6 Month Weigh-in and Pictures

July 7, 2012 by

Six months ago I decided to make some big changes in my life. I was 34 years old and decided I needed to make some adjustments in both my eating habits as well as my exercise plan (or lack thereof) in order to be more healthy. I kicked off this year by completing the 12 week Body-for-LIFE program. I’ve maintained since then for about another 12 weeks and am now 6 months out from the start. Let’s take a look at where I started at:

After completing the 12 week Body-for-LIFE program, I definitely saw results.

I’ve continued to eat healthy and exercise since then. It’s been 3 months post BFL and 6 months since I did the Body-for-LIFE challenge. Here is what I look like today:

A few flexing shots:

In this next one, you can really see my side back and tricep muscles that I’ve built:

Before and after photos, side-by-side:

How have I done it? During the 12-week Body-for-LIFE challenge I would eat smaller portions 6 times a day. Each meal would contain a protein and a carb. Good carbs, though, none of the processed, enriched white flour. Stuff like whole grains, vegetables, beans. One day a week was my “cheat” day where I could eat whatever I wanted, and I literally ate whatever I wanted.

For exercise I went to the gym 6 times a week – 3 times cardio, 3 times weight. Total amount of gym time was between 3 and 4 hours a week. I was extremely consistent with the food and exercise during the 12-week challenge. Since then I’ve relaxed a little bit. I still try to eat healthy and eat 6 times a day. Instead of one day a week off, though, I’ve settled into 3 or 4 meals a week off. The rest of the week I eat smaller portions and still try to eat 6 times a day. It has become a habit, and one that I really, really enjoy. Gorging myself on large meals always makes me feel “blah” afterwards. Here are a few of the foods I regularly stock and eat:

Also, I avoid any sugar sodas. I do drink some diet sodas, but plan on dropping them at some point since they’re not the greatest for you…but I’m not quite there yet. In addition, I drink lots of water. It is crucial to keep your body hydrated. Sometimes when you think you’re hungry, you really just need some water. Also, keeping your body hydrated helps with muscle growth.

Since I finished Body-for-LIFE, I’ve continued to run 2-3 times a week and do weights 2-3 times per week. On average I’m exercising 4-6 times per week still. I always feel so good after either a good run or workout.

Now, for my 6-month weigh-in. I weighed in this morning at 154.

I’m down 16 pounds down from where I started this year at 170. It’s hard to tell really how much I’ve lost/gained since a lot of the loss has been fat which has been replaced by muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat. Well, actually they weigh the same, but for the same size of mass, the fat will weigh more than the muscle – see my post here for more about that. I’m continuing to increase weights at the gym, which for me is a good indicator that I’m continuing to gain muscle. Going forward I will be doing checkins every 3 months with pictures and a weigh-in. The next one will be at 9 months in October, followed by my one year checking the beginning of January 2013. In the meantime I will continue to blog about my story, healthy tips, and how I am able to keep a healthy lifestyle up while behind the desk on a computer every day.

Filed Under: Body For Life, Health, Nutrition, Pictures, Running, Workouts Tagged With:

Week 16 Weigh-In and Pictures

April 29, 2012 by

Today marks 16 weeks exactly since I started Body-for-LIFE. Even though the Body-for-LIFE challenge is 12 weeks, I’ve continued with the lifestyle the last four weeks. The Body-for-LIFE website says to get the results you want in “as little” as 12 weeks. I was very happy with my results after 12 weeks. Going forward I want to continue to build lean muscle mass. My last weigh-in for Body-for-LIFE was 161. In the last 4 weeks I’ve lost 3 pounds, weighing in at 158.

I’m actually trying to gain weight (muscle weight), but I am not concerned about the weight loss since I am continuing to increase the weights at the gym. The last 4 weeks I’ve continued 3 days of weights and 3 days of cardio each week. Here are the pictures after 16 weeks. First, from the front:

And a flex shot from the front:

Now from the back:

And a flex shot from the back…you can really see the back and shoulder muscles that I’ve built over the past 16 weeks. I just need to work on that farmer tan – heh heh.

Here is a compilation of image I put together with pictures every 4 weeks. It really captures the progress along the way:

I’m getting much closer to the 6-pack that was one of my goals when I started. The last four weeks I’ve made significant progress across the board. You can especially see it in the stomach as the abs are starting to show even more. I’m figuring the 3 pounds I’ve lost has been a little bit more fat around the gut which is helping for the abdominal muscles to show through even more. My next weigh-in and pictures will be at 20 weeks. Until then, I’ll be continuing to blog about my journey as I continue to eat healthy and exercise. Thanks for reading!

