Month 3 completed, next phase begins!

I would call this a "full" 12 wrap up because technically, I didn't get started on my diet/fitness program until Monday the 14th of May. So, my month 3 program ended on Sunday. I ended up finishing at 187.6 which was nice, giving me around 16lbs lost in three months. I took a few days off from my training routine, had a nice cheat meal and got the body ready for month 4 which it needed.

Also, I'm a couple of days into my new routine for month 4 and I'm pretty excited about it. It is a little toned down as far as hard metabolic/conditioning work, and is more of a "traditional" strength/bodybuilding routine. I guess I can't talk smack about everybody's Monday "Chest and Back" routine anymore since that's what I did yesterday, for the first time in ever. It was refreshing and very cool though, it'll be a nice change up from the non-traditional workouts I've been doing (which really took it's toll on my body).

Cardio frequency overall is toned down a but, but I'm going to be doing HIIT Sprint sessions which are the toughest cardio I've ever done.

Nutritionally, I'm going down on calories a bit and am not going to have any cheat days (boo), though I will probably have a couple of mini-cheat meals where I have a frozen pizza or something but still stay within my macros for the day. Still doing the 16/8 IF thing which I honestly feel like I'm going to be doing some variation of for the rest of my life.

Here's to continuing to drop some fat and maybe build some muscle this month!

12-Week Wrap Up

Welp, here we are, at the end of the 12 weeks of Sorel Mizzi's Transformation Challenge. It's been an experience for sure! Here's my wrap-up. (FYI, I was going out of town during the contest entry deadline, so all of my stats are starting May 13th, ending August 2nd. Not quite a full 84 days but who cares :).

Before we get started on the stats, here's some quick links to the bigger/more interesting blog posts I wrote on various topics during the 12 weeks:

Intro/My Fitness Background
My Program/Thoughts On Coaching
Poker, Hormones, and Fitness
Month 1 Recap
Month 2 Program!
The "Neural Wake-Up Call"
Month 3 Program!
Sweet-ass Salad Recipe
Fitness Things I've Fallen In Love With: Part 1
Fitness Things I've Fallen In Love With: Part 2

Now on to the fun stuff!

Weight:
Starting: 204.2
Ending: 188.8
Change: -15.4

A loss of 15.4 pounds, or ~1.3lbs/week. A little lower than what is possible for pure weight loss, but I was focusing on recomposition rather than pure weight loss (see below), so I'm pretty happy with this. Here's a chart:

You'll notice a severe decline at the beginning for the first couple of weeks, which was the result of me going extremely low-carb initially, and then the weight loss goes into a less severe, but still steady drop. The spikes you see are cheat day spikes, which quickly disappear the following day.

Edit: On that note, my nutritional summary is relatively simple. I used a 16/8 Intermittent Fasting routine, with carb and nutrient cycling (more carbs on workout days and around my weight training sessions), and varying cheat days (and total fasting days). I think it worked pretty well, for the most part. I will say that I urge everyone to try a full day fast at some point in their life. I have been regularly training 36-40 hours fasted and it is amazing how good you feel the morning after a full fast day. Seriously, try it sometime!

What's interesting about this to me is that during this process I've always felt like I'm having plateaus followed by sudden drops of weight, but if you look at the chart above, my weight loss has been quite steady and even for the most part.

Body Fat % (by caliper measurements):

Starting: 19% (?)

Ending: ~11.5% (?)

Change: -7.5%

Lean Body Mass:

Starting: 165.4

Ending: 167.5

Change: +2.1

Overall composition change: 17.5lbs of fat lost, 2.1 pounds of muscle gained (?).

There's a reason I have question marks next to these numbers. Body Fat calculations are notoriously hard to do and they were pretty frustrating for me. I was doing BF% calculations with calipers, which seemed to be a bit all over the place for me. By my measurements originally, I had a body fat % of around 19-19.5%, and my current caliper readings come out to something under 12%. This equates to something around a 7-8% drop in body fat.

These are my strict numbers. However, when I compare my pictures to other pictures people post of their body fat %, I have trouble believing I am actually <12%. It's possible, as I do have a lot of muscle mass in my legs and posterior chain which can skew my frontal view a bit. Realistically, I think it's more likely that my body fat % is currently around 13%, and my original body fat % was more like 20%. I believe the relative change of around 7% or so is probably accurate, though, as relative caliper measurements are still pretty good. I also believe that I am probably carrying quite a bit less water weight than I was originally. So, in reality I would guess that my actual fat loss was a bit less, my muscle gain was a bit more, and my LBM numbers are too high overall.

