OcUK Health Seekers: Post your progress pics

Here's what eating good food does to you

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Not even 4 weeks later...:(

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Goodnight sweet abs
 
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Well the pictures aren't the most flattering in the world but even so I've put a lot of weight on. I had it quickly measured end of last week and it was just under 13% :(

I'm a serious endomorph though, I just put fat on far too easily :(
 
IceBus said:
No problem - always cool when other folks notice a difference.

This was my problem the last time I tried to bulk, I was chugging back oat shakes etc. and obviously got it totally wrong and put on more flab than muscle. This time I'm going about it in a way more controlled fashion and seem to be gaining about 0.5kg every 3-4 weeks which I know is slower than other ways of doing things but I know it's not fat I'm putting on. Cardio I'm only doing 3x a week sub 1hr but in this heat I feel like I'm sweating out my soul, so it may be more mental than having any real effect. I'm toying with the idea of a half marathon in September, so may need to reassess if I go for that and put gains on hold.

I'll be interested to see how things go when I up the protein in my diet. I'm also going to switch to hammer curls as I'm not seeing much change with bicep curls (whereas my triceps seem to grow for fun).
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What was your diet like to make sure you weren't putting on fat but lean muscle?

I can't get my diet right, I'm worried I'm not eating enough calories but I know I'm eating more than enough protein and fat. But at the same time I'm worried about putting on fat..I already have a little belly which I'm dying to get rid of but can't really diet while I'm trying to put on muscle.

So confused! :confused:
 
Haha yep!

I still go through posing once a week on a Sunday, just to try and practise being able to do the pose without thinking about it too much, so I can actually concentrate on actually smiling and looking human :p
 
sigma said:
Never thought I'd post a photograph but the 2 posters above have inspired me so I shall put one on, at least if I do, I now have to stick with the gym to give an update at some point in the future!
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See! I do have some uses in life! Good going matey, gives you something visable to work from...It's always a bit daunting posting on here, as naturally a lot of the forum users are maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaasive :p

Keep at it
 
Well you're looking ace so far mate =)

I'm following your suit with piling on some weight, hopefully not too much fat going on! Starting to get some fibre in thru veg and baked beans tho, for obvious reasons! :p
 
Delvis said:
In a month? Really? That's amazing (Juice?...Joking) :D

Really though, congratulations, amazing job. I'd happy along those lines some time soon to be honest
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I wasn't claiming it was a good change :p

I've gone back to being a soft watery person :p but it's nice looking and feeling bulky again as opposed to a skinny skeleton
 
Steedie said:
Well the pictures aren't the most flattering in the world but even so I've put a lot of weight on. I had it quickly measured end of last week and it was just under 13% :(

I'm a serious endomorph though, I just put fat on far too easily :(
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don't go chunky monkey on us again, i sympathise with you on the gaining fat easily part as you can see in my photos on the previous page
 
Haha :p

No don't worry, I won't! I imagine my weight might come down a bit, the first two weeks after my competition, mainly the first were filled with absolute carp and rubbish food, but I've now settled into a clean diet again so things should stabilise a bit now

Either way, if I get close to 90kg, alarm bells will ring and I'll have to reconsider things so don't worry :)
 
Ultra_Extreme said:
Hey guys, FF , delvis, ice etc glad to see everyone motoring on. The short version is i came down with what appears to be coeliac disease, questions still abound as its not officially diagnosed but i come within a country mile of gluten and i start feeling like a cancer patient with AIDS. Im serious anyone who thinks it'll just result in some diarrhea is misguided i genuinely thought i was dying.

Anyhow, with that in check im back in the iron game, about a year out of my peak im looking to shed the bodyfat and get my lifts back to where i was mid cycle. Most surprisingly i am still lifting more than i ever did before dabbling in the dark side, this answers a lot of the questions i had about long term pros/cons of artificial means.

For the forseeable im staying natural to see where i can get myself, its very possible that gluten issues may have held back my natural ability for my entire lifting career so will be interesting to see how the cleaner gluten free lifestyle helps me progress.

