2008 Transformation Contest

Hey everyone, Alen here. I will be jumping in instead of SCT. I was following you guys so far and now it’s time for us to do it together. I feel very motivated and I hope I can pass on some of the good vibes on to you people and make you come out of this as winners. OFC, I will give you some hard time as I can be serious competition

This is supposed to be my introduction post so here it goes.
My name is Alen, but you can call me mali, it’s a nickname that stuck over the years and it translates to “little” it was a joke in the beginning but over the time everyone started calling me like that and now I have people who only know me by that nick.
I am 27 and I work as IT consultant and I also like to think of myself as an artist. I have about a million of ambitions and things I want to achieve I just have to find the way to stop sleeping and make my days last a week
Anyways it wasn’t always like that. Strange, but many stories start like this I used to be competitor back in my junior days and a successful one too. I won several medals, including two times junior state heavy weight vice-champion. By the year 2000 I was in the best shape of my life and then came the great disappointment. It was my last year as a junior and competing as a senior in a heavy weight meant taking loads of steroids and generally not living healthy. I have a father who was a competitor during 70’s and 80’s. He spent his life devoted to healthy living and never injected anything stronger than a vitamin C and I wasn’t to be the one to turn into a black sheep. Decision was to continue with competing as natural and probably never enter finals or quit and go to college. So I went to college and almost forgot about the sport.
What I realized several years after was that competition was only a way, a simple goal that made all the hard work make sense. Without it I was clueless and wondered in the dark. Of course I went to the gym from time to time, sometimes even for a whole year but in the end I would give up and fall into decay again. During college and two years after I led most unhealthy life style. Partying, drinking and eating one fast food meal somewhere in the 02:00AM and sleeping all day or working some crappy job that made no sense to me, but I had few choices. Point is I woke up one day and decided to change all that. I stopped smoking and drinking all in the same moment, five years ago and never took a cigarette or a drop of alcohol again.
Thank came five years of trying to get my life where it should be. For a while I had a hard time finding a good and steady job. I worked as an instructor in the gym for a while, but they closed the gym and finally some two years ago I got the employment as an IT consultant in a largest meat factory in my country. Good and steady job with decent pay. It wasn’t a dream come true but it was a starting point.
Anyways, working in a meat factory has its own drawbacks, like eating meat and fat all the time LOL. And so one day I was facing the monitor, breathing heavy, sweating and feeling like I will never get of the chair.
Some three months ago I found bodyspace.com and started my own account. That was a beginning of my journey back to normal. I made radical changes and made great progress, in only seven weeks I was reborn and felt much better. Then came Steph a.k.a. Daretosoar and she pointed to me there was a competition for all who want to transform their bodies. That gave me the greatest motivation possible and even I wasn’t chosen for the first five I never gave up on the idea to transform myself.

My goal is to get down to 100 kg and 10% body fat, but for now 15% is more realistic and 105kg. Right now I am 115kg and 25% body fat. I will lose those 10% by the end of this competition and I will also help you all guys to achieve your goals. There will be no looser on March 26th.

Here are my most recent before photos:

Please don’t mind the gloomy face I am just trying to scare you out of winning this race

As I approach the 8 year mark since my first transformation, I am stoked to be participating in another transformation challenge. I’ve gone from over-weight to ripped and competing in two bodybuilding shows over the last 8 years. The past year I’ve traveled nearly every weekend photographing and reporting on bodybuilding/fitness/figure shows. I’ve gone from having abs like those on stage to looking like a walking cheese ball. Airport food, not eating enough to eating too much. Poor eating habits and not hitting the weights have been my downfall. Traveling and being "too busy" is no excuse for letting my physique slide to what it is now.

While I am not competing for prizes or against the 5 competitors, it doesn’t mean I won’t approach the next 13 weeks with any less intensity. I started my transformation challenge last Monday - December 17, 2007 weighing 219lbs. Today 9 days, later I am at 213.5lbs. I cleaned up my diet and drinking more water. This has made a HUGE difference in my energy levels over the week. Hitting the weights again has been a challenge - I’ve lost a good deal of strength and I’m walking like an 80 year old man with a walker. I over did it a couple days and reminded myself to not over due the weights and I’m not out to set any lifting records. Aight - enough babbling. Here are my "Before" photos and as soon as my camera is returned from SONY - be on the look out for some training videos, visits with some of the pro bodybuilders, top trainers, various classes and more. I’ll also be using my network of contacts in the industry to provide insight into products, training and more. I’m here to show that you can accomplish anything when you put your mind to it. Join me in not only watching the five competitors transform here but also set your own goals and do it with them. My goal - drop 30lbs in 14 weeks and see the six pack again.

