Woot, Woot! I completed another one!

The joy I experience after completing a workout program always feels amazing, because it means I am one step closer to achieving my goal.

The 10-Week Mass program was completed right before Thanksgiving 2024 and was heavily focused on weight training along with two cardio sessions on upper body training days only. I did this workout 5 days a week – and dare I say it – for a 10-week period, but mainly until I reached my bulking goal weight of 140 pounds.

What was most challenging?

The amount of food I had to eat! 

So, once I found out I needed to increase my calories to build muscle, I decided to aim for 2500 calories and count my macros (Fats, Carbs, and Protein) as well.

At first, I thought, “Oh, this shouldn’t be a problem, because I like to eat.”

Nope. I was wrong!

Since I had certain macros in place I needed to hit – limit fats, increase carbs and protein – coming up with a meal plan was a bit challenging, because I had to say goodbye to tasty sauces, anything breaded, limit sugar, etc., all to avoid a “dirty bulk”.

The meals had to be kept simple.

Especially if you’re trying to cook quick and simple meals after a long day of work.

Ultimately, the meals I created consisted of a lot ground beef and a lot of chicken breast, which became tough to eat after a while, since I had to eat the same thing every single day.

Now that I think about it, I find it very interesting how you can go to a fast-food restaurant and easily down a meal that’s over 2000 calories, but when it comes to making home cooked meals that are over 2000 calories – and staying within the range of your macros – the home cooked meals tasted quite differently, and was not as enjoyable as one would expect.

Trust me, there were plenty of times when I’d look down at my plate and think, “What? I’m not even halfway done yet?!” Or, “Man, I am so tired of eating.”

Never in my life did I ever think I would get tired of eating food.

Then….of course, once I was done eating, I was like. “Woo! That wasn’t so bad!” Lol.

At the end of the day, it’s all a mental game.

What did I enjoy most?

The variety of exercises.

With my goal this round being to increase my calories and hit 140 pounds, this program consisted of a variety of exercises, so that I could increase muscle mass in various muscle groups.

By having different exercises, it made working out fun and less repetitive and made a me forget how much food I had to eat…but only for a short while.

There was, however, a moment during this program when some workouts required more time to complete than anticipated, because – low key – I was really trying to fit my workouts in during my lunch break.

And sometimes I would go over on time…more than I wanted to…and this made me dread working out…

Until…I decided to split the longer workouts over two days, or I would do two workouts a day.

Splitting the workouts helped me regain my motivation and improved my mood. Even though this meant that 1 week of working out was not your typical 7 days, but instead a couple days longer. Making this change worked for me, because at the end of the day, the workout was still getting done.

So, overall, having a variety of exercises benefited me – in this case – by increasing my motivation to want workout and allowed the 10 weeks to go by fairly quickly.

What mistakes did I make?

I did not fully follow the meal plan 100%.

I mean come on, can you blame me? LOL!

Look, I’m human and I am not perfect. This past year was my first time being this consistent with exercising in my entire life. I would normally workout for a couple of months then stop for a couple or a few months, then repeat the cycle. 

So, when I tell you that following a meal plan was not easy – because I’m used to eating out whenever and whatever I want – I mean it. 

Following this meal plan was not easy at all.

Like I said previously, the amount of food was one thing, but also,

• Not being able to eat WHAT I wanted, and WHEN I wanted was tough.
• Eating the SAME thing over and over again for 10 WEEKS was difficult because I got burned out so easily. (It got to the point where I had to change the number of bites I did and just swallowed to get it over with. If you know, you know.)
• There were days when I DID NOT feel like cooking, and (yup) I ate out, and it was delicious!

So yeah, following the meal plan was tough.

Now of course, when I did eat out – or knew I’d be eating out, because life happens – I did try my best to choose things that would not throw my macros completely out of wack and cause me to go over on my weight gain goal.

By doing that, I know it DOES NOT justify me eating out, I’m just saying that I was still mindful of what I was eating and did not go overboard. Therefore, the mindset was there, but at the same time it wasn’t. LOL.

Results

Drumroll please….

Well, considering all the information above…I still hit my goal weight of 140 pounds!

…with a variance of 2 pounds over.

Which – if I do say so myself – isn’t bad al all. Especially for my first time at eating at a caloric surplus.

I’m not going to lie, I was a little scared since I didn’t follow the meal plan 100%, and I did make an adjustment along the way…

…and the fact that I ate out more than I should have…

2lbs over really isn’t that bad.

However, there is one thing I must keep in mind.

Since I did not follow the plan exactly, there is a possibility that I could have gained more fat than muscle. Only time will tell.

Overall, with all things considered, I’d say that this program along with the meal plan was a success, because I hit my goal. Of course when I start the cutting phase, I’ll know for sure.

Check out my progress photo here!