I went from morbidly obese to 6 pack abs! Ask me Anything

strengthandhonour4eva

How did you get rid of the fat on the side of your stomach? The love handles I think their called haha

Scott_2025

Amazing transformation!!! You should do a commercial for MFP!!!!

laurie04427

wow that's super inspiring! Taking your tip to start 5x5 training now.

wannabfitnevarez

WOW! What an AMAZING transformation and dedication : ) i am a 44 year old female, i weighed at my highest 187 after i had my son way back in 1989. I then got sick for three years after that and i was never able to lose weight because my sickness kept me from exercising and all that good stuff. After my surgery to correct what my body was going thru i started exercising and all that and now i am finally able to say i have lost some weight but it has not been easy. I do alot of cardio. i got down to 142 which was amazing! i would use myfitnesspal to log all my foods that i ate, i was feeling good about myself and was proud to say i was close to my goal of 135. Now i gained 21 pounds of that back on. ugh! sad, and makes me sick to my tummy that i stopped logging in my calories and i was so close to my goal. so now today i am 163.4 which is great compared to when i first started but now where i want to be, after all that hard work. I am 5'7" and would like to meet my goal of 135. what do you recommend i do? do i keep doing weight training using interval training or should i just stick to cardio as i did before till i get to 142 again and then start weights? i am on a 1,200 calorie intake for the day as i have been and that actually worked out great because i would burn a lot using elliptical for an hour. : ) i want to get abs and get my core really strong and that is the only part of my body i seriously HATE with a passion!!!! i need your help and your suggestions of what i can do now. what is my next step?

TammyVieu

If this question has already been addressed I apologize. Don't have time to read through it all right now. I just wondered what formula you used to figure out how many calories and other macros to use when lifting. I am a 5' 3" female, weight 111, 36 years old.

Escloflowne

rlynnehawk

You look fantastic! I', just starting weights myself and your story is very motivating!

UtahWI

In to follow and food for thought...
Working in healthcare can make it hard to take care of ourselves...I also had a little laugh about your comment, about pulling out a picture when people say you don't know what it is like to be fat...I am a trauma/surgical ICU RN and people like to say, "You don't know what it is like to be sick" or, "you don't know what it is like to be in pain, you've never had this kind of pain"...I just want to pull up my top/drop my waistband and give 'em a view of the scars (a years worth of colon cancer treatment). Yeah, yeah, I do know what it is like to be sick, in pain, wondering at 3am if I am gonna die, cuz that is what you think about while your chemo pump is whirring away. I have a whole lot of empathy, but I also know, we need to get you up to get you out of here...if I didn't care, my friend, I wouldn't want to get you out of this bed...

Anyway, I have been reading the body recomposition site of Lyle's...very interesting stuff. I remember losing weight years ago as a clean slate...it was so much easier. I had just made the decision that I had to start some really focused weight work...then I blew an incisional hernia and now I have to just chill out for a while. That makes it hard, but it is also sort of a forced time out. Get thee off the weight loss/exercise wheel, I guess was the message from the universe.

I do like your sensible and level approach and the great attitude regarding time. It is all a continuum, but I still struggle with patience. It is hard for me to have been where I want to go back to, in terms of weight and fitness, especially when things like this hold me back. I have to remember, it could be worse. I could be dead. LOL. (Sorry folks, morbid healthcare humor rising to the surface!)

perseverance14

No question, just want to say great job!

evanblove

In to read later--Awesome job and thanks for the motivation. I gained 40 lbs since retiring from the Air Force 2 years ago (I was 20 lbs over my ideal wieght then). I jumped back on the wagon this week because I don't want to buy a bigger fat clothes (among other reasons)! I had to buy a new belt last week.

monkeywizard

Hey there, first off thank you for putting yourself out there for answering questions, secondly Congratulations, you look great!
I’ve been reading through the previous comments because I didn’t want to ask anything that had already been asked, however the more I read, the more I forgot so if there is a repeat, I apologize.