Body Measurements:

                  Starting  -- Ending -- Change

Chest:          37.5"           39"           +1.5" 

Arms:           12"             13.2"         +1.2"

Hips:            39.5"           39.5"         N/A

Waist:          37.8"           33.8"        -4"

Thighs:        22"              22.5"        +.5"

Calves:        15"              15"           N/A

Forearms:    9.5"             10"          +.5"

Shoulders:   47.0"           49.2"       +2.2"

Neck:           15.5"          15.5"         N/A

I lost a full 4 inches around my waist, and had modest increase in size to my chest, shoulders, and arms, and negligible change elsewhere. This is about what I expected; while the majority of my training was fat-loss-centric training, I did incorporate a lot of training designed to bring up my lagging shoulders/chest/arms.

Overall, a level of re-composition that I am thrilled with, and I can't wait for the next 12-weeks (and beyond) worth of similar improvement :).

Pics before and after:

Here's my before pics:

Before pics, Front/Back/Side:

Now for the hopefully less cringe-worthy pictures :)

After pics, Front/Back/Side:

And, just for funzies, here's my original contest entry picture (May 10th) above a little flashier pose picture from August 2nd:

Not too shabby, eh? :).

You know, it's funny how slow progress can feel, until you go back and look at some before/after pics for comparison, and suddenly you really notice it.

Other Fitness Considerations:

Besides the normal stats, my overall fitness level has improved greatly. My strength training has varied considerably, so while I have increased strength on a monthly basis, I don't have any major lifts that I can see major strength increases to. Really, as I spent a good 9 months or so strength training almost exclusively, I wasn't too worried about increasing strength, just maintaining it. But, I have had profound improvements in other areas. Here are some of the more noticeable changes:

1) Posture: My posture, something I've been working on for about a year now, has continued to improve.

2) Flexibility/Mobility: My flexibility and mobility has also increased a ton over the last few months, thanks in part to a dynamic stretching/foam rolling routine, especially my daily "Neural Wake-Up Call" (see above). My hip flexor mobility has improved a ton, in particular.

3) Less joint pain: To be honest, when I set out to undertake the workout routine I started on, I was wary that my body would be able to handle it. Amazingly, it has, and my old trouble spots (knee/back) have gotten so much stronger and feel better than they ever have. Doing a set of single-leg squats every morning has done absolute wonders for my knee joints, and back pain that would flare up in various exercises is all but gone. For instance:

4) Back Squats: I have never been a very good back squatter, as my level of hip/ankle mobility was always poor, and my back has always had issue with the compressive forces of back squats. For month 3, I started back squatting regularly, and much to my surprise (and joy), I have had very little trouble with them, and have in fact enjoyed them a ton. Try a set of 20-rep "Breathing Squats" sometime and see for yourself!.

5) Jumping Rope/Sprinting: As part of my knee and back pain issues over the years, higher impact cardio like Jump Rope and Sprinting has always been (or seemed) off limits for me. As I mentioned in my "Things I've Fallen in Love With" post, I been pleasantly surprised by my ability to work up to doing both Sprints and regular Jump Rope routines. They were very tough at first, but by month 3 I was looking forward to Jumping Rope, and nothing gets my heart rate up quicker.

6) Overall Conditioning: This should probably be #1, as it's the most profound overall change. I did an HIIT Jump Rope routine the other day and couldn't believe how hard I was able to push myself. I kicked my ass with a bodyweight routine last weekend and think back to how impossible it would have been a few months ago.

Closing Thoughts:

Whew. To say it's been a ride is an understatement. While I've gone on fitness binges before, I have never done to near the level of commitment and dedication as this time around. In fact, I don't think I've done ANYTHING to this level of commitment and dedication. Working out 8-10 times a week, sticking to a diet to the T, has been a really great experience for me. It's also nice to know that this kind of progress can be had on a vegetarian diet (my diet was 99.9% Lacto-Ovo-Vegetarian except for one Shrimp meal I had during Month 1). After writing this wrap-up, and actually seeing my before and after pictures back to back, I am really, really happy with my progress over these 12 weeks. And, as happy as I am about it, what I am REALLY looking forward to is the next 12 weeks and beyond. The idea that <10% body fat is actually on the horizon, and that I might actually reach a point in my life where "not being fat" is no longer my primary fitness goal, is an amazing feeling. I can't wait.

