December Progress Update

Nothing out of the ordinary I have really eaten in the past two months has really contributed to clean gains.

I've been munching on taquitos, fried udon, and lots of chicken sandwiches.

I wouldn't say i've been eating terribly, but I haven't been eating too great either.

With finals and work-related things on my agenda, I have been neglecting a balanced diet.

I try to get an adequate amount of protein when i'm home.

Today's "meals" (6)

Taco Bell AM Crunchwrap, Fiesta Potatoes (Carbs, Protein)
Sugar-free Syrup Green Tea Frappuccino sweetened with Splenda (Almost Nothing)
Rice Bowl (Carbs) --> Sweet and Sour Chicken (Protein)
Udon (Carbs) --> Teriyaki Chicken (Protein)

Two Egg Tarts (Carbs, Protein)
Monterey Jack Taquito, Egg Tart (Carbs, Protein) --> Shake (Protein)

My gains have been pretty solid considering my current diet.

This may be credited to Ostarine.

I'm halfway through the bottle as of a few days ago and noticeably bigger while retaining my lean mass.

Sometimes i'm way too lazy to weigh myself on a scale.

But I did take a picture or two about a week ago to continue monitoring my progress.

I am eleven pounds heavier in between pictures.
(Adding carbs back into my diet contributed to this quick weight gain)

I am not quite as vascular without a gym pump, but my abdominals are still visible.
I've been working on my chest more than once a week and my effort has really shined through.

That's a lot of weight considering how I looked at 170 in May.

Persistence and consistency.

Back shots and Deadlifts

A few shots of my back progress today.

Quite pleased with the results since I resumed my deadlift progress.

I'm nowhere nearly as strong as I was in March in terms of raw weight, but ratio-wise:

March 2015, 184:445 (405 x 3) - 2.41
December 2015, 170:355 (355 x 1) - 2.07

I'm not that far off and if I keep at-it every week until I hit 184 again, I might just top my previous personal record.

Strength is currently a lesser priority than looking good at this time, but I might even pull 405 x 5 in 2016.

Stay tuned.

Fitness Progression Chart

11/13 - At 165, I was a cardio bunny. Nothing was done in regards to strength and I ran on an elliptical for 35-60 minutes daily while playing Temple Run.

01/14 - I trained hard for the next two months and put on some mass while eating more every day. Gains came extremely fast at this point.

08/14 - Over the next 7 months, I did a lot of compound powerlifts and I was able to build a lot of strength. The bulk of my diet was Chipotle. I was strong but felt like a slug.

03/15 - After peaking around 195 in December or January, I decided I wanted to look good and not be so heavy anymore so I set out to lose a majority of my weight. I peaked in strength, but crashed when I dropped <180. I decided to give up strength so I could focus on being aesthetic.

05/15 - A majority of my weight was lost and my body went through a tremendous re-composition. This was thanks to a no-carb diet that mostly comprised of steak and eggs every day.

10/15 - I continued no-carb and did a decent amount of cardio daily. Weight training was minimally kept at less than 45 minutes a day. I became very vascular and lean, but I looked flat as a pancake being carb-deprived.

12/15 - Looking at my chest every day I became very unsatisfied. I decided to add some weight so I could build my chest. Doing chest three times a week or so, I was able to add some mass onto my flat chest. I didn't eat clean but I didn't eat poorly. My diet was comprised of mainly: 7-11 Monterey Jack Chicken Taquitos, Protein Shakes, Pizza Rolls, Udon and Costco Chicken Sandwiches.

Eat like a man: Homemade Chipotle

The homemade Chipotle salad bowl.

Do you like to eat Chipotle?

I too, like to eat Chipotle. 

There was a time when I ate Chipotle over 15 times in one month.

I got a job there because of my food bill.

Pictured above is around $4 in groceries put together in a nice ceramic bowl.

Comparable to an $8 salad bowl served in cardboard at Chipotle Mexican Grill.

Why is it better to make your own Chipotle salad bowl?

For many reasons.

Half the price. It's like having my employee discount from when I actually worked at Chipotle. (It was short-lived, but I actually did use that discount)

More steak.

I get to cook it as rare as I want.

You bet I love it rare.

Fresh spring mix + spinach 

is comparable to some shitty lettuce.

I load it up with more sour cream and cheese
than I can request.

