road to getting nothing done with my weight. In fact that was true. Over the last year I have tried to work out, but haven't had the best of luck as everything I work out, it caused my back to flare up again.

Last Summer when I got into my apartment, I got my weight down to 302 LBS. I was sure this time was going to be when I finally made it back into the 200's. However, like clockwork, my back started giving me issues. I look at the scale today and it reads 323 LBS. It's my fault, I currently have no self control over what I put in my body. When I lost weight the first time, my self control was one of the things that I prided myself in. Sure it was hard at first to change, but after a couple of weeks it was easy. But all that was in 2010, there were less convenient things online. We didn't have a ton of food delivery options. I was strict with my diet and only put food in that my body could use as fuel. Now however, that is not the case. Now I use DoorDash several times a week, I get Shakeology, but rarely drink it out of the convenience of my work cafeteria. But that is all going to change.

I've neglected my body for too long now. I remember when I got down to 197 LBS, I vowed to never get fat again. I let myself down. In the last few years I have been sick a lot (Something that my mom likes to point out). So now I am starting to workout again, starting with light workouts and hopefully easing back into serious workouts. I have to start retraining my back and strengthening my back. When I can I am going to walk more and do more cardio. I am starting back up on my supplement regimen to make sure I am getting all the nutrients that my body needs.

I am also working on being super transparent on my Instagram and IGTV page. I want people to see my successes, but I also want to show the real struggles and failures. There will be failures, and that is ok. I am looking for support too. When I lost weight the first time, I had the Brightkite community to cheer me on. We were a close community and I made several friends on there, but after Brightkite changed and ultimately sold off, that closeness diminished and spread out amongst the normal social media world.

I am going to work on posting updates here, but be sure to follow me on Instagram @LargetoinCharge for up to the minute updates, and feel free to DM me and have a conversation.  

It's all about that Bro Diet!

That's right I said it. It's all about that "Bro" diet. Ok, well maybe not. Often times people look at others that are in the fitness industry and notice that many of them, if not 90% of them follow a very "Bro" diet though. It comes down to the simple fact that is works without fail though. Some people hate "Bro" food while others like myself actually enjoy eating chicken and broccoli at every meal and egg whites for breakfast. It's totally a preference though. and again, it works.

But recently the whole "Bro" lifestyle has come under fire online. People want to bash it or really push "flexible" dieting. I don't have anything against flexible dieting if it works for you. But it's not something that is guaranteed to work for everyone. Let's use myself as an example of that shall we? I love food, and obviously that is why I became morbidly obese at a young age. The concept of flexible dieting is not limiting the types of food you eat. So you can have junk food, fast food, processed food, candy, ice cream, etc. Nothing is off limits. The problem with this, is if you are someone like me, you can't stick to a serving size of ice cream  or just a handful of skittles. You eat the whole bag or fill up the bowl.

That's why I am a fan of the whole "Bro" diet. It's strict and I can only eat certain foods and amounts. The foods I eat fill me up. The other thing I enjoy is a weekly cheat meal. Again, some call this a refeed, but lets be honest, it's a cheat. This cheat meal or even cheat day is a day where nothing is off limits. This type of diet works best for me. And that is the thing about getting healthy, you have to find out what works best for you. If you are naturally a leaner person, or don't have problems with over eating, then flexible dieting and IIFYM(If it fits your Macros) may work great for you. Other people are perfectly fine with a lower calorie diet, and again others get the best results eating "Bro". Don't let someone just sell you on something though because it's the current trend in health. Find out what works best for you.

Also, if you go online and have a trainer write you a diet plan, Make sure you have choices on that plan. While I am "Bro" myself, I know many don't want to eat that way. I make mix and match meals for my clients where they have a variety. Sure, there are some "Bro" foods like chicken, broccoli, fish, rice and egg whites, but I am going to give you a variety of other foods as well. Just remember, this is your journey and if something doesn't work, re-evaluate and try something different.