Making Progress!

I've been getting a few compliments lately that I look leaner and fitter. Indeed, I do notice that I've gotten leaner but slightly smaller in size and that is common, although my weight only shifted less by a kilo. At my weight (73 kgs) now, I don't expect significant changes as I change physically since I weight-train pretty heavy, so maintenance or any gain of lean muscle will offset any weight loss recorded on the scales.

My goal is to have a lean, muscular and athletic body with low bodyfat. I don't want to look like a bulky bodybuilder and I have no desire to have muscles that are too big and bulging. At first, I was indecisive on how I wanted myself to look physically. I wanted to be lean, yet also wanted muscles. When I got bigger, I felt awkward and didn't really like it when my clothes felt tight. On the other hand, I felt more comfortable when I was leaner and fitted into my clothes better. Since my weight would shiftly only slightly or none at all as I made progress, how I looked in the mirror or how my clothes felt would definitely better indicate my results compared to the scales. That's how I decided what my goal should be. I will continue getting leaner, while maintaining or slightly gaining some lean mass. Fixing on a goal or direction has definitely made things easier for me. I don't have to yo-yo back and forth and then, get frustrated when I didn't achieve the look I wanted.

Initially, I was having doubts if I'm doing it right, but I probably spend too much time looking at myself and can't tell any significant difference right away, which is true. You make very small differences everyday if you work out diligently, so you can tell only after some time when the cumulative results become more obvious. I knew I was getting leaner as my waist has shrunk and my clothes are getting looser, which are both good indicators and the compliments really helped to affirm it. However, my strength hasn't decreased and I've even managed to lift slightly heavier than before, which is desirable and shows that I'm maintaining or gaining lean mass.

The consistency and motivation to workout lately has definitely paid off. I've been eating pretty clean most of the time, but I have my 'cheat' moments to reward or soothe myself (stress is a bitch!). What motivates me the most is the results. The closer I got to my goal, the more motivated I become and this can be a very powerful driving force. When you're getting what you want from what you're doing, no matter how hard it is, you never want to stop and will keep plowing forward. I will probably post some pictures again soon (sis is busy with her assignments!). For now, I'll just keep going =)