Matt and Denise Tucker Lost a Combined 270+ Pounds and Became Nutrition Pros

fatloss IFTTT Weight Loss Insider weightloss weightlossinsider

Matt and Denise Tucker Lost a Combined 270+ Pounds and Became Nutrition Pros

Kailan Kalina

December 17, 2018

•

7 min read

There’s nothing like ultimatums from your doctor to force a hard choice between free-for-all meals and reclaiming your body and health. Matt and Denise Tucker ended up in this exact place at the exact same time: 2013, two years after they got married, when they each weighed 315 pounds.

If there was a silver lining, it was that they were in the same boat. They could work together. And they both received the same wakeup call, booting them out of a lifetime of emotional eating and childhoods filled with “carbs, a little bit of protein, and all the cupcakes,” as Matt describes.

Matt, like many Americans, was raised on an unhealthy diet. Old habits die hard, and as an adult, he was still often reaching for candy or a honey bun as a quick meal. When he injured his back loading trucks at his factory job in 2005, his eating habits only worsened.

As a child, Denise used food as a coping mechanism. “Whether I was stressed, anxious, happy, sad, or bored, food took care of it,” Denise says. “I was living life in survival mode just to get through the day.”

As an adult, these habits continued. Like many people, she associated dieting with deprivation.

Even after getting married, any attempts to “get fit” as a team failed. More than anything else, they needed a nutrition upheaval. The couple enrolled in an online program that taught in-depth on better eating habits. This led to digging deeper through self-education and designing their own eating plans, supporting each other like teammates along the way.

“When I would have a weak moment at work with a potluck lunch, I would text Matt for support until we both developed a whole new level of discipline,” Denise says. “Once we started to see real progress, it was almost addicting. We pushed each other harder and harder.”

Push harder, they did. Denise lost 161 pounds. Matt shed 110.

But that’s not all. After years of study, they both received their Certified Nutrition and Wellness Consultant certifications through the American Fitness Professionals & Associates (AFPA). They even started their own nutrition company called I Am Living Proof Nutrition, run out of Dalton’s Fitness gym in Fayetteville, Tennessee. They also help teach two fitness classes there a week.

This is their story.

Snapshot: Matt Tucker

• Location: Fayetteville, Tennessee
• Occupation: Computer Tech

Social Links:

• BodySpace [https://ift.tt/2A7fcnM]
• Instagram 

Age: 30, Height: 5′ 11″, Weight: 315 lbs., Body Fat %: 25%+

Age: 34, Height: 5′ 11″, Weight: 205 lbs., Body Fat %: unknown

Snapshot: Denise Tucker

• Location: Fayetteville, Tennessee
• Occupation: Teacher

Social Links:

• BodySpace

Age: 26, Height: 5′ 6″, Weight: 315 lbs., Body Fat %: 25%+

Age: 31, Height: 5′ 6″, Weight: 154 lbs., Body Fat %: unknown

What did life look like for both of you before this transformation?

Matt: I was living in a fog of consuming fast food and any kind of junk food I could grab. It reached a point where I didn’t want to get out of bed. I used my back injury as an excuse to be lazy and food as a crutch. The weight piled on for about eight more years. Even a walk to the mailbox would exhaust me. I met my wife and attempted to get fit, but I went right back to my old eating habits.

Denise: Growing up, I was always one of the biggest girls in my class. I accepted that this was just who I was. I would eat fast food two nights a week (when mom worked) or heat up some type of canned or frozen food. On weekends, I would go to my grandparents’ house where I could eat whatever I wanted—mostly fast food and sweets. This type of eating made me “happy” without the judgment of my parents, since they weren’t around. I remember taking food home from my grandparents’ and hiding it in my nightstand to eat when my parents weren’t paying attention. It was a coping mechanism to deal with being in an unhappy place, and this mentality continued into my adult years.

How did you accomplish your goals?

Matt: Building a nutritional foundation and meal prepping was essential to sticking with it—that, and always surrounding ourselves with a support group that held us accountable. And we would not have succeeded like we did without leaning on each other.

What supplements helped you through the transformation?

Matt’s Supplements:

• Celsius Live Fit drink
• EVL Creatine 5000 
• Cobra Labs The Curse pre-workout  
• MusclePharm Combat Powder  

Denise’s Supplements:

• Celsius Live Fit Fitness Drinks
• RSP Quadra Lean  
• RSP Amino Lean 
• EVL BCAAs  
• IdealFit Protein Powder

What did your nutrition look like?

Matt’s Diet Plan:

Oatmeal

(Quaker Oats Weight Control)

2 packets

Egg Whites

1/2 cup

Whole Wheat Bread

(Nature’s Own Double Fiber)

1 slice

Butter

(Zero-calorie spray)

to taste

Chicken

4 oz.

Broccoli

1 cup

Cauliflower

(riced)

1 cup

Salmon

(baked)

4 oz.

Asparagus

1 cup

Brussels Sprouts

1 cup

Denise’s Diet Plan:

Whole Wheat Bread

(Double Fiber)

2 slices

Egg Beaters

1/2 cup

Peanut Butter

(organic)

1 tbsp

Syrup

(sugar-free)

1 serving

Yogurt

(Dannon Light & Fit Greek)

1 serving

Blackberries

(or blueberries)

2-1/2 oz.

