I must apologise for taking my time with this article. I have been pretty busy and trying to take advantage of this good weather (who knows how long it will last).
FINALLY my insane 30 day challenge is over, no more, finished, done with.
To be honest I am pretty darn glad.
If you have no idea what I am talking about then check out the start of the challenge here, and the halfway point here.
As you will know from the halftime report, I failed on a few of them so we will disregard those and just focus on the challenges that I managed to successfully complete.
So here are my 30 day challenge results.
1. No bread or grain
As mentioned previously, this was pretty simple to keep up with. I felt at ease with only eating certain types of carbohydrates and I didn’t really miss grains at all. The fat loss really started to kick in towards the end of the month and although I will obviously eat such things again, I have made a change that will hopefully last a lifetime.
2. No junk food
As you can see from the picture above – the act of not eating grains alongside an abstinence of anything remotely ‘junky’ has given my waistline a far better appearance.
This was hard, especially the first 2 weeks but you know what? Once I had entered the final phase I knew there was no turning back.
With most diets, the best way to achieve your goal from a mental viewpoint is to have a ‘carb up’ or in this case, a ‘junk out’. A day of pure gluttony and greed, and that day kept my mind focused on the job at hand.
I won’t lie, that junk day felt good but it also gave me a very bad stomach. It just goes to show that I not only made changes to my body composition but my stomach had grown accustomed to not having to deal with the rubbish a lot of us eat on a daily basis.
My stats at the start;
Weight – 84kg
Body fat percentage – 16.4%
Waist in inches – 35.25
My stats halfway;
Weight – 81kg
Body fat percentage – 15.2%
Waist in inches – 34
My stats at the end of the 30 day challenge;
Weight – 78kg
Body fat percentage – 14.3%
Waist in inches – 33
In my halftime report I included a goal as to what stats I wanted to hit at the end of the challenge and I nailed them pretty much.
For July I am going on a lower carb diet with the goal to hit 31.5 inch waist, remaining somewhere near 80kg (focusing on a big 5 day carb up at the end which should put on 2kg) and a body fat percentage of sub 12%.
3. Some form of exercise every day
Surprisingly simple to keep up as the key is to mix hard gym sessions with some light exercise such as walking or rocking out with a 30 minute guitar session playing through some of Metallica’s back catalogue.
Seriously, gets the sweats on that does. If you’re a rock/metal guitarist try playing through the entire 9 minutes or so of ‘Master of Puppets’ – it hurts.
4. Write something everyday
During the last couple of weeks I have been taking my writing more seriously and thus, my output has increased with it. Not just in writing articles or guest posts but just general forum posting, essay/assignment writing for my degree and writing/researching for Cracked.com.
5. Actively try to avoid seeing or hearing any news
This was a semi fail as some of my writing projects involve a lot of research which means I have to look through some news stories. I still managed to stay away from current news, so I count this as a victory.
Alongside my junk food blowout, I had a news blowout once the 30 day challenge ended, and just as my stomach felt ill from all of that junk food, my brain felt overwhelmed from all of the negativity and banality that passes as news these days.
Final thoughts
Overall I felt this 30 day challenge has helped to break a few bad habits and I am glad that I went through it.
Obviously don’t try 10 things at once, it is way too much to handle but focus on the one main aspect of your life you want to improve and spend 30 days putting a plan into action. You will thank yourself at the end of it, I promise.
My main goal was to create a bit of discipline in my life of laziness and procrastination and to sort my body out – both internally and externally.
I felt I achieved both of these aims and hopefully I can continue with my new found willpower from this point onwards.
I will try a new challenge in August, probably focusing on just 2 things, and while I don’t know what I will choose just yet, I will probably run another report if I feel that it will be of interest.
If there is one thing I want every reader to take away from my challenge it’s that small changes can make a huge difference.
Check out my stomach – it’s not quite a 6 pack yet but you can see the difference just cutting out a few foods can do to one’s appearance. No fad diets, no hardcore cutting/dieting/carb reductions – just converting to a more natural diet has produced some dramatic results.
Of course you’ll never become ripped by just doing this, but if you want to drop a dress size or you want to move back a notch or two on your belt – just cut out the crap.
It’s so easy.
So what are you thoughts on my 30 day challenge results? More or less than what you expected? Did you do any of these with me? What changes did you notice? Are you inspired to start your own challenge? Share your thoughts in the comments.
