Putting my 2012 Physique VS my 2013 Physique into Context

After posting the picture below on my Instagram/Facebook to provoke thought and potentially make competitors or really anybody who wants to get in shape start thinking outside of the norms of the standard fitness advice we’re so used to, it seems that unfortunately, it had the opposing effect.

 

I quickly realised that many were incorrectly interpreting my post as me saying “My 2013 method is better than my 2012 method” when that wasn’t my objective at all. Again, the purpose originally was to perhaps get people exploring outside of their comfort zones like I did this year to achieve my 2013 physique. The goal I hoped to achieve by posting the picture was for curious people to take some of the information from my 2013 transformation and research or ask further questions to potentially increase their knowledge.

Instead, I got a lot of black and white comments on the photo.

Things like, “If I did your 2013 method, I’d look like a mess” or “That might have worked for you, but wouldn’t work for others with a different metabolism” as though the photo had told them to do a certain thing or that the photo had outlined a conclusive method for them to follow! (it didn’t)

What’s so common in this fitness industry is to label something “good” or “bad”, “black” or “white”, when usually there is so much information in between the lines that needs to be looked at before drawing a conclusion. This is known as CONTEXT and there is a disappointing lack of it in this industry.

If we take my picture for example, there is no way that the above two comments made on my picture can be 100% valid because there simply isn’t enough information on my picture to draw any conclusion from. The intention of the comparision photo was never for people to make an absolute conclusion in the first place so those comments missed the point entirely. (Which I partly accept responsibility for).

Thus I felt it necessary to put this picture into some kind of context since people seem to need to draw some kind of conclusion from it. (To be honest, you still really won’t be able to but you’ll hopefully have a greater understanding of the two pictures and what made my 2013 work better.)

 

TIME –FRAME

 

This is actually one of the biggest factors that wasn’t mentioned in the photo. How long did I take to achieve both transformations?

[one_half]

2012

12 WEEKS

In 2012, I started to cut for my competition with only 12 weeks to go – I’m not sure of my exact stats at the time but one thing I always like to measure which tells me how much bodyfat I’m carrying is my waistline. I had a rather large 35.75 inch waist.[/one_half]

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2013

35 WEEKS

In 2013, I started to cut for 2 shows. The first show was 14 weeks away but my goal where I would have the opportunity to turn Pro with the WBFF was 21 weeks away. HOWEVER, the final picture you see in my comparison photo was actually 35 weeks after I started cutting![/one_half_last]

 

Something to bear in mind is that the picture in 2012 is after a 12 week cut from a 35.75 inch waist while the 2013 picture is after a 35 week cut from a massive 37 inch waist. Also that my 35 week cut in 2013 was not a linear process. I turned pro with the WBFF at the 21 week mark and needed to pretty much hover and maintain for the next 14 weeks until my Pro debut. I’ll explain more further down in the post anyway. For now, keep an open mind.

So the time frames that my 2012 and 2013 physiques themselves were achieved are not really comparable and are actually widely varying. In fact if you want a more comparable time frame then it would be better to compare my 2012 picture at the top of this post to Week 14 of my 2013 physique which is down below. I feel like I have held more muscle mass in the below picture but some people told me that I was leaner in 2012 at this point..though I think there’s barely a difference personally.

 

CALORIES/MACRONUTRIENT CONSUMPTION

 

[one_half]

2012

No Tracking of Calories/Macronutrients – Carb Cycling

In 2012, I don’t actually know what my calories or macronutrient breakdown of protein, carbs and fats were. When I tracked it one day for a Youtube video I posted, it turned out to be in the region of 300 grams of protein, 60 grams of carbs and 95 grams fats.

