Hey everyone! I've been a T-Nation reader since it was called T-Mag back in the day. My first training program was Ian King's Get buffed series. Since then I have done a lot of different things but always been a faithful reader and Biotest customer. When I started weight training I was a soft 320 lbs. Since starting weight training I have been as low as 225 with visible-ish abs to the puffy 265 I'm currently at. I put on 35-40 pounds this last year due to poor choices and some inactivity due to a knee sprain playing indoor soccer that had me limping around for a few months and a chest infection that had me out of commission for two months.

I had planned to do the V-Diet starting the day after Christmas but I got continually more disgusted with myself so I decided to start as soon as my supplement shipment arrived, which was three days ago. My thoughts on dieting during the holidays are this: I will probably cheat a little on Christmas eve and Christmas day, but if I were not on a diet I would cheat a lot. So my plan for that is to have no HSM's until Christmas Eve (which will be 8 days on shakes only). On Christmas Eve I will have 4 shakes and a HSM (my mom usually makes steak, potatoes, salad, etc so that should be easy to do) and on Christmas day I will do the same at my in-laws' house. So it will be two HSM days back to back.

I'm on Day 3 of the diet and so far so good. I'm definitely not hungry, just bored sometimes and it sucks watching your family eat solid food. I'm going to endure a family birthday party tonight and tomorrow night without cheating, which will be fun trying to explain myself and abstain, but my motivation level is high so I know I won't be tempted.

My plan is to continue to follow my training plan I have been doing for the last 6 weeks. Four days a week I am doing Wendler's 5/3/1 program for the main lifts with a 10:00 conditioning finisher. Then on Saturday I do strongman training. This program has been doing wonders for my strength and recovery ability because it is lower volume than I am used to.

I took the photo on Day 2 due to a crazy schedule on Day 1, and I took my measurements on Day 3, which are:
- Height: 6-1
- Weight: 265
- Neck: 17
- Shoulders: 56
- Chest at Largest: 48.5
- Waist at Largest: 43.5
- Waist where I wear pants: 43
- Hips at Largest: 47
- Relaxed Left Upper Arm: 16
- Flexed Left Upper Arm: 17.75
- Relaxed Right Upper Arm: 16.75
- Flexed Right Upper Arm: 18.25
- Upper Left Leg: 30.25
- Upper Right Leg: 30.75
- Above Left Knee: 20.5
- Above Right Knee: 21.25
- Lower Left Leg: 17
- Lower Right Leg: 17
- Left Ankle: 10
- Right Ankle: 10

I plan to just put my head down and do the program without measuring or weighing until the end. I don't really care about the little progress steps, just the end result. I will monitor the mirror and how my clothes fit as my progress gauge. So I'll report back in 28 days with my new pics. I turn 35 in August and I want to reach that date being the leanest I have been in my adult life, and the process starts now! Wish me luck!

Good Luck!

Hi Ace,

I recently finished the diet a few weeks back. You can see the results on the post just before yours titled "we did it" that my fiancée posted.

I have a few pointers.

If you want the best results then follow the diet word for word. It's a very complicated process the body. Changing the plan by "cheating" at the start and also doing you own workouts may not workout. The cheating bit at the start has probably already happened so let's put that in the past.

I don't know any of the details of your "strongman" workout but you really need to stick to the workouts provided. Looking at you original photo, this will be a lot less calories than you are used to and as such "meaningful" training really can't happen on this diet. The workouts seem to be specifically designed to control stress to the muscular nervous system and allow recovery between them based on the given diet. If you deviate from this then failure is far more likely because you may not be able to recover and will basically be ruined early on. This will have a negative effect on your mental side.

Half the battle with this diet is mental. It's really not that hard if you are committed enough, but give yourself half a chance and stick to the workouts provided.

Again, it says to take weight and measurements each weeks yet you say you are not going to do this. Do it! You will see the gains and it spurs you on mentally. Be prepared to see greater weight loss in the first week or two and considerably less in the later two weeks. I lost 8llbs first week, but only 3 I. Week 3. But the weight does keep coming off all the time.

I did the advanced program and to be honest it was really border line for me. I made a few adjustments where needed, such as instead of a handstand press up which I cannot do, I do shoulder press working the same muscle group. But only 2 changes overall. Much more than this would indicate dropping a level. As the workout says, the emphasis is on form and consistent speed of repitin. It's really important to head this. Once your form drops, stop, take the rest period and continue. If you go those extra two reps your level of fatigue increases very quick and hence you will need more time to recover. Being as for me the was barely enough time to recover anyway, it's super important because at no point in the diet do you get a boost of calories so once in deficit recovery wise, it may have a constant knock on effect.

So overall summary, pick one of the program's, change it if it's to hard! Do be too ambitious with the workouts. It's a weight loss program, and not an Olympic training regime.

Good luck.

Dave.