Walking My Talk

Everything I recommend I've done and had positive results with personally. Although my experiments and quantified self research is not totally about physical things and body improvements, being able to have the body work as well as possible opens the door to endless possibilities. We now know the fairly obvious which is that the mind and body are connected.

Before:

After:  

Decided to enter a "Body Transformation" bodybuilding competition to further quantify my results. Came in 3rd, not bad considering I've heard the trick of the trade is to become grossly out of shape on purpose then use the bodies muscle memory and tendency to want to return to it's old state which is the exact opposite of what hinders so many people that try to lose weight. Considered this my "Geek to Freak" (semi-inside joke). Not quite as stylish nowadays (ha) and eat paleo but I'll do a run through on what I did to achieve these results using the 80/20 rule, also known as the Pareto principle.

Belly fat - high cortisol - low inflammation minimally processed (low-carb) diet
Muscle gain:

1. weight lifting (lift heavy things) - 5/5 technique, five seconds up, five seconds down one set to failure, three minute rest between sets
2. Increase protein - protein from whole foods (best results) and whey/hemp shakes (for convenience)
3. Bench press, bent over row, bicep curl, palm-up wrist curls, pull ups three times a weeks. High load, high intensity
4. 1/2 mile run daily for tone and cardiovascular benefits

Diet and supplementation overview:

1. 175g protein, cycled off for one day per week
2. 2,000IU Vitamin D
3. 2,000IU Calcium
4. Optimum men multivitamin
5. 300mg alpha-lipoic acid morning and after carb meals
6. 900mg omega 3 fish oil

There are things I would now change but for the most parts results don't lie. In my teenage years had spent endless hours lifting weights and pounding protein shakes with limited results. Having a game plan with end goals and quantifiable variables cannot be underestimated.