Coach Pat’s Transformation

Brief History

A few months ago, I decided it was time to make a change to my diet. At the time, I actually felt pretty good. My health wasn’t concerning me, and I thought that my performance in the gym was above average. However, I wanted to continue to progress, and I knew my diet would need to change to achieve my goals. First, I wanted to lower my body fat without losing strength (muscle). I was always able to lose weight, but I would lose muscle mass at the same time. Second, I thought that my level of soreness after workouts was too high. Finally, I wanted my diet change to cater towards improved performance (both in strength and metcons). I felt like I was working hard in the gym, but I just wasn’t getting the results I expected.

My actual weight was not a concern to me, so wherever the scale ended up would be okay with me. Most nutritionists focus primarily on weight loss. However, that’s not the help I was looking for, and I wanted to work with a nutritionist that aligned with my goals. After a lot of research, I found someone that wasn’t too restrictive and knew about improving athletic performance. I know what you’re thinking, “this guy wants to lower body fat, get stronger and faster, and improve recovery”… I just want it all right?! Yes, I do want it all 🙂

My diet for the last few years was, in my opinion, healthy. I ate a lot of fruits and vegetables, good sources of protein, and only ate the good fats. I was the ‘healthy eater’ around the work lunch table. I rarely drank alcohol, and never soda or sugar filled juices. I did enjoy my sweets, but I wasn’t eating boxes of Girl Scout cookies every night. At the time, I didn’t realize it, but you could generalize my diet as high fat, low carb. This is a great diet for general health, but not the best choice for someone looking to improve strength and CrossFit conditioning. And while I was slim, my body fat was creeping up.

The Plan

My nutritionist uses flexible dieting, and she recommended a low fat, high carb diet to meet my goals. Basically the exact opposite of what I had been doing. The biggest shock to me: I needed to weigh, measure, and record EVERYTHING that I ate. The reason for the diligent tracking is that this new program would only account for my intake of macro nutrients (protein, fat and carbs).

Flexible dieting does not restrict what you eat. The flexible part is that you’re free to choose anything you want to eat, but every day you must meet your given protein/fat/carb numbers. I have weekly check-ins with my nutritionist to assess progress, and if needed, she makes changes to my numbers for the week. Because of the freedom, it’s my responsibility to determine what foods worked best for my goals (ie, should I eat sugar, gluten, dairy, etc.). Thankfully, I had good eating habits prior to starting this program, so I had a knowledge base of what foods worked well for me. Since my body does well with most foods and the occasional treat, I could work these into my diet with proper planning. I am able to account for the carrot cake slice (my favorite) that I have for breakfast occasionally, my weekly frozen yogurt trip, and even pizza! However, these are not my main sources of nutrition. I still eat a lot of veggies and meat, but I have adjusted my cooking techniques and amounts to fit my macros. Compared to my previous diet, my carb intake has gone up considerably. My main carb sources are: fruit, rice, oats and potatoes.

Any change in your diet is going to have an adjustment time to allow your body to adapt. I was fully prepared to wait a few months to start seeing the progress I was hoping for. To my surprise, it was like a light switch. BeforeThe added carbs in my diet started to improve my gym performance within the first couple weeks. Body composition was noticeably different within the first month. I was hitting strength PR’s (deadlift, power snatch, power clean, strict press, overhead squat, thruster and my first strict muscle up), and my metcon times blew me away. I felt lighter, faster and stronger. My weight was dropping, and I could tell my body fat was melting away. Soreness was significantly reduced, and recovery was quicker. I now had the proper fuel in my body, and that allowed me to work harder in the gym.

 

 

 

 

