Is it possible for me to become super fit?

mjhurry

Hi! I've been overweight/obese since I was 3 years old. I've had many unsuccessful attempts to lose weight, however I've started again and have lost almost 5kg I am currently 85.5kg, my final goal weight is 55kg. My question is, is it possible for me to become super fit? Is it possible for me to develop visible abs, and an obviously fit, strong physique? I've blamed my weight issues on my genetics and struggled to get fit for a long time (most of my life). I want to believe it's possible for me, as this would be very motivating but I have some doubts. Do I have to be genetically predisposed/fit since a young age to become super fit? PS. I'm aware that this would take time, I'm just trying to keep my expectations realistic. I hope this makes sense!

mjhurry

PS. I'm still motivated to get fitter than I am now! I'm just curious about how far I could take it. Thanks!

harper16

It's up to you how much effort you put into it. I don't think anyone can tell you for certain how fit you will or won't get. You seem like you have focus and drive that in my opinion helps a lot.

PAV8888

You are here, in this world, today.

You will, hopefully, be here, in this world, tomorrow.

Today, did you work on the pre-conditions that can both get you closer to where you want to be, and help keep you there?

Then it was a good day!

MaltedTea

"Is it possible for me to become super fit?"

Yes...

As long as you are motivated to do it in a healthful way, while having fun, being patient and learning about all the new ways your body is adapting to a new lifestyle.

Enjoy the ride! You got this!

mjhurry

harper16 wrote: »

It's up to you how much effort you put into it. I don't think anyone can tell you for certain how fit you will or won't get. You seem like you have focus and drive that in my opinion helps a lot.

Thanks for the reply! I am willing to put the effort in, especially now that I've been seeing results I guess I'm being impatient about seeing how I turn out hehe 😅

mjhurry

PAV8888 wrote: »

You are here, in this world, today.

You will, hopefully, be here, in this world, tomorrow.

Today, did you work on the pre-conditions that can both get you closer to where you want to be, and help keep you there?

Then it was a good day!

Thanks so much for this! Such a helpful reminder to stay in the present moment and do what it takes now

mjhurry

MaltedTea wrote: »

"Is it possible for me to become super fit?"

Yes...

As long as you are motivated to do it in a healthful way, while having fun, being patient and learning about all the new ways your body is adapting to a new lifestyle.

Enjoy the ride! You got this!

Thank you for your encouragement! Yes, I think I'm going to have to work on being more patient with myself hehe

spiriteagle99

It truly is up to you to decide how much you want this and what you are willing to do to get there. I know several people who have gone from obese couch potato to marathon runner, which is one form of fitness. Some lost a lot of weight and some didn't.

rheddmobile

I know for sure you absolutely can become fitter than you are now!

Lifestyle has a lot more to do with it than genetics. Your genetics may make it easier for you to store weight, but they can’t magically make use of calories you never put in your mouth. Unless you have a medical condition, you will get stronger and fitter when you use your muscles. The real question is, how much of a priority are you willing to make this? Since you seem basically healthy, there’s no reason you can’t become a fit, athletic person. But you probably can’t do that without changing the way you live in basic ways. It’s likely that your use of free time is going to need to permanently incorporate much more physical activity, and much less eating for fun. Is this what you want for yourself? Only you can answer that.

By the way, visible abs may or may not be a laudable goal for you. Some woman don’t get visible “six pack” abs unless they drop to an unhealthy BMI.

mjhurry

spiriteagle99 wrote: »

It truly is up to you to decide how much you want this and what you are willing to do to get there. I know several people who have gone from obese couch potato to marathon runner, which is one form of fitness. Some lost a lot of weight and some didn't.

Wow, that's an inspiring transformation! Yes, it seems like this may be a mental game as much as it is a physical one

mjhurry

rheddmobile wrote: »

I know for sure you absolutely can become fitter than you are now!

Lifestyle has a lot more to do with it than genetics. Your genetics may make it easier for you to store weight, but they can’t magically make use of calories you never put in your mouth. Unless you have a medical condition, you will get stronger and fitter when you use your muscles. The real question is, how much of a priority are you willing to make this? Since you seem basically healthy, there’s no reason you can’t become a fit, athletic person. But you probably can’t do that without changing the way you live in basic ways. It’s likely that your use of free time is going to need to permanently incorporate much more physical activity, and much less eating for fun. Is this what you want for yourself? Only you can answer that.

