12-week Self Transformation

The reason behind this transformation was an epiphany. One day I looked in the mirror and had a sudden realization – I was not in the best shape I had imagined or wanted to be in. Don’t get me wrong, I still considered myself to be in decent shape as I have been consistently going to the gym four to six times a week for the last 10 or so years. The issue, in retrospect, was that I was not getting the results I wanted; something needed to change. 

For all the time spent working out and trying to eat right, I still carried a visible amount of fat that made me look ‘fluffy”. I felt as if my physique was not the result of all the work put in. My body fat was around 16% – still considered fit in men*– but I felt I could and I should be leaner than that.

*Source: HealthStatus

I decided that I would embark on a 12 week program and transform my body to the state I had imagined and do things a little different. I understood it would be no easy feat but I was committed and eager to make it happen. 

Below I will discuss the three most important aspects of my transformation that proved to be successful in my journey.

1) Diet

It’s no secret to anyone that if you want to lose weight, gain weight, or maintain your weight, you need to work on your diet. Your diet is what fuels your body and dictates the way it looks. As cliché as it is, you ARE what you eat. For me, what I was eating was not the problem as I was trying to eat clean all or most of the time. The problem was that I was maintaining – eating a certain amount of food (in my case the same amount) to maintain my weight. 

I need to enter a caloric deficit, which is a shortage in the amount of calories consumed relative to the amount of calories required for the maintenance of my current body weight. Part of the transformation was to reduce carbohydrates drastically, reduce fat and added sugars, and increase protein intake. This was all possible by following a strict meal plan.

The meal plan was structured in way that it contained pre-calculated macros to be able to shed some fat and build muscle. It consisted of five meals per day – split as breakfast, lunch (x2), snack, dinner. At the onset, the target macros were as follows:

Target Macros:
Protein: 167g-177g
Carbs: 207g-213g
Fats: 48g-57g

By following this meal plan religiously, my body started to adapt to the change in nutrition and by the third week I started seeing some significant progress. 

Starting weigh-in: 165 lbs

Week 3 weigh-in: 157.4 lbs

Week 1 vs Week 3

By the sixth week, the fat kept coming off and I was noticing more definition and leanness in my mid section, back, and legs.

Week 6 weigh-in: 150.4 lbs

Week 1 vs Week 6

As the weeks went on, I started to reduce my carbohydrates intake even further by about 5-10g per meal to enhance the caloric deficit. In essence, my body was using the stored fat and turning it into energy. By the ninth week, I had shed 17lbs of body weight.

Week 9 weigh-in: 148.6 lbs

Week 1 vs Week 9

The final twelveth week was when I was at my best shape and the leanest I have ever been. My body fat was at around 11% having gotten rid of most of the fat around my waist section.

Week 12 weigh-in: 150 lbs

Week 1 vs Week 12

Week 1 vs Week 12

2) Workout routine

As with my diet, I was sticking to a regimented workout to get the best out of my body. I had a 5 day split targeting different muscle groups per day, and finishing up every single workout with abs training and cardio, no exceptions. The cardio in particular was key in helping me burn calories, which in turn helped me shed off weight. To put things in perspective, I was doing 20 minutes of post workout cardio on training days and 60 mins of cardio on off days.

My workout routine was set up as follows:
Day 1 – Chest and Triceps
Day 2 – Legs
Day 3 – Back and Biceps
Day 4 – shoulders, traps and calves
Day 5 – Maintenance
Day 6 – Off (cardio)
Day 7 – Off (cardio)

One other key aspect that I found crucial was the inclusion of drop sets. Drops sets is a bodybuilding technique (also referred to as multi-poundage system or running the rack) where you complete a set and then drop the weight and continue to do as many repetitions until failure. The intent is to increase the fatigue of the muscle fibers and also increase your training volume and metabolic stress – both of which help generate muscle growth.

3) Consistency

The last pivotal factor was consistency. Consistency in the workouts, consistency with the diet, and consistency with the effort day in and day out. As it is with any other aspect of your life, consistency is imperative to achieve results. You have to develop a plan and stick to that plan if you are going to be successful.