Your food isn't served in cardboard.

Cooking EXP. 

Enough said.

Please allow 4-6 weeks

for your 6-pack abs to arrive.

They finally came, though the lighting and camera doesn't really do a good job of picturing it.

Sitting around 165-167 LBs, 13% BF.

Eat like a man: Steak and Eggs

Steak & Eggs.

If you're a real man, eat like one.

Steak, eggs and butter. 

Wow Chris, how can you afford to eat like this every day?

In truth, it's not as expensive as you would think.

It's about knowing when and where to shop.
It's about knowing what to buy.

Eating three McChickens is cheap too, but which one is healthy, quality food?

Aren't you ever bored of just steak, eggs and butter?

I'm not limited to these three things.

I do change it up, but I do genuinely enjoy it too.

Progress Update - More pictures

March 16th vs May 19th, 9 weeks.

What's different?

*My pectorals actually look like pectorals
*More deltoid definition
*Bicep vein more vascular
*My face looks more chiseled
*More stomach is more controllable

*My deadlift tier plummeted from level 4 down to level 3.
My weight has shifted nearly close to 20 LBs, so there's not much
I can do about that as of now. I'll work it back up when I bulk.

Current lifts:

Bench - Lv. 2
Squat - Lv. 2.5
Deadlift - Lv. 3

Progress Update - The Difference, Exposed

Every morning I hop on the scale.

Every morning it was pretty much the same three numbers.

This morning I took a picture of myself and compared it.

I think we can all agree a difference is seen between these two pictures.

Left, May 7th - 7th day on Keto.

Right, May 17th, 17th day on Keto.

Never satisfied? - The urge to eat

Ever since switching my diet, I felt as if I was never full.

Or so I thought.

The feeling of being full is actually one in the same with being satisfied.
So I thought to myself, how come I never feel FULL FULL anymore?

I could eat endlessly and never be 100% full. Only hunger-satisfied.

It's not just about the amount of calories or food you intake anymore.

The carbs are what allowed anyone and everyone to be what "full" is.
The carb-version of "full" is just really just being bloated.

It seems that's not possible anymore eating <30 carbs a day.
Your stomach can never really be bloated without carbs retaining water.
I really am going to miss that feeling for awhile.

It all makes sense though now. The trade-offs are as follows.

In return for being able to eat lots of high fat foods, lose weight quickly, and have a low tolerance for "hunger", you trade eating carbs and feeling "bloated" full. That's why you'll never get fat no matter how much you eat if you don't eat any carbs.

Learn something new every day.

Keto - Goals and Core diet

Being restricted on a diet, there's only really so much I can actually eat.

No carbs means no bread, rice, beans, potatoes, or sugar.

That's a lot of good stuff to miss out on.

The first three days were extreme. I had headaches and felt nauseous with no carbs in my system. Being on no carbs is already extreme. I'm trying to make it worth my while by accomplishing my goal.

By June 13th, I aim to reach 10% BF.
That is my goal.

Now for my diet ...

Eggs
Butter
Peanut Butter
Cheese
Various proteins (chicken, steak)
Greens formula

Everything else must be in close moderation.
Don't go over and don't eat if you aren't hungry.

Keto Jump - A new approach

168 LBs down from 184 LBs this morning.

Even my wisdom teeth being pulled out didn't stop me from eating this week.

I surprised even myself. I have been on Keto since the beginning of the month. Thought i'd change things up a little and see how it works for me.

It's my 6th day into it and I have been consistent. My first few days were filled with fatigue, lack of energy and cravings to eat chocolate muffins but i'm glad I didn't.

Macros are currently set at 144 F/24 C/146 P. 

I went over 900 calories one of those days and I still dropped a pound. Last night at around 3:00 AM I ate some scrambled eggs topped with melted butter and they were delicious.

Progress picture (to the left) taken 5/2 on my second day of Keto weighing in at 171. My body fat is estimated at 14%.

Starbucks drink pictured (to the right) is 1/2 black tea, 1/2 ice coffee, 5 splendas and a splash of half and half. Sponsored by my favorite barista :-)

The journey continues.

Count 'em Macros - The journey continues

Two pounds and two weeks later sitting at 173 LBs.
Macros are currently dialed in at 75F/168C/144P ~1900 calories.

I might be decreasing fat for more protein or carbs.