Filed Under: Body For Life, Pictures Tagged With:

Updated pics and weigh-ins moving forward

April 23, 2012 by

Now that Body-for-LIFE is complete, you may have noticed I haven’t been doing weekly weigh-ins and pictures. Going forward, I’ll be doing a weigh-in with pictures every 4 weeks. I’ll still be using the week of Jan 9th as the baseline for my transformation (that’s the week I started Body-for-LIFE). Now that the 12 weeks are done, my next weigh-in and pics will be at 16 weeks on April 28th – that’s this Saturday! I’m excited to see how much I’ve developed in the 4 weeks post BFL! After that I’ll check in at 20 weeks, 24 weeks, etc. until I feel my transformation is complete and I switch to maintaining.

Filed Under: Body For Life, Pictures Tagged With:

Day 83: Week 12 Weigh-in

March 31, 2012 by

Last week I gave a little sneak preview of something that was coming soon on my wife’s blog. She partnershipped with Scotts and me to do a promotional post about Scott’s fertilizer system:

The post is now live over at House of Hepworths – go check it out along with some more pics of me!

Now, for my this week’s weigh-in and pictures. If you remember, last week I had lost 2 pounds. I was a little frustrated because I’m trying to gain muscle now. Well – good news. This week I gained 3 pounds. Two weeks ago I was 160, dropped to 158, then back up to 161 this week.

Over the last two weeks, it’s a net of 1 pound gain. Here is the chart of my weight since I started Body For Life. You can see the initial weight loss as I burned off fat, and I’ve planed a little bit as I’m eating more and trying to gain more muscle, with a gradual increase of 4 pounds over the last 5 weeks. The first 7 weeks I lost around 2 pounds per week and the last 5 I’ve gained an average of 1.25 pounds per week.

Now, for my pictures this week. I’ve done a compilation similar to what I did after four weeks for this week’s pictures. First, the usual pics:

Now, with the progression every two weeks (click to enlarge):

There’s not much left for me in the 12 week Body For Life Challenge. Tomorrow marks 12 weeks to the day since I started. I’ve heard that many times you can’t see a huge difference until at least 6 or 8 weeks. If you’re doing Body For Life and don’t see huge improvements, even through 8 weeks, just keep sticking to it. My most drastic improvements showed the last 4 weeks. You are building muscle all along, but at some point you burn off enough fat for the muscle to start showing through. This has been an amazing experience that I’ll never forget.

Filed Under: Body For Life, Pictures Tagged With:

Day 76: Week 11 Weigh-in

March 24, 2012 by

Well, I think this is the first since I’ve started Body For Life that I’ve been mad at my weigh-in. I’ve worked really hard the last week and still lost 2 pounds!

Needless to say, my wife had no sympathy when I complained about losing 2 pounds in a week (sorry Allison!). I’m really trying hard to gain weight now (muscle weight). I’m definitely looking better in my pictures and have been still increasing my weights at the gym (I did 12 reps of 250 pounds on the leg press for the first time this week). I really want to put on more muscle weight, though.

For the first 6 weeks or so I was pretty good at tracking my calories. Then I got used to eating the Body For Life style and became pretty good at it. I stopped my calorie tracking and just ensured I still at 6 meals. I didn’t feel the need to continue to track my calories. Around week 8 I started increasing the amount I ate at each meal in an effort to gain muscle weight. I gained 3 pounds of the next few weeks, but this last week dropped 2 more down. I think I’m going to start tracking my calories again so I can ensure that I’m eating enough. I’ve heard how body builders have to eat a lot, but man. I feel like I’m already eating a lot with 6 meals a day! I guess I’m not eating enough at each meal. Some websites say you need to eat 3000 calories a day to bulk up. I’m not sure what my magic number is, but I know it’s more than what I’m eating now. Body For Life doesn’t set a number or tell you how much you should eat. Perusing through the Body For Life stories on their website, you’ll notice the stories are sorted by different categories. Some do it to lose weight, some to tone muscle, and some to gain muscle. I really don’t have much fat left on my body, and I really would like to gain muscle now. Now, for this week’s pictures:


I’ll leave you with a sneak preview of some hot pictures of me that will be on my wife’s blog, House of Hepworths tomorrow.

Filed Under: Body For Life, Pictures, Random Tagged With:
Next Page »