John Adams has seen some incredible results while working with Raymond Desmarais and Core Results. I had a chance to ask John a few questions to try and get some insight on just what has made him so successful.
How long have you been with Core Results?
26 months now.
Why did you originally contact Core Results? What were your goals and then what made you pick up the phone? (a lot of people never get around to it!)
I moved to Raleigh the month before I started at Core Results for a new job. Previously I was in school and training where I had built in gym access and friends/co-workers as gym partners. Once here, I did not have either and started to look for a local gym. I began thinking of a trainer for the added benefit of new workouts as I’d been mostly doing the same things for exercise for over the last decade and I was still morbidly obese. Also I felt it added accountability that gym partners can provide, but to a greater extent because why pay for something you are not going to use appropriately. (aka give it 100%)
How often do you meet with your trainer Raymond?
Average twice a week
Describe your exercise routine?
I strive to work-out 5 days per week. Ideally I do resistance training for 45-60 minutes for 4 sessions and 4 sessions of 20-30 minutes of Cardio meaning 3 days I do both. The resistance training ranges from heavy, muscle building work-outs to metabolic (calorie burning) work-outs. Since my schedule usually only allows 2 training sessions a week, I have to do 2 gym sessions and all the cardio on my own. I prioritize the resistance training over the cardio if I’m in a time crunch.
Describe the changes you’ve made to your diet.
Here’s the golden ticket. I had awful eating habits all the way up until about 17 months ago. Initially I only did 2 moderate lifting sessions outside of my training with Core Results. I didn’t lose much weight and upped my work-out regimen, but kept just eating whatever I wanted. Weight did not change a bit, but I did see some body changes. Then 17 months ago I started keeping a record of everything I ate which forced me to confront the sheer amount of calories I was over eating. For convenience I eventually found Weight Watchers Online provided a database of all kinds of foods and restaurant dishes making it easier to look up various items. I started cooking more at home and each week kept to roughly 70% intake being lean/quality protein, fruits, and vegetables. 20% was still reasonable, but incorporated simple starches like pasta and/or less lean protein. 10% intake left to sugary sweets, fried foods, etc… That’s when the workouts really started showing results.
What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced?
Scheduling. Working 12 hour shifts where I may be on days to start the week and then nights for the weekend makes fitting in exercise a little daunting. It also makes it all the more tempting to eat more convenient and less healthy meals. Social events still test the willpower as it seems unhealthy food and drink is generally readily available.
You have lost considerable weight. What’s the total lost to date?
Started at 390lbs and last weigh in was 278. All 112 has been within the last 17 months. I’ve been overweight my whole life and picked up some awful eating habits that were hard to break. I was even heavier at one point before and lost over 50 pounds on a strict no-carb diet, but put it back on because I viewed the diet/exercise routine as temporary without a plain to maintain. Currently I view my regimen as a brisk run with a plan to eventually back down the intensity to a jog for maintenance.
Everyone reaches plateaus, how have you overcome them?
Just being determined. I was fairly lucky in that for the first year I was seeing good improvements month to month. I reached a plateau in my strength 4-5 months ago, but my protein intake seemed to be lacking. I increased it and made improvements in strength, but over the last 2 months my weight loss has slowed as a result. Trying to find that happy medium now.
A lot of people begin “working out” and they drop off and discontinue for all sorts of reasons. How have you maintained your drive to continue training and improving?
That’s a tougher question than I thought it would be. Viewing it as an investment helped. The number on the scale or the size of clothing may not change instantly, but keep in mind that the sacrifice now would pay dividends later. Soon enough, weekly weigh-ins were something to be looked forward to and clothing started to fit better. But I’d say at this point reversion is the biggest motivator. Remembering what it was like all those pounds ago and I don’t want to be there again. To be honest with myself, I never wanted it enough before. I made choices based upon my priorities. Perhaps I liked junk food/being sedentary more than being in better shape or hated diet/exercise (discipline when we get to brass tacks) more than the way I looked/felt back then. Either way, my every day choices reflected that being leaner and healthier was less of a priority than the things that kept me from my goals.
Now that you’ve had considerable success, have your goals changed? What are you looking forward to now?
Since I haven’t reached my goal, can’t say they’ve really changed. When I first started I just had a generic “lose weight, get stronger” goal. Once I started really seeing weight loss, I set a goal weight of 245 that I have yet to achieve. I knew it would take over a year so I set little milestones like getting to a certain weight range in 4 month intervals. Outside of just reaching a certain weight, I have a few goals that reflect that initial generic goal by getting to at least one pull-up or getting to a 7 minute mile.
Big thanks to John for taking the time to share a little bit about his fitness journey.