Kudos especially to Freefaller from what i have seen you have achieved more naturally than almost anyone i have come across, real inspiration to anyone.

Delvis - re last pics, seriously, EAT! Whatever you eat now you need to double it, whether its oats in shakes or piles of spuds with your chicken you must be at least 500-1000 cals a day short to still be so slim. Also throw any complex training plan you have out the window and start hitting the big compounds, hard, often and with volume. Forget accessory movements and fancy techniques. I have trained hard gainers and apart from diet the second biggest thing they do wrong is train too long with two many useless calorie burning exercises. Focus on big deadlifting big overhead pressing big rows and big bench/incline bench.
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Eek! Sounds nasty mate! :( Sorry you went through something so rough, but glad you're on the mend. Welcome back and look forward to seeing you back on here posting as you had been! :)

And thank you so much for your very very kind words. Means a lot. :)
 
Steedie said:
Haha :p

No don't worry, I won't! I imagine my weight might come down a bit, the first two weeks after my competition, mainly the first were filled with absolute carp and rubbish food, but I've now settled into a clean diet again so things should stabilise a bit now

Either way, if I get close to 90kg, alarm bells will ring and I'll have to reconsider things so don't worry :)
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how often are you going to update us with photos?
 
Delvis - you can see decent enough progress - and well done for being brave enough to post pics. :) You do just need to eat/train more - but I understand your gym predicament. :) Keep at it though.

Icebus - again well done for being brave enough to post it'll help as motivation, I promise. :) Lots of people here have plenty of expertise and advise and will help you. The same addage of eat lots train hard and sleep well works for you too!

Mrk - Looks like you're in a decent shape - injuries don't help, I think bedding yourself in slowly is a good way to go, and then start hitting the big compounds with a lot of intensity and volume will help get you up to your target.

Sigma - well done to you for being brave enough to post a pic too. It's not easy having people look at you and judge you - but you've taken your first step to improving yourself and we can now offer advice and see what may or may not be applicable.


It is hard getting the motivation sometimes, I know I went through a phase where I didn't touch a gym fro 3-4 months. Just didn't want to do it. I was stressed, depressed, and bored of it. I then realised that I just needed a new target - so I set about getting lean and staying strong.

It's SO important to have a goal, but also accept that it's going to take TIME to get to that goal. Be patient. Train hard but train smart.

It's not just about doing big heavy weights all the time. It's about intensity as well, and recovery. Most importantly eating well. It's very easy to over/under estimate what you eat - if you really want to get "into" this, you have to start logging and understanding what you're eating and how your body is coping.

I've spent years working out how my body responds, and I've tried lots of supps, and fiddled about with different types of diets and foods. I now pretty much have that balance sorted and I think I know how my body reacts/responds to what I give it.

The key is not to change too much at once - and to just concentrate on things for a few months at a time.

IT can get obsessive and whilst I'm not bothered about doing stage/aesthetics, I am interested in the diet/training side of things.

It's hard work. IT's frustrating, and it can get depressing. Just walk away and have a break when it gets to that stage - it's easier than killing yourelf over it.

Most of all, ENJOY yourselves! And, ask for advice, but don't take shortcuts.
 
Couldn't agree more with what Freefaller said :)

Except what he said about not being bothered about the stage. I'll wear him down eventually

Plus he didn't give me advices on my pics, but I'll let him off as he's probably furiously fapping over them ;):p
 
Freefaller said:
Icebus - again well done for being brave enough to post it'll help as motivation, I promise. :) Lots of people here have plenty of expertise and advise and will help you. The same addage of eat lots train hard and sleep well works for you too!

It's SO important to have a goal, but also accept that it's going to take TIME to get to that goal. Be patient. Train hard but train smart.

It's not just about doing big heavy weights all the time. It's about intensity as well, and recovery. Most importantly eating well. It's very easy to over/under estimate what you eat - if you really want to get "into" this, you have to start logging and understanding what you're eating and how your body is coping.

