11:00pm - 3 BCAA, 2 HotRox, 1 scoop Whey isolate + NEPA walk (3.2mph,4deg incline) @ 60 mins
12:00pm - 1 scoop Whey isolate, 3g EPA/DHA, CLA, multi-vitamin
2:00pm - 2 scoops Banana MD
5:00pm - 1 scoop Strawberry MD, 1 scoop Banana MD, 3 BCAA, 3G EPA/DHA, CLA, 1 HotRox
8:00pm - 2 scoops Vanilla MD
11:00pm - 2 scoops Chocolate MD, 3tbsp flaxmeal, 1tbsp p-butter, 3g EPA/DHA, CLA
1:00am - 3 BCAA, melatonin, calcium, magnesium

I had to deal with a sore neck for the first half of the day, before it began to get better. Otherwise it was a perfect day in terms of diet compliance and performing the daily walk. Felt energetic and got much accomplished.

One of my friends is celebrating their birthday party this Saturday night at a club downtown (Toronto), which I plan to attend. Naturally, I’ll be the designated driver due to the diet, which is great news for everybody else I’m driving. It’s not like I won’t have fun being sober, plus, I’d rather attend my friend’s birthday sober than avoid it altogether because I lack the control. It will be an interesting test. I have nothing good to wear to it, so I made a trip to the mall today, which was a pleasant experience for someone almost half-way through a mini-transformation. I ended up buying two sweaters instead of one, only because they looked so damn good on me. As you can see, things have gotten to my head already, and I’m still miles from the finish line. Must remain grounded.

Tomorrow I’ll be going on a day trip to Montreal to take care of some stuff, so it will be definitely be a long-distance test of will. There shouldn’t be any problems as long as my cooler is always nearby and I keep track of time. A nice little bonus is that I’ll be able to enjoy my weekly whole meal at a nice restaurant in Montreal, which should be nice. I hope to find a good steak house. I’ll have all my measurements and photos taken in the morning, but I may not post them until later that evening, or at worst on Saturday morning.

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1:00pm - 3 BCAA, 2 HotRox, 1 scoop Whey isolate + NEPA walk (3.2mph,4deg incline) @ 60 mins
2:00pm - 1 scoop Whey isolate, 3g EPA/DHA, CLA
4:30pm - 1 scoop Strawberry MD, 1 scoop Banana MD, 3 BCAA, 3G EPA/DHA, CLA, 1 HotRox
6:00pm - Muay thai training
7:00pm - 1 serving Surge
9:00pm - 2 scoops Vanilla MD w/ 1tsp coffee
11:00pm - 2 scoops Strawberry MD
1:00am - 2 scoops Chocolate MD, 3tbsp flaxmeal, 1tbsp p-butter, 3g EPA/DHA, CLA
2:00am - 3 BCAA, calcium, magnesium

Woke up a little late, but I still had enough time to get my morning walk done with a few hours to spare before muay thai. Insane class today. We trained clinch, so my neck is completely fried. Just goes to show how little I directly work my neck muscles. It all fun having someone in your clinch and unloading knees into them, but no so fun when the roles are reversed. Anyways, it was great class. The extra Surge shake was really nice, especially since it allowed me to shorten the times between my other shakes. Confidence remains high going into Day 13.

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1:00pm - 3 BCAA, 2 HotRox, 1 scoop Whey isolate + NEPA walk (3.2mph,4deg incline) @ 60 mins
2:00pm - 1 scoop Whey isolate, 3g EPA/DHA, CLA
5:00pm - 2 scoops Vanilla MB w/ 1tsp coffee
8:00pm - 1 scoop Strawberry MD, 1 scoop Banana MD, 3 BCAA, 3G EPA/DHA, CLA, 1 HotRox
10:30pm - 2 scoops Banana MD
1:00am - 2 scoops Chocolate MD, 3tbsp flaxmeal, 1tbsp p-butter, 3g EPA/DHA, CLA
2:00am - 3 BCAA, calcium, magnesium

Good day, feel great. Accomplished many of my errands. Shakes were routine. My mother cooked fish, so when I visited home, I was unfortunately only savoring the smell. I swear my sense of smell has heightened since the beginning of this experiment. Otherwise no real challenges. I say that because I don’t consider the mere presence of food to be a threat anymore. Once you’ve refused something enough times, it becomes trivial, which is especially true when you don’t even let yourself begin to rationalize it. Food seems to be very easy to justify, especially since we happen to need it in order to survive. The problem is discrimination. Luckily, I have a strong feeling that my judgment will improve once I have the opportunity to actually eat again.