The Results

Prior to my diet change, I had a blood test and DXA scan. I thought those would be good health markers to determine how my diet change affected my body. CurrentI’m only four months into the program, and all my blood markers were either unchanged or improved, no areas of concern. I lost 12.8 pounds (170.8 to 158.0), dropped 8% body fat (from 22% to 14%!), and I gained lean muscle mass (127.2 lbs to 133.7 lbs). I did the seemingly impossible task of losing fat and gaining muscle at the same time. Plus, I did all this while navigating the tricky eating situations during Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I never thought that I ate low carb, or high fat. Too often we see those terms, but we don’t know what they mean. What is low or high carb? How many carbs am I eating? How much does my macronutrient intake change from day to day? I didn’t weigh or track my food intake prior to starting flexible dieting, but I would guess that I was eating somewhere around 150g of fat, 160g of protein and 100g of carbs per day. Also, I was very inconsistent. Some days I’d eat a lot of carbs, some days I’d eat a lot of fats, and some days I would flat out eat anything in sight. This led to weight fluctuations that I thought were ‘normal’. Currently I’m eating 60g of fat, 195g of protein and 250g-380g of carbs per day (carbs change depending on daily activity), but more importantly I hit my numbers almost every day. That consistency allowed me to see how my eating affected my body, and my morning weigh-in has been remarkably consistent.

Is this something everyone can do? Absolutely! Flexible dieting is the crossfit of the nutrition world. You tailor your macros around your goals, regularly assess how you’re doing, and make adjustments when needed. Infinitely scaleable! I highly recommend working with a nutritionist who is familiar with flexible dieting, it will shorten the learning curve. Weighing everything is probably the biggest hurdle at first. It takes a bit more time to prepare, and you have to plan ahead, but it really isn’t as daunting as it sounds. There are plenty of food tracking apps that make this process much easier. Like anything, once you get into a routine, it’s easy.

Measurement Starting numbers 17 weeks into flexible dieting Difference
Weight (lbs) 170.8 159.0 -11.8
Body fat (%) 22.9 14.7 -8.2
Lean muscle mass (lbs) 127.2 133.7 +6.5

The Future

Where do I go from here? The problem with a ‘diet’, is that they usually center around an end weight. Once you hit that weight, your diet is over, you go back to your old habits, and we all know where that ends up. Flexible dieting allows you to make changes as your goals change. A diet has an end, but your diet goes with you forever. Now, I’m at a point where I’m going to start increasing my daily macro numbers, and the plan is to build muscle. My overall goals remain the same (get stronger, stay lean, recover quickly and be healthy), and I am confident that I will continue to meet my goals and crush it in the gym!

Coach Pat

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MARYRUTH O’NEAL

COACH

BIOGRAPHY

As a largely uncoordinated child, I spent much of my youth with broken bones, missing teeth and injured pride as I stumbled awkwardly through team sports like basketball, soccer and softball. Quite inexplicably, I made the cheer squad in my freshman year of college, but quit after just one season and made no further athletic pursuits while in school. Perhaps fubsy young writers were meant to focus solely on their English degrees and grand notions for a publishing future.

But something unexpected happened in 2007. I caught wind of the Nike+iPod Sports Kit that Nike had released not one year earlier. For reasons I can no longer recall, I decided that this fitness technology (a then-little-used phrase) deserved space in my life. I purchased my first pair of running shoes, along with the Nike+ sensor kit, and started apprehensively pounding pavement.

Spoiler alert: I was not a great runner. But I was consistent. (And, blessedly, I discovered I wasn’t quite so uncoordinated as I’d once been.) I built up mileage, ran my first 10k, lost nearly 70 pounds, and found a new sense of empowerment that led to more confident choices in every aspect of my life. While I grew as an athlete, I also grew as a professional, accelerating in my career as a writer, and as a risk-taker, at one point even pausing my career to pursue a culinary degree.

There is no question that physical feats and even the smallest measure of athletic prowess can inspire boldness in seemingly unrelated endeavors. I have rediscovered this truth throughout my adult life, and I have witnessed in others the transformative impact of leaning into an athletic identity, no matter how we define it for ourselves.

This is what I live for as a coach: Helping everyone I meet recognize and embrace not only their athletic potential but also the broad impact of training and growing that potential. We all have a different starting line, but I am proud to coach at a gym that believes in meeting every member where they are. Whether you have spent your whole life identifying as an athlete or denying all along that you possess any physical prowess, there is a starting line for you at Bluprint and it leads to a journey that is utterly worth the undertaking.

CERTIFICATIONS

Bachelors in English/Communication
Bluprint Professional Coach Development Program
CrossFit Level 1 Trainer

DEVLIN MURDOCK

COACH

BIOGRAPHY

Rowing is a sport that can show you just how strong you are and just how hard you can push yourself. Just when you don’t think you can go any more, you find that little bit extra. When you challenge yourself in rowing, all the other challenges you face seem to pale in comparison. I can’t count the number of times I have been met with an obstacle in life and found confidence in my ability to overcome that obstacle stemmed directly from pushing myself in the sport of rowing. I want to help you find your outer limits and then break through them.