1) I started with diet & exercise in January. Watching my calorie intake & doing spin 3 days a week with attempts at lifting weights (machines) in between. I started around 290 and got down to about 250. This was part of a weight loss competition (I came in 3rd) and once the competition ended, I wanted to try lifting. I am now up to about 255-258lbs.

2) Through a recommendation, I started Stronglifts 5X5 which seems very similar to ICF 5X5, focusing on the 3 main lifts for each group (squats, BP, DL, Barbell row, OHP). I’m about 4 weeks in and feel like I’m close to maxing out/hitting failure on a few lifts, but have not hit it yet. I go M-W-F.

3) I’m 37 years old, 6’3, Male, have Wife/Kids, full time job. I am usually quite conscious about what I eat, but sometimes the jar of PB calls me for a spoonful or 3. My diary is open if you want a look.

4) MFP is currently recommending me for 1680 Calories. Scooby recommends calorie intake at 2400 calories.

Now for the questions

What was your approximate calorie intake when you started lifting? MFP & Scooby are giving me mixed recommendations & I have not been seeing results at 1600-1700 calories, but I’ve chalked it up to the weights not being heavy enough.

Did you have specific Macro goals while cutting? What were they? Once again, I’ve seen various recommendations from 40% protein, 40% Carb, 20% fat (Scooby) to 40-50% Protein, 30-40% fat and 10-20% carb (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/macro-math-3-keys-to-dialing-in-your-macro-ratios.html) Specific numbers based on body type, I’m endomorph.

SL5X5 is recommended to try for 12 weeks. How long did you do ICF5x5 for? When/if did you switch programs and if so, to what?

Did you still get stronger as you lost weight, or was lifting exclusively for you to not lose muscle mass while cutting?

That’s all I have for now, thanks again for doing this!

extra

Thank you for the AMA! You look absolutely fantastic. All of your responses have been so insightful and motivational.

Out of curiosity, did you injure yourself at any point during your process? If so, what worked well for you to stay on track and reach your goals?

vismal

Thank you for helping us out. I hope one day I can pay it forward.

I just don't understand why I would work so hard burning up calories, while eating a 1200 calorie diet, to only eat the burned up calories back up again. Can you tell me in a way I can really get it so I will mentally get ok and not afraid either way.

I eat 1200 cals a day and today for example burned 789 through 45 minute interval cardio with a trainer and the rest on the elliptical machine. I really want to keep those 789 cals as a deficient so I can lose 2 pounds this week. I'm prediabetic and so I thought to combine the two types of workouts daily to make some dramatic changes.

I got the inspiration to do this from what I read about the Biggest Losers: 1200 cal diet, and they exercise like many many hours per day. So they certainly aren't eating their calories back up.

Can you please help me to the right way? thanks

I don't track calories burned from exercise. I prefer to estimate my Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). I know from trial and error how many calorie a day I need to eat to maintain weight. I keep my exercise consistent so it is not a variable. Once you have a decent guess of your TDEE you can eat the same calories every day. When weight loss stalls for more then 3 weeks, you can then reduce calories. This also assumes you are very accurate with your calorie counting. No guessing on portion sizes or using liquid measuring tools for solid foods (cups, tablespoons, etc). Weigh all your food on a scale in grams to ensure accuracy. Once you are confident with your intake it's easy to manipulate calories to cause weight loss.

vismal

Can you share your meal plans? What do you eat for breakfast, lunch dinner and snack?

I don't do meal plans. I loathe meal plans. They are a recipe for failure. Most people can't eat the same thing every day. My diary is open so feel free to look at my foods. I simply have a calorie goal, a protein minimum and a fat minimum I hit each day. From that point on I eat what I want, when I want.

O would like to know at what point during your journey did you start to weight train.

After about 6 months of doing cardio and diet only. I wish I would have started on day 1!

