4 month body transformation

MarcosBarcala

Hi all, I am Marcos, from Spain (I live in Frankfurt, Germany).

This is my first post here. 4 months ago I started this journey. I started to log EVERYTHING I eat here. I started to exercise. I am a 173cm tall, 34 year old (35 on July 9th) male who had been too lazy and soft for too long.

On the 17th of December, 2023, I was at 89 kg, 30% body fat and only 45% muscle rate. On the 18th of July I started to log everything. I also got some fitness programm and started to train hard. I started to induce a caloric deficit and aimed at 2gr of protein per kg of body mass. I failed one and a million times. I started to treat calories as an imaginary currency, of which I had an allowance of normally 2000 per day (give or take). I started to play the game. I started to add some stuff in my workouts. I started to lose fat relatively fast. I kept adding more reps and sets. I started to go for a run once per week, then twice per week...

This morning I weighted 74.3, at 18.4% body fat, 77.6% muscle rate. For the first time in months my BMI is below 25. I feel great. I feel humbled and greatful. I think I needed to have a taste of how it feels to be overweight (been like that for about 3 years) and really believe that was my normal me, to then change the tides. The process has not been easy, but it certainly has been SIMPLE and FUN. Let me stress my only focus points:

-I dropped alcohol cause it adds too many calories too fast.
-I reduced sugar to historical minimums, but still I had a chocolate bar or an ice cream scoop now and then (not at all often)
-2gr of protein per kg
-caloric deficit of 300 to 500 cal. Ocassionally, there was days where I hit 1.5x to 2x what I was supposed to eat, but these were exceptions which were part of the game
-exercise with CONSISTENCY
-MOST IMPORTANT! I have enjoyed every single meal, there has not been one time where I ate something I do not like, and I have had about 20 to 30 pizzas in these 4 months. No joke, one week I had pizza for dinner 4 times. But overall I have stuck most days to my caloric deficit and protein intake

THE RESULT:

This is not the end product. The grind continues. My ultimate target is a long, healthy live. My body will change, my diet will change, my exercise routine will change. I will get injured. I will get sick. Eventually I will die. But one thing is for certain. I will never let myself down, ever again, I swear.

Apologies for the poor lighting and edition.

Darlene_Oregon

Lookin' good!

springlering62

MarcosBarcala wrote: »

Hi all, I am Marcos, from Spain (I live in Frankfurt, Germany).

This is my first post here. 4 months ago I started this journey. I started to log EVERYTHING I eat here. I started to exercise. I am a 173cm tall, 34 year old (35 on July 9th) male who had been too lazy and soft for too long.

On the 17th of December, 2023, I was at 89 kg, 30% body fat and only 45% muscle rate. On the 18th of July I started to log everything. I also got some fitness programm and started to train hard. I started to induce a caloric deficit and aimed at 2gr of protein per kg of body mass. I failed one and a million times. I started to treat calories as an imaginary currency, of which I had an allowance of normally 2000 per day (give or take). I started to play the game. I started to add some stuff in my workouts. I started to lose fat relatively fast. I kept adding more reps and sets. I started to go for a run once per week, then twice per week...

This morning I weighted 74.3, at 18.4% body fat, 77.6% muscle rate. For the first time in months my BMI is below 25. I feel great. I feel humbled and greatful. I think I needed to have a taste of how it feels to be overweight (been like that for about 3 years) and really believe that was my normal me, to then change the tides. The process has not been easy, but it certainly has been SIMPLE and FUN. Let me stress my only focus points:

-I dropped alcohol cause it adds too many calories too fast.
-I reduced sugar to historical minimums, but still I had a chocolate bar or an ice cream scoop now and then (not at all often)
-2gr of protein per kg
-caloric deficit of 300 to 500 cal. Ocassionally, there was days where I hit 1.5x to 2x what I was supposed to eat, but these were exceptions which were part of the game
-exercise with CONSISTENCY
-MOST IMPORTANT! I have enjoyed every single meal, there has not been one time where I ate something I do not like, and I have had about 20 to 30 pizzas in these 4 months. No joke, one week I had pizza for dinner 4 times. But overall I have stuck most days to my caloric deficit and protein intake

THE RESULT:

This is not the end product. The grind continues. My ultimate target is a long, healthy live. My body will change, my diet will change, my exercise routine will change. I will get injured. I will get sick. Eventually I will die. But one thing is for certain. I will never let myself down, ever again, I swear.

Apologies for the poor lighting and edition.

What a great story of how you reached your goal! I love that you thought of your calorie goals like a money budget and then made it into a game. That’s what I did, too. If you make it an interesting challenge instead of a punishment you are forced to do, it makes it so much easier.

You’ve earned your success. Now make sure you stick to your budget so you don’t go back. Congrats!

driedgern

Awesome job!! You're looking awesome!

SherryRueter

love that you had pizza that often! Proves that you can eat whatever you want, its the caloric deficit that really matters.

EulalieOwona

This is inspiring, thank you for sharing

Hearts_2015

Fantastic & inspiring, congratulations on your transformation, feels great doesn't it!!
Enjoy it!

MarcosBarcala

Thank you all for your nice comments

AmyDahlTorres

You are likely reducing the risks of heart disease and metabolic syndrome. Well done! I wish I had paid better attention to my nutrition and health at an earlier age. Congratulations!

rtlenton

Fantastic. Sounds like you are on track for additional fat loss. Well done!

Sand_TIger

Great progress! I'll bet you are feeling a lot better.

JaimeLaRae

Wow! You look great. Kudos on a job well done!

Gymladmatt

Great progress 💪🏻

mkksemail

Great job, Marco !! I love the way you gamed it, and you look great ! Congratulations 🎉

p999mm

Awesome results Marco! The drop in Body Fat % is impressive, 30 - 18% in 4 months if I read correctly. Thats very impresseive, would you say that is more the result of lifting weights or diet? Any paticular weight lifting excersize that you do more than others? Curious as to what your goal is in regards to body fat %. Thank you for sharing, very motivational.

Liberianrita

super inspiring! thanks for sharing!

mohbahy26

bravoooo

ChrisS_51

Impressive muscle gain - you can see it in your arms. Well done :-)

elisa123gal

What great progress.. you look very good. The fact you still ate pizza a lot and kept it under control is a slam dunk. Sounds like you've made a lifestyle change.

Melwillbehealthy

You should be very proud of what you’ve done. I hope you have a happy, healthy life in your new, healthy physique. You’re smart to do it while young.

fuzzybug29

I love this because it's simple. You didn't do anything extreme but made a big change in just four months. I like your attitude towards it, its very sustainable the way you're doing it. I have similar goals and I'm in a similar place as you. I've lost a lot of what I need to and now I'm focused on muscle building. Even when keeping it simple it does take a lot of dedication. Good for you and I know you'll keep it going!