Originally a soccer player, Devlin started rowing to keep in shape in the soccer offseason. Training indoors throughout the winter months in Connecticut, by the time Devlin had made it through a full season of scholastic soccer and club rowing he had won a district championship (soccer) and a national championship (rowing) and was faced with a decision. Several medals and accolades later, Devlin finished his four years at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, PA as a national champion, a three year varsity letter winner, a captain of the Men’s Rowing team, and a Bachelor of Science in Physics. Devlin moved to Chicago in 2012 to see about a girl (to whom he is now married) and became the Programs Manager of Recovery on Water, a rowing team for patients and survivors of breast cancer in 2015.”

CERTIFICATIONS

CrossFit Level 1 Trainer
BS Physics (Saint Joseph’s University)
USRowing Level 2 Certified Coach
Cancer and Exercise Specialist Training Certified
Bluprint Fitness Professional Coach Development Program

JAVI TIRADO

COACH

BIOGRAPHY

Growth happens when you willingly put yourself in an uncomfortable position. This statement guided me towards Bluprint and since joining this awesome community I’ve been in a constant state of discomfort, which has led to so much growth. 

I played baseball since I was 4 years old up until my sophomore year of college. When I stopped playing, I found the gym to be a place of solitude. It was where I felt my best. I started my fitness journey with traditional weight training. I spent most of my undergraduate and graduate student years working out in this fashion and at various points felt like I wasn’t doing enough. When I moved back to Chicago, I knew something had to change. I needed to be challenged. I needed to be held accountable. I needed community. & I needed something that fit into my schedule. 

I found bluprint during the pandemic and immediately felt at home. This place changed my perspective on health and fitness and I knew after a few months of joining I wanted more. After 8 months of being a BP athlete, I stepped into the coaching arena. Coaching brings me joy. It’s where I get to bridge my passion for teaching and learning with fitness. I’m grateful to be a part of this community and to be working with you all.

CERTIFICATIONS

CrossFit Level 1 Trainer
Bluprint Fitness Professional Coach Development Program

EMILY WAUER

COACH

BIOGRAPHY

Growing up I always knew I wanted to be a Strength Coach one day. Born and raised in Downers Grove Illinois, I was raised playing any sport that involved a ball and contact with my brother’s and cousin. In highschool, I chose to focus on soccer and went on to play on the inaugural team at the University of Illinois of Chicago where I completed a degree in Kinesiology Exercise Science and a Minor in Nutrition.

My soccer career came to a close after I endured my second ACL & Meniscus tear playing semi-professionally for the Chicago Red Stars Reserves. After I re-gained enough strength after surgery, I knew I needed a gym that had the ultimate programming that could feed my competitive spirit, help me build strength and endurance while staying injury-free. Those standards have been far exceeded ever since and I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of the team to take what I have learned to coach athletes from all ages and levels of fitness.

In addition to coaching at BluPrint, I am a software Sales Representative and can understand how hard it is to maintain a healthy lifestyle working a 8-5pm+ corporate job. BluPrint will be the gym to take the thinking out of workout plans, hold you accountable to making 3-5 classes a week, help you achieve the body you never thought you could and most importantly keep you injury free while doing so!

CERTIFICATIONS

BA Kinesiology Exercise Science with a Minor in Nutrition (University of Illinois at Chicago)
Sports Recovery Specialist (Chicago Recovery Room)
Parisi Speed Coach (Parisi Speed School)
Mental Health Advocate

MARGARET DRISI

COACH

BIOGRAPHY

I’ve always loved a good challenge. Growing up in the south suburbs of Chicago, I dabbled in team sports and gymnastics, but I didn’t find my passion for personal fitness until the end of college. I started challenging myself with 5ks, “Insanity” workouts, and Tough Mudders and slowly moved on to Spartan races, half marathons, and full marathons. One day I told a friend, “I could never run a marathon!” and the next day I signed up for the 2015 Chicago Marathon. I hated thinking I couldn’t do something. My first marathon was my first experience with following a training plan. I learned that my body – all of our bodies – can do incredible things with consistency and a plan. Six years later, I still love following a fitness plan and seeing the results of my hard work. I became a coach because I want to help other people find that same success and feel proud of the work they’ve put in. I love fitness, but I’m nerdy about nutrition. I earned my “nutrition coach certification” from Working Against Gravity this year and am excited to see how this new knowledge can help me serve others.

