18 months, finally adding pics, lots

Troublemonster

I started my journey at the end of February 2012. I am a police officer and as such I am also a use of force and firearms instructor. I had almost everything I wanted out of my career except SWAT. I decided I was standing in my own way and to stop doing so.

An officer in a neighboring town was shot on December 19 2011, that day I was home with my daughter and was glued to the news feeds all day long. I remember sitting and watching my friends and coworkers hunkered down behind the armored vehicle in an 8 hour SWAT operation and thinking to myself that I should be there. I felt I owed it to them, to myself, and to my community to be there with them and decided to get moving.

I started running and attempting various basic fitness movements to prepare for the PT test which was the first mountain to climb but my nutrition was the missing link. I thought I was doing okay but I didn't know because I wasn't tracking anything.

Then I got turned onto MFP and things really took off. I started at 254 pounds and currently am around 205 after being as low as 199. I have since qualified for SWAT and in the last year since then have further improved my PFT scores until I was the fastest cop on our 1.5 mile run with a 10:40, 2nd overall behind one of our medics who runs marathons. I went from assisted pull-ups to sets of 9 or 10, and discovered heavy lifting in the process. I am in love with fitness and could not be more excited about the new life style I have adopted. My wife has also bit the hook and is down below her pre-pregnancy weight @ 104 and is stronger than me by percentage of bodyweight on some of our lifts (Can't believe I admitted that but I am damn proud of her).

Prior to starting MFP:


8/3/12 @213 pounds:


7/1/13 @204 pounds:


This is my wife and I at that Officer's funeral as we got out of my squad at the cemetery I took a moment to hug her as we had both been crying in the car during the procession. It was on the front page of the Minneapolis Star Tribune website, and the paper I think:


Another favorite picture from the funeral procession, just a random local kid holding a flag on a hill top, saluting the procession as we left the church:

CoffeeLush

Wow! You look great. Thanks for sharing your story.

(And goodness, I might have to fan myself after looking at the towel photo!)

serendipity57

Wow! fantastic! although a very sad story, you should be very proud of yourself.

Rosplosion

I love the giant grin on your face in your cut pic. Fantastic work, officer!

Mustang_Susie

Nice job!

The picture of the kid with the flag is priceless

MyJourney1960

wow - excellent results! and thank you for doing what you do to make the world a safer place.:flowerforyou:

Creative_Sam

Well done - you look fantastic

afreelandgti

Great job man! How tall are you and can you talk about your daily workout and nutrition plan?

mockchoc

:smokin: smoking hot!

codapea

Umm, wow! You look about 19 now!!!

VBnotbitter

When they say police officers are looking younger every day I think they just mean you! Well done on reaching your career and fitness goals

dupaboo

It's amazing what the body can do when your mind is in the game. Congrats on your progress and success. Well done!

ncmedic201

Great transformation! Congrats on qualifying for SWAT.

SisterhoodoftheShrinkingPants

you look like a totally different person! a TOTAL transformation. TY for sharing, and if I didnt say so: YOU LOOK GREAT!!!!!!!!

DawnieB1977

You look great! My husband used to be a police officer so I know what a tough job you do, well done!

quietHiker

You look fantastic! and congrats to both you and your wife for achieving so much! You have a beautiful family!

mluxo91

Congratulations to both you and your wife! AND thank you for your service. =]

josavage

Well done! I love stories of people setting goals and doing everything to attain them. Very inspiring. And your wife sounds pretty impressive too!

Mia_RagazzaTosta

Stellar job! You two are hot!

mperrott2205

Congrats on your success - May I ask, how tall are you?

caly_man

great job bro, that is some serious difference even from 213 to 204 lbs

bspikes86

wow you look great!! what an awesome transformation. congrats

workaholic_nurse

Awesome job brother! Congrats on making SWAT!

Troublemonster

Thank you all for the kind words. I am pretty proud of how far I have come and want to keep it going as long as I can.

I am 6'3" since someone asked.

As far as my specific diet and workout stuff goes.
I ate a moderate deficit 4-600 cal/day for most of the time and kept my metabolism high. I was not afraid to hit a refeed day once in a while when I felt the need and the occasional cheat day was in there too but I usually didn't go nuts with those. I eat a lot of protein and try to keep fat under control.

My workout is lifting 4-5 days/wk with an upper-lower split based around the big compounds.
monday is Bench day and I work in the rest of the upper body there too
Tuesday is Squat day with two variations of squats and other leg work
Wed is rest day #1 with possible light cardio but that usually gets skipped
Thursday is OHP day with another full upper workout added in
Friday is Dead lift day with another big leg day added in for good measure

I rest on weekends. Many times I feel lazy having two rest days in a row so sometimes I skip the weights on Friday and do deads on Saturday then rest on Sunday.

I used to eat back all my exercise calories but since about the first of the year I don't even log my exercises. I was doing -25% on rest days and +10% on lifting days.

I am now eating a steady 200 cal surplus every day with the focus mainly on hitting my 1g protein/lb body weight target and keeping fat at .5g/lb or less.

Thanks all again, this was the first time I have sat down and looked at those pictures side by side and it really is a pretty good illustration for my head to keep it in perspective. Keep it up everyone, your goal is just a matter of keeping moving and seeing the long range goal.

crissyrox

Thank you not only for your story of inspiration but also for your dedication as an officer serving those around you. We need more people like you in this world willing to serve and protect others before themselves.

Banya7

Yours is a story of inspiration, thank you so much for sharing and congratulations to you and your wife for committing to a healthier lifestyle!

Yeller_Sensation

Wonderful story. Thank you for putting your life on the line every day. :flowerforyou:

mikeschratz

First and foremost, thank you for your service. I can't see pics, but your story is very inspirational.
Congrats.

Laac68

Wow! You look great. Thanks for sharing your story.

(And goodness, I might have to fan myself after looking at the towel photo!)

^^^ This.

fitfunk

Thank you for sharing. Those are some powerful photos. Tragic story. Congratulations to you on reaching your SWAT goal. Great transformation!

babyj0

Thanks for sharing! This was a great read. Sorry for your loss..
You look fantastic. Keep it up!