# 6 months progress pics, All Natty.



## danny4xboy (Nov 19, 2012)

Hi Guys and Gals,

Im new on the Forum so more of an introduction than anything and also just wanted to get some opinions on how im looking so far and where i should focus on going forward.

Bit of background; im 23 now but I had anorexia through my Teens but manage to recover somewhat when I was 21, I was also a competitive cyclist during this time so my body withered away to nothing. Cut a long story short, my weight loss triggered a couple of medical conditions and I stopped cycling last year and decided that I wanted to put on a bit of weight and stop looking like a skinny cyclist.

I started training in Feb of this year at home with my own weights but then decided if im going to make any real progress I need to get to the Gym.

So 6 months in and I have gone from 53kg in the first pic to 76 kg in the second but have managed to keep body fat pretty low as I have still been cycling quite a bit as well as other Cardio. I'm not going for a massive bodybuilder type physique, more the fitness model, athletic look, Think Sylvester Stallone in Rocky 3 but maybe a touch slimmer!!!! 

Feedback appreciated,

Cheers



Feb 2013



July 2013


----------



## Monkey skeleton (Jul 8, 2012)

Good work, mate. Only advice I can offer is, keep it up, as it looks like its working well for you!


----------



## Mish (May 1, 2011)

Good progress mate, welcome to the forum


----------



## Cactus87 (Mar 30, 2009)

That's great for 6 months. Whats your routine/diet?


----------



## Ginger Ben (Oct 5, 2010)

Good work so far mate, keep it going!


----------



## BritishAssassin (Nov 26, 2007)

Awesome


----------



## The L Man (Sep 13, 2010)

Good progress mate what was your diet like?


----------



## 2004mark (Oct 26, 2013)

Great progress mate, that's some transformation in just 6 months.

Determination is a great thing but try to keep an eye on it and not get too carried away with it all though.


----------



## Guest (Jul 29, 2013)

Good to see progress pics, great for motivation!

Well done, as the above, whats your diet


----------



## Delboy GLA (Oct 23, 2012)

Great gains well done keep going.


----------



## Poke (May 31, 2012)

Ian McCarthy what you doing on UKM?

Lol only joking good work pal, its extremely hard going from skinny like that to putting on some mass, breaking through the initial phase. For us naturally fat big built bastards its easy, but now you know how its done your sorted, unlike us you won't have to worry about getting too fat when bulking and having a hard time getting it off.

Just remember the bigger you get the more you have to eat to proceed. Ou may also need to change your training routine to break through some more gains if you haven't already as the body gets used to the same routine for 6-9 months and gains slow.


----------



## [email protected] (Dec 9, 2012)

Fantastic! Keep it up :thumb:


----------



## JANIKvonD (Jul 7, 2011)

brilliant work buddy. welcome in


----------



## mccreesh (Jan 30, 2013)

danny4xboy said:


> Hi Guys and Gals,
> 
> Im new on the Forum so more of an introduction than anything and also just wanted to get some opinions on how im looking so far and where i should focus on going forward.
> 
> ...


hats off to you ! great progress! what was your diet/daily calories like throughout?


----------



## eezy1 (Dec 14, 2010)

did he go from skinny to invisible or have i missed something


----------



## Sambuca (Jul 25, 2012)

what did you do to get over the anorexia? did you have support or was it something you did by yourslef? i have seen first hand how hard it is.

congrats on getting to where you have!


----------



## danny4xboy (Nov 19, 2012)

Thanks for all the supportive comments, much appreciated.

A few of you have asked what my diet was like for this period so this is the basic run down; I did a very clean bulk and averaged around 3000-3300Kcal per day which resulted in slower muscle growth but I hardly put on any fat at all. I just cant do junk food anyway, something that's a result of having an eating disorder so I suppose I am lucky in that I find it harder to eat crap than I do to eat extremely clean. I have just finished a mini Cutting phase purely to see how my body reposnded to it as I feared I may loose a lot of muscle but the results have been promising and I look a lot leaner and more vascular than I do in this pic.