I've spent years working out how my body responds, and I've tried lots of supps, and fiddled about with different types of diets and foods. I now pretty much have that balance sorted and I think I know how my body reacts/responds to what I give it.

The key is not to change too much at once - and to just concentrate on things for a few months at a time.
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Thanks for the warm welcome FF :) I think you're spot on about needing a goal, and for me it's pretty simple - get up to a good level of CV fitness and add some size across the board if I can.

I think I know that I don't want training to become my life, and while I really admire the guys in here with the dedication and love of pushing themselves to improve size and strength I'd rather keep it as focusing on eating healthy, staying fit an and feeling good.

I think I've always been a sports rather than training guy, and I love that training helps me hit the ball further and last longer on the pitch, but it's that part of it I love most.
 
For those who struggle with day to day diet, i have one strong, simple, suggestion. A little App (android/iphone/PC) called "Diet & Food Tracker - by Spark People". Its free for the basic version which does a very important thing, it allows you to input everything you eat or drink and monitor your total intake, you cant lie you cant cheat.

Ive been in this game years and always struggled with bodyfat, ive gone through periods of recording diet etc but, to be frank, its all too hard! This simple tool takes out all the stress (it uses the internet for food and nutrient values, plus you can enter your own custom fave meals). I was immediately struck by how lax both my portion control and calorie control was. the second day after carbing up for a training session, thinking i had been perfect, i was left with too few calories for a good post workout meal, totally shocked myself.

Since taking strict notes ive been consistantly losing 2-4lbs weekly and seem to be maintaining mass well. Im 226lbs now will be lean enough around 210. So in theory 8 weeks to go.

Downside to the app is although it records weight training sessions by very specific exercise vs reps, it records no calorie loss for these. Yet it offers record of calorie loss playing darts or the Wii for example. Fortunately i do 120 mins of squash a week which is equal to around 3000kcal, much more than the 600kcal it asks me to burn weekly to hit my goal.

Try it, it might just change your life!

My pics are going up in 10 weeks and im on a mission to impress. The game is on.
 
Freefaller said:
Delvis - you can see decent enough progress - and well done for being brave enough to post pics. :) You do just need to eat/train more - but I understand your gym predicament. :) Keep at it though.
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Thanks man, I do indeed however need to eat more....Problem is I need cheap and good food, not just random shoddy food I come by! :(...So any pointers on that will be good.

Good to know i've changed a bit...Even though I haven't done much training, but as I said things should get better quicker now, I've started using the gym at work as I said I would which is a step in the right direction, and so far I have it by myself!!!! ;)

I do have a squat video I could post up for critique?

Ultra_Extreme said:
For those who struggle with day to day diet, i have one strong, simple, suggestion. A little App (android/iphone/PC) called "Diet & Food Tracker - by Spark People". Its free for the basic version which does a very important thing, it allows you to input everything you eat or drink and monitor your total intake, you cant lie you cant cheat.

Ive been in this game years and always struggled with bodyfat, ive gone through periods of recording diet etc but, to be frank, its all too hard! This simple tool takes out all the stress (it uses the internet for food and nutrient values, plus you can enter your own custom fave meals). I was immediately struck by how lax both my portion control and calorie control was. the second day after carbing up for a training session, thinking i had been perfect, i was left with too few calories for a good post workout meal, totally shocked myself.

Since taking strict notes ive been consistantly losing 2-4lbs weekly and seem to be maintaining mass well. Im 226lbs now will be lean enough around 210. So in theory 8 weeks to go.

Downside to the app is although it records weight training sessions by very specific exercise vs reps, it records no calorie loss for these. Yet it offers record of calorie loss playing darts or the Wii for example. Fortunately i do 120 mins of squash a week which is equal to around 3000kcal, much more than the 600kcal it asks me to burn weekly to hit my goal.

Try it, it might just change your life!

My pics are going up in 10 weeks and im on a mission to impress. The game is on.
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Will look at the app, thank you :)

And can't wait too see the updates ;) From what I remember you where of decent size as it is buddy!
 
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