What does the scale say?

Here's a view form the scale's perspective :) Week 0 vs. Week 13.

Done! Week 13 Finished and Final Pictures/Videos

Wow, 89 days certainly went by fast! I started on January 1, 2008, and I finished up today, March 29, 2008.


Results? They turned out pretty good - it even beat my stretch goals. Overall, I lost 26.4 lbs and 4.9% body fat.

I started at 172 and weighed in this morning at 145.6. My initial body fat was 20.3% body fat, and my scale said 15.4% today.

This video tells a good story - it was filmed at Day 0 and today. Check out the difference!

Chicken Kabob - Eating for Life Recipe

Here's another great item from the Eating for Life book. One of my favorites!

Eating for Life - Chicken Pomodoro

Here's a video of an Eating for Life recipe I did earlier in the 12-week program. VERY tasty and recommended.

Do I need to Join a Gym for BFL?

A question that is often asked is, "Do I need to join a gym for BFL?" IMHO, the short answer is "no" providing you have adequate equipment at home to work out all the body parts.

For me, I haven't been to a membership based gym this entire 12-week cycle although I do have access to one at my office. Why not? I find it easier to roll right out of bed and go downstairs to my basement to work out. I'm most motivated when I first wake up, so this works for me.

I also have a good amount of equipment:

Powertec Leverage Gym (http://www.powertecfitness.com/). This set has almost everything you need. It uses olympic free weights, so it's flexible in terms of weight that can be added/removed. It has attachments for the following:

• Leg attachment for quads/hamstring


• Pull down bar for lats


• Shoulder press


• Chest press


• Tricep pull down

Powerblock (http://www.powerblock.com/). This is a set of dumbbells that goes up to 45 lbs. By simply removing weight, the same setup of dumbbells will go down to 10 lbs and increase in 5 lb. increments. For BFL, this is perfect because I'll start on a lower weight for my first set and slowly increase it. I use this exclusively for the first 5 sets of my bicep workout. I also use it for triceps.

Nautilus Preacher Bench. I use this rarely, but it is also good for biceps. It uses the olympic weights.

Nautilus Calf Raise. I use this for my calfs. It also uses the olympic weights.

Stationary Recumbent Bike. This is up in our bedroom, and it serves as a good source of cardio. It's not the best, but it works for me.

Preparing for Final Body for Life Pictures

LINK

For those of you that are submitting your package and pictures as part of the BFL submission, I thought I'd share something I learned in my first challenge. I wish I could take credit for it, but I shamelessly stole it from others (see link above). This is basically the routine that will maximize how your body looks for those final pics.

Will it help your diet? No. Is it a good long term approach? No. Will I look my best for the pictures? Yes.

5 Days Out (Monday 3/24/2008): Cardio
- Lower carb intake
- 10 glasses of water

4 Days Out (Tuesday 3/25/2008): Legs
- Lower carb intake
- 10 glasses of water

3 Days Out (Wednesday 3/26/2008): Upper Body (intense)
- Lower carb intake
- 10 glasses of water

2 Days Out (Thursday 3/27/2008): Light cardio
- Lower carb intake
- Use NWB (3 servings of 2 capsules each) - NWB is a water depletion supplement
- Drink lots of water
- Restrict salt (500mg – 1000mg)
- Consume simple carbs post workout (sweet potato, brown rice, oatmeal)
- 10 glasses of water

1 Day Out (Friday 3/28/2008): Posing only
- Lower/eliminate carb intake
- Use NWB (3 servings of 2 capsules each)
- Drink lots of water
- Eat less than 500mg salt
- Drink Glycerol cocktail (50 ml of glycerol *4 oz of red wine *12 oz of water *1 serving of creatine) in the evening
- 10 glasses of water (early in day, limit in the afternoon and evening)
- In the evening, have 2 bowls of Fruit Loop cereal

Photo Shoot (Saturday 3/29/2008):
-Drink Glycerol cocktail (50 ml of glycerol *4 oz of red wine *12 oz of water *1 serving of Creatine) in the morning
20 minute pump up session followed by carb snack (oatmeal cookie)

Other items:

1. You might want to start tanning now if you're going to do it.
2. Think about shavings - don't have to do it, but it makes a difference on the pictures

Start of Week 12

I just ended week 11 yesterday, so I did my weekly weight check in.

151.2 pounds with 15.1% BF. Overall, I'm down 20.8lbs.

I'm heading on a cruise ship to the Caribbean in early April, so I'm actually going to extend this 12-week challenge to 13-weeks, so this won't be my last week. I'm going to milk this thing for all it's worth!

The challenge was supposed to end on 3/24/08, but I'm really going to end it with my final pictures on 3/30/2008.

Updated Pictures - 3/13/2008

Here's a comparison of 1/1/2008 and 3/13/2008.

Start of Week 11 - 3/11/2008

2 weeks left in the challenge, and I weighed in at 153.2 lbs today @ 15.6% body fat. Not quite the results I was looking for, but I'll take what I can get. I'll update the pictures later on tonight or tomorrow.

3/25/2008 will be the end of the challenge, so just a few weeks left to knock this thing out of the park!!

Start of Week 10 - 75% Complete!

Start of week 10 results:

Current weight: 153.8 w/ 15.8% body fat.
Start: 172.0 w/ 20.5% body fat.

Last week I was in San Diego for work, and as I posted earlier, I kept the temptation to cheat at bay. I didn't touch an ounce of liquor and ate as best as I could while staying in a hotel room. I also didn't miss a workout.

Let's bring on the last 3 full weeks in the race!!