BEFORE PHOTOS - December 17, 2007 - 219.3lbs

9 DAYS into it - December 26, 2007 - 213.5lbs

The Ab Hunt Begins!

Although I have lost progress in recent months, considering where I have been in the past, I am still quite proud of what I have accomplished so far…  

…Transforming my body from a morbidly obese, near death, state of shock body, to a reasonably fit and curvy woman.

And although experiencing obesity was no walk in the park, I wouldn’t take it back for the world.  I learned many things through the experience.  

Compassion, depth of spirit, humility.

The one thing I would take back however, are the remnants that my past still holds on my body.  

Loose skin.  

I intend to go into the subject further as this transformation progresses.  Let’s just say for now, that no matter how hard you work, no matter how clean your diet, there are certain things beyond your immediate control when you have once been over 100 pounds overweight.

Quite honestly, as my body changes and grows leaner during this transformation, I do not know if the end results will warrant the changes, because of this issue.  

What I do know, is that this transformation is about more to me than my body.  

This transformation is about my will, my inner strength, my spirit.

This transformation to me, is about developing the mindset of a champion, and giving other extremely overweight individuals the permission and avenue to do the same.

Before pics, Body Transformation 2008, December 26, 2007.

The before shots:

Ladies and Gentlemen (and SCT),

Weighing-in in front of people is a very hard thing for me to do.  My body is not a source of pride at the moment and showing it to the world is humbling.  This is probably the case for many in the western world.  As I do this, and as my anxiety grows, I continually remind myself that the fat is not me.  The fat is a mass of cells, a coat that I am working to take off.  If you allow yourself to be a fat person instead of a person that simply needs to lose unhealthy fat you will struggle with emotions of poor self image.  Everyone,  you are all wonderfully and majestically made.  You must be able to look at your true state and smile.  

I will reshoot this weigh-in because I did not include a good shot of the paper or me standing on the scale.

Ok so here they are..I’m so excited when 13 weeks is up comparing these pics to my new.

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For most people, before pictures are something to be dreaded. However, when you’ve already dropped from over 400lbs into the 290s, they are merely a marker for progress. I look at the below pictures and see the areas that have drastically improved in the past 2 years, and then I also see the areas upon which I want to continue to improve.

Most of all, I see that underneath all of the fat, the gunk, the blubber, what have you.. that a beast lies within. Over the next 13 weeks, let’s unbury him.

Newspaper showing today’s date (included also in all mandatory poses):

Mandatory Poses:

Front Relaxed -

Rear Relaxed -

Side Relaxed -

Optional Poses:

Calves and Hamstrings:

Side Tricep:

Front Double Bi:

Rear Double Bi:

Lets do it!

SCT

Here they are.  There is a lot of work to be done.  Lets get ready to sculpt this body.

This is the verification of the date picture.

Front View.

Lots of work to do especially in the core area.  That is where I am hoping to see the greatest improvement. I would also like the thighs to firm up and shrink as well.

Side view

Rear view

Yep! Got my work cut out for me.  I know with hard work and determination I can whip this body back into shape and be proud of my accomplishments. A friend of mine said he can see the body starting to take shape. Getting curvy again.  Yes the c.w. in me was soaking it up. Another part of me seen the light of hope.

Nothing better to wake up to than getting to take some video! This was my first video shot in the bathroom ever, and so you should all feel special to now be included in that part of my life, hahaha.

The video seems to be a tad on the dark side, but the weigh-in numbers are visible and confirmable via the attached pictures as well. In the future I will have to add some extra lighting to make things more pleasing to the eyes.

Without further rambling…

And then the photo of the weigh-in as well for verification:

I’m off to the gym for some Legs and Cardio.

Stonecoldtruth