However, as I wasn’t tracking – This was probably wildly varying. I also carb cycled. This means that for the first 4 weeks I did a 2:1 ratio of 2 days low carb and one “refeed” day of moderate carbs (with lowered fats). The next 4 weeks I upped it to a 3:1 ration so I had more low carb days and then the final 4 weeks, the ratio went up to 4:1 (4 low carb day with 1 high carb/lower fat day)

Again, I can’t tell you how many carbs I had exactly on the high days because I wasn’t tracking[/one_half]

[one_half_last]

2013

Tracked Macronutrients – Flexible Dieting with Higher Carbs

In 2013, I knew what I was consuming for every single day for the entire 35 weeks. This is what my diet looked like throughout the entire period. By the way these numbers were my diet for 6 days a week. Every single week I had one “refeed” day where my carbs went up to 350 grams but the other two macronutrients stayed the same :-

Weeks 1-6

Protein – 225 grams | Carbs – 200 grams | Fats – 55 grams

Weeks 7-14

Protein – 225 grams | Carbs – 175 grams | Fats – 55 grams + one day a week refeed (First show after 14 weeks)

Weeks 14-21

Protein – 225 grams | Carbs – 150 grams | Fats – 55 grams (2^nd show – Turned Pro)

Weeks 21-23

Protein – 225 grams | Carbs – 175 grams | Fats – 55 grams

Weeks 24-28

Protein – 225 grams | Carbs – 205 grams | Fats – 55 grams

Weeks 29-31

Protein – 200 grams | Carbs – 175 grams | Fats – 50 grams

Weeks 32-34

Protein – 185 grams | Carbs – 150 grams | Fats – 40 grams (Only for 1 week before the World Championships)[/one_half_last]

 

FOOD “QUALITY”

 

I put the word “quality” in quote marks because that is such a subjective term just like “clean eating” which has zero universal meaning. (It means different things to different groups of people.) Clean eating literally doesn’t exist and is a misnomer, yet seems to be the most incorrectly overused term in this industry. Anyway with that said, here’s what I ate in both years.

 

[one_half]

2012

Gluten/Dairy/Wheat/Sugar/Sweetener Free – “Clean” Eating

In 2012 I could probably count on both hands the food variety that I was allowing myself and I was also gluten, dairy and eventually even meat free apart from fish!! I wouldn’t even allow myself fruit.

 

Protein : Lean beef, chicken, turkey, fish.

Carbs : broccoli, kale, asparagus and MAYBE oats

Fats : almonds and almond butter

[/one_half]

[one_half_last]

2013

Tracked Macronutrients – Flexible Dieting with Higher Carbs

 In 2013, I wasn’t given a diet plan – I was given something that would prove to be far more important. A calorie, macronutrient and  micronutrient target as discussed in the last section. I literally had ZERO food restrictions. To satisfy cravings I had diet sodas and sugar free jello’s which worked a treat.

Protein : Whey protein, all varieties of meats, cheese, yoghurt etc

 Carbs : Literally everything. Ice cream, oats, bread, wraps, shiritaki noodles, pancakes, milk, syrups, fruits, vegetables, potatoes, pizzas, deserts. Anything!

 Fats : Nuts, fish oils, seeds, cheese, fat from meats.

[/one_half_last]

 

CARDIO

 

[one_half]

2012

Last 4 Weeks – 40 minutes 4 x a week low intensity cardio

I didn’t do cardio until the last 4 weeks when my fat loss stalled. When I added it to my routine it was fasted cardio first thing in the morning and was performed 4 x a week walking on treadmill with a high incline for 40 minutes per session. [/one_half]

[one_half_last]

2013

Low Intensity Cardio – 800 Calories per WEEK

I burned 800 calories per WEEK from the start and I did this with a cardio schedule of my choice. So, I simply performed a 10 minute incline walk as a warm up before my weight training sessions and a 10 minute cool down after my weight training session was finished. I did this for 3 out of my 5 weight training sessions a week which got me to my 800 calories burned per week target. So way less cardio in 2013. 3 x per week of 20 minutes walking on an incline. [/one_half_last]

 

Differences :- in 2012 I did no cardio and just added it in the last 4 weeks as I felt my fat loss had stalled. I did eventually end up doing more cardio than I did in 2013, however in 2013 I did cardio from the beginning. So again, it’s quite hard to compare these methods equally.

 

WEIGHT TRAINING

 

[one_half]

2012

Bodybuilding Bro – Split

In 2012 I did your typical bodybuilding or what’s affectionately been coined the “bro” split. i.e. Chest, Arms, Legs, Shoulders, Back and repeat. The workouts included lots of supersetting, drop setting and other methods to increase intensity.

