Posts Tagged ‘losing fat’

The point of this challenge was to get a toned body in 30 days. While 30 days will technically be up next Monday, two of the 4 days are rest days and so there will not likely be much of a change. I will continue on exercise for those two days and post a final picture. I will also give a review of the Truth About Abs program I have used to achieve my results. However, since today is the end of the fourth week with only two rest days and two workout days left, the results shouldn’t change much. So before I go into anymore about the last four weeks, here are the pictures.

In the last picture I have definitely put on more muscle mass and lost fat weight, but I am also slightly more tan which may be a little misleading. This wasn’t intentional, but something that happened since we had great weather earlier this week and I went snorkeling. Also, note that the number refers to the number of days exercised, and not the total number of days passed since day one.

Overall this project has been a lot of fun. It was by no means easy (especially in the first week), but the fact that I had declared publicly that I would do it made it easier to complete. So what are the results? Was I able to get toned in 30 days?

The Results

I pictures posted above a a good representation of my progress after 20 days, approximately 15-17 hours of exercise time. I increased the size of my muscles and also lost some body fat. While I wasn’t able to get to the level of the picture I posted on the first day, I did see increased tone in my abs and in my chest. I am also proud of the fact that I as able to make these changes without any expensive equipment.

What the pictures don’t show is the overall increase in my strength and energy. While the point of this challenge was to see if I could increase my body aesthetically, the real benefits were in my health. Building up my core muscles gave me much better balance and took away most of the pain I had from previous injuries. The increased physical exercise also helped me sleep better.

It is possible to greatly improve your physical condition in 30 days without spending too much time exercising or changing your diet. Doing the right exercises, in the right way really helped me get in better shape. If you want to go for that really cut figure, then you you will probably need to do some intensive exercises in addition to the right diet.

Better Results

Since I made no changes to my diet and limited the amount of time I could train, I am happy with my results. However, I think I could have had even better results had I followed the diet, fat burning tips, and some of the additional exercises in The Truth About Abs program. The program is very comprehensive covering the exercises, the amount reps, and the diet. I think I would have seen more improvement had I followed them better.

As I mentioned I didn’t change my diet at all. While it wasn’t unhealthy,  skipping the sweets and  ice cream probably would have helped. It would have also helped to eat foods to support muscle growth. All this information was in the program. I just couldn’t use it because of the guidelines I had set for the challenge.

What Now?

I will still complete the last two days next week and post pictures once the full 30 days is up. Once the thirty days is over, I am planning to follow the program more closely as well as use the diet. Though this won’t be a main focus for the blog anymore, I will still occasionally post my progress.

I have been training for a full week now. It has been interesting to see how I feel each day in regards to my progress as my emotions seem to change.The first two days I felt I was making good progress as I was quite sore. By the third day and forth day I didn’t feel very sore, but my muscles were tired and the amount I could work out tended to decline a little. I also started to have doubts about the progress I was making. Since the 5th day was the last of the week, I decided to push myself a little more and extend my time to about 45 minutes.

Overall, I feel much stronger after exercising for just a week. I can notice this not just in my workout routine, but in my everyday life as well. My balance has dramatically improved. This may not seem like a big thing, but it is the difference between bending your legs to pick up something vs bending your back. My shoulder pain from a past injury has also subsided.

Having a good workout each day has also helped me sleep better. Both sleep more sound and get to bed earlier. I tend to be a bit of a night person so this is a great benefit.

The one thing I haven’t noticed too much is in the shape or tone of my body. My shoulders have pulled back a little, but other than that I can’t really notice much. After only five days for training this is to be expected, but disappointing none the less. The pictures below are a before and after shot of the first week. The first I took the day I started, the second I took today after I finished.

Looking at these pictures, which completely embarrasses me, the first one almost looks better. I think that is probably due to the lighting. Now I wasn’t in horrible shape when I first started this project. After a month of relaxing in the states, I started exercising as soon as a got back for about a week and a half. The one slight difference I do notice between the photos is the posture. It’s not much, but it’s a sign I am headed in the wrong direction.

I don’t think I will have too much of a problem gaining muscle with the program I am using. Even in the short workouts I am doing I can feel it working. The hard part will be to lose the extra body fat allowing the muscles to show. As I put on more muscle, this should happen naturally as my body uses more energy. As long as my calories don’t change then I should start to lose body fat. Since I said I wouldn’t change my diet (I have been eating three full meals a day) then I should be okay. However, I have noticed that I tend to feel more hungry as my demand for energy is increasing. I have however, come up with a way to battle this.

A lot of the time people choose to eat, it’s because they are bored and not really hungry. We also use being hungry as an excuse to get out of doing something. It’s a way to get out of your work, writing your paper,  or doing your house chores. So instead of eating when I feel hungry, I will exercise. It doesn’t have to be much. Just a few sit-ups, pull-ups, or push-ups will be enough. The idea is that I will be burning calories instead of consuming them, while at the same time training my mind to avoid “faking” hungry.

I have a few days off to let my body rest so I will be putting that idea to work next week. I would love to hear any comments on what you have thought of this project so far and if there is anything else you might like me to include.

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You can also find the previous days here

• Getting Fit in 30 Days: Day 1
• Getting Fit in 30 Days: Day 2
• Getting Fit in 30 Days: Day 3
• Getting Fit in 30 Days: Day 4