Alissa: Hello! I realize that we posted progress pictures only about a month and a half ago, but the progress we have seen in that time with carb cycling and the ketogenic diet have been so remarkable that we wanted to share new pics with you.
December 2010 - January 1st, 2012 - February 12th, 2012
At first I was concerned that this diet would be difficult to follow, or that it would cause all sorts of strange side effects. After doing it though for a month and a half I can happily say that I have not had a hard time at all. I actually really enjoy my low carb days.
I have tried a lot of things over the years to lose fat and this has by far been the most successful thing I have done. My original goal was to get to 138 pounds and 18% body fat. I am successfully at 138.8 pounds currently but still have about 2% body fat to lose to get to my goal. This will most likely put me around 136 pounds. I am very pleased with my results thus far and look forward to reaching a goal I wasn’t ever should I would!
Gabriel: And now for my pictures. . . Which are both depressing, and inspiring. The first photo is from when I was obsessed with long duration cardio / endurance training, so while I was very thin, my body fat was higher than I wanted. . . Around 8.5 – 9%. Before getting started in bodybuilding, I was down to a lean 7%, but had so little muscle mass that I looked silly.
And then we got to where we were in the last post, when I was part way through cutting the fat off so that I could see the muscle that I built. . . I was cutting the traditional way, with additional cardio and just eating less than my TDEE. I was seeing results, but not the way I wanted– I was losing a touch of muscle along the way, and the results were not that fast. Enter carb cycling, and now I have leaned out immensely. . .
December 2010 - January 1st, 2012 - February 12th, 2012
But now I can see where I’m lacking muscle the most. In my quest, I’ve gained 14 pounds of muscle, and I think only 1/2 a pound went to my chest, which is an area that I work constantly, have seen tremendous strength gains, but not the size gains to go with it. . . It makes no sense. Outside of that, I’m decently happy with the progress I’ve made– I’ve added 5 inches to my shoulders, an inch and a half to my arms, 2 inches to my thighs, and have seen plenty of progress elsewhere– I’m currently at 10.2% body fat, and once I get down to the 7% I’m looking for, I’m going to do another bulking cycle to get my chest up to speed– I may abandon my belief in full body workouts in favor of a day of mostly chest. . . We’ll see. It’s also worth noting that carb cycling is my friend– Since I’ve started carb cycling, I’ve lost 3.5 lbs. of fat while gaining one pound of muscle.
I’m also on my way toward my goal of a “Four plate Dead Lift.” (405 lbs.) Right now I’m rocking 350 lbs., and expect to add more soon.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FR2ScvrhCFI]