Between this routine and cardio, I was training every single day. In fact, when cardio was added in the last 4 weeks, I was training twice per day!

[/one_half]

[one_half_last]

2013

PowerBuilding Split – Upper/Lower

In 2013 my routine was more of a “Powerbuilding” hybrid. I had power days mixed in with hypertrophy (muscle building) days and a lower body day. My split was mostly an Upper Body day followed by a Lower Body day which we repeated to the tune of 5 days a week.

There was no extra drop setting, super setting or any other type of attempted intensity booster. My goals were simply to retain as much strength and muscle mass as possible – not to over-tax my already impeded recovery with unnecessary extras.
[/one_half_last]

MY WEIGHT

 

[one_half]

2012

165lbs

My stage weight for the body you see in the 2012 picture was 75kg (165lbs)
[/one_half]

[one_half_last]

2013

154lbs

My stage weight for the physique in 2013 was 70kg (154lbs)

[/one_half_last]

 

Something to consider, though – in 2013, my stage weight for my first show in April (14 weeks into my cut) was also 75kg (165lbs) and then 7 weeks later in mid-May, my stage weight was 70kg (154lbs) when I turned pro.. My weight fluctuated by 4lbs up and down from weeks 21-35 and eventually settled again, at 154lbs on the day of my competition at the World Championships in Las Vegas.

 

SUPPLEMENTS

 

[one_half]

2012

In 2012, here is the list of supplements I took in my 12 week contest prep :

L-Carnitine

Caffeine

Yohimbine

Creatine

Glutamine

BCAA’s

MultiVitamins

Pre-Workout

Coleus Forskolii

Barley Wheat Grass

Green Tea

Hemp Protein (The nastiest shit you ever did taste)

Cissus Quadralangaris

CLA

Glucosamine

[/one_half]
[one_half_last]

2013

In 2013, here is the list of supplements I took for my contest prep :

Whey Protein

Caffeine

Creatine

Yohimbine

Multivitamins + Vitamin D3[/one_half_last]

As you can see, there was a huge difference in my supplement regime in 2012 to 2013. Are these worth assessing? I would think not – the only conclusion you could realistically come up with is that I wasted a shit-ton of money in 2012 on a bunch of unneccesary supplements. I got the most shredded in 2013 with the fewest supplements. I don’t think it’s any secret by now that we’ve been lied to by most of the supplement industry about what we really need for results.

 

The Questions That This Information Brings Up

So after going through all of this information, I imagine you’ve probably made some assumptions – I probably would have too but let’s see if we can use some critical thinking for a second instead of jumping to conclusions. Here are some questions that might have been brought up whilst going through the information that I’ve just set out.

 

So Altug, wouldn’t you have had the same results or maybe even better if you continued to cut in 2012 for the same time period as you did in 2013?

Maybe, though personally I think not for several reasons which I’ll explain but, again, there are a few things that we need to put into context.

In 2012 I took the drastic and extreme measure of literally going on zero carbs so OF COURSE I was always going to drop fat almost instantly! I also wasn’t tracking anything. I simply avoided carbs, had fats from almonds with every meal and had a protein source with every meal.

In 2013, I took a more measured approach of starting my cut on a more sensible 200 grams of carbs per day – My protein and fats were also tracked at 225 grams and 55 grams respectively.

What are the key differences here?

My 2012 approach was pretty extreme and drastic as I didn’t have much time – I thought a 12 week cut was normal but for my bodyfat levels I really needed more time, at least double that!

My 2013 approach was a LOT more calculated – You’ve heard the term “what gets measured, gets managed?”. Well this is absolutely true and in 2013 my coach and I took a purposely slower, more sustainable approach to dieting for my competitions in order to retain as much muscle mass and fullness as possible. More importantly, we didn’t totally kill my metabolism with unnecessarily low calories or carbs.

So, like I tell everyone; Yes, drastically lowering your carbs will have you losing fat almost immediately (Whether that’s due to the lower carbs or simply the fact that reducing your carbs so drastically ALSO lowers your overall calorie consumption is something that can be debated..However, what this also means is that you’re setting your body up to be completely shitty at dealing with carbohydrates as soon as your diet ends.

