Progress Pictures: 6 months clean

May 30th, 2012, I started my clean eating journey.  I committed to 30 days of clean eating, no cheating. I was doing it as an experiment, mostly just to see what the fuss was about. To see if there were any discernible changes in my body, my mood, my physical feelings, etc.

This was day one:

This was after two weeks:

This was the end of 30 days:

This was after 3 months, which did include cheat meals here and there:

This was earlier this week, at about 6 months. 

I'm now at 6 months and I can't fathom going back.  I've never been healthier. My moods are, for the most part, stable.  My energy level is amazing.  I used to be exhausted from 2pm-8pm every single day.  Now I'm on the go from 7am-1am most of the time.   When I do cheat, I get visibly bloated, I am noticeably more tired, my efforts in the gym are terrible, I have limited mental focus, and I'm extremely moody.

People have asked if I changed my exercise routine at all during this time.  The first month, no.  The second month, no. The third month, maybe just a little, though nothing really significant.  My fourth month, I started pushing myself to do deadlifts and squats with regular frequency.  I started playing a bit with weight and volume and just having fun with my workouts overall.  That said, I can honestly say I was a pretty heavy lifter before, and that the changes I've seen in my body composition are 80% diet related.