A weight loss true story
304 pounds to 171: a weight loss story with the hard parts left in
Phil Albenze had been telling people he weighed 245 or 250. The scale at the doctor's office said 304. He had a fatty liver, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, he was close to type 2 diabetes, and he drank most nights. He lost about 140 pounds in the first year, and TRAIN magazine later ran his before-and-after on its cover: "How to drop 133lb at 45."
The weight was never just about food
Phil lived on fast food, by the bag, and washed it down with whiskey and beer. He didn't know food addiction was real until much later. "It wasn't so much the food itself. It was trying to fill some sort of absence or void in my life," he says. At his heaviest he needed an inhaler and could barely climb the stairs to his bedroom.
He had tried before: a chicken salad for a couple of days, fewer beers, a gym membership where an hour's visit meant 15 minutes of work. Every attempt ended where it started.
What he actually did
In 2009, with his nine-year-old son crying at the doctor's office, he drove to a gym and hired a trainer. From his own account:
- Training six days a week: about 30 minutes of cardio first, then moderate weights.
- Meals weighed to the gram and cooked a few days ahead, so there was never a question of what to eat.
- No fast food, no soda, and most dairy, sugar and white bread cut out.
- No alcohol, from the start: he quit cold turkey.
- One cheat meal a week.
He warns against the shortcut. "There is no right away in this game. Right away will just lead you to right away gain it back." His target for most people is one to two pounds a week, worked out with a trainer or a calorie-deficit calculator.
Where it led
His trainer was a natural bodybuilder, and Phil followed him onto the stage. By 2015 he was at 4.5% body fat and won the Black Sword, the championship trophy of the NGA Northeast Ohio All Natural. TRAIN magazine's two-page feature, "A New Lease on Life," listed him at 304 pounds and 26% body fat before and 171 pounds and 4.5% after.
He became a certified personal trainer and has helped more than 400 people. One woman at his gym lost 37 pounds in three weeks; Karen, who started at 71 at 205 pounds, has lost 70 and now trains others.
Questions
How much weight did Phil Albenze lose?
About 140 pounds in his first year, from 304. TRAIN magazine listed him at 171 pounds and 4.5% body fat afterward.
How long did it take?
Most of the weight came off in the first year, training six days a week with a trainer and weighing every meal.
Is the book a diet plan?
No. The Black Sword is his memoir: the addiction, the weight, and how he turned both around. For a plan, he recommends working with a trainer, because "one size does not fit all."