Before I began this diet, I had my doubts. I argued in my mind that it didn’t contain enough fat, and that my body would become a protein-burning machine and I’d lose all my muscle and none of the fat. Then I saw Gustavo’s results. That made me a believer. So instead of my usual self-debate in my head, I’m trying a new thought pattern for these 28 days: Stick to the decision. Evaluate results when complete. Simple but not easy.

Surrounding my morning walk, I replaced one of todays normal shakes with two single scoop shakes of whey isolate for faster absorption. Same calories and macros, so no biggie. Morning walks are honestly such a great way to start the day. Even with music blaring into my ears, it’s a great way to just think, contemplate, strategize, reflect, and just put the imagination to good use. And for some reason the thoughts also tend to be overwhelmingly positive in nature. In North American society, how often do people get the chance to be alone with their thoughts for an hour a day? Combined with the physical benefits, I think it’s an extremely valuable habit. Definitely one worth keeping over a lifetime.

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9:45am - 3 BCAA, 2 HotRox, 1 scoop Whey isolate + NEPA walk (3.2mph,4deg incline) @ 30 mins
10:30am - 2 scoops Vanilla MD w/ 1tsp coffee, 3g EPA/DHA, CLA, multi-vitamin
1:30pm - 2 scoops Banana MD
4:30pm - 2 scoops Strawberry MD, 3G EPA/DHA, CLA, 1 HotRox
7:30pm - 1 scoop Chocolate MD, 1 scoop Banana MD
9:30pm - GYM - 10×3 Routine (lunges, standing db shoulder press, lat pulldowns)
10:10pm - 1 serving Surge, 4 BCAA
12:00am - 2 scoops Chocolate MD, 3tbsp flaxmeal, 1tbsp p-butter, 3g EPA/DHA, CLA
1:00am - 3 BCAA, melatonin, calcium, magnesium, zinc

Today was a great day. Morning walk was shorter than usual, but always a good start to the day regardless. Shakes were prepared in the morning, so drinking them throughout the day was pretty mindless. I was hungry around 9:00pm and thought that my next shake was at 10:30, but then I remembered that it was a training day, and knew that I would get extra calories (and carbs!) from the post-workout shake. Workout was great, except for when my iPod ran out of juice. My fault for neglecting to charge it.

I’m really craving saturated fat. This Friday I’m planning to have a good steak. And with that said, Day 10 is over, almost half way there.

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9:00am - 3 BCAA, 1 HotRox, 3g EPA/DHA, CLA, multi-vitamin, 2 scoops Vanilla MD w/ 1tsp coffee
12:30pm - 2 scoops Banana MD
3:30pm - 2 scoops Strawberry MD, 3G EPA/DHA, CLA, 1 HotRox
8:00pm - 1 scoop Strawberry MD, 1 scoop Vanilla MD
9:00pm - 3 BCAA, NEPA walk @ 3.2mph on a 4 degree incline for 60 mins
11:00pm - 2 scoops Chocolate MD, 3tbsp flaxmeal, 1tbsp p-butter, 3g EPA/DHA, CLA
12:00am - 3 BCAA, calcium, magnesium, zinc

Today was challenging, especially in the evening. Woke up earlier today, but wasn’t able to fit NEPA walking before work, so I had to settle for an evening walk. I think morning walks are superior because it’s when you have the least amount of food cravings. On the v-diet I notice that my food cravings are much higher in the evenings, so combining that with cardio just compounds the overall difficulty. Had some strong cravings and hunger pangs, but answered them with coffee and spenda, or a Diet 7-up. It gets boring at times. It’s amazing how much time we spend both mentally and physically in seeking out and eating food. Whenever I find myself thinking about food, I have to force my mind to change the subject, or else I’ll start getting physical cravings. I’m starting to see why Week 2 is said to be the most challenging.

