elitefts™ Sunday edition

Deconstructing Dizenzo

by Shelby Starnes and Steve Colescott

Part of my work at elitefts™ involves reading the Q&As and log posts to see if there are any particular posts that are worth bumping up to share in the articles section of the site. We have many very good training logs. One of them belongs to Vincent Dizenzo. His strength is that he shares everything, often in a free-flowing, stream-of-consciousness style.

One of his posts had to do with his recent diet and how it changed his simple experience of picking up a few things at the grocery store. Because of his open nature, I thought the post was a very typical example of the mental tug-of-war that goes on when one undergoes their first serious diet, particularly with dieting being a juxtapostitional concept for powerlifters who often are required to “eat their way up” into the proper leverage-enhanced weight class.

I immediately thought of my friend, contest prep expert and student of psychology, Shelby Starnes, and wondered how his reflections on what he read in Dizenzo's post compared to my own. With Dizenzo’s permission, we plopped him down on the virtual therapist’s couch and did a tag-team psychoanalysis of his log post. But before we begin, here is the original post in its entirety. It seems like a simple off-handed rant on performing a common daily task, but upon close scrutiny, it reveals a turbulent psycho-emotional minefield rife with inner struggle, social conflict, and battles with personal demons that is not uncommon during a first time diet. Here it is:

What a bunch of BS!

I had many errands to run yesterday and was all over the map. During my jaunt I can't believe how many fast food places I passed that I used to frequent. I also stopped into a grocery store to pick up carb control wraps. My how I have fallen. I used to bang out a couple of candy bars and bags of peanut M&Ms at the checkout counter. Now, nothing.

The shame of it all is that I'm not even lean. I'm just less fat. I think the allure of those days was the convenience of it all. It's not like that food tastes all that much better than a lot of the food I prepare at home. Quality food tastes really good, but it takes time to prepare.

All this said I am not nearly as tempted as I used to be. That and I am feeling as strong as ever. The only thing that ever makes me want to go back is when people say, "Wow, you got smaller!" My wife quickly implores them to say, "Leaner." Yes, I am doing better, but I could be nudged back into the life pretty easily.

On the surface, this seems like a fairly typical log post, but as someone that has been around the industry and dealt with lifters dieting, I can see there's a lot going on here. Let’s pull it apart at a level far deeper than Dizenzo ever expected when he posted this.

…errands to run yesterday/all over the map  

STEVE: He is establishing that he is forced into a chaotic social situation in which he has less control of his surroundings. This is something that veteran dieters handle well. With novices, this type of apprehension of an uncontrolled situation is pretty common, right?

SHELBY: Yes, and it all obviously just comes down to proper planning and putting a priority on their goals (the diet and results). We ALL have problems. We all have things we need to work around. The sooner we acknowledge them and work around them, the better. Some just like to bitch though.

I can't believe how many fast food places I passed that I used to frequent.    

STEVE: This heightened neural awareness of food is very common to someone that is dieting, isn't it? Much like someone that buys a red car noticing how many red cars they now pass on the street. On a diet, being food obsessed is unavoidable, no?

SHELBY: To a certain extent yes (it is kind of hard-wired in our brains to want tasty, calorie-laden foods), but again it comes down to goals and motivation and what we really want. He could look at the same places and see all the lazy, fat sloths going in and out of them...

I also stopped into a grocery store to pick up carb control wraps. My how I have fallen. I used to bang out a couple of candy bars and bags of peanut M&Ms at the checkout counter. Now, nothing.    

STEVE: This is almost said as though the diet change was a bad thing. What are your thoughts on this?

SHELBY: Probably more just an attempt at humor (which helps while dieting). But, yes, perhaps some resistance to change as well.

The shame of it all is that I'm not even lean. I'm just less fat.      

STEVE: And here he references that awkward in-between phase where his clothes may be fitting a bit differently, but he’s not really looking any better in the mirror. This a difficult stage to get through for novice dieters. How often do dieters bail during this stage?

SHELBY: MANY bail early on. The initial weight loss is water and glycogen − so they just look smaller and sometimes fatter, like a partially deflated balloon. It takes getting past that point and really digging into the fat stores to see noticeable improvements. It's like anything worthwhile in life (lifting heavy weights is the same way); it takes time to see measurable results.

STEVE: Over 10 years’ time, Vincent has eaten his way up from around 200 pounds to his top weight of 328 pounds in order to be as strong as he possibly can. This is a huge shift in thinking on his part.

Decisions...

I think the allure of those days was the convenience of it all.     

STEVE: Outside of emotional eating, it seems as though convenience is the reason most dieters fail. It is obviously good that Vincent realizes this, right?

