Photos > Progress
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Front - Dec. 1, 2008
Belly by soda. Love handles that no one really loves, especially me. The person you see is not the whole image. When I took this shot, I had been working out for 3 weeks and eating a very clean nutrition plan. I was sad, depressed, angry, fat, embarassed, lacking self esteem, constantly in pain, and just miserable. Honestly, I hated myself for getting to this point in my life.
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Back - Dec. 1, 2008
You get a much better view of the love handles in this shot. There's something about fat creases that just does something for the ladies - like make them run in terror. I am not happy with this image.
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Back - Jan 4, 2009
Still have prominent love handles. I'm not sure there's a whole lot of difference between the Dec. 1 pictures and this shot. 4 weeks didn't make much difference on the outside, but my body was just starting to adapt by this time.
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Front - Jan. 4, 2009
What can I say? I'm still fat. And pale!
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Side-by-Side
My Dec. 1, 2008 shot (left) beside my Jan. 4, 2009 shot. There is a slight but noticeable difference.
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Flex - Jan. 28, 2009
My chest needs work, but this is actually a pretty decent shot, at least in my opinion. I like the muscularity that is developing in my arms and shoulders. The lighting leaves a lot to be desired, so the definition that I see in the mirror is not too obvious in this shot.
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January 28, 2009
My front flex. There is actually some definition beginning to appear between my shoulder and bicep, and my back is developing a bit of noticeable width. It's not great, but at this point I still had 14 1/2 weeks left in my official competition.
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Big Jeans
March 16, 2009. These jeans used to fit me quite well. Now, if I'm not wearing a belt, these pants are literally falling off my body.
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April 1 - Back
The first thing I noticed in the picture was the definition in my deltoids. I am actually fairly impressed by that. After that, the joy of smaller love hadles got my attention. I enjoy seeing the progress.
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April 1 - front
I'm actually not too pleased with this shot. There are areas of improvement that I see almost immediately. There are some good things to be said, however. I am liking the growth in my arms, though flexing was nearly impossible for this picture because my arms were sore from the workout I finished just 2 hours before. I also like seeing the first real indications of separation between my pecs.
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April 1 - Side
I like seeing that the thickness of my chest is beginning to exceed the thickness of my midsection. My arms are again a little flat in this shot because I just couldn't flex like I would have wanted. The next 5 1/2 weeks will hopefully take care of some of the less-defined areas. Overall, though, this is a nice improvement over what I looked like in November 2008.
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Sunday at the Beach
Last year at this same beach I wore a t-shirt all day to hide my flabby belly. This year, I comfortably walked around shirtless.
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Sunday at the Beach
For the first time in my life I actually have biceps. This little "vanity shot" is my little celebration of that fact.
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After shot - back
Overall, I'm pleased with the progress I've made. While progress on my legs was greatly affected by the broken foot, I still managed to create some decent definition in my calves. My lats and rhomboids are very nice - far better looking than I really knew until I saw this photo. I figure by the time I get to my birthday, the little bulge at my waistline - remnants of my spare tire - should be greatly reduced.
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After - front
Again, I think I did pretty well here, though I have a few things I want to work on further. My legs didn't grow the way I had hoped thanks to my broken foot and how it kept me from being able to do squats, lunges, and presses for 6 weeks. My midsection looks pretty good, though there is still some fat that I've got to reduce in my lower abs. My pecs are better developed than they look in this picture, but I still want to grow them a bit more to make my upper body a little more proportional. The good thing is I've got plans to improve. Progress not perfection. Just trying to be as healthy as possible!