As I head into my 14th day of Kris Gethin's 12-Week Body Transformation, I want to take a few minutes to share my experience and results with the program. Moving forward, I plan to post a regular update, maybe once a week, so that you can see the transformation in progress.
Meal Plan
Over the past two weeks, I have done a fairly great job of following the meal plan as outlined in the original post (Click here to view). Where I feel most proud, though, is when I took a vacation to Dallas, Texas and made due without a single microwave or freezer.
While I didn't have the comforts of home, I still ate like a king and didn't cheat. Don't get me wrong, I was tempted by friends almost daily, but I held firm to my commitment.
During the first week, I spent considerable amounts of time trying to figure out how to cook stuff. Do I grill the talapia (fish) on the George Foreman or cook it in a pan? How long should I cook this sweet potato? Questions, questions, questions.
For the record, a sweet potato takes about 8-10 minutes in the microwave, not 15 minutes. I learned that lesson the very first week and I think my house still smells like burnt potato. Fish is best cooked in a pan. Thin cuts of steak, on the George Foreman Grill, take about 5 minutes to finish, while chicken breast takes somewhere between 10-13 minutes. Brown rice, which is actually pretty good, takes about 45 minutes to cook where white rice only needs twenty.
In review, eating according to Kris' plan isn't all that difficult to do. However, I will admit that it's quickly becoming a bit bland and boring. Where my tongue is craving spices, sauces, and toppings, I'm forced to eat the food without anything extra. Ugh!
I can hear some of you saying, "Get some Mrs. Dash!" My response, I have and it's still not enough. I want to throw some butter, cheese, and other great tasting foods on top of this stuff, but I won't.
Water
Over the past 14 days, I have only finished drinking an entire gallon of water one time. This doesn't mean I'm failing to drink water, it just means that I'm not drinking enough. So far, I'm finishing about 3/4 th of the water by bed time, which is around 9:30.
NOTE: Drinking too much water before bedtime is a bad idea. Nobody wants to get up at 2:30 in the morning to use the bathroom, at least I don't. My tip to you, try to get as much water down earlier in the day.
One suggestion that I received regarding water consumption, try putting times on the side of your container. This will help you gauge how much water you need to drink by certain times of the day. So far, it seems to help balance things out a bit.
Supplements
By week two, I decided to up my game and get a little tighter with my supplements. As a result, I stopped by GNC and got the following:
- L-Glutamine
- L-Carnitine
- Creatine pills (that do not require a loading phase)
- Green, White, and Black Tea
- Carbohydrate powder
- Yohimbe
During week two, I stopped taking the GNC Mega Man Burn 60 and its related amino acids because I had enough in the new stack. So far, I feel great. Energy is good, pump is good, and recovery time seems adequate between days.
Weight Training
Similar to the meal plan, I have been following the weight training as outlined in the program. Much of the first week was spent finding a starting point with weights. By week two, I'm still fine-tuning the right weight amount for maximum failure in the prescribed rep range. By week three, I should have it straight and working every set with full intensity.
Was I sore? (Laughing) Heck yeah! Week one left me extremely sore, but not to the point that I couldn't work out. With Kris' videos, I stay encouraged and motivated to push through the discomfort.
Body Statistics
Unfortunately, I failed to measure anything but my weight so far. When I began the program, I weighed in at 238 lbs and this morning I was down 12 pounds to 226 lbs. Might I add that this is the lowest I've been in YEARS!
Next week, I'll be certain to find my baseline body measures and take some pictures for comparison.
Overall Observations
As I bring week two to a close, I am proud to say that I have already accomplished a lot. I am the lightest that I've been in a decade, I'm learning about supplements and a variety of weight training strategies, and having fun in the process.
What I like most about this program are the daily videos. It really feels like I'm doing this program with Kris. Not only does he demonstrate exercises, but he talks about food, traveling, and dealing with sick days. It's very informative and inspiring.
For next week, I plan to make the following adjustments:
- Cook my meals the night before. Unfortunately, I have been waiting until the morning to cook breakfast and lunch. This leaves me little time to get dressed and out the door for work.
- Purchase a pre-workout booster. During my recent visit to GNC, I decided against a pre-workout booster because I felt the current stack was sufficient, but I'm interested in trying the Cellucor C4, which keeps getting rave reviews.
- Make sure to get all of my cardio sessions in. For the first week, I struggled with the morning cardio. Kris simply walked the stairs in his home, which is easy enough. For me, I just had a hard time getting up early enough to fit it in, get dressed, cook meals, and out the door. Secret? Go to bed earlier so I can get up earlier.
Well, I think that's probably enough for now. If you're participating in the program, I'd love to hear your stories, too. Leave me a comment below.
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