Not buff yet but a little proud but also a little discouraged

[jcam222]

Decided to post up some pics to get some advice from all of you. I've been hanging around here for a couple years now and learned a LOT. I have been working out hard and trying to grow without getting to fat.

I am 45 years old now. Historically three and a half years ago I was 265 32%BF 40 inch pants and smoked three packs of marlboros a day. Quit smoking and started dieting which got me down to 230. Had the wild idea to join a cardio class and went cardio crazy for the next 2 years. Got REALLY skinny. Been lifting a lot now and really enjoy it. For the past four months I have been focusing on eating more than usual and lifting hard. I am happy with the growth but my waist is up about an inch which drives me insane!! Having been so fat for so long the flab veyr quickly makes me very very paranoid about returning to super fatness.....lol maybe someone other than me feels like that at times?

Anyway heres the pics at about the 230 mark, 178 and now 205. Questions....

Am I honestly making progress or just floundering??

Should I bulk another 10 or 15 and then cut or start cutting now? oh and one more time.........easy on me I know I am far from an elite looking athlete. I am just a guy trying. Sometimes I honestly get discouraged and wonder if I am getting anywhere. I suppose everyone feels like that at times??

 

[Zombie]

I would like to congratulate you, you took control of your life style and decided to do something for your health, its really good that you quit smoking and decided to workout. You look great, what ever you diced im sure its going to work for you, keep up the good job, when ever you get discurage look at the old pics and look at your self now you have made alot of progress.

Good luck and best wishes

 

[rotarnomore]

Truthfully, it looks like a pretty good transformation. I would be happy just maintaining what you have. Perhaps staying the current course will yield the results you want.

 

[Old Navy]

You have shown remarkable improvement. Your shoulders, pecs and arms all show good development and muscularity. You midsection looks fine. Stay with it. And remember, 80% of what you want to accomplish is done with your diet. Be proud and have fun.

 

[DAdams91982]

Why the discouragment? Looking at the pictures you have improved dramatically in every aspect. You went from the heavier guy, to the skinny "Fat" guy look. And you tightened everything up. You may have gained an inch on your trunk because of the stability muscles growing... but you LOST fat there. Just the disappearance of the love handles is down right amazing, not an easy task by no means.

You have nothing to be discouraged about... your progress is phenominal, and a definate mark of dedication. Be proud.

Adams

 

[RipdnTxs2]

WOW, Jcam what u have done is truly amazing, your transformation is better than those fake-ass M-tech adds, I think what really turned your body around was getting rid of those redneck tan lines :toofunny:... Be proud of yourself, the turnaround u have accomplished is quite an achievement...

 

[Rivet]

Just keep doing what your doing. Thats good progress for 3 years. I guess you have decent genetics Now Im discourage!

 

[jcam222]

WOW, Jcam what u have done is truly amazing, your transformation is better than those fake-ass M-tech adds, I think what really turned your body around was getting rid of those redneck tan lines :toofunny:... Be proud of yourself, the turnaround u have accomplished is quite an achievement...

LOL you can thank MII for the loss of tan lines.

Thank you all for the encouragement!! Whats funny is that sometimes I can look at the pics of myself and I just dont see the right progress....I guess I can be somewhat of a perfectionist on myself. I usually see something quickly that needs to be bigger, leaner or both LOL......guess thats my double edged sword.

 

[bpmartyr]

LOL you can thank MII for the loss of tan lines.

Thank you all for the encouragement!! Whats funny is that sometimes I can look at the pics of myself and I just dont see the right progress....I guess I can be somewhat of a perfectionist on myself. I usually see something quickly that needs to be bigger, leaner or both LOL......guess thats my double edged sword.

It's not just you. Most of us are our own worst critics. I will never look like my "ideal" phenotype and sometimes feel discouraged but vanity aside, a change in lifestyle as you have accomplished will overflow into most every aspect of your life. We are designed to work and move, to be challenged and overcome adversity and without those things our "mind" will never be satisfied and our bodies will atrophy and disease. Congratulations to you and remember, fitness is a journey, not a destination. IMO



BP

 

[DR.D]

Oh man, that is one heck of a job J! I know that took a lot of work and discipline. Excellent effort. You're looking super. That is something to be proud of my friend. Only about 1% of the people that try to do that actually do, so God bless you and your hard work. :clap2:

 

[p5sky]

Wow, way to go! You have done a great job. If you want to continue to grow but stay lean just keep a good diet. Plenty of protein, complex carbs, and set up an eating pattern. That is my biggest problem . . . eating enough

 

[somewhatgifted]

Awesome transformation.

 

[jcam222]

thank you all so much

I truly mean it when I say thank you all for the encouragment and kudos. It really is appreciated. I hope that sometimes I am able to give someone a boost like you all have given me.

 

[motiv8er]

Amazing work!!

 

[colkurtz_spf]

Decided to post up some pics to get some advice from all of you. I've been hanging around here for a couple years now and learned a LOT. I have been working out hard and trying to grow without getting to fat.

I am 45 years old now. Historically three and a half years ago I was 265 32%BF 40 inch pants and smoked three packs of marlboros a day. Quit smoking and started dieting which got me down to 230. Had the wild idea to join a cardio class and went cardio crazy for the next 2 years. Got REALLY skinny. Been lifting a lot now and really enjoy it. For the past four months I have been focusing on eating more than usual and lifting hard. I am happy with the growth but my waist is up about an inch which drives me insane!! Having been so fat for so long the flab veyr quickly makes me very very paranoid about returning to super fatness.....lol maybe someone other than me feels like that at times?

