What a difference a month can make... (with pics)

CaptainMFP

"I know every mile will be worth my while"
-- Roger Bart, "Go the Distance"

It's interesting how often I see posts in here of people who swear they see no difference in their appearance in spite of losing a lot of weight (and their pictures always show a huge difference). On the other hand there are the posts from people for whom the scale hasn't moved much (but major signs of success are there if they would just look at something other than the scale).

It's hard for me to pin down a goal weight because my real goal is to get to between 17% and 20% body fat. I love to see the scale move downward, but I dig on the other changes. So to help out any MFP folks who are frustrated by the changes they do or don't see, I did an experiment. I took pictures of myself -- a rarity in a house with much cuter 4 and 2 year olds to shoot -- on July 28 and again on Friday. That represents essentially 1 month of work that was dominated by a cardio and strength training program to prepare for my first 5K. I ran it today on a trail system near Lake Tahoe. It was like running on a roller coaster with all the ups and downs, but this former fat man did it in 30:17 and finished 17 out of 33 runners. Here are the pictures.




Sure the gut is still there, but if you look closely, you will see abs -- real abs -- starting to show. You'll see better upper arm definition. You'll see collar bones and better neck definition. You'll see less flab on the sides. And yes, you can see the Spongebob pajama pants. (And can you blame me for smirking just a little?)

I know it can be hard to see your own progress; we are our own worst critics. But if you are committed, the changes and the NSVs and the scale movement will come. IT WILL. You just have to give yourself a chance to see it.

futurefitgirl88

lookin great well done

Chunkabutt83

amazing job!

foremant86

great job!! keep it up!

hyde1977

Great Job!!!! you can totally see the difference!!!! Great Work!!!! Keep it up!

ljscar12

Awesome work. Keep up the hard work.

dcbella

Fabulous !! Keep up the good work!!

beckyinma

Way to go!

moonflower09

Sounds like a fun race! Thanks for sharing. Your next to races sound fun too!

1Kirsty1

Well done. You are an inspiration. Keep up the good work.

yvonmac

You look great! Congrats on the run up at Tahoe--that is a success story with the elevation level and all! I am impressed! I love Tahoe--now to make a goal to run up there like you!

wolf23

I can definitely see the progress! Great job :drinker:

ShannonMHS

Wow, in just a month you've gotten great results!!! Keep up the good work!

06MustangGT

Awesome job! Keep up the good work man! Can't wait to see what the next months hold for you.

jeffsgal105

Congratulations! You look great

CaptainMFP

The real kicker is that this is with only about 5 lbs. of loss. It's not so much the weight down as the reduction in body fat an increase in muscle tone from the push-ups and sit-ups. I LOVE the 100 Push-Ups (still on week 2) and 200 Sit-Ups (did 210!) programs.

BamaNation73

Thank you for this! As someone just starting out (again), its good to remember the world does not revolve around my bathroom scale.

bslic

you are so right! Pictures really do tell the story. I also think the memory of our fatter self is "cached" in our brains so cannot see the new truth. I haven't been taking pics intentionally, but found some from various stages over the past 8 mos and it was very reassuring.

Thanks for sharing!!!

PS5253

lovin' the spongebob pants!

Qteejay

Nice work Steve! That is reaffirming! :happy:

AZackery

Congratulation on your loss Scschenk