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10:30am - 3 BCAA, 1 HotRox, 3g EPA/DHA, CLA, multi-vitamin, 2 scoops Vanilla MD w/ 1tsp coffee
1:30pm - 2 scoops Banana MD
5:30pm - 2 scoops Strawberry MD, 3G EPA/DHA, CLA, 1 HotRox
8:30pm - 1 scoop Strawberry MD, 1 scoop Vanilla MD
9:45pm - 3 BCAA, NEPA walk @ 3.2mph on a 4 degree incline for 60 mins
11:30pm - 2 scoops Chocolate MD, 3tbsp flaxmeal, 1tbsp p-butter, 3g EPA/DHA, CLA
1:00am - 3 BCAA, calcium, magnesium, zinc

Woke up later than I wanted to this morning, so instead of doing morning NEPA, I performed it in the evening. Shakes were standard today, pretty much effortless after preparing them in the morning. I should mention that in the evenings is when I have the greatest urge to munch on something. Anything. Oh no, just writing about it is making my mouth water for some grilled chicken breast or steak. I also experienced some minor hunger pangs today when approaching shake time. I felt slightly bloated yesterday from both the whole meal and the Surge, maybe the creatine too, but today felt much leaner and lighter. Jawline looks better everyday. I’m pretty excited about conquering Week 2, and witnessing the daily changes.

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8:30pm - 2 HotRox, 5 BCAA + NEPA walk @ 3.2mph on 4 degree incline (60 mins)
9:45pm - 2 scoops Vanilla MD + 1tsp instant coffee, 3g EPA/DHA, multi-vitamin
12:30pm - Solid Meal - 4 eggs scrambled, pan-fried shrimp, 2 cups steamed broccoli, olive oil.
5:00pm - 2 scoops Banana MD + 3g EPA/DHA, CLA
8:00pm - 1 scoop Vanilla MD, 1 scoop Strawberry MD
9:00pm - 5 BCAA tabs
9:30pm - Gym - 10×3 Routine (bulgarian squats, good mornings, db bench press, db rows)
10:15pm - 1 serving of Surge, 20g creatine
1:00am - 1tsp peanut butter
2:30am - 3 BCAA, calcium, magnesium, zinc

Woke up a little earlier this morning to get my progress information, NEPA walk, solid meal, blog updates, and shakes prepared before going into work this afternoon. It required some sleep sacrifice, so I only slept about 5 hours, which is unlike my usual 8 hour slumber. For some reason I thought it was Saturday today, so I expected the treadmills to be buzzing, but fortunately it’s Friday so it was empty. Great walk as usual, good sweat from the HotRox. I’ve been really enjoying the 80’s power ballads on my iPod lately, so I’ve been feeling especially upbeat and optimistic lately.

My end-of-week solid meal was enjoyable, but not as spectacular as I imagined in my mind. I think I prepared a little too much, because I was stuffed afterwards. Stuffed, but not lethargic, which is often the case from unhealthy solid meals. The shrimp might have been too much. The thought of solid food got me too excited. The eggs and broccolli were good, so I’ll keep them for next week also, unless I end up eating out for my solid meal. In any case, I know the caloric count must have been high, seeing how I used about 6tbsp of olive oil in total (for cooking the eggs and shrimp and drizzling on the broccoli), so I decided to cut one MD shake from the daily total.

Now that the first milestone has been reached, I feel like I am now officially committed. Between Day 2 and Day 4 I was cynical towards myself. “Anybody can do this for a few days” were my thoughts. Even though I took the diet seriously, those first few days felt like an eternity. Now that it’s Day 7, I realize how quickly the last couple of days have passed. I have a feeling that Week 2 will be easier, now that I know how to manage situations with my trusty cooler, and now that I know, more or less, what to expect in general.

