Phase II/14 days/2 weeks - dropped 2.5kg, 1.5" off my waist
Total for the program - 8kg, 3.5"
V-Burn Bodyweight Circuit time dropped from 44m to 30m.
Departures/variations/things I did wrong - missed one wkout in the first 4 weeks, the first V-burn bodyweight circuit. Poor planning/ran out of time on a Sunday night. Missed 4 protein shakes, out of 148[? I think] in Phase I. Ran out of time at night/slept in too long. Passed on the optional Fiber Choice tabs after the first week. Made my gastric system do strange things. Midweek of week 2 I stopped adding the milled flax seed to my shakes. That stuff was just... foul. And I couldn't choke down any more. Missed one NEPA wkout, in the fifth week.
As far as supplements, I ordered the big pack from BioTest as recommended/required. Living in Japan I paid through the nose on shipping and then got hit again a week later [didn't know it was coming] with another 80-100 bucks worth of customs fees. So the initial package is what I had, all I had, including Phase II. When it was gone, it was gone. No restocking for fiscally disadvantaged me. The Hot Rox and Superfood both lasted exactly 4 weeks - after which I had some generic caffeine tabs and fatburners I used in the AM and pre-wkout. The Surge Recovery lasted for 5 weeks and the Metabolic Drive protein lasted all six. But I ate more instinctively in the last two weeks, Phase II, which meant not eating quite as often as recommended. Lastly, I've only got a pullup bar and about 105lbs [52.5lbs each] of Selecttech DB's so my loads were light on my heavier/low rep exercise days.
But despite all that, I'll call it a success. Reversed the backsliding I started in March pretty effectively, blew past some previous plateaus and got me to my lightest weight in 4 years in Japan, probably in 5 overall. Maybe got me to the point I was at - albeit briefly - about 6 years ago. As always, I wanted more in less time - no patience, that's me - but this was good. Also I found it really did reset my taste buds and the way I think about food quite a bit. My cravings were for all healthy foods, and I really don't have any desire at all to scarf down junk. Otoh, if I never have a protein shake again, that'll be OK. Burned out quite a bit on those, to be honest.
It's four weeks till I go on vacation for three, so for the next month I'm going to mix things up a bit and go to an all bodyweight routine. Around the 'net there are a bunch of different "challenge" programs people have designed - the original was 100 Pushups, but there's also 20 Pullups, 200 Squats and 200 Situps. The programs are designed with 6 week training protocols, but since I've only got 4, I'll start on Week 3 and see if I can hang. Foundational, no-nonsense stuff. Mostly strength-endurance, but I'm sure I'm still very much in need of it.
Maxes from testing last Sunday, one set endurance max - 8 Pullups, 28 Pushups, 31 Situps, 40 Squats
Next 4 weeks
MWF - Pushups/Squats/Bas Rutten MMA Workout/Neck [bridging, isos, neck nods, shrugs]/Rehab work - dislocates, facepulls
TTS - Pullups/Situps/Forearms-wrist-grip work [wrist curls/x, time holds, grippers, levers]/X-Stretch [from P90x]/Rehab work - disclocates, facepulls, bridging
Diet/Nutrition wise, back to whole foods. Going with a primal/paleo/low carb style eating plan, which is ultimately, for me, I think, best both short and long term. Best resource on that is, I think, The Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson - with a small concession to a carb up on the weekends, a la' Di Pasquale's Anabolic Solution/Metabolic Diet, in the form of sushi, most likely. I figured while in Japan, I should make the most of quality, inexpensive sushi while I can. Typical 3-4 meals per day maybe... egg dish for breakfast, salad for lunch, beef/poultry/pork/fish for dinner. A healthy snack in there somewhere - nuts probably. Wish I could get decent jerky around here though. No junk.
So... overall. It's been about 15 months since I started working out again. And despite some layoffs/backsliding/half-assing here and there I've managed to drop about 14kg and 8" off my waist measurement. Good, but only a little over halfway where I want to be be. I'd like to drop another 8kg or so and another 3-4" off my waistline. About 81kg would put me right around/in-between my college and military weights, which worked pretty well for me. So, that's a decent goal.
In layman's terms, in the last 15 months I've gone from "fat fuck" to "chubby bastard." Wiping out the worst of the shame and self loathing accompanying said condition. [There's always some there... I was raised Catholic, it can't be helped...] I hope in the next 6 months to get from "chubby bastard" to "in shape." After that, maybe another 6 months could get me to "freaking awesome." Gambaremasu.
Yes, I made a graph. In lieu of pics. I'm kind of a dork.
[Still not "after" enough to be putting up before/after pics. Once the satisfaction of the "after" outweighs the shame and embarrassment of the "before" I'll do that... but not quite there yet.]
The graph kind of tells the tale.
Consistent, albeit slow progress from last April to about the end of January and February of this year. That was the point where I burned out on P90X and my workouts became less consistent. February was also where the parties, farewell and otherwise, started. March and April were abominations, PT and diet wise. Numerous end of the year enkais, beginning of the year enkais, birthday parties... plus the mental and emotional malaise of the Mrs back in the US on her job hunt resulted in me taking refuge in the local 7-11's fried chicken, chips and beer. Beginning of May I had my last enkai of the season and into the V-Diet on 5/11.
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