In seven months I went from 195 pounds to 164, almost all of which was fat. Hardly lost any muscle. Went from waist size 34 to 29. I’m sleeping better. I eat at Wendy’s and Domino’s and wherever else I want. My cholesterol levels, blood sugar, liver and kidney function and overall health are better than ever. Most importantly, I’m no longer that fat boy who has haunted me in the mirror since I was 8.
I’ve never been this fit in my 45 years of life, and much of the credit for this belongs to my current coach, Jeff Saavedra. He’s the man behind Amista Fitness, the on-your-phone program responsible for the body transformations of dozens of Guamanians of all sizes, colors, shapes, genders, and ages.
Right off the bat I’ll get the bad news done with: Yes, this program requires work, discipline, and self control. What good thing doesn’t? The good news, I didn’t sacrifice anything I love. In fact, the program tricks your mind and body in such a natural way (I didn’t notice these things until they happened) to quit vices you might have thought were innate to your existence.
For example, about four months into the program, the program manipulated me into thinking I needed to step up my daily cardio by fast walking long distances. This wasn’t part of the program, per se. Because I was so committed to making that happen, I knew I first had to quit vaping. So I quit vaping. Of all my addictions, vaping was the toughest to get over. But I did it, cold turkey. In the name of Amista Fitness. Without even realizing it. Amazing.
Here’s another trick that happened just two weeks into the program:
I started eating better, naturally… without the program telling me to. Amista’s nutrition component consists of two requirements only: that I limit my daily caloric intake to a certain ceiling, and that within that ceiling I must consume a certain number of grams of protein. That’s it. That easy. I picked whatever I wanted to eat within those two restrictions. Jeff would adjust my caloric ceiling every here and there. All of a sudden, I was choosing better foods. And the fat just kept melting away. Amazing.
There’s so much more to this story, but you should be the one to live out all those details. Make this story even better with your achievements.
Visit Amista Fitness on Instagram and DM to get the conversation started with Jeff. He’s really nice, completely professional, and has affordable plans to meet your needs.
This story would be incomplete if I did not mention two very important parts of my fitness journey that predate Amista.
During the pandemic, I started to exercise more regularly with Tribe Fitness. Around that time I weighed around 220 pounds. Heaviest ever. I lost a good amount of weight (about 15 pounds) through Tribe.
When I lost that initial weight I started to powerlift under Grace Tacuyan Witt. Her coaching led to my proper foundation for weightlifting, strength building, and how to eat for strength. I recommend these programs as well. You can find Grace on Instagram, and Tribe on Facebook.
