Transformation: How Much Have You Changed?

By: Jeff Setton

Before:352 lbs After:170 lbs

Vital Stats
Name: Jeff Setton
Email: jeff.setton@rogers.com
Weight Before: 352lbs
Weight After: 170lbs
BF% Before: 48.9%
BF% After: 6.7%
Lean Muscle Before: 132lbs
Lean Muscle After: 158lbs

How I Did It
Two simple words can describe what is required in order to achieve these results: dedication and commitment. All it takes is being aware of what your regimen consists of, what to eat, and when to workout, and everything else falls into place.

I was somewhat of an active child. From the age of 6, I played hockey 3-4 times/week, and did this up until I was 15 years old. When my biggest growth spurt hit, I seemed to lose interest in all physical activity.

To make matters worse, I had recently started a job in a retail sports store, in which I was working 30-40 hours/week on top of keeping up with school. This led me to become even more lazy in terms of physical activity, and I found myself eating fast food 2-3 times/day making the absolute worst choices when it came to food (McDonald's, Taco Bell, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza, etc.).

During my downtime, I found myself rarely being social with kids my age, due to the fact that I was completely burned out from school and work. As a result, I often took 1-2 hour naps in the middle of each day. Due to the lack of activity and horrible eating habits, my weight could only go one way, UP.

As you can imagine, I rarely looked at myself in the mirror as I got disgusted with the way I looked. Although most people could not believe how much I let myself go, I chose to block that out of my mind and did not think anything was wrong with being big.

Tipping the scale at my heaviest at 384lbs, I had no perception of how much my weight problem was getting in the way of my everyday life. Now, after losing over 200lbs, I realize how much I was being held back. Barely fitting into most furniture (chairs, couches, etc) and wearing a 58" pair of jeans was not something that I could keep up for much longer without affecting my health.

I started this program at 352lbs on March 15th, and exactly nine months and four days later, I weighed in at 170lbs. That's 182lbs less in just over 9 months (about 20 lbs/month). I went from wearing a 58" waist and 4XL shirt, to a 32" waist and a S-M top (depending on the brand).
My blood pressure went from 165/100 and a rest heart rate of about 87 beats/minute to 110/68 and a resting heart of 48 beats/minute!!! This, of course, is the result of the cardio exercise I did religiously while loosing weight.


What Got Me Started?
I went to the doctor just a few weeks prior to my 19th birthday and found out some very alarming news. When a person is tested for diabetes, any reading at or above 7.2 means they are diabetic. My reading came back at 7.1, which meant not only was I severely overweight, but I was now a borderline diabetic.

To make matters worse, my blood pressure was 165/100 with a resting heart rate of 86-88 beats/minute. It was here that I realized something drastic has to be done. My father had recently signed up for a gym membership where he was sold on a package of 25 personal training sessions.

Jeff Setton.

As he was extremely busy, he was only able to utilize 4 of the 25 sessions over the span of one year. When he found out I was willing to start exercising, he immediately signed me up at his gym and transferred those sessions to my membership.

I was provided with a trainer who had a reputation as being a "drill sergeant." After a few weeks, I began seeing quick results (Week 1 = 9 lb weight loss, Week 2 = 7 lb weight loss, Week 3 = 11 lb weight loss). I went through ups and downs during this journey, but all in all it was completely worth all the countless hours I put into cardio to get my body back in shape.

Diet
I started with a trainer, who also provided me with 3 simple rules I needed to follow (as always, Keep It Simple!). Firstly, the only things I could eat were essentially from three of the main food groups, Protein, Carbohydrates, and Vegetables. From these groups, I could only eat the following:


Protein:
Chicken breast (no skin)
Turkey breast (no skin)
Tuna
Egg whites
Lean beef (once/week)
Salmon (no carbs with this meal)

Carbohydrates:
Sweet potatoes
Brown rice
Oatmeal
Wild rice

Vegetables:
All greens (except avocado)
No carrots
No cooked onions


I could select one item from each category for THREE meals/day. On top of the three meals, I was allowed to have 3 Whey Protein Isolate shakes in between each meal.

