Jerry is a 26-year-old med school student and former collegiate football player. He stands over six feet tall, and when you look at him there is no doubting the fact that he is a powerful and capable athlete. When you see Jerry in person, you can’t help but feel that at any second he could break into a dead sprint, or lift a tractor tire onto a trailer, and it wouldn’t phase him at all. But even as capable and strong as Jerry was when we first met, he knew he was capable of more.
Jerry and I first crossed paths because we teamed up for a local CrossFit competition. We were competing with 8 other men and women for Grey Matter Strength, an online training program with the focus of creating well-rounded and high-performing athletes. At 240-250 pounds, Jerry was a dangerous competitor and an asset to the team, but his bodyweight movements, gymnastics movements, and aerobic workouts weren’t quite as good as they could have been. Jerry started to think that, if he leaned out while continuing to follow the Grey Matter Strength programming, he could up his game to be competitive in every aspect of the sport. This thought was solidified shortly after when Jerry was at another CrossFit competition. Although Jerry was able to shine in many of the workouts and movements, this particular competition had a heavier focus on gymnastic movements, and Jerry struggled to perform for his team in the ways that he wanted.
That’s when Jerry decided to commit.
Dedication is a natural part of Jerry’s personality and character. He is a dedicated student, on his way to becoming a successful doctor. He is a dedicated athlete, from high school sports through college football to a high-performing CrossFit athlete. Jerry knew that the missing piece was somewhere in his dedication to, and knowledge of, his nutrition. Up until this point, Jerry had told himself, “As long as I hit my calorie goal and eat enough protein, I’ll be ok.” Since there is very little inherent nutrition education in medical school, he did not yet understand that caloric consumption should simply be a byproduct of targeted macros. Due to this, Jerry was surprised to find that he would be eating much more food than he had been previously, once he started his personalized program. Although this felt counterintuitive, Jerry soon found that since he was now eating the right kinds of foods in the right quantities, he was simultaneously losing fat, gaining muscle, increasing energy, and feeling more full. Jerry had a goal of getting his bodyweight down to below 230 pounds, and he was able to achieve this goal - while gaining muscle - within the first 10 weeks.
“…I also notice that, on the days that I don’t have enough food with me, I feel much more dialed into the nutrition of the options that are available.”
This doesn’t mean it hasn’t been hard work.
Jerry’s life tends to follow a certain pattern - Wake up, study, eat, med school, eat, workout, eat. This might seem easy enough to manage, but Jerry has to work hard in order to make sure that he has the right amounts of the right kinds of foods ready to go before he starts his day. Jerry has had to learn through trial and error that it’s hard work to be on campus all day, and still have his meals and snacks planned out in order to fuel his body correctly. He told me recently, “Before starting the macros program, I would just buy snacks at school when I was hungry. Now I know that I have to bring my food with me. I also notice that, on the days that I don’t have enough food with me, I feel much more dialed into the nutrition of the options that are available.” Jerry has also learned that if he wants to feel 100% for his Grey Matter Strength workouts, and still be able to eat a satisfying dinner, it takes a lot of planning and preparation. He has to make sure that he can eat every few hours so that he’s never too hungry or too full.
“It got harder after the first 10 weeks because I had already hit my initial goals.”
For Jerry, this is just the beginning.
