84 Days now complete! Wooohhoo!! To start off Labour Day, I finished my last 20 min workout and then polished off 2 beers today to celebrate (10 less than I said I would drink, but that's ok). Since I had to work overtime today, I had to keep sober and didn't exactly want to feel like an alcoholic and drink 12 beers alone(pretty awkward). I'll have no problem knockin'em back next weekend though. Plus, I feel I kinda celebrated a little early from yesterday's tasty rib fest. So I think I celebrated enough. =)
Day 1 - Ground Zero / Start of Journey
Day 84 - Journey Complete
"Little Riddick"
Celebrated with a Steam Whistle and a Rickard's White - Damn good beer!
Final RTP Results : All months shown below
Looking Back
So looking at the past week, I have "gained 1 pound". This is good though and I'm happy to see this happening. Since my waist decreased again to a solid 32, this means I'm still losing weight in fat, but increasing weight in muscle (note : in women it's different - hip, wrist & forearm is taken in account to find out the fat body percentage).
To date, I have lost a total of 25 lbs. If I however did reach my initial goal to lose 40 lbs, I would have lost approximately 10lbs of muscle. So in perspective, it's a good thing and at the time of making my goal, I didn't' know enough about fat percentage, lean mass and etc..etc...
I just knew that I wanted to lose weight fast, and to look lean... "I believe" that's what I achieved and it was "change that I can believe in" that brought me to this point. If you take a look at the before and after pictures - it's like night and day. I still can't get over it and still feels somewhat surreal. But this did not come easy. As you can tell from my daily updates, I worked my a$$ off everyday and thought about succeeding everyday. Especially the last month, which was a killer!
I did not miss not one workout day and there was not one day that was left unreported. If you take a look in perspective at my journey, nothing came easy and had many challenges (speedbumps) that came in my way. But anytime there would be a problem, I dealt with it quickly and ensured there was no room for any excuses; only results. If there was a problem with my workout time, I would reorganize ahead of time or split it up.
I made a best effort with my meals/calories and created tools to further assist me. As for sleep, I did quite poor. I tried many times to keep consistent with the guidelines, but there were days that were not under my control, so therefore just made a "best effort".
As for "reward meals", I pretty much ate anything I wanted and would reserve my reward meal for either Friday's or Saturday's since I would either go out with my buds or go out for dinner with the wifey. During my reward meals, I remember drinking a full 6 pack of beer, eating KFC, 12 oz steak's, burgers, fried foods, desserts, candies and etc.(not all in 1 day of course :-) ) I can afford to eat these things as I am having them in "moderation". Too much of anything is not good. (I'm sure you have heard that saying before, right?).
All throughout the week, I would stick to the program. That 1 meal (out of many meals during the week - approx 35 healthy meals / week), is to eat/drink whatever. I mean, I deserved it, right? As for the foods during the week, I kept within spec, but did have some help with the tv dinner/lunches from PC Brand (Blue label), Weight Watchers and Lean Cuisine that you can find at your local grocery store. The nutritional facts on the back for each of these all keep within the guidelines (e.g sodium is good, calories are just about right, fat was low and hardly any sugar). They all taste -ok-, but for the price you can't go wrong for $2 or 3$ each - pretty cheap IMO.
So was I really on a "diet"? Not really. I didn't eat anything I did not like - such as cottage cheese which I tried and spat it out from the time it entered my mouth. I just changed the way I have been eating. Instead of eating outside at restaurants 3 to 4 times a week, I now go once or twice. I now eat more fresher foods (more fruits and veggies) instead of a breakfast sandwich at McDonalds (as an example) and a hot dog from the local vender.
In perspective, I now have saved tons of cash from eating out and have fully adapted to a healthier lifestyle and to live by these new habits. I cannot see myself ever going back to ground zero. Those days are over and I didn't bust my a$$ for nothing! =)
RTP Transformation System Review / Breakdown
As promised to my followers of my journey, I said I would provide a review of the workout/nutritional plan that I was on. I hope I provide enough information for you(I know it's long), in case you were interested in taking the same weight loss path that I did. So here goes.....
The 7 Modules
Upon purchase of the RTP System, you will receive access to download 7 modules(guides) all explained below :
The first 4 modules are broken up into 4 sections : Mindset Secrets, Motivational Tactics, Mission Control and Daily Accountability. All 4 modules are quite interactive and gets you really motivated using references from Anthony Robbins (well known motivational speaker) and a few personal experiences by the author(Adam Waters). There are written exercises within the modules that I encourage you not to dismiss. I believe that the 1st few modules was "the trigger" that got me to change my previous habits and it was that defining moment when I realized that change was needed and failure was not an option.
Note: None of these modules are long at all. 40 to 50 pages long[has lots of pictures :) ] and each module can be read within an hour or so. (same length of time as a regular workout).
The 5th module explains the nutritional habits of what to eat and when to eat. It's not specific on foods, but is specific on food groups. You will need to adapt these methods/habits into your lifestyle to succeed and is broken down in very simple terms so even a 10 year old can understand it.
The 6th module explains how your workouts will be planned and provides many, many tips on what to do and what to avoid.
Finally, the 7th module(The 84 Day RTP Workout System) is the "big kahuna" that lays out each workout of what to do for the upcoming 84 days. I encourage you to read modules 5 and 6 twice though. There was a lot I missed from the 1st read, because of the overflow of information, so I encourage you to read these 2 modules twice before starting.
So, the system is laid out like this : 6 workouts total per week (4 days weight training & 2 days cardio), 1 rest day, and 1 reward meal per week. The last month is cardio everyday except on your rest day of course. Each day is a different workout, but will repeat for 4 weeks. After 4 weeks, the workout plan changes entirely with a set of new exercises and workout plan. As you probably guessed it, this method avoids plateauing.
