My story isn't all that amazing, but it does show that getting in shape can be done and done in a reasonable time frame. Many people rush it, many think it takes forever, but the truth is that all it takes is a couple of years worth of small steps every day. 
This is me 4 years ago on the left and me a month ago, taking I-st place at a local Men's Physique competition.
In all fairness I wasn't really particularly fat, but nonetheless, I ended up losing about 15kg over these couple of years. And even though I'm down 15kg, my muscularity has kept increasing to the point where I have gained, for example, several inches on my chest.
Here's another good shot:
So, was it a straight line from fat to fit? In truth, it was not.
At the "before" pictures I was about 100kg and pretty soft all around. Nice big love handles, man-boobs - the works. Eventually I got fed up and found an online community of bodybuilders and started learning big time. Learning how to diet, how to work out - everything I could find.
Eventually I figured out the key points: You have to set up the proper caloric intake for your goals - if you want to lose fat, you have to eat less than you need, so that the body will start burning internal fat stores. At the same time, you want to make sure you are getting enough protein to build and retain muscle mass, enough fats to keep your hormones firing at full power and also enough carbohydrates to keep your energy levels and mood up.
It took me a while to nail it, but eventually I got on the right track. Not too far into it I also found Intermittent Fasting and then everything just clicked into place. Hunger became less of an issue and I found I was way more energetic and focused in the mornings. That helped me to learn even more and get better at what I was doing.
Still, I had my ups and downs.
During my first year I struggled down to 95kg and then ballooned up to 104kg again, though it was somewhat of a conscious effort. I wanted to get more muscle mass - which I did, I suppose. Though I also got pretty fat in the process.
After that came a much longer stint of leaning out. It was a struggle. While IF helped a ton, I hadn't quite set up my food choices and overall nutrition perfectly. So I was somewhat running on a half a tank of gas and wasn't particularly happy. I did manage to reach down to about 93kg.
After that, I slowly gained weight again, trying again to add more muscle. I probably got up to around 98kg. Bigger, but obviously fattier as-well.
Then I tried to diet down again, but didn't probably get under 95kg. My body had found a comfortable spot at around 95-98kg and didn't want to budge.
So that's how it was for a while. Up and down, small improvements every month, a slow grind.
But this year, I finally figured I had to make a push. I weighed about 98kg in October 2013 and decided I need to get lean, it's time. So I got to it. I tinkered with my diet details and work-outs till I found a system that really suited me and then I just grinded like crazy, every day. No falterings.
In February I was around 93kg. In March - 91kg. In April - 89kg. And finally, this May I reached the lowest point - about 86.5kg. Pretty much stage lean for a physique show.
The tanning lines from contest tan products make me look a bit weird, but it's just part of the sport.
Right Now I'm back to about 90kg, because I did kinda push myself too far into the hole and I started to feel weak and moody. Now I'm just trying to regenerate, enjoy the upcoming summer and then hopefully start leaning out again.
So, keep the dream alive guys. Take small steps every day and one day you'll look in the mirror and be like "DAMN! I look good!".
This is me 4 years ago on the left and me a month ago, taking I-st place at a local Men's Physique competition.
In all fairness I wasn't really particularly fat, but nonetheless, I ended up losing about 15kg over these couple of years. And even though I'm down 15kg, my muscularity has kept increasing to the point where I have gained, for example, several inches on my chest.
Here's another good shot:
So, was it a straight line from fat to fit? In truth, it was not.
At the "before" pictures I was about 100kg and pretty soft all around. Nice big love handles, man-boobs - the works. Eventually I got fed up and found an online community of bodybuilders and started learning big time. Learning how to diet, how to work out - everything I could find.
Eventually I figured out the key points: You have to set up the proper caloric intake for your goals - if you want to lose fat, you have to eat less than you need, so that the body will start burning internal fat stores. At the same time, you want to make sure you are getting enough protein to build and retain muscle mass, enough fats to keep your hormones firing at full power and also enough carbohydrates to keep your energy levels and mood up.
It took me a while to nail it, but eventually I got on the right track. Not too far into it I also found Intermittent Fasting and then everything just clicked into place. Hunger became less of an issue and I found I was way more energetic and focused in the mornings. That helped me to learn even more and get better at what I was doing.
Still, I had my ups and downs.
During my first year I struggled down to 95kg and then ballooned up to 104kg again, though it was somewhat of a conscious effort. I wanted to get more muscle mass - which I did, I suppose. Though I also got pretty fat in the process.
After that came a much longer stint of leaning out. It was a struggle. While IF helped a ton, I hadn't quite set up my food choices and overall nutrition perfectly. So I was somewhat running on a half a tank of gas and wasn't particularly happy. I did manage to reach down to about 93kg.
After that, I slowly gained weight again, trying again to add more muscle. I probably got up to around 98kg. Bigger, but obviously fattier as-well.
Then I tried to diet down again, but didn't probably get under 95kg. My body had found a comfortable spot at around 95-98kg and didn't want to budge.
So that's how it was for a while. Up and down, small improvements every month, a slow grind.
But this year, I finally figured I had to make a push. I weighed about 98kg in October 2013 and decided I need to get lean, it's time. So I got to it. I tinkered with my diet details and work-outs till I found a system that really suited me and then I just grinded like crazy, every day. No falterings.
In February I was around 93kg. In March - 91kg. In April - 89kg. And finally, this May I reached the lowest point - about 86.5kg. Pretty much stage lean for a physique show.
The tanning lines from contest tan products make me look a bit weird, but it's just part of the sport.
Right Now I'm back to about 90kg, because I did kinda push myself too far into the hole and I started to feel weak and moody. Now I'm just trying to regenerate, enjoy the upcoming summer and then hopefully start leaning out again.
So, keep the dream alive guys. Take small steps every day and one day you'll look in the mirror and be like "DAMN! I look good!".