CERTIFICATIONS

CrossFit Level 1 Trainer
WAG Certified Nutrition Coach
Bluprint Fitness Professional Coach Development Program

LINDSAY WADE

COACH

BIOGRAPHY

Born and raised in the western suburbs of Chicago, I grew up doing as many sports and activities as my parents would allow. As I got older, I became a competitive sprinter, swimmer, cheerleader and dancer and later ventured into long distance running and yoga. Discovering Bluprint was life-changing. I can confidently say I’m in the best shape of my life thanks to this gym and its coaches. Being part of this crew has also led to amazing friends and an overall healthier routine.

When I’m not at the gym, I spend most of my free time volunteering at Chicago Animal Care and Control, playing trivia, going to music festivals/concerts, traveling, and hanging with my husband and pup.

CERTIFICATIONS

CrossFit Level 1 Trainer
Bluprint Professional Coach Development Program
MAT (National Louis University)

JANELLE DYCE

COACH

BIOGRAPHY

Growing up in New England I was always surrounded by sports, we were always watching sports or playing sports. Basketball and soccer were my personal favorites and I played them up through high school.

After high school, I knew I wanted to go to a university where I could watch big time athletes play and that took me to University of Florida – Go Gators! I studied Business Administration and minored in Health Science Education. After graduating in 2008, I stayed in “The Swamp” and got a job at the local gym – Gainesville Health and Fitness. After a couple years in the customer service side, I became a NASM Personal Trainer which was one of the most influential and important decisions of my life.

Fitness has always been a huge part of who I am and I wanted to share that with other athletes by inspiring people to lead healthier lives. Shortly after becoming a Personal Trainer, I was eager to learn more about how nutrition maximized the results we strived for in the gym. I received my Precision Nutrition Level 1 to enhance my nutritional understanding. After many years of personal training under my belt I met Byron and we continued to push and grow together as fitness professionals. We got our L1 CrossFit Certifications (and a few years later our Level 2) and made the move to Chicago to pursue taking over a CrossFit Gym called RowFit.

We re-branded, moved down the street, and continued to grow into the Bluprint Fitness we are today. We will continue to grow through constant learning, always striving to be the best we can be for our FitFam – the Blu Cru. I am committed to thoughtfully and safely building up my athletes by meeting them where they are at on their fitness journey and motivating them to become the best versions of themselves. I promise to always practice what I preach, lead by example, and empower my athletes with  thoughtful and educated coaching.

CERTIFICATIONS

CrossFit Level 2 Trainer
CrossFit Specialty Courses
Gymnastics
Mobility
National Association of Sports Medicine – Certified Personal Trainer (NASM)
Precision Nutrition Level 1
Kettlebell Concepts Level 2 Trainer (KBC)
BA Business Administration/Minor & Specialization in Health Science Education (University of Florida)
CPR-AED

BYRON DYCE II

COACH

BIOGRAPHY

My goal is to educate and inspire communities to improve their quality of life by creating a Bluprint for success. Health & fitness are my passion and I want to accompany athletes along their journey to better health and performance.

Byron was destined for a love of health & fitness from an early age, being the son of an Olympic runner. He spent his childhood playing outdoors and getting involved in as many sports as possible. Byron settled into his “athletic niche” when he entered high school, directing his focus on football and weightlifting, where he competed at a high level. He then spent his freshman year as a walk-on with the University of Florida football team until he decided he wanted to focus his energy on school & business. Byron has spent the last 6 years in the fitness field.

CERTIFICATIONS

CrossFit Level 2 Trainer
CrossFit Specialty Courses
Powerlifting Trainer
Mobility Trainer
USA Weightlifting Level 1 Coach (USAW)
National Association of Sports Medicine – Certified Personal Trainer (NASM)
Kettlebell Concepts Level 2 Trainer (KBC)
AA in Accounting (Santa Fe College)
BA in Business
Administration (University of Florida)
CPR-AED

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