I’m really excited to introduce you all to someone I’ve known for a while. I first met Miguel when I was the commissioner of an adult hockey league in Southern California. He was always super friendly, asking me how I was doing, talking sports, and shooting the breeze with me when he checked in for his games.
I hadn’t seen him in probably a year or two but recently ran into him at the same rink I used to work at. I saw him at a distance – this sounds like a love story doesn’t it? – Anyhow, I didn’t recognize him at first but as he started walking closer I knew it was him.
My first reaction was, “WTF! Dude, have you lost weight? You look great!” He told me he had lost 70 pounds in the last 9 months and was feeling better than ever.
I asked him to share his story with you and offer some tips, tricks, and Miguel secrets that can help you on your LimtilessFITNESS journey.
If you struggle with finding time to workout, find it difficult to get started, or can never seem to stay motivated than this success story is for you.
Drumroll please………. I give you Miguel and his 70 pounds in 9 months transformation.
Justin: Tell us a bit about yourself. Who are you, what do you like to do for fun, what keeps you busy in your free time?
My name is Miguel Rodarte. I’m 25 years old and I work for a non-profit organization called GOALS and for the Anaheim city school district. In my free time I like to play ice hockey, go to sporting events, work on car engines, and hang out with my friends. Work keeps me busy for the most part – I usually am working mon-fri 730am to 630pm.
Note from Justin: Damn! That’s a lot of work 🙂
Justin: If you can remember, when was the specific moment that you decided you needed to improve your health? What inspired you to get started?
June 6, 2014 was the exact date I decided I wanted to start working out and going to the gym. I was talking to my friend Francisco Murguia about my best friend Jesus Rodriguez (who I was always hanging out with) moving to Oregon and I needed something to keep me busy now that summer was beginning. So he suggested I start going to the gym and working out with him. I told him I would call him the following Monday, June 9th, which I did and I’m pretty glad I did and went through with it.
Justin: What was a typical day like for you before you started working out with your buddy Francisco (who by the way is a cool dude).
A typical day for me WAS waking up at 6am to be at work by 7:30am. Walking over to the nearest fast food establishment and ordering breakfast, which was always packed with high calories, fat,and sodium. Then I’d go to lunch at 1pm and head over to the next fast food restaurant usually Taco Bell or Jack in the Box and again order really bad fattening food. After lunch I would head over to my next job for four hours. I would go home at 6:30pm but on my way home I would stop by to get dinner at Carl’s Jr. and I would usually go to my friend’s house and watch what ever sporting event was on. So I would usually by home by 12am and go to bed.
Justin: What is a typical day like for you now since adopting healthier habits?
Now a typical day is basically the same except for eating fast food. I instead go to a grocery store and buy food to make at home and take with me to work. I also now pass on watching every sporting event and instead head over to the gym after work for an hour to an hour and a half a day. I get home at 9:30pm and am in bed by 10pm.
Note from Justin: If you go to a globo-gym there is a good change they’ll have the game on anyway.
Justin: What has been your exercise strategy? Also, what forms of exercise do you enjoy, not enjoy, and what keeps you going to the gym (or what ever you have done to move more).
For the first 2 weeks I started by going to the park with my friend Francisco to get me in the groove of things. He started me off light by just doing 3 sets of lunges, push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups and jogging 1/2 mile. After that we started going to the gym for about 2 hours – 1 hour of full body light weight lifting and – 1 hour of cardio (running on the treadmill for 20 mins, stationary bike for 20 mins, and elliptical training or stair master for 20 mins). This routine lasted about 1 1/2 months before we switched it to:
- Monday – Upper body weight lifting day (Back, shoulders, biceps, triceps, forearms, chest and abs)
- Tuesday – Cardio day (running on the treadmill for 20 mins, stationary bike for 20 mins, and elliptical training or stair master for 20 mins)
- Wednesday was lower body weight day. (Abs, thighs , calves, hamstrings)
- Thursday was cardio day
- Friday was full body work out.
Justin: How have you changed your eating habits? Has it been an easy change for you or a difficult one? If easy, why do you feel it has been easy? If difficult, what strategies have you used to keep you on track.
I changed my eating habits basically by not going out to fast food restaurants and making meals at home. I count my calories and mainly eat turkey and grilled or boiled chicken. I also eat more vegetables now. I think it was pretty easy to change my eating habits because I like all the health foods I’m eating now it’s just all mental and staying way from the fast foods and foods that are high in sugar and unhealthy fats.
Note: Get your FREE real food cookbook here to help you get started making healthier meals.
Justin: Aside from the obvious physical changes to your body have you noticed any other changes? Mental, emotional, more confidence, excited to try new things, finally crossed something off you bucket list that you kept putting off because of your health?
Changes that I’ve noticed about my self beside physical changes are that I feel way more energetic. I’m always amped up to do any physical activity. I feel more up beat and excited to do anything. My confidence levels have risen a bit too.
Justin: What has been the most difficult part of your journey and what have you been able to do to stay consistent?
I think the hardest part is keeping my gym time and eating habits consistent. What’s motivated me to keep going is getting compliments from friends and family about my appearance and every time I would jump on the scale and see how much total weight I’ve lost also keeps me going.