By the way, visible abs may or may not be a laudable goal for you. Some woman don’t get visible “six pack” abs unless they drop to an unhealthy BMI.

Thanks for this! It is reassuring to know that I probably have a lot more control over my outcome than I've been thinking! It seems silly asking something so seemingly obvious, but it's funny how much my mind can play tricks on me about what I'm capable of achieving.

Shortgirlrunning

It’s all about the effort and dedication you are willing to put in.

My mom was obsess for pretty much all of my childhood. My senior year of high school she started losing weight and eventually she became a professional body-builder. It was a total 180 in her lifestyle and even though she doesn’t do the bodybuilding anymore she is still really fit and active.

mjhurry

Shortgirlrunning wrote: »

It’s all about the effort and dedication you are willing to put in.

My mom was obsess for pretty much all of my childhood. My senior year of high school she started losing weight and eventually she became a professional body-builder. It was a total 180 in her lifestyle and even though she doesn’t do the bodybuilding anymore she is still really fit and active.

That's incredibly inspiring! Thanks

psuLemon

If you want a chance of abs, than start lifting, run a slightly higher protein diet and have patience. The process in itself can take awhile.

AnnPT77

I'm not sure what you mean by "super fit", and I don't know details of your starting point.

But, with patience and consistency, I'm 100% certain you can surprise yourself with what you can achieve.

I've never had "super fit" as a goal, because I want to pursue self-development in other ways, for an overall life balance of physical activity, creativity, learning, and so forth. Still, coming out of my mid-40s after stage III breast cancer treatment, I was obese, inactive, and physically depleted. I knew that if I ever wanted to feel strong and happy ever again, I needed to work at that. By gracious providence, I found a sport I loved, and became addicted. I competed, and found I could hold with the pack, and even place in the medals sometimes at local/regional races.

I'll never be elite in fitness: I don't aspire to be. But I do OK, and I'd say even now (no longer competing), my fitness level (strength and CV), is better than average for my age (64). (My Garmin - which I consider to be a lying liar that lies, in this respect, BTW - says my fitness is in the top 15% for my age.) I can keep up with a lot of women decades younger, in classes at my gym.

I've seen other later starters (30s, 40s, even beyond) achieve amazing things. You can, but it takes patience, and work.

What is your fitness top end? The only way to find out is to patiently and intelligently work at self improvement, and see what your body can do. Whether that will be "super fit", however you define that, I don't know. But I'm sure you can surprise yourself.

Wishing you all the best!

JRsLateInLifeMom

If you were big as a kid then you will want to learn healthier meals than your family cooked. My Moms family only cooked fried to heavy creams in foods etc. They are all over weight except the ones with a lucky ability to loose easily.

Your child hood weight does not predict your future weight. Got Cousins who moms over fed them they left home started working out to eating 100% different than they grew up on bam 💥 the weight fell off within a year. Their skinny siblings continued to eat not exercise like they did at home bam now their the chubby ones. One that changed with the sister striving to get fit is thin even after 2 kids.

Eating healthier learning calories per servings exact amounts ,exercising,even if you can start measuring your foods with a scale (or even a measuring cup). Read condiments pouring salad dressing on without getting a lesser calorie one y going by serving size you can accidentally add a whopping 1000+ calories because it calls for a teaspoon or tablespoon like my Mom I was pouring cups worth yikes 😱! Croutons to cheese even a dash of pepper is more calories got to add it all.

You can do it your young enough to train yourself to change your habits still. If you go to Starbucks to even a family supper bring your own foods to even check a menu online for lower calorie menu options. They even have a Sugarfree teas to can get a smaller size eat a super healthy low cal lunch to balance it out y increase exercise for the day. It’s learning balance. Asking shows your willing to learn. You can do this just have hope y confidence in yourself start loving y learning about yourself honestly. Ask why do I eat this go past the cause it taste good to what was the age you ate it first to why you choose it. Can be cause the family eats it to helps me deal with emotions just be honest.

