Tag Archives: body image

Day 189: I can see clearly now

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Day 189 - front

  • Weight: 137.8 lbs.
  • Workout C: 20 minutes, 25 seconds; next: Workout C, March 11
  • Total inches: 124.5
  • Protein: 131 g (1 g over target)
  • Calories: 2,302

Others could see it.

But for me, it took months. Six months.

It’s not like I couldn’t see myself. I saw the photos I took of myself daily. I see myself looking down, or in the mirror. Not a moment I’m awake that I don’t see some part of myself.

Yet, the transformations were so subtle, and my self-perception so ingrained, that I had trouble detecting any changes.

I would spend 15 minutes in photo software comparing Day 1 and the current day’s photo, putting them side by side, zooming in, overlaying them. I saw nothing.

I felt cheated.

But in looking at the Day 1 vs. Day 181 photos, I saw a better physique from the front and the side.  And in cropping and sizing more than 200 photos for the special 6-month video, I again picked up on what I had difficulty noticing for months.

I feel elated.

My body looks stronger, is stronger. The measurements are good across the board. My only challenge now is to reduce my body fat percentage to a healthy level.

I can continue without worry because this is part of my lifestyle. I wonder what I’ll look like in another 6 months …

Day 189 - side

Day 6: A question of body image

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day 6

  • Weight: 123.0 lbs.
  • No workout today
  • Total inches: 116.0
  • Protein: 118 g (2 g over target)

Ginny has always given it to me straight.

“Your blog is about body image and girly shit,” she said.

Indeed.

This is new territory for me. While I’ve relied on my friend’s good taste for help with clothes, hair and fashion in general, I’ve never discussed those topics at length on this or any other site.

Vanity is a factor in Project Bulk. I want to look more muscular and remove some of the gut.

After checking my body fat percentage, I realized that better health is also a factor. Having a score of 23.5 percent puts me closer to Poor than Average for men in my age range. Consider that Good is 18.1 to 19.6 percent, and Excellent is 13.6 to 16.3 percent.

So adding muscle and trimming some fat would put me a few steps closer to an ideal percentage.

The “Can I do it?” challenge is a big factor. I certainly have a curiosity to see if any of this will work, if I can pull it off. Just because a book says so doesn’t mean I buy it.

Men may not always discuss body image among peers or in public, but that doesn’t mean some of us don’t think about it. And it definitely doesn’t mean we don’t want to improve it.

Maybe better abs will get this girly label off me …