Update: 100+ pound weight loss and body building

lsala187

Hey all!

I’ve been super proud of myself and wanted to share it all with you:)

At the start of quarantine 2020, I weighed about 330 to 340 pounds at 6’2”.

Staying home meant I couldn’t buy McDonald’s, 7 Eleven, or any other junk on my commute to school. I had to eat my mom’s healthy, delicious home cooking!

I took staying home as an opportunity to better myself.

I learned to decrease my calorie intake and track food using this app. My super supportive dad walked with me every day after coming home from work. He started out walking much faster than me, but I eventually beat him after losing the first 30 pounds or so!

By summer of 2021, I dropped 130 pounds and reached my goal weight. Even before reaching my goal, my self-confidence skyrocketed; I wasn’t afraid to go out in public anymore.

BUT, one thing bothered me… I was too skinny, with a lot of loose skin. So I hit the gym and began compound lifting as well as focusing on individual muscle groups. I also ate a *kitten*-ton of protein lol

Soon after, I moved in with my girlfriend and invested in a small but functional home gym for the basement.

Today, October 2022, I am a super lean, muscular 210 pounds with a 6-pack! Won’t show pics though, I’m sure you understand haha

But I’m not stopping there! Gonna continue to be healthy and keep gaining muscle.

My loose skin remains, so I’ll undergo surgery in hopefully the next year or so.

Am super happy with myself and so thankful for the family and friends who supported me:) AND I’m thankful for MyFitnessPal, which helped me track calories, exercise, and macros throughout my journey and into the future!

Thank you for reading this, and I hope some will find this motivating:)

- Luis

lsala187

Haha *kitten*-ton! Love MyFitnessPal’s way of censoring

Qbaimee

WOW!! Congratulations!!!

snowflake954

Congratulations!! You may want to wait with surgery on the loose skin. People that have gone through it say it takes a couple of years or more to shrink.

crazyhorse8

Super Job! You can not go wrong investing in your health!

BartBVanBockstaele

Congratulations with your weight loss. Keep it up. You did something only a small percentage of humans are successful at. As for the rest, tastes differ. I am not particularly fond of the seemingly beloved six-pack but that is a matter of pure preference. I would wait with skin removal surgery though. Do not forget that for the vast majority of patients, there is no medical need for skin removal, and because it is a surgery, it is not risk-free. So, unless it is really really important to you, just leave it be. I have quite a bit of loose skin myself. I am neither proud nor ashamed of it. It is simply part of who I am, the consequence of an earlier reality, as (un)important as my having two ears, needing glasses, being fair-skinned and having but little hair left. I prefer, though that is clearly a matter of taste, reality above a surgically created fiction that is quite likely to turn uglier with the passage of time and that may have other rather less pleasant consequences as well.

lsala187

BartBVanBockstaele wrote: »

Congratulations with your weight loss. Keep it up. You did something only a small percentage of humans are successful at. As for the rest, tastes differ. I am not particularly fond of the seemingly beloved six-pack but that is a matter of pure preference. I would wait with skin removal surgery though. Do not forget that for the vast majority of patients, there is no medical need for skin removal, and because it is a surgery, it is not risk-free. So, unless it is really really important to you, just leave it be. I have quite a bit of loose skin myself. I am neither proud nor ashamed of it. It is simply part of who I am, the consequence of an earlier reality, as (un)important as my having two ears, needing glasses, being fair-skinned and having but little hair left. I prefer, though that is clearly a matter of taste, reality above a surgically created fiction that is quite likely to turn uglier with the passage of time and that may have other rather less pleasant consequences as well.

