Name: Zachary Hall

Email: zhall616@me.com

Bodyspace: zhall616

I have been chubby pretty much my whole life. When high school hit, everyone shot up and got thin, guys started bulking for football and other sports, but I stayed the same "kid" who was addicted to food, especially candy.

I continued to gain weight, but no height, until finally I began to mature my junior year. Still, I ate only junk, lots of candy, and never anything healthy.

The summer before my senior year, I reached an all time high weight of around 175 pounds. There was a back to school pool party, and I was embarrassed to take my shirt off because of the other guys and mainly because I didn't want the girls to see me like that.

Every day I would wake up, look in the mirror and say to myself "Is this how I really have to look?" My little brother would tease me and call me "fatty." He was of course joking but I took it seriously since I was so self-conscious.

I then decided to make a change.

I immediately started and changed my diet completely. I dropped most all sugars, white bread, carbonation, etc. and began to eat 5-6 small meals per day.

I immediately felt like a million bucks! I ate what I thought were clean foods, but I was still not as disciplined as I should have been, having cheat meals a few times a week.

I dropped down to about 150 pounds after the 60 days. I felt great, but was still unhappy. I joined the swim team to continue my cardio and found a friend who was into bodybuilding. He drew me up a weight-training plan that I still follow.

Then I got hooked! I made it a point to read as many articles a day as I could. This is where Bodybuilding.com helped too. It offered me the best insights, best supplement prices, and motivation to keep going!

Through swimming and weight training, I dropped down to 135, where I am presently. I hope to bulk up to 150 by May.

My philosophy is anyone can be cut, you just have to drop body fat. It takes time, pain and sweat to have mass.

Also having a training partner has helped tremendously! He (Joseph) pushes me and I have made great gains with his help and knowledge.

Morning:

• Optimum Nutrition Opti-Men: 3 tabs
• Fish Oil: 1360 mg

Pre-Workout:

• BPI 1.M.R. Powder: 1 scoop

Intra-Workout:

• Scivation Xtend: 2-4 scoops

Post-Workout:

• Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey: 1 Scoop
• NOW Dextrose: 30g

Before Bed:

• BSN Syntha-6: 1 scoop

Changing my diet was key, especially at the beginning. I went from every day stuffing my face with pizza, candy, and soda to an immediate change to what I thought were clean foods.

I didn't know much about nutrition at the beginning, but I started with eating 5-6 meals a day, as this helped stave off hunger and overeating.

After reading countless nutrition articles on Bodybuilding.com, I came up with this and can tweak it for either cutting or bulking.

When cutting, I try to cut out carbs. Diet is absolutely critical to fat loss!

Meal 1:

• 1 cup Oatmeal/Cereal
• 1 scoop Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey or 4-5 Egg Whites
• 1 cup Skim Milk

Meal 2:

• 2 slices Whole Wheat Bread
• 6-8 oz Chicken/Fish/Turkey/Lean Beef
• 2 tbsp natural Peanut Butter

Meal 3:

• 1 scoop Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey
• 1 cup low fat Yogurt
• 1 cup Brown Rice or 1 Sweet Potato
• 1 cup steamed Veggies

Meal 4:

• 6-8 oz Chicken/Fish/Turkey/Lean Beef
• 1 slice Whole Wheat Bread
• 1 small Salad with low cal Dressing

Meal 5:

• 1 cup Brown Rice
• 6-8 oz Chicken/Fish/Turkey/Lean Beef
• 1 boiled Veggies

Meal 6:

• 1 cup Egg Whites
• 2 tbsp natural Peanut Butter
• 4 Egg Whites

After reading tons of training articles and looking at other's routines, I put this together. I try and switch things up every few weeks or so to keep my muscles from getting accustomed to my routine.

I also have a partner that I train with who has helped me with my gains. Having a training partner is great, as it allows you to go heavier on sets.

I do cardio 4 days a week, about 30-40 minutes of HIIT or swim for 1 hour.

Have an image in your head of what you want to look like and strive every day to achieve it.

When you wake up and feel like you don't want to go to the gym and get your cardio in or when you really want to grab that burger or ice cream, think of that image in your head.

Find motivation to make you stay consistent. Believe you can achieve what you want.

Also, it takes time to make changes to your body. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it!

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