My routine has been a fairly standard split but changed it around about so that I was hitting chest an back twice a week, shoulder once and legs once. I di abs and calves 3-4 times per week and in the last month have been doing 3 HIT sessions based around cardio as part of my cut. I also switched to superset workouts for this cut so that my work rate during workouts was doubled.

Once I get back from holiday in August I am going to bulk up to 80kg and see how I look and then cut down again to about 8% BF if possible.

I am so enthusiastic for this now and am thinking of entering a Physique competition next September providing my bulk goes to plan.

Really appreciate it again and thank for the feedback.

Dan


----------



## Spragga (Feb 16, 2009)

Well bloody done mate..... and welcome...


----------



## danny4xboy (Nov 19, 2012)

Sambuca said:


> what did you do to get over the anorexia? did you have support or was it something you did by yourslef? i have seen first hand how hard it is.
> 
> congrats on getting to where you have!





It was a long battle but did have lots of support from family and friend and also some formal support from the NHS which involved counselling and CBT therapy. However, although all of this certainly played a part, it was a sudden "flick of a switch" that went off in my head one day where I looked at myself and thought what they hell have I done!!!

It was only from that point where I was able to get over it by simply facing my demons head on and eat all of the foods that I have feared for the last 8 years. Once I had done that then that was it, I have never looked back since. In fact, I have gone full circle because now I get anxious and worries if I have missed a meal or cant eat something when I need to!!!!

Dan


----------



## Suprakill4 (Jul 11, 2008)

ahhhhhhhhh beginners gains, i do miss them!!! Well done mate, thats some transformation. The key is consistancy though so keep it up!


----------



## Sambuca (Jul 25, 2012)

danny4xboy said:


> It was a long battle but did have lots of support from family and friend and also some formal support from the NHS which involved counselling and CBT therapy. However, although all of this certainly played a part, it was a sudden "flick of a switch" that went off in my head one day where I looked at myself and thought what they hell have I done!!!
> 
> It was only from that point where I was able to get over it by simply facing my demons head on and eat all of the foods that I have feared for the last 8 years. Once I had done that then that was it, I have never looked back since. In fact, I have gone full circle because now I get anxious and worries if I have missed a meal or cant eat something when I need to!!!!
> 
> Dan


  dont get to caught up with diet etc


----------



## danny4xboy (Nov 19, 2012)

Sambuca said:


> dont get to caught up with diet etc


No i am trying not to gee get too caught up in it but I have a horrible tendency to get obsessive about things!!! Hence the reason for the Eating Disorder in the first place.

I just gonna keep to the 80% rule with diet and enjoy it and hopefully that will be the sweet spot in need.


----------



## Talaria (Jun 30, 2011)

danny4xboy said:


> Thanks for all the supportive comments, much appreciated.
> 
> A few of you have asked what my diet was like for this period so this is the basic run down; I did a very clean bulk and averaged around 3000-3300Kcal per day which resulted in slower muscle growth but I hardly put on any fat at all. I just cant do junk food anyway, something that's a result of having an eating disorder so I suppose I am lucky in that I find it harder to eat crap than I do to eat extremely clean. I have just finished a mini Cutting phase purely to see how my body reposnded to it as I feared I may loose a lot of muscle but the results have been promising and I look a lot leaner and more vascular than I do in this pic.
> 
> ...


Great progress, whats your breakfast, lunch etc look like.


----------



## Suprakill4 (Jul 11, 2008)

Sambuca said:


> dont get to caught up with diet etc


Why? Its the most important part of gaining?


----------



## Sambuca (Jul 25, 2012)

Suprakill4 said:


> Why? Its the most important part of gaining?


because he has an issue with food he needs to relax a bit and remember its not the end of the world if he misses a protein shake.

I have seen first hand one of the closest people in my life get through anorexia (her heart stopped on two seperate occasions +_+).

the mindset on food is generally about control due to other issues and that comment is exactly how this person went. one extreme to the other.

So what im doing is showing my concern and hope he realises his battle is far from over


----------



## danny4xboy (Nov 19, 2012)

Talaria said:


> Great progress, whats your breakfast, lunch etc look like.


