Finished level 1

Hi 

Just finished Thrive and just wanted to say thank you Jeff for creating a very easy to follow and enjoyable program. While I was already eating all the foods that are approved on thrive the real magic was in the details. Before thrive my energy was lacking and I didn't seem to be able to lose the weight I put on while "trying" to bulk. I was eating all pretty good foods for my meals but also eating a few too many bad snacks after those meals. I was also grazing all day because I always thought you had to eat every 2-3 hrs.

Thrive changed all this by making me accountable for what I was eating at each and every meal by going in and checking off my tasks for the day. By getting one task a week it really drilled in the habit of that particular task. Now it is just second nature. I  also became more strict and kept the snacks limited to Sunday's.  Before thrive I was very sporadic with when I added carbs or when I added veggies. By redistributing all the food I was eating through grazing and putting it into 3 meals a day and in the correct quantities it had big effect on my energy levels despite the fact that my sleep wasn't ideal all the time,which I'm working on. By taking the carbs away from breakfast the mid morning crashes went away. Also the much bigger lunches with the raw vegetables kept the afternoon dip away.

Overall I lost 7lbs and have much more energy and my recovery from exercise is improving. My only dilemma is that while I'm not lean enough to see my bottom two abs yet I'm starting to get the comments that I'm getting too skinny because my face looks like skeletor! I seem to lose all the weight in my face before my stomach. Hopefully I can avoid the trap of letting these comments getting to me and start bulking with junk food again which is the only way I've been able to put on weight in past. Maybe I need the extreme fat loss program to see my bottom two abs and Jeff needs to come out with a bulk healthily program I can use after that. Any way. That is my journey. Can't wait for future programs!

Phil

Phil,

Congrats on finishing the program! Good job paying attention to details. 

You generally lose weight in your face first, your lower face and neck. Maybe thats the way your face is suppose to look. Maybe its some some fat bastard projecting his insecurities on you by calling you "skeletor". How tall are you and how much do you weigh? 

As for the bottom abs, thats a pretty difficult task. Much more difficult than people give it credit for. Just because they aren't there yet doest mean they won't get there. 

Haha could be projecting but I don't particularly love the skinny face myself. You are probably right about that is what my face is supposed to look like because most of my life I was a bag of bones until I got into service and bulked up. Went in at 125lbs and got up as high as 175lbs at 5'7. The thing is,as my weight went up so did my blood pressure. Think my body is trying to tell me something.  Right now, post thrive I'm 150 with my blood pressure under control for the most part. Would love to get the abs without losing too much more but that is probably conflicting goals. 

150 at 5'7 is a heathy weight/height. You will definitely have to lose more 'face weight' to get the bottom abs to show out. Its pretty hard to manipulate bodyweight and body fat percentage without it showing in your face. 

Well based on your picture Zach, your 156 and mine look very different. Considering I'm only on PE1 on most things maybe I am just " weak and underpowered" Instead of worrying about my skinny face I think I will just continue with Thrive which I feel good on and actually work on building some strength and consistency with my foundation workouts! Thanks 

Phil

Philip,

It sounds like your doing the right stuff. It just takes time. Legendary weightlifting coach John Thrush always says "Be wary the fury of a patient man". A guy that has the patience to keep his head down and grind year after year will always succeed. Just keep doing what your doing.