April 2015
This is an update for a post I wrote exactly 2 years ago, April 2015, for my first A-Z Challenge. Here is an excerpt from that post, just for some background. My boys gained weight when we came to California, and decided to do something about it, after many starts and stops. I offered them the resources and they did the rest. Here is the link for the full post Boys – Getting the Gains.
One day, they asked for a gym membership. At first it was kind of hit and miss with attendance, and then I don’t know what happened. Before I knew it, they were going to the gym every single day, for several hours each day. They spent many hours watching weightlifting videos on their cell phones, reading up on nutrition and diets. Then the protein powder came into our house, then the pre-workout and then the post-workout, then little jars of unidentifiable substances. Then I was being sent off to Whole Foods to buy Green Tea Fat Metabolizers, Fish Oil capsules, probiotic – all super expensive (our wallets have experienced unbelievable weight-loss as well).
They gave up soda. I don’t think they have drunk sodas in about 2 years. We now eat brown rice (we like the short-grained – cooks up better), lean meats (Bison, beef, pork, chicken, chicken, and more chicken), fish and steamed vegetables. No cookies (unless I make some and that’s only once in a while), no fast foods (except for Chipotle) or any scrumptious desserts. We have cartons of egg whites in our fridge from which they make omelets, huge tubs of oatmeal (which they eat plain with bananas – uncooked).
Their weight loss has been incredible over the last year or so. Both boys have lost between 90 to 100 pounds, but through their weightlifting they have built an amazing amount of muscle and are so incredibly strong. They can squat an enormous amount of weight – “Ass to Grass” (see I have vicariously learned all the lingo).
Now for the update. They still don’t drink soda, it’s been 4 years now. We still eat brown rice, spinach, lean meats. No sugar, minimal carbohydrates, Avocado oil for fats. They are into meal preps, they eat 6 meals a day. My refrigerator is stacked with protein shakers filled with layers of baked chicken and rice. We kept running out of Tupperware containers (no one would bring them back home). We discovered protein shakers work great for meals, just put a small piece of aluminum foil over the opening before putting the cap on (that way the food doesn’t jostle around and collect in the shaker cap. They are easier to store in the fridge that way, and we seem to have an endless supply of them.
April 2017
They now go to the gym twice daily, alternating between body area workouts and cardio. They are prepping for physique competitions in September, my youngest is “shredding”, my oldest is “bulking”.
They are now Personal Trainers, both are certified (my youngest became certified right after his 18th birthday through ISSA). They have clients, a very dedicated group of clients, they train several times a week. They post videos about their workouts and seem to have a fairly large following, receiving DMs (direct message) from people all over the world, asking them for tips and advice on how to improve their workouts.
And the most exciting thing is they have started their own company Strength Innovations, with a friend of theirs, who is also an avid bodybuilder. Initially, they are starting out as a website, providing training videos of all their workouts. They will also offer individualized training programs, as well as nutrition plans tailored to their client’s needs (my youngest is the nutrition guru) and the boys plan to expand from there. The website goes up sometime this week. Here is a photo of my youngest wearing their new company apparel/logo.
I am so very proud of them for what they have accomplished physically and the steps they have made to being successful as adults. Perhaps someday they will be able to keep their poor old Mum in luxury and idleness. Below is a collage of their progression – as you are viewing the photos please hum “Eye of the Tiger” or Twenty One Pilots “Stressed Out”. Or I suppose I could provide it for you…..hold on……here are both of them – you choose, and then view the photos.
Share this:
Categories: A to Z Challenge, Blogging, Bodybuilding, Fitness, Healthy Living, Weight-loss Journey
Oh how wonderful that they turned it into a business! You have amazing young men 💗
Hi, my Sassy friend – thank-you!!!! Hope all is well with you!!!!
You are so welcome! What a proud mama you are 💖 It’s slowly getting better. Florida has asked me to blog about it.
Wow! That’s incredible — to be so young and have the discipline and passion to stick with their health goals is amazing, but launching a business from it is something else.
Thanks!!!! I know, I am pretty impressed with all they have accomplished. I was just doing stuff, like hanging out when I was their age.
Shoot, that’s all I still do. I just have my entourage, aka kids, with me.
Being a full-time Mom is the hardest job ever, because you can never get a break. I remember when I had my kids, I was in the military and we only had 6 weeks off after delivery (even after a C-section). I was so glad to get back to work, so I could pee undisturbed, and eat my lunch in peace.
Brilliant. Turning a passion into a business is such a great idea. Wishing your sons success.
Thank-you my friend!!!! I am very proud of them, and I hope they continue to follow their passion, and be their own bosses, and not a working slob, like their poor old Mum.