Thnaks mate,

Typical my diet loks like this;

Workout first thing in the morning

Breakfast = Oatmeal with Protein powder and fruit

Mid morning = Weight gain if Bulking, handfull of nuts if cutting

Lunch = chicken/Tuna/Egg salad with veg

Afternoon = Protein Bar and fruit

Dinner = Chicken/Turkey/Fish with veg

Evening = fruit with Greek yogurt or cottage cheese on something spreadable if bulking, just fruit if cutting.

Pre bed = Casein Protein

I will be changing this up a bit when I start bulking again because I will need more calories than I did last time, I have estimated around 3500 to make gain at the same rate.

cheers


----------



## Sambuca (Jul 25, 2012)

danny4xboy said:


> No i am trying not to gee get too caught up in it but I have a horrible tendency to get obsessive about things!!! Hence the reason for the Eating Disorder in the first place.
> 
> I just gonna keep to the 80% rule with diet and enjoy it and hopefully that will be the sweet spot in need.


just to echo previous comments you have done great. and just remember where you have come from


----------



## danny4xboy (Nov 19, 2012)

massmuscle said:


> Hats off mate, great progress!! If you could manage the time to give us a break down of your diet what you eat for breakfast how many times you eat a day etc etc that would great!


Thanks mate, just did it for yall a few post up. hope it gives you an good idea.

#Sambuca, I really appreciate your feedback and your concern, its the guys like you who have kept me on the right path so thanks very much.


----------



## massmuscle (May 29, 2013)

Nice job!! Keep up the good work!!


----------



## Sambuca (Jul 25, 2012)

danny4xboy said:


> Thanks mate, just did it for yall a few post up. hope it gives you an good idea.
> 
> #Sambuca, I really appreciate your feedback and your concern, its the guys like you who have kept me on the right path so thanks very much.


np mate. i really like seeing threads like this. shows people can overcome huge obstacles in their lives.

Not enough credit goes to the skinnys getting big imo haha


----------



## massmuscle (May 29, 2013)

danny4xboy said:


> Thanks mate, just did it for yall a few post up. hope it gives you an good idea.
> 
> #Sambuca, I really appreciate your feedback and your concern, its the guys like you who have kept me on the right path so thanks very much.


Yeah I seen that, hence the deleted post!!

How much times a week do you workout?


----------



## danny4xboy (Nov 19, 2012)

For the past month I have been working out 6 days a week with 3 of those days using a 2 a day session but the second workouts are only Abs and Calves

I do HIT cardio 3 times per week and then 4 main weight training workouts split down in to;

Chest/Supplement Back work,

Legs,

Shoulders/Traps/Rotator Cuff,

Back/Supplement Chest Work

I don't do any specific bicep or triceps work at the minute because I feel i get enough from chest and back work. I will do some during my next bulk phase though.

Dan


----------



## danny4xboy (Nov 19, 2012)

The-One said:


> That doesnt look 3000+ cals were is your carbs at lunch and dinner apart from salad.


Ah sorry, this is my cutting foods mainly,

when I was gaining I would have wholemeal sandwiches or salad with potatoes for lunch with some carb based snacks in the afternoon

Then for Dinner I would include a couple of sweet potatoes, pasta, rice or something like that.

I would also have peanut butter on toast before my workout in the morning,

Sorry I got you confused with that, the last month I have been on fewer calories than 3000 but am stopping that at then end of the month.


----------



## Tony onedayumay (Jul 18, 2013)

good lad keep it up!!


----------



## Paz1982 (Dec 16, 2012)

good progress mate but has anyone ever told you that you look like tommy off trainspotting


----------



## danny4xboy (Nov 19, 2012)

Paz1982 said:


> good progress mate but has anyone ever told you that you look like tommy off trainspotting


HAHAHA, nope i have never been told that before, my nick name in college was Ian Beale from Easterners though!!!!


----------



## Peacock7 (Mar 10, 2013)

Not sure if cycling is what i think it is or not lol


----------