Start choosing healthier foods to low cal options. Sugarfreee jello to more water. Lean skinless meats or vegan ones y healthy side of veggies with it. Start researching diets create one to fit you. Maybe you like Keto or All natural diet or just want to do some of a few of them. Find out what exercises excite you. Some discover a love for walking on a woodsy trail or indoors with their cell phone playing a video. Some discover a love for weight lifting 🏋️‍♀️ ..I knew a gal was overweight her whole teen years by over 100+ lbs found out she loves weight lifting she now does it for competitions has a son y is super fit...she struggled with exercising cause she found them boring that one lit a passion she had a trainer who kept her away from sweets y fatty foods he was her accountability buddy (my old boss she was his Daughters age lol boy he popped out of nowhere so what you eating? She’d jump 3feet lol 😂. Others find exercise bikes to swimming even running marathons to be theirs. Yoga for some to dancing. Find yours even if it’s dancing while you cook a broccoli soup y salad 🥗 then jog. Knew an older lady started walking everywhere she went stopped driving except to go to work within a year lost 200lbs y it helped her get her knee surgeries heal up from them she had the neatest walking stick I want one some day just like it was made from cedar wood with a high gloss coating y the head of it made to fit her hand only. I’m old enough should get one lol. Knew another the scale stayed the same but her body transformed like you wouldn’t believe she replaced fat with muscle until she was just right to herself. Average build with thick calves y arms was her happy point.

Remember if a bag of food has 2 bites but says less calories that’s not really less calories. If it says 20-35 bites for the same calories as a name brand version that says 7-14 bites that’s more like it. Even some veggies y fruit are high calorie others lower. Research as you go add it in here take a look at the calories or google it or read labels in the stores. Read all the posts you can here see what’s working for others incorporate what you think is for you individually.

I lost 53lbs so far almost at my goal weight but took some time.
I indoor walk,jump rope,soccer with my baby boy,exercise band,sit-up,Youtube workout videos their free! ,went through my pantry traded out the stuff I shouldn’t eat for what I do now. If you like to cook make more healthy scratch recipes if not don’t worry Store has lots of options.

Avidkeo

OP I've kinda skipped the replies, I'm sure you have plenty of great examples.

I wanted to share my story. I was like you. Always overweight. Typical yo-yo dieter. Could lose 10kg fast, but then always put it on, and more. I got to 90kg at my heaviest (I'm 163cm or 5'4).

3 years ago, something clicked. I got therapy for anxiety and started a new journey, including instagraming my journey (Avidkeo if you want to look lol).

I managed to lose 25kg over the last 3 years. 20 in the first, then a couple of years maintaining, and I've lost 5kg so far this year.

But the big thing is I've taken up running. I've run a half marathon and are currently training for a marathon. Just yesterday I ran 24km/15 miles.

I am FIT. I am strong. I am healthy. I do not have abs, but I'm not worried about abs because its not really a way to define fit.



So define fit as what you want!

mjhurry

@AnnPT77 Thank you so much! What you've shared is so inspiring. Wanting to surprise myself is a great way to put it!

mjhurry

@JRsLateInLifeMom Wow, thanks for all the tips and encouragement! I'm taking notes...

mjhurry

@Avidkeo Wow, what an amazing transformation! Ah, your starting weight was the same as mine, and I've also struggled with anxiety for many years. It's so encouraging to see that you've achieved what you have! Thank you so much

netitheyeti

I spent all my teen years overweight and obese, then lost a big chunk of it in my early 20s... a bit up and down over the years, but never re-gained it. I've been able to get quite a lot of muscle definition on my back, legs, and arms. My stomach is unfortunately a nope because any abs I might have get covered by the loose skin... but I've for sure become a LOT stronger. I used to be around 90kg, I'm in the high 50s atm (been as low as 49kg but that felt WAY too skinny even if technically it was still within normal for my height)

mjhurry

netitheyeti wrote: »

I spent all my teen years overweight and obese, then lost a big chunk of it in my early 20s... a bit up and down over the years, but never re-gained it. I've been able to get quite a lot of muscle definition on my back, legs, and arms. My stomach is unfortunately a nope because any abs I might have get covered by the loose skin... but I've for sure become a LOT stronger. I used to be around 90kg, I'm in the high 50s atm (been as low as 49kg but that felt WAY too skinny even if technically it was still within normal for my height)

Amazing!! Thanks for sharing! This is so encouraging and inspiring

netitheyeti

btw. this is me at 18 vs me at 30. It's for sure possible to do a LOT (I wouldn't assume anyone would consider me particularly fit just looking at me atm, but I've been absolutely crushing it with my workouts lately)

HeidiMightyRawr

Super fit, yes it's possible. It'll take a lot of effort, but it's doable and mostly will come down to your activity and the exercise.

