16 weeks into a 24 week physical challenge w/pics

[TxRedMan]

So most of you guys know I used to juice, powerlift- worked as a personal trainer, etc. About six months ago I quit my current job and started my own company. It took a terrible toll on my body. Not sleeping enough, not eating right, never working out, basically just doing a 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. for three months straight and eating fast food and never exercising. This pic made me do something about it, because I had never looked this terrible in the last few years

This pic made me go nuts. literally. I knew that I could regain most of what I had lost, but I didnt realize how out of it I was until I saw this pic. Three months earlier I looked much better than I did in the above picture, and it's embarrassing to post that pic. I despise it. I'm 245 pounds in that picture- about 6'1-6'2. At that point there's no telling what my bench press was, b/c I hadn't lifted in months, and I was wearing a 38" waist, which is not good. So, I setout to make a transformation.

Here's a picture from a month into my program




As you can see there had been improvement in the last six weeks, but there was much left to be desired.


I really focused on my diet at this point- and I made working out my number one priority.

Here's a picture from 8 weeks into the program




There's now been a marked improvement in weight loss, and i'm down to 233, so i've lost twelve pounds of what I would call almost all fat loss, and 12 pounds in 10 weeks is a healthy number for your body to lose in that amount of time.


I then started cycling my carbs, having down days and updays, and began really lifting heavy again. Here's a few pics from this point in the program- about 12 weeks in.


















At this point my body had found a groove again, and muscle memory had set in, and I was returning to my former self. My diet wasn't terribly strict at this point, I was just replacing three out of my five meals a day with a meal replacement protein shake called muscle milk- something you really need to check out, they're the best ever. I was focusing very much on my high carb/ low carb days, training my body to boost it's metabolism, and I was working out five times a week and lifting very heavy.

Here's a pic from last week, about 16 weeks into the program





In the above picture I am weighing 225 pounds, and my bench press had gone back to 435 pounds, I was wearing a 36" waist that fit loose, and I was feeling comfortable about the way I looked. I cannot believe I let myself get as out of shape as I did, but I knew that I could get back to where I was. I'll never bench press 500 pounds again like I did when I was juicing, b/c I have no desire to juice or to weigh 270 pounds ever again.


I've got another eight weeks to go on this particular program. Right now i'm at 225, and I plan on getting down to 215- a healthy weight for my frame. My goal is to bench 440 at 215, but I would still be very happy if I could lift 2x body weight.


I credit the meal replacement to my weight loss. I never ever skip breakfast these days, and it's always a 350 calorie low fat mid carb 35 grams of protein shake. I'll consume two more throughout the day, usually drinking a half of one twice, and drinking a half after my workout and another half right before bed time. I eat mostly what I want, but I dont eat fast food and junk, and if I do, I do it sparingly. My bench went up about 60 pounds in this process because of my knoweldge of strength training and the fact that I know my body very well and how it responds, and b/c muscle has memory, and I used to bench 500. I've spent 10 years in the gym, and I've learned quite a bit. I think that I might be benching heavier than I am now but I injured my rotator cuff early into this program, and am just now able to really push myself.


I'll post some updates in 8 weeks or so, when I'm hopefully down to about 215 and a 34" waist. Something that I should note is that 215 is an ideal number, but in regards to weight, I dont care how much I weigh assuming I look good in the mirror and I'm healthy and fit. Weight can be very deceiving- I could lose ten pounds today if I wanted to, but I wouldnt look entirely that much different.

I'm still nowhere near the size I've been, I'm in fact 50 pounds lighter today than I was at my most roided out point, but I would never want to be that big again, I could barely wipe my ass I was so muscle bound. I've been as light as 205 pounds when preparing for a body building show, during that same phase of my life, and I looked totally different, but again, I never want to have to go from 270 to 205 just so I can look good on a stage- that was hell losing that weight. Obviously I dont have the same roided out look I used to, but I dont care anymore about that. I feel good, I look good, I've still got some room for improvement, and I am stronger than just about anyone who crosses my path in at least one lift if it's not bench press. I can also military press 300 sitting- military is how you get strong in your upper body, but it also is hard on your shoulders and it's how I hurt my rotator cuff. None of these pics you saw were taken in proper lighting, so when I do the follow up I'll take them like you would if you were attempting to show definition, striations, and lines- which makes a pretty dramatic difference. I'll also try and find the pics of myself when I was 270 and when I go down to 205- they're pretty insane, especially the way I look at 205 pre-body building show. But, lol, [censored] that [censored].



Any questions, I'd be glad to answer.

[killsadie]

rugay?

[SmileyEH]

Pretty gay post, but still really impressive Tx. Very well done.

[TxRedMan]

no, not that there's anything wrong with that though.

i realized i posted a pic of myself in boxers, and figured someone would have to say something stupid about it, but i dont really care, i've stepped on stage in speedos before, so whatever.

[mulebennett]

that's pretty cool, but the pictures where your hands are above your head make it hard to tell what kind of shape you're in, you have to standardize the position so we can tell. also, we don't need to see pictures of you in your skimpies.

[TxRedMan]

why is it a gay post?

i thought i could help some guys here who wanted to get into shape with this post, and i provided pics to show the progress i made. really just trying to motivate myself even further and make a contribution to 2p2 by making myself available to share info and education on a subject i'm very trained in.

[sublime]

i could have done without the pic of you in that gay pose with just boxers on...but the rest is cool....good work!

[Evenkeal]

man you are the hottest rapper on 2+2 and now you just blew up with this one, nice

[TxRedMan]

[ QUOTE ]
man you are the hottest rapper on 2+2 and now you just blew up with this one, nice

[/ QUOTE ]

thx evan- where did your title go?

[TxRedMan]

i had no idea the picture of me in my boxers would bother so many people. i guess i just dont much care about seeing another guy in his boxers, it doesnt bother me, and i'm comfortable in my own skin.