SHELBY: Yes, but again it needs to be bolstered/supported by a stronger motivation to continue with the plan...the diet...

It's not like that food tastes all that much better than a lot of the food I prepare at home. Quality food tastes really good, but it takes time to prepare.   

STEVE: Another good realization. Good food can taste really good. It seems as though he is both convincing himself and the reader of the value of dieting?

SHELBY: Again, anything worthwhile takes time.

All this said I am not nearly as tempted as I used to be. That and I am feeling as strong as ever. 

STEVE: Not as tempted as he used to be? He obviously is acknowledging that he is STILL tempted. Should a dieter acknowledge these things or should they attempt to maintain a facade of stoic Spartan infallibility?

SHELBY: I'm not sure all the self-talk helps so much, it really just comes down to DOING THE SHIT THAT WORKS...keeping your head down and staying focused. He seems to be looking for outs...but who knows?

The only thing that ever wants me to go back is when people say "Wow, you got smaller!" 

STEVE: Negative social reaction, possibly due to the fact that those in his social group feel his decision to get leaner is both an abandonment of their once-shared values and perhaps a judgment of their physical flaws. What is the best way to handle this?

SHELBY: Remember his goals and motivation. The "tribe" doesn't care about him, they only care about themselves and making themselves feel better about their own (lazy) choices.

My wife quickly implores them to say "Leaner."  

STEVE: His wife knows him well enough to understand the value of immediately re-framing these negative comments for him. Excellent support system. This seems like it may even be a subconscious thing in her case?

SHELBY: Yes, good point. It's good to have that type of support around on a regular basis, especially from a spouse (spouses often are the opposite).

On his way to the lean life

Yes, I am doing better, but I could be nudged back into the life pretty easily.  

STEVE: Back and forth. He seems to lack the confidence that he may make it. It seems almost like he is both trying to convince himself and setting up a possible excuse in advance…or am I off in my reading of this?

SHELBY: I think we all know that there's a very good chance that he's never going to be super lean, or super diligent with dieting on a regular basis. He may constantly vacillate between "blast and dust" mode, getting leaner for a bit, then going back (somewhat) to his old ways. That may just be his nature, and how many powerlifters are (hence they choose powerlifting over bodybuilding). Nothing wrong with that, that's just how some are wired. If anything, it's bodybuilders that are wired "wrong" [laughs].

Getting inside Dizenzo's head.

STEVE: You probably do not know this, but in our recent Twitter chat, Vincent eluded to the fact that at some point he WILL DO a bodybuilding show "just to do it," to varied responses - amazement from Dave Tate, derision from some of the powerlifting purists, and offers of assistance from Kroc.

To use Dave as an example, about eight years ago, he set out with the goal to get to and maintain about 10 percent body fat, while weighing about 250-pounds. He recently just got to this point…and the jury is still out if he can stay there. Do you think Dizenzo’s public declaration of his intentions is an attempt to leverage some social pressure on himself so that he is more likely to stay on his diet? Are these types of public declarations (which we see more often with social media being so common) usually a benefit or a hindrance?

SHELBY: There's nothing wrong with a public declaration like that, especially if they provide incentive/motivation to follow-through.

STEVE: You worked with a fair number of powerlifters on their diets. As opposed to bodybuilders, do powerlifters have a harder time making those diet changes permanent? Would you say a powerlifter is more resistant to changes than a sedentary layman that might come to you?

SHELBY: Yes, it seems like the false starts are more common with powerlifters. They typically just have a different mindset than someone that starts off in bodybuilding, and it can sometimes hold them back a bit. Once they learn to leverage themselves, and re-direct/re-focus, things can go just fine.

STEVE: To wrap this up…reading this post as a whole, and with your experience in dealing with performance diet prep, what is your general impression of the overall message?

SHELBY: It always comes back to motivation - if someone has a strong enough "why," they will figure out the "how." This goes for setting a world-record squat, or losing a lot of fat and getting into contest shape. It all begins and ends in the mind.

There you have it. As someone that has been a professional writer my entire life, I place a high value of specific word choices. People often reveal even more than they mean to and Dizenzo’s post reveals many of the emotional ups and downs that are common to dieting.

Although a champion lifter, this challenge requires a very different type of discipline. As Dizenzo shared with me, “I was not blessed with genetics, but I wanted to be strong. So I conditioned myself to eat, and eat I did. So much so that I became somewhat addicted to food. So yes, I feel this will be a constant battle, BUT I AM WINNING THE BATTLE. I have taken and kept off close to 50 pounds. Meanwhile, I am as strong as I have ever been.” He should be applauded for his courage to undertake this new path and also for allowing us to peel back the layers of his psyche in a very revealing public analysis like this. Good luck, Vincent…and keep us all posted on your progress!