This tends to be where carbohydrates get an unfairly bad reputation – People starve themselves of carbs during the typical, popular modern day diet which helps them to lose weight but then binge to give themselves a pat on the back for finishing their super restrictive diet. They’re then left cursing carbs for causing their fat gain when they caused the problem in the first place. (There are other reasons and ways you can avoid a post-contest/post-low calorie diet rebound but that’s for another article)

Anyway, back to the topic – The objective of every fat loss diet should be not only to favourably change your body composition but perhaps more importantly SUSTAINABILITY. I had this debate with a female friend who said that the Atkins diet “works” which led me to ask, “but did it really? Was it something you could sustain for good?”.

I knew the answer already because she’d already told me that she gained all of the weight back that she’d lost and then some. Therefore, it wasn’t something sustainable and thus, in my opinion didn’t work. At least not for her. (She didn’t want to be zero carb for the rest of her life funnily enough..I haven’t met many people who do)

Let’s go back to what this also means for the competitive model or bodybuilder – If I had continued the drastic, low carb approach beyond the 12 week period in my 2012 picture, I am almost certain that my lean muscle tissue would have been sacrificed at a much greater rate than my 2013 diet.

Another one of the most important things that EVERYBODY should want from a diet is to preserve their lean muscle tissue, male or female, competitive athlete or just your average joe who wants to be in shape.

Why is this important? Well, the simplest reason is that most people would actually achieve the look that they desired if they retained as much muscle mass as possible. (You think J-Lo’s ass is made of fat? Nah, that’s one big gluteus maximus muscle!) I find that both men and women are so overly obsessed with the number on the scale that they stop themselves from achieving the look that they truly desire.

For women, usually the obsession with seeing the number go down at any cost and for men the ego crushing feeling of losing too much “weight” which commonly stops them getting truly shredded.

Probably the MOST important reason for retaining muscle mass is that you will continue to burn more calories by keeping your muscle tissue! You won’t hit those inevitable fat loss plateaus so quickly and, MOST IMPORTANTLY, you won’t be beating up your metabolism so much. Nothing is more important than your health! Think about that the next time you want to go on a drastic diet just to look good for a vacation or an event – Is a week of your life or a trophy worth it in exchange for a healthy metabolism..?

 

Why was your fat loss in 2013 slower? It must be because you weren’t eating as clean!

Again, I’d beg to differ on this topic and not only because “clean eating” is a word that means absolutely nothing, but because my approach in 2013 was purposely a lot slower.

In a diet, you WILL hit plateau’s and you absolutely need to leave extra time in your diet for those plateau’s to occur and for you to do something about them.

So, if you think it would take you 16 weeks to get stage shredded? Leave yourself 20 weeks at the very least. You need 1 week to realise you’ve plateau’d and then another week to actually do something about it and re-assess. So leaving yourself a 4 week margin of error, you’re only allowing for 2 plateau’s! The likelihood is that you’ll plateau more often than that! 4 weeks extra is a bare minimum recommendation from me.

So, in 2013 my coach and I had a little bit of time to make sure that I was burning fat on as high amount of calories as possible (and thus, retain that all important muscle mass as best we could!). When I plateau’d, we simply reduced these calories by a small amount (nothing drastic) to kickstart my fat loss again – We afforded ourselves the time to do that.

In 2012, I literally had NO room for plateaus! Every week I HAD to ensure that I lost fat because I only gave myself 12 weeks. I couldn’t afford not to.

That’s why I had to take such a drastic low-carb approach and probably why I was leaner in 2012 at the 12 week mark than I was in 2013 at the 12 week mark.

Remember though, it’s STILL not even as black and white as that. In 2013, don’t forget that I started off with a waistline which was 1.25 inches bigger than when I started at the same point in 2012. So of course I’d be leaner at the 12 week point in 2012 because I had a headstart due to starting off leaner! That’s probably the simplest explanation

At the end of the day, I’ve heard quotes such as “When will people realise!?! If you eat shit, you’ll look like shit!!” – Firstly, I’m not advocating eating “shit” for your entire diet but if you decided to fit a doughnut, for example, into your daily dietary targets, then you can still turn up stage shredded (and healthy). I am proof of that. I would say that on every single day, I had something that would make 95% of competitors say “Omg, you can’t eat that!!”.