Protein Bar

(alternative to yogurt and fruit)

1

Chicken

4 oz.

Cauliflower

(riced)

1 cup

Salsa

1 serving

Vegetables

1-2 cups

Cottage Cheese

(low-fat)

1 serving

PB2 Powdered Peanut Butter

1/2 tbsp

Strawberries

(or blackberries, or blueberries)

2-1/2 oz.

Cinnamon

to taste

Protein Bar

(alternate to cottage cheese mixture)

1

Salmon

(baked)

4 oz.

Potato

3/4 cup

Asparagus

1 cup

Protein Shake

(with 1 scoop protein powder)

1

Almond Milk

1 cup

Blueberries

1 cup

What did your training and cardio regimen look like?

Denise: For the first few years, we both did a lot of cardio. Matt did some light squats, bench presses, and deadlifts, while I did a combination of Zumba, P90X, and exercises focusing on my legs and glutes. Today, our workouts incorporate more strength training.

Matt’s Training Plan:

Thursday

CrossFit workout

Denise’s Training Plan:

1

5 sets, 12, 10, 10, 8, 6 reps

3

4 sets, 12 reps (Upper chest)

4

4 sets, 12 reps (Middle chest)

5

4 sets, 12 reps (Lower chest)

6

Stairmaster

or Arc Trainer.

10-20 min.

1

Seated Cable Rows

V-Bar attachment.

5 sets, 10-15 reps

5

Stairmaster

or Arc Trainer.

10-20 min.

5

Stairmaster

or Arc Trainer.

10 min.

What was the most challenging aspect of your journey?

Matt: Pushing past the limits my mind set for me. I forced myself to reach for the next level of fitness until it seemed like I was hitting new PRs every week and lifting weight I hadn’t been able to do since high school.

Denise: Disciplining my mind and changing my view of dieting. Most people have specific weight-loss numbers in mind and become anxious about them to the point where they do not follow through, get discouraged, or go to ridiculous unhealthy points that are not sustainable—and I’ve done all of this! I honestly believe that not having a concrete goal this time around made me more motivated. When I realized I was not depriving myself and found ways to deal with boredom or stress hunger, I saw that this lifestyle was something I could not only manage but enjoy!

Do you have future plans within fitness that you are tackling?

Matt: Future plans are to grow our nutrition company so that we can be a part of other people’s journeys and help them get to a level physically that they never knew they could get to, just like we have.

Denise: My plans are to continue to build lean muscle—which is by far more difficult than simply losing the weight. I want to embrace the movement of strong women being culturally accepted as role models.

from Weight Loss Insider https://ift.tt/2rGgBgq
via Best Weight Loss Supplement

1:20 AM

Kris Gethin’s 7 Unbreakable Rules of Muscle Growth

fatloss IFTTT Weight Loss Insider weightloss weightlossinsider

Kris Gethin’s 7 Unbreakable Rules of Muscle Growth

A few years back, Kris Gethin was a dedicated bodybuilder. Today, the founder of Kaged Muscle supplements is still that—and a whole lot more.

In the last couple of years, Gethin has diversified his fitness resume to include both an Ironman and an Ultramarathon, all while keeping up his customary intensity in the gym day in and day out. Gethin is proving to meatheads everywhere that being a one-dimensional animal in the weight room just isn’t hardcore enough. The real definition of hardcore? Embracing a relentless chase of improvement in every area of life.

If you’re one of the millions who has experienced Gethin’s mentorship in his iconic programs like the 12-Week Hardcore Video Trainer or the 12-Week Muscle-Building Trainer, you know that how Kris trains and how he lives are two inseparable parts of the same project. Here’s how to prioritize your training and lifestyle to keep growing in the gym and out.

1. Overcome Plateaus with Intensity, Not Just Volume

You can’t throw a shaker bottle in the weight room without hitting someone living and dying by 3 sets of 10-12 on pretty much every movement. (Note: Please don’t throw shaker bottles in the weight room.) That classic set-and-rep scheme is popular for a reason, of course: It allows you to efficiently move from station to station, machine to machine, feeling a little burn and watching the weights climb.

At least for a while. When the weight increases stop, many lifters just try to overcome this “plateau” by doing more sets of more movements. In his popular article “Kris Gethin’s 4 Essential Intensity Booster Techniques for More Muscle,” he says a better way is to try to get more out of each movement that you do. That means trying techniques like:

• Supersets
• Giant sets
• Dropsets
• Forced reps

“If [these techniques] have a unifying theme, it’s shortening rest periods, hitting high repetitions instead of low reps, and taking my body—and yours—out of the comfort zone,” Kris says.

Yes, this will almost always make you have to drop the weight, and experience more discomfort in your nice little workout. Only outside of that comfort zone will you revive progress in a stagnant physique.

2. But Sometimes, Drown Your Muscles in Volume

The most legendary Gethin workouts have one thing in common: They burn like nothing you’ve ever thought you’d willingly subject yourself to. As the lactate pools in your muscles, you find yourself cursing Kris, cursing yourself, and pushing through every attempt your body makes to stop for rest.