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Measurements and photos were taken on Day 7 upon waking, hence the sleepy look.

Weight: 217 lbs (-6lbs)
Neck: 16.5″ (0)
Chest: 43.5″ (-1″)
Torso: 39.25″ (-1″)
Belly: 40″ (-1.5″)
Waist: 38″ (-0.75″)
Arms (L/R): 14.75″/15.5″ (+0.5″)
Forearms: 12″/12.5″ (-0.5″)

Week 1 has been very interesting. I guess it’s my sense of instant gratification that has caused me to doubt my progress many times over the past week. I know I shouldn’t expect miracles in the first week, and I didn’t, but deep down inside I was hoping for something more drastic to occur. Regardless, I know that consistency is the key to this diet, so despite my marginal losses in weight and girth measurements, I have confidence that they will continue to compound over the next 3 weeks. I am only 25% complete, however, so there is still lots of time to melt away the blubber. I look forward to comparing Week 2 with Day 1.

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1:00pm - 2 HotRox, 5 BCAA, 1 scoop whey + NEPA walk @ 2.8kph on 4 degree incline (60 mins)
2:30pm - 2 scoops Vanilla MD + 1tsp instant coffe, 3g EPA/DHA, multi-vitamin
4:00pm - 1 HotRox, Diet 7-up
6:00pm - 2 scoops Banana MD + 3g EPA/DHA
9:00pm - 1 scoop Banana MD + coffee and Splenda
11:00pm - 2 scoops Strawberry MD
1:30am - 2 scoops Chocolate MD, 3tbsp flaxseed meal, 1tbsp natural peanut butter, 3g fish oils
2:30am - 1 melatonin, calcium, magnesium, zinc

Woke up a bit late. Morning (or early afternoon) walk went as planned and felt good as usual. I had one scoop of whey isolate (120cal) before morning walk. This was offset by removing one scoop of MD from one of my afternoon shakes. Otherwise everything else was pretty standard. I had some minor hunger pangs, but they usually come about 30 mins before the scheduled “shake time”. Psychological resolve is strong. I had a talk with my brother about the nature of toxic people and other topics regarding discipline and training. We watched a movie together in the evening (”Bank Job”, the worst movie ever, seriously), but I packed a shake with me, so no trouble there. I was anticipating some resistance from the theater staff (for bringing a cooler in with me) but luckily there was no static from anyone. If there had been, I would have told them I am diabetic.

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10:30am - 2 HotRox, 5 BCAA, 1 scoop whey + NEPA walk @ 2.8kph on 3 degree incline (60 mins)
11:30am - 2 scoops Vanilla MD + 1tsp instant coffe, 3g EPA/DHA, multi-vitamin
3:00pm - 2 scoops Banana MD + 3g EPA/DHA
5:00pm - 3 BCAA, coffee with Splenda
6:00pm - Muay Thai training (1hr)
7:00pm - 1 serving of Surge
9:00pm - 2 scoops Strawberry MD
12:00am - 1 scoop Strawberry MD, 1 scoop Vanilla MD
1:30am - 2 scoops Chocolate MD, 3tbsp flaxseed meal, 1tbsp natural peanut butter, 3g fish oils
2:30am - 1 melatonin, calcium, magnesium, zinc

Woke up a bit earlier today and had a great morning walk. Muay thai was amazing. We did mostly knees, elbows, and footwork drills, mixed up with some great conditioning drills. Most of the condition is done via calisthenics (pushups, crunches, bodyweight squats, etc.) and plyometric exercises (jumping jacks, burpees, etc.) It was nice and rigorous but I especially enjoyed the Surge afterwards.

I went to the circus with my little brother immediately afterwards, but I prepared ahead of time by packing a shake in my training bag, so I sipped on that midway through the show. The self-discipline is beginning to feel really good. I noticed my face was very lean before I went to bed.

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