Well, you can. There’s no need to be so OCD about food – there’s more to life, surely?

 

Well your diet worked for you, it won’t work for me!

I’ve heard this said quite often about my results in 2013. Here’s why I find this statement quite misguided, closed minded and often, just flat out lazy.

I certainly agree with the statement if the meaning behind it is, “Altug, what you’re saying might not work for my lifestyle” – That is absolutely fair and I would always advocate for people to find an enjoyable way to integrate what we do into their own lifestyle.

Have you ever tried following a method that completely detracted from your lifestyle and made life difficult for you? How long did you follow that diet? My bet is not very long because you didn’t enjoy it. So my number 1 goal when people ask for my advice is find a method that you can stick to and enjoy. Adherence is everything!

If you absolutely HATE calorie counting and macronutrient counting, then sure, you can say “it won’t work for me!” because you obviously won’t be frickin’ doing it!! LOL (<- sorry it was just so appropriate here)

But if we are looking at it from a scientific point of view, once you and/or your coach have pin pointed the optimal macronutrient breakdown (Protein, carbs and fats) for your body and goals, then I truly feel that making that statement is plain ignorant.

I would venture to say that if you have found your optimal calorie/macronutrient ranges for your particular body and can honestly say that you followed those consistently BUT you didn’t see results then there is something very likely health related that is going on which I would advise you to get checked out by your doctor.

You can’t say “it worked for you but might not work for me” when it comes to the laws of thermodynamics unless something is very, very wrong.

You CAN say it if the context you mean it in is, “I just don’t like tracking my calories and macronutrients” – Then it would certainly be a valid statement

 

But if I ate gluten/dairy/sugar/fructose etc like you did in 2013 then I would look like a mess so in that sense, it won’t work for me!

The sad thing about the fitness industry scare mongering most people into going gluten/dairy/fructose free is that there are actually more studies outlining the BENEFITS of these food items that we’re told to eliminate than there are studies that show the negative effects. It’s another very sad case of extremism that seems so prevalent in this industry.

The ONLY time something like gluten/wheat/dairy etc will work against you is when you have an intolerance to any of the aforementioned things. This is nowhere near as common as you might think. For example, only 0.5% of the population have a gluten intolerance.

However, you’d think that they all decided to become fitness or bodybuilding competitors because apparently everyone in this industry has a gluten intolerance! I find competitors all too often unnecessarily eliminating these type of foods from their diet (ironically causing themselves an intolerance when they reintroduce these food types that their body now sucks at handling, which confirms their belief that the food type is bad! It’s a vicious circle)

Simply put, again, if you are getting in your optimum amount of calories, macronutrients and micronutrients for your goal then you absolutely CAN NOT break the laws of thermodynamics. I.e. One pop tart that is included within your optimal daily calorie and macronutrient targets is absolutely not going to make a difference as opposed to if you replaced that carb source with brown rice for example. (all things being equal in the diet – Such as adequate fiber, fruit and vegetable servings)

I’ve heard nonsense like “My coach said I can’t eat sweet potato because it has more sugar than brown rice”. It’s so frustrating to hear such bullshit and it tends to be hard to break that cycle because the coach has obviously positioned themselves as an authority to their client.

Sure, sweet potato has more sugar than brown rice – but why the F*** does that matter? It doesn’t in the real world – but this coach has just made himself sound like a rocket scientist to his client because of a fun fact he dug out of his 1 week nutrition course. Anyway, rant over.

The topic of “clean vs dirty” food has been discussed to death and I feel that it’s beating the absolute shit out of a dead horse at this point so I’m not gonna go there in this post. There are so many studies to show that “clean” eating doesn’t actually exist but I suspect at this point, if you believe otherwise, your beliefs are firmly rooted. I’ve cited articles below with over 130 studies backing them up if you do get curious and want to learn more. (I too could change my mind in future if more data is released – just like I did in 2013, literally turning my back on everything I thought I knew for the past 11 years)

 

 

CONCLUSIONS

 

I maintain that it’s difficult to come to a hard conclusion based on these two photo’s alone but we can make some pretty safe assertions about my 2012 competition physique compared to my 2013 physique now that we have some more information.

