About Tab Winner

 

 

 

Tab Winner has been lifting weights for over 20 years and also been a Beachbody Coach since 2014.

He has struggled with his weight and healthy eating habits over the years using many different diets

and exercises throughout only to spring back to bad eating habits. Since then he has adapted a simple

healthy lifestyle of working out 30-60 minutes at 5-7 days a week along with simply recording the

calories he eats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Story

This is a long short story. I used to be pretty skinny (never had a pack and probably never will) until my sophomore year. I went from 145lbs to 215lbs and no it wasn't all muscle mostly fat.

I was trying to get bigger for football and I did. I actually had a pretty good year overall playing but knew I had to make some changes and not just from coming from me but from those around me. So I found myself in the weight room that new year having never really lifted much. But I hit it hard and ended up liking it and went to my first weight lifting competition.

I believe I took 3rd in the 198lb weight class this was back in 1998 so excuse my memory. But I liked it and stuck with it throughout the spring going to competitions. In high school I played football, baseball and got into powerlifting. Lifting seemed to complement both sports. So I stuck with it.

Of course I had an amazing weightlifting teacher and coach in Hisamoto. I went into my junior year at right around 200-210 lbs year round. I cut down to 198lbs for powerlifting meets. I came in 2nd to 5th most of the year so I decided to cut down to 181 lbs for states. Wow did I find out that was a mistake I ended up scratching out on my squat lift.

For those that don't know for powerlifting competitions you have 3 lifts squat, bench (pause press), and deadlift. You get 3 lifts for each of those. So for your first lift you usually do something a little easier to get something on the board and get your confidence going. So I did somewhere around 315 I believe which is relatively light I normally did over 400lbs. And yes I still scratched out.

So I learned a valuable and unfortunate lesson that year as I didn't place and scratched out. Never drop that much weight that quick over 15lbs in well under a week. The next year I smartened up and kept my weight down most of the year and actually got stronger. I ended up placing second in state and there was no possible chance of me placing 1st and the guy ahead of me blew the rest of us away but I was okay with that as I hit a couple bests in bench and deadlift.

So fast forward to college I went from 185 lbs my senior to 245 lbs by the end of my freshman year. So instead of the freshman 15 I gained the freshman 65. I went on like that for years I still lifted but partying and overeating just kept up with me. It wasn't until I needed a change and moved back to upstate New York for family reasons that I managed to get back down to 195 lbs.

My first stint at a desk job I worked in Treasury and Accounting department and I gained quite a bit of weight back. Before that I worked in Shipping and Receiving while mostly on my feet. I left that job to go back to school and finish up my degree in Information Technology and moved down to Virginia with my now wife.

The weight just wouldn't come off so I finally took a stand when I wanted to get in shape for our destination wedding in Jamaica. I looked for some home workouts as I had weights but I knew I needed to switch things up with some cardio as well. It was at that point I read some reviews on Beachbody and specifically Insanity and BodyBeast.

I actually ordered BodyBeast from amazon or it might have been BeachBody not sure. But I know I ordered insanity from amazon. So I had my weights and cardio ready to go. Sure enough I pushed it hard and got down to about 220 lbs and was close to the best shape of my life.

I did a hybrid workout for 12 weeks before we left for Jamaica. Unfortunately while down there for 10 days and partying nonstop while finding time to say our vows I managed to gain back quite a bit of weight.

So I went back to work after getting back and got it down. Fast forward to moving back to Upstate New York and getting another desk job as an Information Analyst and I did finish up my Bachelors in Information Technology.

I kept my weight down until I ended up at that desk job as an Information Analyst at the tender age of 30. I gained weight and also had problems with my sciatica fell of our barn roof. I also had two hernia surgeries in that amount of time.

Then also had major problems with my shoulders and had a weird chest bone fracture and sprained the joint. Who knew your chest bone had a joint. This stemmed from a benching accident where I was lifting too much by myself and dropped the weight on my chest.

So after getting those things back in order I knew my fulltime lifting days were going to have to be scaled back. So I went back to Shaun T and Insanity which did me well. I have managed to keep my weight around 220-240 lbs.

I did manage to balloon up to 280lbs at one point. Each time I have had more problems getting down into a comfortable weight after reaching the age of 30. I have learned to focus more on my eating by simply keeping my calories down and keeping my workouts simple.

By doing those two simple things I have managed to lose weight and keep it down. Although I am not exactly where I want to be I am comfortable have no back problems and little shoulder problems.

In the meantime I have managed to complete the following workout programs with BeachBody:

It is simple for most to lose weight it is just tough to stick to to get there then after you get there also not get of course. I know I still struggle with it. I can tell you there is no miracle pill or supplement that will get you there. I am not against taking meds to get you down in weight as a last resort.

If you do a balanced low calorie diet and stick to a workout program and still don't lose weight. Definitely go back to your doctor and let them know. Just try to keep a food diary with you. These days I just use an app called “Simple Calories” so I just enter in the calorie amount.

I don't pay attention to macros as much as I used to. I try to eat some veggies, fruit and lean meat every day just like the old food pyramid.

Your life will be full of struggles just know you can start over everyday. I have failed many times and will continue to do so just as long as I get back up and keep moving forward that is all that matters.