Anyway heres the pics at about the 230 mark, 178 and now 205. Questions....

Am I honestly making progress or just floundering??

Should I bulk another 10 or 15 and then cut or start cutting now? oh and one more time.........easy on me I know I am far from an elite looking athlete. I am just a guy trying. Sometimes I honestly get discouraged and wonder if I am getting anywhere. I suppose everyone feels like that at times??

Huge progress!:head:

 

[musclepigg]

WOW! Awesome work!!

 

[Distilled Water]

Hey man great job.......Somthing that may give u even more of a boost.

U look better than 70% of the guys on my college baseball team and they are all 1/2 your age.

Keep up the good work

 

[DAdams91982]

Hey man great job.......Somthing that may give u even more of a boost.

U look better than 70% of the guys on my college baseball team and they are all 1/2 your age.

Keep up the good work

Ahhh.. There you go... Now you gayed up the thread!!! No comparing one guys looks to anothers!!!! :whip: :toofunny:

Adams

 

[jcam222]

Ahhh.. There you go... Now you gayed up the thread!!! No comparing one guys looks to anothers!!!! :whip: :toofunny:

Adams

LOL I'll take a comparison to college aged guys vs. my old butt any day!!

 

[DAdams91982]

LOL I'll take a comparison to college aged guys vs. my old butt any day!!

Its PRINCIPLE Jcam... PRINCIPLE!!!!!!

Adams

 

[Distilled Water]

Its PRINCIPLE Jcam... PRINCIPLE!!!!!!

Adams

I think we got a homo-phobe on our hands here ladies and gentlemen, is someone insecure with his sexuality?????? lol jp man its cool. I know it sounded a little homo, I just wanted to give the guy some encouragement

 

[DAdams91982]

I think we got a homo-phobe on our hands here ladies and gentlemen, is someone insecure with his sexuality?????? lol jp man its cool. I know it sounded a little homo, I just wanted to give the guy some encouragement

Haha.. I know... just givin **** any chance I can!!!

Adams

 

[Ribo68]

LOL I'll take a comparison to college aged guys vs. my old butt any day!!

Big, hairy man-love. Is there anything sweeter and yet so repulsive? :nutkick: Seriously though, great job dude. Just
keep up the good work. The hard work is done. It's all just
maintenance now.

 

[powerhouseguy]

way to go!

Decided to post up some pics to get some advice from all of you. I've been hanging around here for a couple years now and learned a LOT. I have been working out hard and trying to grow without getting to fat.

I am 45 years old now. Historically three and a half years ago I was 265 32%BF 40 inch pants and smoked three packs of marlboros a day. Quit smoking and started dieting which got me down to 230. Had the wild idea to join a cardio class and went cardio crazy for the next 2 years. Got REALLY skinny. Been lifting a lot now and really enjoy it. For the past four months I have been focusing on eating more than usual and lifting hard. I am happy with the growth but my waist is up about an inch which drives me insane!! Having been so fat for so long the flab veyr quickly makes me very very paranoid about returning to super fatness.....lol maybe someone other than me feels like that at times?

Anyway heres the pics at about the 230 mark, 178 and now 205. Questions....

Am I honestly making progress or just floundering??

Should I bulk another 10 or 15 and then cut or start cutting now? oh and one more time.........easy on me I know I am far from an elite looking athlete. I am just a guy trying. Sometimes I honestly get discouraged and wonder if I am getting anywhere. I suppose everyone feels like that at times??

DUDE YOU LOOK REALLY GOOD I WAS WORRIED ABOUT STARTING BACK AT AGE 39 AFTER SLACKING OFF BUT YOU HAVE ENCOURAGED ME. YOU MAY HAVE GAINED SOME IN THE MIDDLE ACCORDING TO YOU BUT YOU ARE SOLID LOOKING. I HOPE I CAN GET TO WHERE YOU ARE AT. I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO SAY TO EVERYONE ELSE I HAVE JUST JOINED THIS WEB SIGHT AND FIND IT AN INSPIRATION ALL THE MEMBERS ARE AWESOME, WITH THIER KNOWLEDGE SHARING AND INSPIRATION, THAT'S WHAT IT IS ALL ABOUT!

 

[Jet]

I know it's probably getting repetitive, but great job man. Keep up the good work, and don't let those paranoias get to you, you look great, and I'm sure it will only get better :thumbsup:

 

[mikehalliday]

I am new here and catching up on old threads, but if you are still lurking about here, I wanted to add one more thought. a LARGE amount of the fat you lost was subcutaneous fat. Fat around your internal organs. THIS IS THE STUFF THAT KILLS YOU! SO regardless of whether you reach all of your aesthetic goals, you have lengthened your life substantially!

 

[DAdams91982]

I am new here and catching up on old threads, but if you are still lurking about here, I wanted to add one more thought. a LARGE amount of the fat you lost was subcutaneous fat. Fat around your internal organs. THIS IS THE STUFF THAT KILLS YOU! SO regardless of whether you reach all of your aesthetic goals, you have lengthened your life substantially!

You are thinking of Visceral Fat.

Adams

 

[mikehalliday]

You are thinking of Visceral Fat.

Adams

Yes I was. sorry, I am not a dcotor, and I don't even play one on Television :frustrate

Thanks for the correction