I don't know if anyone has asked bc I didn't read but, Would or did you take any diet pills?

I have tried several in the past (Hydroxycut, ephedrine, VPX meltdown, etc). Here's my theory on them. They don't actually burn fat. They blunt appetite and give you energy. If taking the pill allows you to eat less then I guess it "works". I have reached a point where hunger is no longer relevant to me. Hunger does not sway me or cause me to break. It's just a feeling, it's temporary, and if your goals are big, its sometimes necessary. Because these pills are mostly unregulated by the fda I will not recommend any of them, and I'd speak with a doctor before taking one.

vismal

Can you give us a couple of examples of the pseudoscience and myths regarding nutritional science? I hear stuff all the time and want to argue, but just lose focus, i.e., never eat late at night, or carbs are bad, etc.

Anything that seeks to circumvent the calories in vs calories out law is pseudoscience. Here are just a few things people think matter that do not: The types of carbs you eat, eating clean, eating at a certain time or certain frequency, mixing fats with carbs, doing cardio fasted, post workout shakes, eating multiple times a day to speed up metabolism, eating breakfast. Litereally none of those things make a difference and only confuse, or frustrate people.

did you take any supplements or vitamins?

A multivitamin, creatine monohydrate 5gm a day, a triple strength fish oil, a 5000 IU vitamin D tab. That's it. I also take in protein powders/bars but I treat them as food, not supplements.

1- you look amazing
2- Do you have a fitocracy account?
3- 1 rep maxes on compound lifts?

1, thank you. 2, no but I have MFP, bodybuilding.com, a youtube page, and a facebook group. I don't know if I can handle any more social media lol 3, Bench 225x5 Squat 405x5 *kitten* to grass, deadlift 405x3 but I haven't worked deadlift in over a year due to a back injury. I don't usually do true 1 rep maxes because most people let their form go to absolute *kitten*. I prefer a 5 rep max because you can keep your form good.

vismal

I haven't gone through all of this yet, but I do have a question:

What was your daily calorie intake while losing weight. Did you use the TDEE/ BMR calculators to figure what cals you should eat or did you go off what MFP told you to eat to lose a certain amount of weight each week?

I lost 34 lbs on WW (eating about 1400 cals/ day, which is 200 under my BMR) but then it just stopped after 9 months even though I was doing the exact same thing. I tried playing with my weekly points, the amount of exercise I did, types of exercise, etc. So now I'm on EM2WL on here (eat more to way less) where you eat 15% under your TDEE to lose weight and never eat under your BMR, so any thoughts you have on this would be very helpful!

PS - I'm doing a metabolism reset right now, eating at 2500 (my TDEE).

When I enter a cutting or weight loss phase I simply pick a starting calorie goal. I eat that goal every day. If weight stalls for 3+ weeks, I reduce that number or increase daily exercise. Usually the former. It's really that simple. The key is to be accurate and consistent with your calorie and exercise goals. If your tracking is prone to error this won't work out for you.*

Hi brah!

Fellow LF guy here, finishing my initial diet from 290+ lbs. You look how I want to in a year or two!

If you don't mind, how was your recovery near the end of your initial diet? I feel like I'm so close to where I need to be, but my recovery is just.. horrible. Do you have any suggestions? I read lyle mcdonald, who says that for LBM retention, even going twice a week should be fine. I tried this, but found that it didn't help recovery, and didn't really help the lifts or intensity at all.

I also took a week diet break, but that didn't help much. I think it will take a longer period of normal eating to 'unadapt' to caloric deficit.

I'm trying to hit the gym three times a week, with one day spent cycling. I am not progressing on any major lifts anymore, and my numbers have sharply declined from when I was around 200 lbs to the 165 I am now. (e.g. I used to be able to rep 205 bench three times, and now I can only do 165 three times!).

I have come to the conclusion that I simply need to grind this out and do the best I can at training, and just have to accept that this last fat is going to be awful.

