It’s not often I get nervous writing an email, but yesterday was one of those times.
I asked a client if I could share his results, and I am delighted that he said yes.
This is Lynn. Or rather, this was Lynn in June of 2020.
Lynn had been overweight his entire life. The turning point came at the start of the pandemic when he took up cycling, hiking, and camping.
It was tough, but he enjoyed and benefited from the mental break the outdoors gave him.
He knew that getting stronger and losing weight would help. So around June, he hired a personal trainer and started looking after the ‘big wins‘ in his diet.
This led to a positive reinforcement cycle where the gains in fitness were noticeable every time he hiked, which made him enjoy it more.
As he started to believe in himself, he set more ambitious goals.
By November 2021, he had achieved 36 pounds of weight loss. But that number doesn’t tell the whole story.
I don’t have the measurement data, but given that he started strength training, I’d bet he lost 40–45 pounds of fat and gained 5–10 pounds of muscle in 17 months.
A fantastic result!
But he was not done yet.
Lynn reached out, feeling a little stuck. He said in his coaching application:
“I have been overweight my entire life, and my family’s genetics work against me. This has always been something weighing on my self-confidence. Additionally, I would like to look good without a shirt and feel comfortable. I am the closest I have ever been to doing this, and I think it’s actually achievable now.
I feel like I’m starting to hit a wall with just calories in vs. calories out. It just isn’t working anymore for me, and I wonder if I’ve just gotten sloppy or if I’m at a point where I need something more tailored. Even with all my weight loss and muscle-building achievements, I don’t feel like it shows, and I still carry a lot of fat.”
Lynn and I started working together, and have been for the past 12 months.
Here he is now:
This is 177 pounds to 159 pounds, an 18-pound difference. He lost 15 cm on his stomach (~6 inches), which suggests 24–30 pounds of fat loss and another ~6-12 pounds of muscle gain.
I don’t take credit for his achievements. It was Lynn’s hard work; I was just the guide.
There were three things that I feel are worth noting:
1. To rule out any calorie counting issues, I had Lynn switch nutrition logging apps from MyFitnessPal to MacroFactor.
This helped eliminate the issue of database errors, and with a few other pointers, we made sure his nutrition tracking was tight.
(Enter code “ripped” for an extended two-week free trial.)
2. I simplified his training and emphasized the importance of progressive overload of a few compound movements.
We did an upper-lower training split twice a week, similar to what you can see in the Novice Bodybuilding Program. He kept working with his personal trainer two other days a week, as he enjoyed those sessions.
3. The last change I made was I got him to implement detailed progress tracking, as I do for all clients.
This helped because I could point to the data to show progress where he wouldn’t have seen any. I could also set his mind at ease through periods of unusual weight fluctuations, which often happen with people who lose a lot of weight. He said that having me in his corner gave him confidence and kept him accountable.
“I told someone the other day when asked what my goal was with fitness or diet, and my answer was that I have surpassed every goal I had ever imagined I’d achieve with health and fitness, and so now I’m just seeing what my body is capable of. I’m 39 and in better shape than most 20-year-olds that I know.
Maybe you get this a lot, but I can’t convey just how life changing working with you has been. I know I did all the hard work, but having “Accountability Andy,” as my wife calls you, is a game changer. It allowed me to focus on just achieving the goals without having to stress over what was next. I don’t believe a dollar was wasted and I’m glad I went through the process. I feel better, every day is just more enjoyable, I’m no longer on blood pressure meds (because I don’t need them), my career progression skyrocketed, and my wife and I were joking that my daughter won’t know what a “dad bod” means when other people refer to it as someone who is a bit overweight.
Lynn has changed his life. If you are feeling a little stuck and this resonated with you, I hope his story can inspire you to believe in yourself and change yours. If you have any message you’d like to pass on to Lynn, feel free to comment below.
Nothing is hidden about what we did; it’s all on the site. Feel free to ask questions in the comments and know that I answer them daily.
Lynn, thank you for allowing me to share your journey thus far with our readers. It’s an absolute pleasure to work with you, and I’m excited to see what we can achieve together in 2023 as we move into a bulk phase. 💪
Privacy policy.