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Drew’s a 32 year old regional manager from Ocean County, New Jersey. In the past year he got promoted at his job and engaged to who he calls his fitness model fiancé. Through Drew’s good fortune, his fitness and health had taken a back seat. With his eyes on a bright future, Drew knew he needed to set himself and his new family up for success and turned to Trifecta’s paleo meal plan for help.
Meet Drew
Drew had let himself go. His words.
“When I was younger like in high school, even middle school, I started lifting weights and working out. I played football and wrestling and I was always in good shape. After high school, I let going out and being social take over my life.”
Drew transition into adulthood isn’t uncommon. As we leave schedules that create for exercise and other healthy outlets behind us and replace them with work and socializing, it can be difficult to maintain the physique and energy levels we were used to. When your lifestyle changes radically, your body likely will too.
“I was a weekend warrior. I was still drinking alcohol and eating carbs. I told myself that I can eat as many carbs as I want as long as I stop before 4 o'clock. I was just doing whatever.”
Growing Pains
Four years ago I met my soon-to-be wife and began my career. Work was going great but the demand for increased responsibility forced me to sacrifice taking care of myself even more.
“I got in good with my company and just totally put my exercise and taking care of myself on the back burner. It was good for my career but it's been bad for my long-term health.”
I got promoted and engaged. My responsibilities weren’t going anywhere and I wanted to be a healthy husband for my fiancé and eventual family. At a Christmas party, I found myself in a bathroom with a scale and jumped on out of curiosity. When the scale read 298, I was shaken.
“I saw 298 staring back at me and I never wanted to break 300. That killed me inside because I was always pretty active. So I said, you know what, that's it. I got to get my grind on. I got to start doing my thing.”
New Solutions
Because of my history with sports and fitness, I knew my way around the gym.
"It was great for you to know, the first two months and then this whole COVID thing happened. I couldn't rely on the gym anymore. So I had to figure something out meal wise."
Without a history of cooking or the time to actually do it, I needed a solution.
“I don't have time with my career to actually cook. I do have time on the weekends but I never get around to it. I tried Freshly first and didn’t really like it too much. Then I found you guys.
“I saw Trifecta all over Facebook so I switched over and I really liked the food so I continued to order it.
“Having everything already premade for you, ready to go, everything's measured and weighed out, it's the right macros, I'm good to go with that.”
I am on the Paleo diet which is based on lean meats, nutritious fruits and vegetables and the elimination of grains and other modern ingredients not available during the Paleolithic era.
Drew’s Diet:
- Fast until 10:00 am, then eat my first Trifecta meal
- At 1:00 I either have a 40 gram plant based protein shake or a second Trifecta meal.
- Around 4-5 I have another Trifecta meal.
- My snacks are fresh fruits like banana, mango, orange, plum, avocado etc....
- If I’m hungry later at night I’ll have another shake and maybe a little peanut butter.
Discover what meal plan fits your lifestyle!
Getting Moving
With my nutrition dialed in, I wanted to begin exercising again. With the gyms closed, I found help back on the football field, the place where I once shined.
“I met up with a trainer and we've been going to the football fields. I've been eating right, doing some good training, some calisthenics and some light weights.”
With some gyms reopening on the East Coast, I have been able to ramp up my routine even more.
Drew’s Workout:
“I try to get to the gym 3-4 days a week.”
- Day 1: I do assisted pull ups and dips, wide narrow and neutral grips until failure each set. I follow that with free weight bench incline, flat and decline, 12-15 reps superset with dumbbell 1 are bent over rows on the flat bench. Next, cable flys and reverse cable flys 15-20 reps from top position middle and bottom.
- Day 2: Start with leg press, usually 4-5 sets, increasing weight and lowering reps as I move up superset with calf raises after each set. Then move to Smith machine (my gym doesn’t have a free weight rack) and do 3-4 sets of squat superset with alternate lunges.
- Day 3: I do some variation of deadlift on the Smith machine 6-12 reps increasing weight and decreasing reps. Superset with straight legged hanging deadlift Standing on a box to get a good stretch 12-15 reps. Then hamstring curls.
- Day 4: I do an assortment of biceps, triceps and shoulders.
- I finish each workout with Roman chair variations and low and side planks 60-90 seconds each.
Just the Beginning
Combining proper nutrition and exercise, I began seeing the results I was searching for, losing over 25 pounds in the first four months. But this is just the beginning of my journey.
“I'm really excited to see where I can go with this. It seems like there’s some muscle memory because a lot of the stuff coming back to me from what I was younger. I’m trying to lose body fat percentage and tone up”
My new outlook is right on time. I am getting married in November! I want to look good for the wedding and honeymoon but also be healthy for the long haul with my new family.
“I want to be in good shape. I want to look good. I want to feel good.”
“When you wake up and you feel heavy and you have a hard time breathing, you know, it's definitely time for a change. I want to be able to run around with my kids and enjoy my life and not feel so weighed down and tired all the time. I don't want to start to develop health problems. So I knew I had to pick a plan and stick with it.”
Commitment
For others looking to start their own fitness or weight loss journey, I really like to emphasize creating a routine and sticking to a schedule.
“It's very very difficult to just wing it.”
I also recommend finding a work/life balance so you can do what you need to take care of yourself. While I value balance, I am not one for cheat days.
“I know that I can diet all week but if I spend one night of the weekend eating a bunch of carbs, bread pasta, drinking some beers, I know I’m gaining back everything I lost plus more. Beer and the carbs, they don’t agree with my body.”
“I already ate whatever I wanted for so long and I'm getting married November 14. So it's like, we're almost there.”
It’s not just the wedding that motivates me. My fiancé is a major source of inspiration. She’s gone through her own weight loss journey and she and I regularly work out together.
“She lost almost 130 pounds and she really put her time in. She's been exercising religiously for about five months now and she’s completely transformed her body. She’s a completely different person now.”
“I call her my fitness model.”
“I can’t let her show me up and I want to be with her forever.”
Find out more about how Trifecta can help you conquer your goals and optimize your health.