Visible abs will depend not only exercise, but diet and genetics as it takes into account aesthetics too. For a lot of people it's achievable but difficultly will vary based somewhat on things out of your control, like where you personally tend to store fat. To have visible abs, like any other muscle, you need to work those muscles to build them up, and also have a body fat % low enough to show them off. I've been really lean before and never had more than the tiniest bit of definition in my abs. I store most of my fat there, I can be too slim for my preference elsewhere and not as lean as I'd like in my stomach. I have more muscle now but also more fat so maybe it'd be different if I got lean again, but it would still be harder than for example someone who stores fat elsewhere. It may also not work well alongside your other goal (because optimal perfomance doesn't always work alongside extreme leanness, it might do, but not always)

Either way, it's always possible to get fitter and work towards your goal, no matter how far away it seems or how long you have been unfit for. Change is possible.

Katmary71

I started out bedridden from chronic pain and now do cardio, weights and strength training, and yoga most days. I started out walking in water once a week then graduated to my recumbent exercise bike and expanded from there. There's a HUGE difference in mobility which was my main focus, having muscles is awesome! Weight lifting I saw the fastest difference, probably took about 6 weeks to visibly see some muscles developing. Stretching/yoga I felt the fastest results as I have a lot of tightness from back fusions, I noticed within a week that I could take bigger steps as the hip flexors were starting to loosen up.

cupcakesandproteinshakes

Yep it is possible. With some patience and consistency even the most sedentary person ( me formerly) can get fit. I’m no pro athlete but I’m very happy with my fitness level.

Duck_Puddle

It really depends on how you define “super fit” I think.

I also started morbidly obese and now run marathons. I do not have abs, I don’t think anyone looking at me thinks I spend anytime in the gym - but my goals aren’t aesthetic at all. Maintaining that kind of physique is not something I want to do.

When I started, I wasn’t able to carry groceries I to the house. I was too weak. I had to carry in single cans of vegetables at a time because that’s all I could manage. I had to stop and rest after walking from one end of the house to the other. I had to pull myself up the stairs and rest every few steps.

On a recent vacation, I ran 2 half marathons in the span of 2 weeks, hiked and otherwise trekked 117 miles of mountains/canyons/etc, went rappelling off cliffs and managed to tote around a 72 pound suitcase with relative ease.

I don’t have abs, but I live an incredibly full and active life and tackle any adventure that suits my fancy. That’s more than enough fitness for me.

MelanieCN77

"Yes but." There's a significant space of difference between the average person who doesn't work out at all, and the kind of person who does a couple days of cardio and a couple days lifting and eats a vegetable most days. Then there's the gap between those people and the "super fit" with visible abs and whatnot, and it's an exponentially more vast space, in my view. The transition from generally in shape to what I think you're getting at is a pretty consuming, full time mental occupation as well as physically demanding. Have some thinking about your "why" you want to do things and spend the same amount of time considering how you can plan for a sustainable lifestyle that includes all other facets of yourself.

mjhurry

@HeidiMightyRawr Thanks for your reply It's good to know that it's possible!

mjhurry

Katmary71 wrote: »

I started out bedridden from chronic pain and now do cardio, weights and strength training, and yoga most days. I started out walking in water once a week then graduated to my recumbent exercise bike and expanded from there. There's a HUGE difference in mobility which was my main focus, having muscles is awesome! Weight lifting I saw the fastest difference, probably took about 6 weeks to visibly see some muscles developing. Stretching/yoga I felt the fastest results as I have a lot of tightness from back fusions, I noticed within a week that I could take bigger steps as the hip flexors were starting to loosen up.

Sounds like you had an amazing transformation! I enjoy strength training and yoga too!