Sample Day:
Meal 1: 7:30am
8 egg white omeletCut up vegetables in omelet (tomatoes, zucchini, egg plant, red/green/orange/yellow peppers)60g of sweet potatoes (~30g of carbs)
Snack 1: 10am
1 scoop Whey Protein (28g protein/scoop)
Meal 2: 12:30pm
115g of Turkey Breast (35g of protein)1/2 cup of brown rice (37g carbs for 3/4 brown rice)Green salad w/ 1/4 cup brown rice (1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil, Greek spice, lemon juice, other spices)
Workout: Cardio for 60-75 minutes (1:45pm)
Snack 2: 3pm
1 scoop whey protein (28g protein/scoop)
Meal 3: 5:30pm
125g of Chicken breast (35g of protein)1/3 cup of oatmeal (20g carbs)Lots of greens (celery, cucumber/tomato salad, Anice, etc.)
Snack 3: 8pm
1 scoop Whey Protein (28g protein/scoop)

Supplements I Used
For the first 6 months of this lifestyle change, I did not take any fat burners, thermogenics, etc. The only supplement I was taking was a daily multi-vitamin twice/day, Vitamin B, C, D and E.

As the weight became progressively harder to take off, I decided to try Clenbuterol for a few months, which provided me with more success. I took off an additional 48lbs in 6 weeks, and was doing the 2 week on, 2 week off phase with the Clenbuterol.

On my 2 weeks off, I was taking a product here in Canada called "Maximum Burn" which contains Ma Huang (ephedrine), White Willow Bark (aspirin) and Caffeine. I found these two stacks to be quite effective.

Training
Sample Week of Muscle Training: 3 Day Split (use for calorie burning and toning)

Workout #1 - Back and Biceps
-Wide-Grip Pulldowns (20reps, 20reps, 20reps)
-Underhand Bent-over Rows (20, 20, 20)
-Seated Long Pulley Rows
-Barbell Deadlifts (20, 15, 12)
-EZ Bar Bicep curls (20, 20, 20)
-Hammer Curls (20, 20, 20)
Click Here For A Printable Log Of Workout 1.

Workout #2 - Chest, Shoulders, Triceps
-BB Bench Press (20, 15, 12)
-Incline DB Press (20, 18, 15)
-BB Military Shoulder Press (20, 15, 12)
-Standing Lateral Raise (20, 20, 15)
-Close-Grip Bench Press (20, 18, 15)
-Rope Pulldowns (20, 18, 15)
Click Here For A Printable Log Of Workout 2.

Workout #3 - Legs
-Leg Press (20, 20, 18, 15)
-Walking Lunges (20, 15, 15)
-Leg Extensions (20, 18, 15)
-Lying Leg Curls (20, 20, 18, 15)
-Seated Leg Curls (20, 18, 15)
-Abductor (20, 20, 20)
-Adductor (20, 20, 20)
Click Here For A Printable Log Of Workout 3.

Suggestion To Others
My suggestion for anyone trying to reach their goals is simply, do not give up. If working out and getting results was easy, wouldn't all of North America be in shape? You have to ask yourself what your priorities in life are. If you take pride in the way you look, then you have to exercise and stay in shape.

Just remember that if someone is trying to discourage you from reaching your goals, they are simply jealous. I had so many people tell me at 270lbs that it was impossible to get "slim" because of my genetics. I got the last laugh! Don't let anyone steer you away from your goals.

Have a set plan as to what you want to do, and where you want to be by certain dates. Setting time frames for yourself is another way to achieve your goals. Back in August 2005, I knew I was going to be going to Florida on December 25th 2005. I weighed in just over 230lbs (~233lbs).

I set a goal that by the time I stepped foot on that plane; I would be weighing in at 170 lbs. On December 25th, I got on the plane weighing 171 lbs. I was up 1lb on the scale from celebrating the night before (had a few things to eat off my program).

Don't Let Others Discourage You!

It just goes to show that with dedication, commitment, and your goals stuck in your head at all times, anything is possible. Remember, never give up, and do not let people tell you what you can and cannot achieve!