The fat on my belly is driving me crazy, I can get fit in every part of my body but this one is pretty hard to do, probably gonna change my diet, good post though 🙂
Toby Steese recently posted..zegarek breil
Belly fat is like any other fat, the only way to get rid of it is take in less calories than you consume each day and keep your insulin levels down, (via not eating too many carbs or junk foods). Keep plodding away, it will come off eventually. If you really want to blitz your belly fat then look into a keto diet or intermittent fasting.
Great job, looking good! I’m glad you were able to keep true with so many of your goals. Mine was a pretty big success as well, but as soon as my 30 days ended I went right back to virtually no sleep (once every three or so days). That’s really the only thing I’ve slipped up on though since — working out is fun and natural again, the more intense the better, my body is loving it, and my spending habits have changed drastically. Abstaining from certain activities cold turkey and then really analyzing the effects is profoundly helpful in deciding what habits to keep/lose. Thanks for this!
Hey thanks Josh – do you think you will keep up with your challenges in the long run?
Big results, reaaly. I’m in shock! Good luck and keep the form. 🙂
cHRISTOPHER BLACK recently posted..Catering
Really loving your blog, Jamie. Started my 30 day challenge a couple of days ago, with your low carb, no junk diet. I’m now thinking what other challenges I can take on. A daily dose of exercise seems like a great place to start.
Keep up the brilliant work!!!
Thanks Martin, it’s good to know that others like yourself are taking something from my challenge and trying it out in their own life. Just aim for the halfway point, after that it’s easier to think of the end as nearer than the beginning.
Congrats Jamie! Lookin’ sharp buddy!
It’s pretty damn amazing the changes that we can make in just 30 days when we really put our minds to it. I like the idea of the challenge — it gives you just enough of a kick in the ass to get you motivated.
And I can definitely relate to the news thing. Ever since I got rid of my television over a year ago I’ve been pretty much ignorant to world happenings at large. Of course, you can’t help but hear about some things second hand, but for the most part the change has been awesome. I used to think I HAD to know what was going on in the world . . . I had to be “current.”
Bullshit.
I never realized what a time-sink the news can be. And on the rare chance that I see a bit of it now and again, it’s always so fucking grim I just want to turn it off. That shit desensitizes you. Better to just focus on the things that matter . . . YOUR community, YOUR family, YOUR life.
Cheers!
Trevor recently posted..The Hidden Truth About How Blogging Can Change Your Life
Hey good to see you round these parts Trevor! I was slightly inspired by your steak and eggs diet as I have done similar no carb diets in the past with good results. This time however I wanted to see what no grains and no junk did to my body without counting calories or worrying about carb intake. It shows that just changing one big thing about your diet can make a significant change. It’s really very simple and all of these celebrity fad diets and all this ‘point’ nonsense and women’s magazine articles are just BS.
Make a change, stick with it, results happen. The only variable is whether you stick to something or not.
I will give up my TV one day, it’s like ending that destructive relationship that you know is bad for you but you just can’t bring yourself to make the change.
I think I’m waiting for it to break – all of my televisions break..
Nice work on your guitar cover of Metallica’s song. When I first read a month ago that you played guitar and that you practiced “hardcore” — sorry for the lack of a better term — every day for six months straight, I wondered how good you really were since I’m a musician myself.
Anyway, I do wonder as well, how come you don’t choose to continue the first challenge mentioned here and mix it up with #6 in the first article of this 30 day challenge? The one pertaining to exercise. Only a month later (particularly fast compared to most people) you managed a noticeable difference to your body, just imagine if you keep it up for another month! Lady magnet, eh? 😉 Just my thoughts, not trying to say you’re on the larger side of the scale. Congrats however!
Hi, yeh that video was from 2006 – hence the shoddy webcam at work. I don’t feel exercise every day is good for you in the long run but I am still reducing my waist size slowly and I do look better now than I do in that second picture, so it’s all good so far. Thanks for your comment and praise!
I am totally in awe, I have been trying to change a few habits and have found once I try and change more than one or two at a time it gets harder to stick to them.
Barbara recently posted..30 quotes on living and loving your life
Hi, I don’t recommend trying more than one 30 day challenge at a time. I only did it to see if it was possible and I failed on half of them. Pick the one thing you want to do more than any other and focus on that – you’ll have a far better chance of succeeding. Thanks for your comment!