I really admire your progress, and it's great to see someone who's further ahead on the exact road I'm travelling.

Cliffs:

Started fat as faurk. Lost lots.
Now weak as faurk at the gym. Recovery takes forever.
Tried decreasing sessions, didn't help. Tried eating more, didn't help.

Decided I just have to suffer through it.
Am I gonna make it?

My recovery was absolute garbage by the end of things. It's going to be. I also don't think its necessarily a bad idea to do a short 3 month controlled bulk even if you aren't super lean already. It will give you a mental break and allow for strength gains to be made. It will prepare you for the final push. That being said, there is some degree of suffering involved in getting very lean.

Desterknee

I just wanted to give praise to the OP for being polite and helpful and generally awesome.

Good work.

tomomatic

Congrats on your success.

No questions from me. Just praise. Nicely done.

salvaje913

Congrats on your success.

Thank you for posting this. I started back in January around 310lbs now I am around 260 and hope to continue to at least 200.

Wish I would have saw this back in January because I have been waiting until I got down to around 250 before starting to strength train. You have answered a lot of questions that have been on my mind.

Time to start a 5x5.

Thank you!

vismal

Hello!

My Stats : female 5'6 127 lbs 30% body fat 20% muscle mass

I don't want to keep losing weight, however, i'd like to lower body fat to about 20%. Also I'd like to gain muscle. I'm starting to incorporate weight lifting to my workout routine and less cardio. Do I keep eating at a deficit since my body fat is so high? or eat at maintenance to build mass?

I still have some belly fat, and I'm worried that eating more will put more fat on my tummy. but i dont want to be eating too little while lifting more weight each session.

Thanks for your help!!!

There is no way to reduce fat while gaining muscle. They are competing goals. Even though you don't want to lose any more weight, you're going to have to in order to reduce fat. The best strategy is to focus on fat burning until you are as lean as you want to be, then very slowly gain weight in the form of muscle. Any attempts to try and lose fat while gaining muscle will usually be met with frustration.

How did you get rid of the fat on the side of your stomach? The love handles I think their called haha

On men love handles are the last thing to go. Even at my leanest I can pinch and inch on my love handles. You can't spot reduce so you must simply lose fat and your body will eventually get to your problem areas.

Amazing transformation!!! You should do a commercial for MFP!!!!

I'd do it in a heartbeat if they asked!

Iceberg_Simpson

I have no questions, but well done!

Congratulations on all your hard work and dedication!!

vismal

WOW! What an AMAZING transformation and dedication : ) i am a 44 year old female, i weighed at my highest 187 after i had my son way back in 1989. I then got sick for three years after that and i was never able to lose weight because my sickness kept me from exercising and all that good stuff. After my surgery to correct what my body was going thru i started exercising and all that and now i am finally able to say i have lost some weight but it has not been easy. I do alot of cardio. i got down to 142 which was amazing! i would use myfitnesspal to log all my foods that i ate, i was feeling good about myself and was proud to say i was close to my goal of 135. Now i gained 21 pounds of that back on. ugh! sad, and makes me sick to my tummy that i stopped logging in my calories and i was so close to my goal. so now today i am 163.4 which is great compared to when i first started but now where i want to be, after all that hard work. I am 5'7" and would like to meet my goal of 135. what do you recommend i do? do i keep doing weight training using interval training or should i just stick to cardio as i did before till i get to 142 again and then start weights? i am on a 1,200 calorie intake for the day as i have been and that actually worked out great because i would burn a lot using elliptical for an hour. : ) i want to get abs and get my core really strong and that is the only part of my body i seriously HATE with a passion!!!! i need your help and your suggestions of what i can do now. what is my next step?

I accepted a while ago that I will probably have to log calories for the rest of my life. It's okay, it takes less then 5 minutes a day at this point. Just keep consistent and hit your calories goals every day. Absolutely lift while losing fat. This is key in retaining lean muscle mass! Cardio is fine as well but in my opinion lifting is WAY more important.