In perspective, the 3 months (12 weeks) are broken into 3 phases :
Month 1. Lactic Acid based workouts - These high intensity exercises are designed to encourage an increase in natural growth hormone, which also burns fat.
Month 2. Strength Building - Exercises focus on muscle building with the goal of developing a lean, muscular physique.
Month 3. Circuit Training - In this cycle, you will be doing rapid sets of exercises to encourage fat loss and muscle endurance.
As an example, see below for a Tuesday workout in the 3rd month. If you are unsure of how to do the below exercises, you can check on Youtube or use the RTP private forum(Shreddersphere 2.0) for guides and examples.
Dumbell Bench Press(Chest) - 20 to 25 reps
Dumbell Dead-Lift(Hamstrings) - 20 to 25 reps
Dumbell Front Raise(Shoulders) - 20 to 25 reps
Dumbell Alternating Curls (Biceps) - 20 to 25 reps
Cardio for 5 min.(Elliptical, treadmill, etc)
Then repeat the above 3 times
Then work the Abdominal area(Abs) :
Swiss Ball Crunch
Swiss Ball Leg Lift
Swiss Ball Side Crunch
Repeat this 3 times - 15 reps.
As as I stated before, each workout is different and the above example is just the "tip of the iceberg". There is a lot more to the workouts and I can now can tell that there is a 'science' to how all of this works. The way that this system was created was brilliant and at 1st glance was hard to believe that it would work. Once I took that leap of faith that it will work, the rest became history.
Please Note : The program/system is first explained as a 90 day program, enabling you to use your first 6 days to read a module each day. So don't just skip to the module 7 and start. Read the 1st 6 modules - trust me on this. Your brain needs the exercise before your body. Without your brain providing the "will" to succeed, your body will do nothing.
Access to the Private Online Forum -Shreddersphere 2.0
Upon your purchase, you will be given a code in your email that will allow you access to a private online forum called "Shreddersphere 2.0". This is an online community of users who have also purchased the RTP System and all share the same common goal: lose weight & get ripped(again, men, women, old and young). Here you can ask questions to Adam Waters(author) directly or to the community. This is also a great place to create a daily journal(which I encourage you to do) that would only be seen by logged on users and not from the outside world. This way you can create a blog that is within the community and avoid outside criticisms if you don't feel comfortable in posting a blog in the "internet world" where everyone can see you.
Posting your daily journal in here is a great benefit as you have other users cheering you on for encouragement, and at the same time you get a chance to see how other people(men, women, old and young) have done thus far and can learn from their successes and minor speed bumps(some have surpassed day 84 and on their 2nd mission like myself) .
There are also many nutritional tools (such as excel calorie spreadsheets, meal planners, calorie calculators and etc.) that I personally found very useful as it saved me a lot of time and kept me very organized. And last but not least there are many picture examples of how to do the exercises, but in my opinion, just use Youtube - it's so much easier(especially if you have an ipod and want to download the exercise via YouTube).
Final Verdict for the RTP Transformation System :
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED - The before and after picture results speak for itself. Special Thanks to the Author of the RTP System, Adam Waters (shown in the pic below).
** UPDATE ** : RTP System (No Longer Available) ... Similiar Program is Tom Venuto's "Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle" - Highly Recomended.
What lifestyle changes have I adapted in past 3 months?
- I don't need a car or a streetcar to get to destinations that are 15 to 20 min away. (if it's nice out and not a blizzard). Therefore I save gas, I get more cardio , less pollution to the environment and supporting green habits.
- I should not be eating high calorie foods everyday, but eat them in moderation.
- I have changed my alcohol intake from having a 12 pack on the weekend and a bottle of vodka a week to 3 beers on average a week.
- Sleep is a huge factor to healthier living and feel a lot better in the mornings now that I get more sleep.
- I have dismissed the whole Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner routine and have replaced those names with meal 1, meal 2, meal 3 and etc...
- Looking at the weight scale should be encouraged to check on status, not feared and ignored. =)
- Drinking water is essential to my daily habits and have incorporated this habit quite easily by replacing "Diet Coke" and sweet drinks for water and Crystal Lite.
- I now know that going to the gym should be a daily/weekly habit and not only go when it's 'convenient'.
- If I knew that sex would increase by 250%, I would have done this years ago! =)
- And last, but not least, "Anything I put my mind to, I can do it."
Looking forward : Where do I go from here? (New Goal?)
So where do I want to go from here? With sex at all time high( over 250%), wifey has advised me that she's quite happy with the transformation and would prefer me to just sustain my current body weight. I say the hell with that! That's like me saying, "No hon, don't get those free breast implants, you are perfect the way you are" (I mean, she is perfect, but still who wouldn't mind an extra handful, right?) =)
With seeing that I can achieve my current body in just 3 months, I'm pretty positive that I"ll be able to get a six pack - I mean, Vin Diesel/Riddick has them right? So, the journey continues and will mark this 84th day as a milestone, but not a completion of my journey. In order for me to achieve abs, I believe I would have to reach at least 9% fat. I'm currently at 14%. If I can increase my weight by 2 "more" pounds and decrease my waist size by 2 more inches, I would be more than happy. =) To ensure I don't lose my momentum, my goal start date is Wednesday, September 9th, 2009. (2 days from now). Goal finish date is October 9th, 2009. Again, I "believe" that this is change I can believe in and will succeed once again in one months time. So in 1 month I "will" have abs, but my question to you is - where will you be in 3 months ?
"If you want change - don't wait, just start. "
Final RTP Challenge Status for the Day