I have incorporated some HIIT cardio into my program along with my compounds.

Just a short 8-10 minute session leaves me sweating and burning anywhere between 60-140 calories.

Tracked macros have been 95% accurate. 

Can I shred to under 170 by this time next month for Audio on the Bay? Very likely and even lighter.

Let's see how this rolls out first, I don't want to make any mistakes and binge.

Strength has suffered casually since I have dropped about 11 LBs, but my #1 goal is to lose weight now. It will have to wait until I start eating at a surplus again.

Tomorrow i'll be going to see a physician to get my testosterone levels.

I have also have a date tomorrow night. My cardio won't be the usual.

Food tracking is below. I decided to cut on pizza today. Keep in mind this doesn't include fish oil / collagen / other small things.

Squat PR

On the scale today I weighed out 175 LBs.

Simply Seasoned chicken breast by Foster Farms from Pak N' Save is a godsend for those who can't season their own chicken. 

I could literally eat this every day, that's how good it is.

I've been making all sorts of gains recently.

Currently squatting 2-3 times a week.

Today I hit 295 for a double on squats and felt great. (I'm also on a cut!)
I've lowered my rep range and have geared more towards raw strength.

My lifts are currently ...

BENCH -- 225 x 3

SQUAT -- 295 x 2
DEADLIFT -- 405 x 3

I've been getting comments from others saying that I have looked leaner as of recent, so I think everything is going accordingly as long as I stick to my plan.

Here's a shot I took with my new selfie stick and a shot of my signature bicep.

My WCW (WCE) goes out to Leanna Carr (Who added me back on Snapchat!) - Strong, beautiful and inspiring. That's bae right there.

Shred my gains away (cont)

The cut is happening and it's real.

Another leg day and I tried the sauna.

It felt like death, but I was sweating out all the water I drank today like a maniac.
The air is thick and it's hard to breathe.

Sitting around 177 LBs in the pictures.

My SQUAT PR went up to 275 x 3.

Let's see the results as I continue to shred my gains away.

Beginning of the shredz

Cutting weight is ideal for the road to aesthetics.

In the morning I have a gym session during class and a gym session at 24 at night.

During the evening I will be focusing on ...

Shoulders (Delts, Traps) - High volume.

Cardio.

My lifts are currently ...

BENCH -- 205 x 6

SQUAT -- 225 x 6
DEADLIFT -- 405 x 2

I got some good feedback from the /fit/ family earlier after posting some pictures.

Currently sitting at 184 LBs. I estimate I have about 20 LBs to lose to reach the next stage.

A work in progress.

Project: S2000

Let's keep it short ...

This was both a valuable lesson and learning experience. 

It's been a fun run, but there will always be time for these things later.

I'll be back when my priorities are in place and 

bring it back someday, even better the next time. 

Project: Unravel

What is "Unravel?"

Unravel is an upcoming lifestyle clothing brand and project that
began February 2015.

This will begin as a personal project and learning experience.

Google defines unravel as ...

I highlighted all the key words that would be related.

"Unravel" is has a large reference to the Tokyo Ghoul show and opening theme.

The song lyrics are in Japanese. The singer narrates a lost soul who doesn't want to be forgotten. He wants to be remembered for who he used to be but he's paralyzed by the fact he has changed. 

In relation to the animation, the first line translates to:

Tell me, please tell me, what this plot is all about..
Exactly, who resides within me? 

This is connected to the main character Kaneki Ken, as he comes to realization

that he is a ghoul inside and has lost half his humanity.

My definition of "Unravel"

Essentially to me it means "to be free." To unravel means to free yourself from 

the things around you that keep you from what you potentially could be. 

Social freedom. Not letting the chains that shackle your mind hold you back.

Inspiration (So far)

"Fight Club"

"Tokyo Ghoul"

"The present is the ever moving shadow that divides yesterday from tomorrow. In that lies hope." - Frank Lloyd Wright 

"You're gonna carry that weight" - The last words of the last episode to Cowboy Bebop. A reference to The Beatles. "the weight that is at once the load of our past and also the promise and burden of unrealized hopes and aspirations for the future"

Taglines, Slogans and Word Design

- UNRAVEL -

" WORK IN PROGRESS "

(unravel)

Unravel.

- UNRAVEL -

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA

MXXV 

散ける

(unravel)