 Assertion 1

Clean Foods vs Dirty Foods simply don’t matter as long as you are hitting certain targets on a daily basis. For me, those targets were my daily macronutrients, 2 servings of fruits, 2 servings of vegetables and adequate fiber. To hit those targets, I was able to get my proteins from any complete sources that I desired, my carbohydrates from any source that I desired and my fats from any sources that I desired (as long as I had a balance of mono, poly and saturate fats).

Obviously, you can’t eat pop tarts all day because you’d never get enough fiber or micronutrients..but could you fit a pop tart in to your diet every single day and still get stage shredded? Absolutely! Would it be a good idea? Probably not if you’re on lower calories because there are more satiating foods out there. Again, use critical thinking and common sense! The irony here is that many “clean eaters” in the fitness industry eliminate so many food types and varieties that they’re actually far unhealthier for it.

– A great article by Alan Aragon, where he cites over 30 studies discusses this topic extremely well if you want to read more – “The Dirt on Clean Eating”

– Another phenomenal article by Armi Legge of Impruvism titled “Why Clean Eating is a Myth” has over 100 studies cited and has ruffled a ridiculous amount of feathers (that’s guaranteed when you challenge the norms)

Assertion 2

Most of the supplements we take or are advised to take are totally unnecessary at best and complete and utter nonsense at worst in terms of real world results. The scientifically proven supplements are the oldies but goodies. Creatine (which is safe and beneficial to use all the way through prep and even on show day because it holds water INTRACELLULARLY not subcutaneously, thus keeping you looking full on show day), a multivitamin, vitamin d3 and maybe caffeine for fat loss if you really fancy it. It’s not even necessary. You saw how shredded I got in 2013 with about the 1/3 of the supplements in 2012.

– If you ever want to know whether your supplements work in the REAL world, Examine.com has a phenomenal database of studies and star ratings for every supplements claimed effects. Bookmark that site as your “go to” for any supplement related information

 

Assertion 3

Give yourself enough time to cut safely and effectively. Enough said here. You want to avoid drastic measures so that your body doesn’t make you look like you’ve been dragged through hell and back by the time you step on stage – This is a mistake I commonly see people make and one that I made in 2012 because I had to spring to the finish line.

 

Assertion 4

Tracking your macronutrients and calories is the most predictable way to get the body composition results that you want. I honestly, as yet, do not see an argument against this assertion. (and I don’t care how “clean” you eat, if you are going over or under the nutrition targets that your body requires to achieve your goal, then you will always be at a disadvantage to somebody who tracks and consistently hits their targets.)

 

Assertion 5

Carbs are NOT the enemy and neither is a particular type of carb! Fructose for example has been public enemy number 1 lately for no real good reason. I got shredded in 2013 and the lowest I went was 150 carbs daily. Those carb sources included syrups, ice creams, fruits, cereals, milk, breads etc. I actually suspect I would have done even better on higher carbs. 90% of people do NOT need to go on a Keto diet in order to burn fat (Less than 100 grams of carbs daily). Forget about me, there are people I know who are in better physical shape than I am who cut on 300+ grams of carbs! Calories in vs Calories out is STILL king when it comes to weight and fat loss. Find your optimal balance of proteins, carbs and fats. There’s no need to immediately demonise carbohydrates!

 

Assertion 6

Nutrient/Meal timing and frequency is waaaay down on the list of importance when it comes to achieving your goal. It’s something that you can pretty much fit into what suits your preferred lifestyle without having an effect on your real world results. Again, top of the list of importance? (Are you bored of me saying it yet?) Consistently consuming your target daily macronutrients and calories for your goal.

 

Assertion 7

Fancy workout “finishers” are not needed – your recovery is already compromised in contest prep, so “Hey, I have a good idea, let me do triple drop sets to fatigue myself further!” – No, you simply want to maintain your muscle mass by keeping your strength high with enough intensity to stimulate the muscles. Increasing training intensity during contest prep isn’t the greatest idea. You will be in a calorie deficit, yet some people see this as a good reason to train harder not smarter. You’ll see fitness buffs doing 2-a-day workouts, supersets, strip sets, drop sets etc when all you need to do at this time is maintain muscle tissue and maintain your strength. You’re not going to be breaking any PR’s deep into contest prep so digging a deeper hole in your recovery isn’t the smartest idea. This point leads me nicely on to..