Justin: How have you tracked your progress? Scale, pictures, workout journal, food logs, body measurements, etc…
I took an old picture from before I started working out and compared it with a more recent picture. I would take a new picture every three months and I would also keep track of my weight loss every 3 months. I use the fitness pal app to track my calories intake – it was very helpful.
Justin: Have you had a support system during your transformation or have you been mostly on your own?
My support system has basically been my friends and family that kept me going to the gym and motivating me to keep going.
Justin: Have you tried but failed to get healthy in the past? If so, what do you feel made the big difference now?
I don’t think I’ve really tried in the past to get healthy. I’ve gone to the gym once or twice but wasn’t really motivated to keep going. It was just a spur of the moment type of thing.
Justin: What’s next for the NEW Miguel?
Next step for me is to lose another 20 lbs to hit my goal weight of 200 lbs and then start lifting heavy weight so I can build muscle.
Justin: Any other tips, tricks, advice that you can share that may help others out there that are struggling to become the healthiest version of themselves?
All my friends ask me what the secret is to losing weight. I tell them there is no secret it’s just getting active and making better nutrition choices more consistently – key word consistently. You just have to get out there and do it and stay motivated and have some sort of support/ partner. After that it becomes like second nature.
What You Can Learn From Miguel
Miguel’s success story really is amazing. His before and after pictures alone are extremely inspiring, but that’s not the only thing that has changed for him. His energy levels are higher than ever before, he’s actually excited about being more active, trying new things, and has more confidence.
How can you apply some of what Miguel has done into your own success story?
1. Miguel, like all superhero’s has a kryptonite. He identified his as fast-food and decided that was one big change he could make right away that would have the biggest difference. He didn’t worry about eating perfectly, instead he focused at first on making this one single change stick.
By creating time in his schedule to go grocery shopping and using those foods he purchased to prepare meal ahead of time, Miguel was able to jump-start his progress and started to lose body fat fast before making any major changes.
Take away: What is one thing you could do now that would have the biggest impact on your health? What’s your kryptonite?
2. “I just don’t have the time to live a healthier lifestyle” is a common excuse for not becoming the healthiest version of yourself. Miguel was working two jobs from 7:30am to 6:30pm, Monday through Friday. After his long work days he spent the rest of the evening kicking it with his buddies watching the game, having a few drinks, and eating fast food. Typically getting home around midnight before going to bed.
Instead of trying to find time for his health Miguel created time by passing on watching the game after work and heading to the gym with his buddy Francisco instead. The accountability and support he got by going to the gym with a buddy was enough motivation and inspiration to keep him consistently going.
Take way: What can you do to create more time for your health? Workout at home? Prep all of your meals for the week every Sunday? Watch a little less TV?
3. He just got started. Getting started is often the hardest part. Miguel didn’t worry about doing everything right, being perfect, have discovering the most magnificent workout and diet plan. He went to the park with his buddy and did basic body weight exercises like squats, lunges, push-ups, rows, and sit-ups. He did what he could, stayed consistent, and as he improved he started to add more variety, resistance training, and higher intensity cardiovascular exercises.
Take away: What can you do to simply get started! Can you go on a walk? Do a body weight circuit? Eat veggies with every meal?
4. He didn’t guess if what we was doing was working – he assessed it. Miguel stayed motivated my using MyFitnessPal to log what he was eating everyday. This gave him honest feedback as to whether he or not he was making healthier food choices. He also hopped on the scale and used photos as a way to measure his progress. However, he found a lot of inspiration to stay consistent from compliments others were giving him.
Take away: What are some ways you can hold yourself accountable and stay motivated on your fitness journey? Are you taking body measurements? Before and after photos? Can you journal your progress and note changes in your mood, energy levels, or compliments you are receiving from others?
5. Miguel used the buddy system. To help him stay on track Miguel started working out with a friend of his at the park and then eventually they started going to the gym together. Not only does this make exercise more enjoyable but it also is a great way to hold yourself accountable. Most of us are ok with letting ourselves down but letting others down is a big no-no.
Take away: Is there someone you can start working out with or checking in with regularly? Maybe buddy up with a friend and exchange photos of the meals that you eat. Is there a coworker you can start taking afternoon walks with to be more active or a sports league you can take part in?
6. Miguel’s big secret is that there is no secret. Wait, what? You mean there’s not some magic diet pill, workout routine, or fairy that sprinkles “special fairy dust” on you that turns you into a lean mean fighting machine? Nope, Miguel’s big secret is to be consistent, find support through a buddy, and to track your progress by taking photos, measurements, and jumping on the scale.
Take away: How consistent have you been? Are you tracking your progress? Try this habit tracker and actually measure how consistent you are.
Need more mojo? Check out some more success stories from the LimitlessCOMMUNITY.
What can you do today to get you one step closer to the healthiest version of yourself? If you need help figuring it out comment below and I’ll see what I can do.
Live Limitless,
Justin
P.S. Are you a walking success story or do you know anyone that has had a dramatic healthy lifestyle makeover? I’d love to feature them on the site. Contact me here and lets set it up.
P.P.S if you’re looking for a little more support, accountability, and guidance on your fitness journey check out the LimitlessBODY Blueprint.
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