Prep Files #02

17 Weeks Out — First Signs of Progress

One week down.

The goal last week was simple: execute the plan as closely as possible, get mentally ready for a long prep, and establish a baseline.

No panic changes if things don't seem to be moving.

Just work on consistency.

It's only been one week, but I already feel a lot more motivated, excited, and mentally ready to push harder in the gym and tighten up my diet.

Current Status

Division

• Men's Physique
• Classic Physique

Weeks Out

17

Current Weight

215.2 lbs

Starting Weight

216.4 lbs

Weekly Change

-1.2 lbs

Phase

Pre-Prep

Weekly Check-In Photos

What Changed This Week?

The biggest thing I noticed this week was that I'm still not 100% following the diet.

It's difficult mentally to go from enjoying whatever I want to suddenly tracking everything and limiting myself. I'd say I was about 70% on track this week.

I do feel like I'm tightening up a little already, but that's probably more from cleaning up my diet and adding cardio than from any meaningful fat loss at this point.

At this point, I'm less interested in individual days and more interested in the overall weekly trend.

Some days were great. Some weren't.

Mentally, I feel like I'm starting to settle into prep mode, and overall I'm happy with how the first week went.

This Week's StageLab Recommendation

Recommendation

Hold

The recommendation was to stay the course.

It's still early, and things have been moving in the right direction, but there's still plenty of room for improvement before I can honestly say I'm executing the plan the way I should be.

My Thoughts

I've done enough preps now that this doesn't surprise me.

One thing I've learned is that prep requires a lot more patience than people want to admit.

It's easy to look in the mirror every day and convince yourself that something needs to change.

It's much harder to stay objective and trust the process.

For now, the focus remains the same:

• Execute the plan
• Track the data as closely as I can
• Get my mind right because the time to really push will come quickly

Current Plan

Calories

2725 kcal

Protein

227 g

Carbs

285 g

Fat

76 g

Cardio

2 × 25 min

What Happens Next

Over the next week, I'll continue focusing on:

• Consistency
• Recovery
• Daily bodyweight tracking
• Weekly check-ins

The next few weeks should start giving a much clearer picture of how quickly progress is actually moving.

At 16 weeks out, and after two weeks of officially tracking and preparing, there should be enough data to begin identifying real patterns.

Current Snapshot

Weight: 215.2 lbs

Starting Weight: 216.4 lbs

Weeks Out: 17

Phase: Pre-Prep

Current Recommendation: Hold

Current Focus: Build momentum and continue collecting data.

Next Update

Prep Files #03 — 16 Weeks Out