 

Assertion 8

You DON’T need to over-sacrifice!! There is something to be said for training  and eating smarter NOT harder. Again this ties in nicely with assertion 6. People feel like if they do an extra rep over their competition, they’ll have an advantage, or if they eliminate more foods than their competition, that they’ll have an advantage or if they do hours more of cardio, they’ll have an advantage…Heck, if you told them that drinking their own urine would give them the edge over their competitors would give them advantage? They’d probably gladly chug it.

The irony here is you beat yourself up so much that your body can’t keep up – Especially with the lower calories that a diet inevitably brings. You put yourself at a disadvantage rather than the other way round.

2012 I trained 2 x every single day, eliminated gluten/dairy/wheat/meat (apart from fish).

In 2013 I trained 5 x per WEEK (1 workout per day) with zero drop sets or fasted cardio or clean eating. You decide which year I was smarter.

 

Assertion 9

Fear of Gluten/Dairy/Wheat/Sweetner/Sugar/Fats is so rampant in this industry that it’s keeping most people from getting into shape rather than the opposite. The sad part is that competitors and athletes are pushing these myths the hardest.

If you’re not intolerant or allergic then there is ZERO need to eliminate any of the above food types..and don’t try your hardest to convince yourself that you are intolerant just because you read an article from a biased guru. Again use logic and critical thinking to decide for yourself.  2012 I eliminated everything – 2013 I eliminated nothing. 2013 I was my most shredded.

Assertion 10

A trophy is never worth sacrificing your health, social life, relationships with your friends, family or partners. If you’re doing some unnecessary things that are putting strains on your relationships like being moody because you’ve eliminated all of your favourite foods, carrying a timer around because you have to eat every 2 hours, brah! Etc etc then I would think twice about being on a diet like my 2012 one. Is is it really worth it?

You’d probably enjoy flexible dieting a whole lot more like I did in 2013. Again though, it’s personal preference and whatever works for your lifestyle.

FINALLY

The most important thing I learned in 2013 is that you can pretty much fit health and exercise into almost any lifestyle. I find a lot of people get on their high horse in this industry and do the exact opposite of what their job and responsibilities are : Draw as many people into this lifestyle as possible.

What do most competitors and people who get in shape do?

Show people how “clean” they’re eating, how ridiculously hard they’re training, how much “better” they are than you because they spend all their time in the gym, after which they consume skinless chicken breast, broccoli and sawdust 7x per day all while you’re out partying…you horrible people, don’t you know that you’re not allowed to have any fun in order to get in shape?

I actually find that many in this industry actually enjoy being a select group of people in shape – They come across as enjoying the idea that “not everyone” can do this. I guess it makes them feel special? I can’t think of any other reason that they’d unnecesarily put people off of getting in shape by posting such extreme things.

2013 really made me switch my focus to bringing this great lifestyle to as many people as possible.  That’s why I post pictures up like the Instagram picture that was responsible for this post.  The first thing I say when people give me props for my 2013 achievements is, “You could do it too. Anybody can do it” and I truly mean that.

I hope that delving deeper into the finer details of my 2012 physique vs my 2013 physique highlighted some things that you might not have thought about before and at the very least made you curious enough to research the topics.

I think my final assertion was the most important because you truly can find a way to fit being in great shape and healthy into any lifestyle, including your own. Sure changes may and probably will need to be made but they are nowhere near as drastic as the fitness industry has led you to believe…”you just have to find what works for you.”

Shit..Did I just say that?

Whew! We made it – I didn’t think that after posting my 2012 vs 2013 physique picture on Instagram to inspire thought that I’d end up writing an article which would take  close to 10 hours of my time!

However, if this has made you even slightly curious enough to seek out more information on the broad spectrum of topics that I’ve discussed here, then every minute spent writing was worth it. I hope you feel the same about every minute you’ve spent reading it.

Please “Like” and Share this article with your friends if you think it might help and please comment on this article below if you have any questions or something to say. Let’s get social! The more social response I get, the more I’m motivated to put in time writing articles for you all.

Until next time..