8/1 Check-In

A couple of days out from the end of my 12 weeks. Should have fun getting a wrap up together with stats, pics, etc. :)

Weight: 189.4

Exercise: Morning Variable Intensity Cardio session.

Meal 1: 2 Scoops of Low-Carb Whey Protein, 1 Cup of Blueberries

Calories: 270, Fat 2.5g, Carbs 31g, Protein 61.1g

Meal 2: 3 Eggs/4 Eggwhites Scrambled, 1/2 Avocado, 1/2 Can of Black Beans, Hot Sauce everywhere.

Calories: 540, Fat 28.2g, Carbs 27.3g, Protein 46.5g

Meal 3: 2 Cups of Cottage Cheese, 2 Tablespoons of Almond Butter, 13g of NOW Super EPA Fish Oil

Calories: 670, Fat 38g, Carbs 25g, Protein 57g

Daily Totals:

Calories: 1563

Fat: 68.7g

Carbs: 83.3g

Protein: 164.5g

7/31 Check-In

Weight: 190.2 (sigh :).

Exercise: Morning treadmill walk, Evening Full Body weight session+treadmill walk. Pretty good day, this full body workout is one of my favorite workouts ever. Had my best ever Back Squat session by far.



Diet:

Meal 1: Peri/Post Workout Shake
Calories: 302, 2g Fat, 26g Protein, 45g Carbs

Meal 2: 8 Egg whites scrambled, 1/2 Can of Black Beans, 1/2 Cup of Salsa, Hot Sauce
Calories: 378, 0g Fat, 39.5 Carbs, 52.9 Protein

Meal 3: Whey Protein Shake (2 Scoops), 2 Cups of Strawberries
Calories: 398, 4.7g Fat, 39.9g Carbs, 51.5g Protein

Meal 4 (Split an hour or so apart): 2 Cups of Cottage Cheese, 4 TBSP of Natural Peanut Butter, 10g of NOW Super EPA Fish Oil
Calories: 830, 51g Fat, 30g Carbs, 64g Protein

Totals:

Calories: 1908,
Fat: 57.7g,
Carbs: 149.4g,
Protein: 194.4g

7/30 Check-In

Weight: 189.6

Exercise: Morning HIIT Bike session, Evening Dynamic Upper Body Training. Really good day, my conditioning is killer right now.


Diet:

Meal 1: Peri/Post Workout Shake
Calories: 302, 2g Fat, 26g Protein, 45g Carbs

Meal 2: 8 Egg whites scrambled, 1/2 Can of Black Beans, 1/2 Cup of Salsa, Hot Sauce
Calories: 378, 0g Fat, 39.5 Carbs, 52.9 Protein

Meal 3: Whey Protein Shake (2 Scoops), 2 Cups of Strawberries
Calories: 398, 4.7g Fat, 39.9g Carbs, 51.5g Protein

Meal 4 (Split an hour or so apart): 2 Cups of Cottage Cheese, 4 TBSP of Natural Peanut Butter, 10g of NOW Super EPA Fish Oil
Calories: 830, 51g Fat, 30g Carbs, 64g Protein

Totals:

Calories: 1908,
Fat: 57.7g,
Carbs: 149.4g,
Protein: 194.4g

7/29 Check-In

Weight: 188.8 (booyah.)

Exercise: Morning bodyweight complex + treadmill walk. Absolutely killer, this bodyweight workout is the toughest part of my entire routine. Felt pretty good though, doing it on about 34 hours without food :)


Meal 1: 2 Scoops of Low-Carb Whey Protein, 1 Cup of Blueberries
Calories: 270, Fat 2.5g, Carbs 31g, Protein 61.1g

Meal 2: 3 Eggs/4 Eggwhites Scrambled, 1/2 Avocado, 1/2 Can of Black Beans, Hot Sauce everywhere.
Calories: 540, Fat 28.2g, Carbs 27.3g, Protein 46.5g

Meal 3: 2 Cups of Cottage Cheese, 2 Tablespoons of Almond Butter, 13g of NOW Super EPA Fish Oil
Calories: 670, Fat 38g, Carbs 25g, Protein 57g

Daily Totals:

Calories: 1563
Fat: 68.7g
Carbs: 83.3g
Protein: 164.5g

7/28 Check-In

Weight: 194.2 (sup cheat day)

Exercise: Evening light stretching/jump rope/treadmill walk/foam rolling.

Diet: Fast day!