Sound fun? It really is. Especially for shoulders.

Gethin challenges you to match him and Dr. Kaleb Redden rep-for-rep, set-for-set, and sweat-for-sweat in this crazy high-volume shoulder workout. “If you can’t drink your In-Kaged or you can’t pick your nose at the end of the workout, you know you’re on the right track,” he says.

3. Bulk with Food, Not Trash

When you’re a few weeks—heck, a few days—into a Gethin-designed battleground like the 12-Week Muscle-Building Trainer or the 8-Week Hardcore Trainer, your body generally starts sending an undeniable message: Feed me!

You can answer that call one of two ways: in the drive-through, or in the grocery store and kitchen. For Kris, that choice is where the diehards get separated from the pretenders.

Building muscle requires more food than the norm—that much isn’t in doubt. But Gethin is a proponent for quality calories, not spending money on foods that will get you mediocre results. No, it doesn’t have to be anything fancy. In fact, in his article “4 Essential Foods for Budget Bulking,” he cuts through the confusion and spoon-feeds you truth about how to grow muscle with foods like:

• Oatmeal
• Rice cakes
• Canned fish
• Dried fruit and nuts

Yes, these foods are more than up to the task of helping you add muscle, without shrinking your bank account.

4. Live a High-Testosterone Lifestyle

Nothing will tank your results in the gym like tanked testosterone levels. But raising them—or keeping them at healthy levels—isn’t just a question of finding the right hack. It’s about gearing your choices throughout the day toward the singular goal of maximizing testosterone. This includes every aspect of the fit life, including:

• Exercise selection
• Workout duration and scheduling
• Macronutrient distribution
• Alcohol intake and other vices
• Supplements
• Sleep quality and quantity
• Stress and cortisol levels

This is the big stuff that’s masquerading as little stuff. Keep a pen in hand—you’re going to want to take notes on this one—and follow Kris’ tips in “16 Ways to Boost Your Testosterone.” It’s a goldmine of nutrition, supplementation, lifestyle, and training tips to keep the king of muscle-building hormones on the throne.

5. Don’t Skip Cardio, Diversify It

Cardio isn’t something that Kris only recently came around on. He’s been advocating it daily or even twice a day since the classic 12-Week Hardcore Video Trainer, and living by example ever since. For health, body composition, gym results, and even for things like sleep quality and digestion, he swears that 30-45 minutes per day of moderate-intensity sweating can’t be beat.

However, the ways that Kris gets his sweat have changed dramatically. Nowadays, you’re more likely to find him on a bike or trail than plugging away on a treadmill. Part of this is because he has broadened his athletic goals to include things such as distance triathlons and ultramarathons. But another part is because these activities can actually help him be a better lifter—seriously!

“There are so many benefits to endurance running that it’s a shame so many of my iron brethren don’t experience them,” Kris writes in “What Every Bodybuilder Needs to Know about Running.” “I just want bodybuilders to understand that they can experience so much more, and still be a bodybuilder.”

The same goes for cycling, as he explains in the article “What Every Bodybuilder Needs to Know About Cycling.” But be warned: In both activities, planning and technique are every bit as important as they are in the weight room.

“Your size can quickly begin to work against you, unless you have the right approach,” Kris says.

Learn from Kris’ research—and mistakes along the way—and follow the path toward “hybrid athletics” he outlines in the inspiring video series “Man of Iron.”

6. Pay For Your Holiday Sins

Most of the time, building muscle and burning fat are about doing solid work in the gym and making great nutritional decisions when nobody is watching. But sometimes, a little excess is inevitable. Kris gets it. But don’t expect any sympathy.

“Here’s my philosophy: If you’re going to splurge over the holidays, then you need to burn to pay for your sins,” Kris says.

And no, that “burn” doesn’t consist of a few sets of curls and presses. Check out Kris’ “25-Minute Holiday Damage Control Workout,” and you’ll see it means legs. And you can’t use the “I’m out of town” excuse because it’s all body weight and doable from grandma’s living room.

Bookmark that workout. Fear it. But do it.

7. Use Every Tool at Your Disposal

Gallons of virtual ink of have been spilt debating the virtues of dumbbell bench press versus barbell, machine flyes versus cable flyes, EZ-bar preacher curls versus… you get it. So here’s the deal. They all work in their own way, and over the course of a long relationship with the weight room, you can and should use them all—and plenty of other implements that you never imagined, too.

Kris brings this point home by repurposing machines daily and making them work for, well, whatever muscle group he wants. As a lifter who lives and dies on the mind-muscle connection, he knows that if it feels right, it will work. Period. A few of his favorites include:

• Bent-over rows on a shoulder press machine
• Decline chest press on the leg curl machine
• Triceps push-downs on the platform of an assisted chin-up machine
• High cable curls on the lat pull-down station

“My weight was taken” is no longer an excuse. Use Kris’ machine hacks for chest, back, shoulders, triceps, and biceps, and watch a world of new options open up around you.

from Weight Loss Insider https://ift.tt/2LlMaVS
via Best Weight Loss Supplement

1:20 AM