I’m going to start publishing articles of Real Life transformations I write about monthly for Max Muscle Sports and Fitness magazine. I hope you will find inspiration, encouragement and motivation in these people!

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REAL LIFE

LEADER OF THE PACK

By: Maria Kang

Phil Odekirk started his weight loss journey three years ago, but needed the extra push of a contest to head to the front of the pack.

For some people, a photo of themselves overweight motivates them to set a new fitness goal. For people like James “Phil” Odekirk, 46, it was a photo he saw four years ago taken when he was 28 and in the best shape of his life that motivated him to plan a new lifestyle. Phil recalls, “I decided right then that I needed to lose 40 pounds. I gave myself four years to do it. I wanted to change my habits slowly so that I would ingrain a new lifestyle.”

At 6-foot-3, Phil’s weight fluctuated between 250 to 260 throughout his 30s and early 40s. However, he knew that if he didn’t get in shape during his 40s, he would have a hard time losing weight as he got older. So he took pictures, posted them and made a “no excuse” plan to lose the excess weight.

Phil began working out early in the morning in his home gym training six days a week and performing “double days,” training both morning and evening, four days a week. He switched his workout routine dependent on mood, season and contest prep. He used variety in his workouts, switching from distance running, trail runs, hiking hills, intervals, track workouts, swimming and full body lifting.

For his diet plan, Phil stayed away from the 950-calorie-a-slice small meat pizza, one of the items his small restaurant company sells in one of his 18 mall food court locations. Instead he ate six to seven meals a day consisting of 30 percent protein, 25 percent fat and 45 percent carbohydrates. His weekly consumption included egg whites, protein pancakes, egg sandwiches, baked chicken, chicken tacos, chicken soup, chicken chili, tuna sandwiches, bananas, apples, oranges, mixed green salads, rice and smaller amounts of red meats. Depending on his activity level, on a daily basis he consumed anywhere between 2,800 to 3,400 calories. read the rest here.

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