Download PDF - PhillyFIT Magazine

Photography by Sean Gomes
Read how these inspiring people made it happen!
Eric Richardson - Philadelphia, PA
I have always been pretty thin. And short. One night I couldn't
sleep (this is how most of my epiphanies come about) and I
began to explore YouTube. I somehow stumbled upon a video
of Ronnie Coleman. I couldn't stop watching it. I had never seen
a human being that looked like a comic book character. My
mind was made up. That Christmas, all I wanted was every single
supplement I saw Ronnie taking in his videos. My parents
got them for me, plus Arnold's Encyclopedia. I started lifting on
a 3 days on,1 day off push-pull-legs routine, ate every two
hours and had 3 protein shakes a day. My meals consisted of
grits and eggs for breakfast, chicken breast and rice the next
two meals, and dinner was usually whatever my mom cooked.
In three months I began to see
Eric
Richardson
changes. People were asking me
what I was doing, actually referring
to me as big. ME!! Looking back,
there was nothing special or magical
about the lifting routine I did or
the supplements I took. My goal
was to gain 20 lbs. of lean
muscle and I made it up
in my mind that I
would reach my goal
no matter what. I
am now a personal
trainer and powerlifter,
and have
set WNPF world
records in the
squat and deadlift. I
am looking forward to
doing some modeling and
hopefully being on the cover
of a magazine in the very
near future!
Jason Lesnevec - Bensalem, PA
Loosing 20 pounds of fat while retaining my muscle mass made
the last three months of my life painful yet rewarding to say the
least! Working-out over the past couple of years without a solid
diet made me go to extreme lengths in order to naturally cut down
before the start of summer. I was intrigued by the famous ketogenic
diet used in the field of medicine to treat epilepsy in children
and believed that this was my calling to shed some serious fat.
The ketogenic diet calls for minimal amounts of carbohydrates
each day (no more than 50 grams), high amounts of fat, and a
moderate amount of protein. It allows the body to stop burning
carbohydrates for energy and instead
forces it to burn fat. After the body
burns the fat that you eat each day, it
burns excess body fat. I made sure to
exercise 5 days a week, an hour each
day, working a single muscle group each
time. Cardio was not necessary to loose 20
pounds of fat in three months with the
ketogenic diet and my body was
burning plenty of fat solely due
to intense weight
training. My
workout routine
changed
every single
week but always
hit the same five
muscle groups:
chest, back,
arms, legs, and shoulders. In order
to keep as much muscle as possible,
I trained with heavy weight
performing repetitions of 8-10 for
4-5 sets. I would work each
muscle group on a different
day every week and never
trained for longer than an
hour. I rarely performed the
Jason
Lesnevec
14 I PhillyFIT
July/August I 267-767-4205 I www.phillyfit.com

same exercise two weeks in a row so that my body could never
adapt. More important than which exercises I performed was
sticking to my daily routine.
My daily nutritional intake was made up of 200 grams of protein,
208 grams of natural fat, a maximum of 50 grams of carbohydrates,
and 2500 calories. I kept my protein intake at about
1 gram per pound of body fat so that I could retain my muscle.
Low calorie proteins such as fish and egg whites allowed for
high doses of protein while staying in the perimeter of my diet.
My fat intake was derived solely from all natural peanut butter,
numerous amounts of cheeses, and vegetable oil. As far as fluids,
I only consumed water, green tea, or black coffee and I
always drank at least a gallon of water each day. I split my
meals into 6 servings per day at about 2.5 – 3 hours apart from
each other. I always waited about an hour after I woke up to
consume my first meal as this was a perfect time to kick start
my metabolism with green tea and black coffee. My sixth meal
was always a shake made up of seven egg whites, a scoop of
whey protein, and four tablespoons of natural peanut butter. The
reason for the egg whites was because of how long it takes the
body to break them down, allowing my metabolism to burn all
night while I slept.
All in all, I have to say that hard work pays off. Anyone and
everyone with the motivation to set and achieve their weightloss
goals can do it, and they can do it all natural without even
stepping foot on a treadmill. Do your research; get to know
your body and how it reacts to different diets. Surround yourself
with a supportive network of friends and family at home and in
the gym. Let the haters hate, I can’t even count how many times
I was told I wouldn’t make it. Without my family helping me
prepare six meals a day and my friend Corey pushing me in the
gym and to keep dieting, I wouldn’t have. But guess what…
we’re all going to make it.
Allegra Labar - Malvern, PA
With my college career coming to an end I looked in the mirror
and was so disappointed in myself. I was unhappy, unmotivated,
and unhealthy. I had spent the last four years overindulging in
extremely unhealthy habits, and it slowly but surely caught up with
me. Worst of all, I felt helpless because the hours of cardio I was
doing every week weren’t helping at all. It was then that I looked
to my boyfriend for guidance. I saw the changes he was making in
his life, and the amazing results he was achieving. I decided to
fight for myself and follow in his footsteps! I slowly cut out alcohol,
taught myself healthier eating habits by way of 100's of articles
and videos online, and with the help of my boyfriend I learned my
way around the gym. The changes I made at first were minor. I
started weight training 5 days a week with moderate cardio, and I
began to eat 5-6 clean meals a day. It wasn’t long before I too
began to see significant changes in my body and my outlook. Not
only was my waistline shrinking, but my confidence was soaring!
The more goals I set for myself, the more goals I was achieving. I
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July/August I 267-767-4205 I www.phillyfit.com
PhillyFIT I 15

was hooked. This lifestyle has given
me so much more than the just the
body of my dreams, it’s given me
the confidence and drive to pursue
things I once was too afraid of. I
continue to train 4-5 days a week
while eating a balanced diet of
healthy carbs, fats, and plenty of protein.
I am currently 10 weeks
out from my first figure
competition in August.
Before I began my
fitness journey, the
shear thought of
stepping on stage
in heals and a
bikini would have
terrified me. Now, I crave it! I
believe in the quote: “There are two primary
choices in life: to accept conditions
as they exist, or accept the
responsibility for changing them.” I’m
so thankful that I was strong enough
to choose to accept the responsibility
for changing my circumstance, and I
look forward to inspiring others to
believe that they are strong enough
to do the same!
Allegra
Labor
Rebecca Garrabrant - Flemington, NJ
I was always athletic; I spent the
majority of my youth (ages 4-17)
playing competitive softball year
round, as well as basketball for several
years. Although I was always a
star athlete, I struggled with major
body image issues and in high school
I developed an eating disorder that
haunted me well
through my
college
years.
Cycles
of starving,
bingeing and
purging were normal
behaviors for me for the
better part of 7 years. I first found
strength training in college but
because of a busy schedule and lots of
partying, I didn't take my health very
seriously. After I graduated, I was in a
bad relationship and ended up gaining
the weight back that I had fought to
lose during my last year of college.
After that relationship ended, I
started on the path to better health
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16 I PhillyFIT July/August I 267-767-4205 I www.phillyfit.com

and, although I improved my eating and amped up my training,
I was still partying way too much and not seeing results. About
8 months ago, I hit my breaking point. I set a goal when I was
19, around the same time that I picked up my first edition of
Oxygen Magazine, that I wanted to be a fitness model one day.
After years of wanting for it but not working for it, I decided to
start. I registered for my first WBFF competition (fast approaching
in June!) and never looked back. In mid-February, I decided
to push myself even further and register for an OCB bodybuilding
show at the end of April. I competed in the bikini division
and placed 4th in the Novice division. All of the hard work I
had put in was paying off! My transformation is so much more
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