TT Essay And A Flash Back To One Year Ago

In the past, I haven't posted my Turbulence Training Transformation Contest essays, but I decided that this time I would. So here goes nothing!

I originally wasn’t going to join TC4, but I am glad that I did! These past 12 weeks have been a mental and emotional journey, as well as a physical one. In November, I ended TC3 at 124.6 lbs and 17% bodyfat - I was thrilled with my results! However, over the holidays I used a mass building program and used that as an excuse to overeat. I am embarrassed to admit that I began TC4 on December 28 at 138.2 lbs and nearly 20% bodyfat, according my scale.

For this contest I used 3 awesome TT workouts – 2K5 (from the Original TT Manual), 2K9 and TT for Buff Dudes and Hot Chicks. All 3 helped me to gain muscle and lose fat. During these 12 weeks I reduced my weight from 138.2 lbs to 127 lbs and reduced my bodyfat from nearly 20% to 16%. I lost a total of 9.25 inches, including 2.5 inches from my waist and 2.25 inches from my abdomen. Comparing the end of TC3 (17% BF at 124.6 lbs, 103.42 LBM) to the end of TC4 (16% BF at 127 lbs, 106.68 LBM) reveals a 3.26 lb gain in lean body mass (muscle!) which I am very excited about!

Esophageal problems seem to run in my family. My mother and aunt have Barrett’s Esophagus, and my uncle and grandfather died of esophageal cancer. I know that when I eat poorly, I feel the effects. When I eat well and control my diet, my heartburn, reflux, and indigestion are gone, keeping acid out of my esophagus and reducing the potential for problems later in life. I wanted to complete this contest with a new sense of control in my diet, that is, I wanted to learn to eat well without having to enter everything into fitday first. Don’t get me wrong, fitday is a wonderful tool, but I had gotten to the point where I relied on it too much. I am confident that I can step away from fitday now, and just check in every so often to make sure that I am on track.

I wasn’t on the forums as much during this contest, but I definitely heard your voices in the gym (Francis) and with nutrition (Tabitha, Liz, and others). A sincere thank you to everyone for their support! This contest has been a great experience and I’m glad that I reconsidered and decided to join!

During the final week of the contest, I broke out into an extensive rash. I was disappointed that my pictures would not show my results as clearly as I had hoped. However, I think this was a learning experience as well. It made me stop and remember that it is the journey and not the destination. I needed to step back and see the big picture. In that vein, the [picture below] is a comparison of my final results from TC1 and TC4. My TC4 end date was almost exactly one year from my TC1 end date and I thought it was a fun comparison of the changes.[You can see my final pics posted HERE.]

Have a great day everyone!