Christopher Brehaut

This JYM Army member went from overweight to shredded by staying dedicated and focused on his physique goals.

Written By Jim Stoppani, PhD

Updated September 28, 2023

Written by Christopher Brehaut

I started out on my fitness journey simply looking to lose weight and get back in shape. I was always around 200 pounds, but after getting promoted to a manager at work, I turned to food to cope with the stress. At my heaviest, I was a size 40 adjustable pants waist and 250 pounds with 40 percent body fat.

But in nine months, I dropped to a standard 34 waist and 188 pounds with six-percent body fat. Over the next year, I began bodybuilding and went up to 215 pounds, while maintaining my body percentage. I got serious about competing and hooked up with my current trainer, who coached me to 235 pounds with 8 percent body fat this past offseason. The total muscle-building process from my lightest weight took about a year and eight months. Eighteen weeks ago, I began a cut diet to lean out for my first show in October. In 26 weeks, I trimmed down to 208 pounds and three percent body fat. Now I’m trying to improve my stage condition and lower my body fat for my second show.

I’ve been working with trainers two times a week for the past three years. These people are competitors and taught me how to perform exercises properly and build programs to achieve my goals. They also taught me how to eat right to make the most of my training. I eat six or seven meals a day, and I’m really strict on my diet. I love to cook, and I prep all my meals two times a week. I carry an Isobag and eat my food right out of the bag while I’m away from home. For bulking, I had a high-fat, high-carb diet with about 325 grams of protein a day, mostly from food. For my contest prep, I cut fats low and ate moderate amounts of carbs. I closely monitored my body and made small adjustments as needed. No diet is perfect, but what’s important is to make changes for a few weeks and track the changes and adjust as needed.

I’ve been living the bodybuilding lifestyle for two years now. I focus on eating clean, training and resting to recover. The key to it all is the food prep. It takes time, but it’s so worth it and makes staying on track very easy. During my prep for the show, six weeks out, I had to go on a two-day trip to 12 oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. I prepped and froze 14 meals and took them with me. I managed to stick to my contest diet the entire time. Training is very important, but controlling my diet is the hardest part. This is true for bulking and cutting. It’s not easy eating 4,500-5,000 clean calories of food a day.

Rest is equally important as eating and training. Because I wake up at 3:45am every weekday and train at 5am, I have to go to bed early. I’m in bed by 9:15pm, at the latest. Weekends, I try to be in bed by 10pm and get 9 or 10 hours of sleep. I focus on sleep because when I get a lot of it, my body recovers fast and I feel great, with lots of energy for the next day.

I supplement with Pre JYM, Post JYM, Pro JYM, Omega JYM, ZMA JYM, D3, calcium when not taking Pro, and Shred JYM during my contest-prep diet. I also take Animal Flex for my joints and various sleep supplements like Noxitropin PM and Finaflex G8.

The biggest motivation I get is from watching my body change. When I started all of this, I was amazed that when I controlled what I ate, I could see the changes to my body. It wasn’t long before I wanted to walk on stage, shredded. After seeing pictures of myself onstage, tanned and under the light, I’m even more motivated to continue this lifestyle. I can’t wait to see the improvements to my physique.

Everyone is so proud of what I’ve accomplished. I get countless positive comments about my physique. People stop me all the time and ask how I did it. At least once a week, I find myself having a detailed conversation with someone about general health, and how he or she can improve their body. I love inspiring others to take control of their lives. Helping people is very rewarding.

You have to make time and put in the effort if you want to see changes to your body. There are no magic pills. It takes planning, dedication and time; nothing happens overnight. I believe you can have anything you want if you make the sacrifices. I will keep building my physique and competing. If I did this in three years, I can only imagine what I can do with more time.

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