Need a little inspiration in getting rid of that extra layer of winter ‘insulation?’ It can be tough, after dark months of relative inactivity, to get back into fighting shape. Hunter Hobbs of Norman, Oklahoma, took the plunge with a 12-week healthy diet and workout plan and showed astonishing results in a time-lapse video.

Taking a photo each day, Hunter created the 55-second-long video to show what body transformation can be achieved with some good old fashioned exercise and strict diet. Mixing weightlifting with small cardio sessions, a simple fitness plan that he increased in intensity as the 12 weeks came to a close. He has no groundbreaking scientific methods for weight loss and muscle gain and had to work his routine around a 9-5 desk job.

Diet was the hardest and most important element, Hunter believes. He quickly got into a rather bland-sounding routine of chicken, sweet potatoes, oatmeal, salads, almonds, and whey protein shakes, foregoing much in the way of social life in the process. “I cooked all of my meals, brought my lunch to work every day and rarely ate out,” Hunter told the Daily Mail. “I initially tracked all that I was eating to get a better idea of how many calories, protein, carbs, and fats I was taking in and then just stuck to the same stuff, so I knew what I was eating.”

“After about three weeks when I started seeing some real changes and my body adjusted to my diet and workouts, I felt better each week,” he added. ‘It was still a struggle and had to push myself harder to reach my body goals each week, but seeing progress kept me going. I feel a million times better now than I did at the beginning, so much more energy, confidence, and motivation.”

Now the challenge is over, Hunter plans to return to a more balanced lifestyle while keeping hold of the good habits that he picked up during his experiment. This is probably the most valuable lesson of the entire episode, as it can be easy to get caught up in a cycle of crash diets followed by bingeing. “This transformation was meant to be extreme and not something to sustain long term,” he explained. “I will still go to the gym five to six times a week, eat clean and stay consistent, but won’t worry as much if I eat out or have a few drinks with friends.”

Scroll down below to check out Hunter’s incredible progress for yourself, and let us know what you think in the comments. Would you try something like this? Have you got any health and fitness tips of your own? Join the discussion!

Hunter Hobbs of Norman, Oklahoma, took an intense 12 week workout and diet regimen and showed astonishing results in this time-lapse video

Day 1, 202 Lbs

Diet was the hardest and most important element, Hunter believes

Day 6

He ate mostly chicken, sweet potatoes, oatmeal, salads, almonds and whey protein

Day 10

Day 14

“I cooked all of my meals, brought my lunch to work everyday and rarely ate out”

Day 20

Day 21

“I initially tracked all that I was eating to get a better idea of how many calories, protein, carbs and fats I was taking in and then just stuck to the same stuff so I knew what I was eating”

Day 25

Day 32

He mixed weightlifting with small cardio sessions, which he increased in intensity as the 12 weeks came to a close

Day 33

Day 47

There are no groundbreaking scientific methods, gimmicks or magic diet pills here!

Day 52

Day 53

“After about three weeks when I started seeing some real changes and my body adjusted to my diet and workouts I felt better each week”

Day 56

Day 64

“It was still a struggle and had to push myself harder each week, but seeing progress kept me going. I feel a millions times better now than I did at the beginning, so much more energy, confidence and motivation”

Day 67

Day 72

“This transformation was meant to be extreme and not something to sustain long term”

Day 77

Day 87

“I will still go to the gym five to six times a week, eat clean and stay consistent, but won’t worry as much if I eat out or have a few drinks with friends”

Day 90, 160 Lbs

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