Yep! I hear ya; solid advice. I love my body the way it is, main thing is I wish I didn’t have to wear compression shirts or larger shirts than I have to, especially as someone who loves clothing and fashion. And (as a big fan of the six-pack), I’d love to see the definition which is a bit buried under the loose skin. When I was looking into it, seems like some health insurance plans cover the surgery (even if it’s cosmetic), while some don’t (unless it’s a non-cosmetic surgery - where they remove the skin without contouring). So we’ll see. I know it’s a big procedure with risk; I am literally mutilating my body by doing it lol. At this point I’ve been doing heavy research on several surgeons and developing a long list of questions for them. I agree about waiting on the surgery. The loose skin won’t shrink. Some of the subcutaneous fat may decrease, but there will still be about 7 pounds or so of loose skin for the amount of weight lost. Would still be a good idea to wait longer

lsala187

snowflake954 wrote: »

Congratulations!! You may want to wait with surgery on the loose skin. People that have gone through it say it takes a couple of years or more to shrink.

Agreed! I think the shrinking has slowed down quite a bit, but I’ll prob wait a year or two until surgery. Was looking at some guys online who underwent the surgery said it’s better to wait; it gets you the best results

springlering62

What a great testimony! You done good!

tamarastaton2

Wow, this is a very inspiring story, thank you for being willing to share it and congratulations on prioritizing your health and well being! It's a beautiful thing when we can learn to love and deeply care fo our bodies!

Sand_TIger

Fantastic work! I personally am a fan of the six pack and I know how work it takes to get one. So, congratulations on all your progress. Most importantly, I'll bet you feel AMAZING!

leema31109

Congrats on your HUGE accomplishment!! 🎉 I am just restarting my journey after many years of putting it off.

BartBVanBockstaele

lsala187 wrote: »

BartBVanBockstaele wrote: »

Congratulations with your weight loss. Keep it up. You did something only a small percentage of humans are successful at. As for the rest, tastes differ. I am not particularly fond of the seemingly beloved six-pack but that is a matter of pure preference. I would wait with skin removal surgery though. Do not forget that for the vast majority of patients, there is no medical need for skin removal, and because it is a surgery, it is not risk-free. So, unless it is really really important to you, just leave it be. I have quite a bit of loose skin myself. I am neither proud nor ashamed of it. It is simply part of who I am, the consequence of an earlier reality, as (un)important as my having two ears, needing glasses, being fair-skinned and having but little hair left. I prefer, though that is clearly a matter of taste, reality above a surgically created fiction that is quite likely to turn uglier with the passage of time and that may have other rather less pleasant consequences as well.

Yep! I hear ya; solid advice. I love my body the way it is, main thing is I wish I didn’t have to wear compression shirts or larger shirts than I have to, especially as someone who loves clothing and fashion. And (as a big fan of the six-pack), I’d love to see the definition which is a bit buried under the loose skin. When I was looking into it, seems like some health insurance plans cover the surgery (even if it’s cosmetic), while some don’t (unless it’s a non-cosmetic surgery - where they remove the skin without contouring). So we’ll see. I know it’s a big procedure with risk; I am literally mutilating my body by doing it lol. At this point I’ve been doing heavy research on several surgeons and developing a long list of questions for them. I agree about waiting on the surgery. The loose skin won’t shrink. Some of the subcutaneous fat may decrease, but there will still be about 7 pounds or so of loose skin for the amount of weight lost. Would still be a good idea to wait longer

That is almost certainly correct. Being fat is no good, losing weight is better, but there is a price to pay for that weight loss. There are sometimes very good medical reasons for post-weight-loss surgery, but please, take your time and study it in some depth before actually deciding on it. The risk is not minor, people die as a direct result of this surgery and, while I have no personal experience with it, from what I have learned it can be very painful and the complications can be rather horrendous.
I have a significant panniculus myself and living without it would certainly be more pleasant, but as long as living with it gives me no medical problems, it'll stay as and where it is. It is –for most people– not a major deal to get used to it. It is usually just something we don't feel like showing off, but then, there are other things we don't really like to show off either, so that is hardly exceptional.

I would start by asking myself: "is this really so important that I am willing to die for it?" and "is this really so important that I am willing to live with dire consequences until I snuff it?"

BartBVanBockstaele

leema31109 wrote: »

Congrats on your HUGE accomplishment!! 🎉 I am just restarting my journey after many years of putting it off.

Great decision. Don't forget, everybody can do this. While it can be really hard, it is also very simple, and it is really worth it, as long as you do not take any unnecessary risks.