How long before you saw results

[Jason Panicaro]

Hi guys im now officially 2.5 weeks into crossfit. I have been doing it about a month or so but for the past 2.5 weeks I have really stuck with it. I love the workouts, and love the way I feel after them. I was just curious how long it took people to really start seeing results? Maybe some before and after pictures with dates would be cool. Thanks

[Brian Bedell]

It took me 9.3 days before I saw results.

[Mark E. Wallace]

Brian is a little more advanced than I am.

Took me 9.5 days.

- Mark

[Jason Wallis]

Define "saw results."
My ability to go all out in the metcons increased within a week.

[Meghan Reid]

The bruises from hang power cleans usually show up the next day.

OK, Jason, we kid.

Check out the "testimonials" thread for a lot of before and after pics and stories about how lives have been changed, etc. As for results, it truly depends on the individual and his/her goals. I am still seeing results in terms of improved lifts and faster times every single day, and I've been doing this for almost 2 years.

[Jason Panicaro]

Yeah I have looked through some of those. I was just wondering when people really started to see weight loss and see muscle definition start to come thru? Like I said I am only 2.5 full hardcore weeks in and I love it so far and I am seeing minor results. Im not a strict diet yet, but I have cut out all sodas, and I am eating better than before. I am trying to work into the dieting thing slowly as not to bounce back. I have looked into the zone and paleo diets.

[Larry Hotchkiss]

Originally Posted by Jason Panicaro

Yeah I have looked through some of those. I was just wondering when people really started to see weight loss and see muscle definition start to come thru? Like I said I am only 2.5 full hardcore weeks in and I love it so far and I am seeing minor results. Im not a strict diet yet, but I have cut out all sodas, and I am eating better than before. I am trying to work into the dieting thing slowly as not to bounce back. I have looked into the zone and paleo diets.

Too many variables, especially if your asking for when muscle definition will start to show. Someone at 40%bf and someone at 15% BF will obviously show progress differently. Everyone seems to carry fat a bit different as well. It also depends on if you altered your diet when you started CF and if you are getting enough food, Not enough food will hamper progress.

All I can say is if you have a clean diet and work hard you should see results in the mirror within 2 months so just be patient, it WILL happen.

[Jason Panicaro]

Originally Posted by Larry Hotchkiss

Too many variables, especially if your asking for when muscle definition will start to show. Someone at 40%bf and someone at 15% BF will obviously show progress differently. Everyone seems to carry fat a bit different as well. It also depends on if you altered your diet when you started CF and if you are getting enough food, Not enough food will hamper progress.

All I can say is if you have a clean diet and work hard you should see results in the mirror within 2 months so just be patient, it WILL happen.

Thanks 2 months would be great. Does anyone use a website to count calories or anything like that? I am using myfitnesspal.com and it seems pretty good. Problem is how do I take into consideration the crossfit workouts for calories needed?

[Larry Hotchkiss]

Originally Posted by Jason Panicaro

Thanks 2 months would be great. Does anyone use a website to count calories or anything like that? I am using myfitnesspal.com and it seems pretty good. Problem is how do I take into consideration the crossfit workouts for calories needed?

I just kept an excel spreadsheet myself to log my food intake. I often used the USDA nutritional database to look up macro content for fresh foods I was eating.

I was eating close to paleo for a while myself but after a couple months of CF showed signs of overtraining which prompted me to track my cals again. Come to find out I wasnt eating enough. I looked at a few different calculators and the zone block calculator to get block count(and then did some calculations on meals of various block sizes to see where that would put me cal wise). Eric here on the forums recommended 15 cals per LB of body weight as a rough starting point and that was also right in line with what all the other calculators where coming up with.

I ended up switching to the zone and expanding my carb choices a bit(eating from zone preferred list) so I could get the needed cals daily and also so I would have a target to hit (ie blocks) so I could make sure I was eating enough. Its been about 7 weeks since I upped my cals, Ive gained a couple pounds but am also noticeably leaner and my symptoms of overtraining have gone away so its the result I was hoping for.

[Jason Panicaro]

Originally Posted by Larry Hotchkiss

I just kept an excel spreadsheet myself to log my food intake. I often used the USDA nutritional database to look up macro content for fresh foods I was eating.

I was eating close to paleo for a while myself but after a couple months of CF showed signs of overtraining which prompted me to track my cals again. Come to find out I wasnt eating enough. I looked at a few different calculators and the zone block calculator to get block count(and then did some calculations on meals of various block sizes to see where that would put me cal wise). Eric here on the forums recommended 15 cals per LB of body weight as a rough starting point and that was also right in line with what all the other calculators where coming up with.

I ended up switching to the zone and expanding my carb choices a bit(eating from zone preferred list) so I could get the needed cals daily and also so I would have a target to hit (ie blocks) so I could make sure I was eating enough. Its been about 7 weeks since I upped my cals, Ive gained a couple pounds but am also noticeably leaner and my symptoms of overtraining have gone away so its the result I was hoping for.

So thats 15 cals per pound of body weight to lose weight or to maintain? So far I have no signs of overtraining.