If this question has already been addressed I apologize. Don't have time to read through it all right now. I just wondered what formula you used to figure out how many calories and other macros to use when lifting. I am a 5' 3" female, weight 111, 36 years old.

Trial and error. You can use a formula of calculator to get a starting point if you want but it will always be an estimate. I simply pick a calorie goal, hit it consistently for a few weeks, if weight loss occurs, I keep the number, if it does not I reduce the number and try again for a few more weeks. This method is basically fool proof.

Jacwhite22

good work....

martinel2099

Thanks for taking all the time to answer all of these questions I'm definitely going to hold onto them for my future weight loss. Also you should consider your own YouTube series "Weight Loss- Myth Busters" lol.

I do have a question, when is the best time to take protein? I've heard in the past within 30 minutes or so after a workout, what's your recommendation?

vismal

In to follow and food for thought...
Working in healthcare can make it hard to take care of ourselves...I also had a little laugh about your comment, about pulling out a picture when people say you don't know what it is like to be fat...I am a trauma/surgical ICU RN and people like to say, "You don't know what it is like to be sick" or, "you don't know what it is like to be in pain, you've never had this kind of pain"...I just want to pull up my top/drop my waistband and give 'em a view of the scars (a years worth of colon cancer treatment). Yeah, yeah, I do know what it is like to be sick, in pain, wondering at 3am if I am gonna die, cuz that is what you think about while your chemo pump is whirring away. I have a whole lot of empathy, but I also know, we need to get you up to get you out of here...if I didn't care, my friend, I wouldn't want to get you out of this bed...

Anyway, I have been reading the body recomposition site of Lyle's...very interesting stuff. I remember losing weight years ago as a clean slate...it was so much easier. I had just made the decision that I had to start some really focused weight work...then I blew an incisional hernia and now I have to just chill out for a while. That makes it hard, but it is also sort of a forced time out. Get thee off the weight loss/exercise wheel, I guess was the message from the universe.

I do like your sensible and level approach and the great attitude regarding time. It is all a continuum, but I still struggle with patience. It is hard for me to have been where I want to go back to, in terms of weight and fitness, especially when things like this hold me back. I have to remember, it could be worse. I could be dead. LOL. (Sorry folks, morbid healthcare humor rising to the surface!)

I also work sicu/trauma in a level 1 center. Never a dull moment. I completely understand where you're coming from about patients assuming we can't empathize! Patience is a key in this whole weight loss battle. Lack of it is why I think most people fail. You seem to have a good attitude about things though! That will help you with everything in life!

Hey there, first off thank you for putting yourself out there for answering questions, secondly Congratulations, you look great!
I’ve been reading through the previous comments because I didn’t want to ask anything that had already been asked, however the more I read, the more I forgot so if there is a repeat, I apologize.

1) I started with diet & exercise in January. Watching my calorie intake & doing spin 3 days a week with attempts at lifting weights (machines) in between. I started around 290 and got down to about 250. This was part of a weight loss competition (I came in 3rd) and once the competition ended, I wanted to try lifting. I am now up to about 255-258lbs.

2) Through a recommendation, I started Stronglifts 5X5 which seems very similar to ICF 5X5, focusing on the 3 main lifts for each group (squats, BP, DL, Barbell row, OHP). I’m about 4 weeks in and feel like I’m close to maxing out/hitting failure on a few lifts, but have not hit it yet. I go M-W-F.

3) I’m 37 years old, 6’3, Male, have Wife/Kids, full time job. I am usually quite conscious about what I eat, but sometimes the jar of PB calls me for a spoonful or 3. My diary is open if you want a look.

4) MFP is currently recommending me for 1680 Calories. Scooby recommends calorie intake at 2400 calories.

Now for the questions

What was your approximate calorie intake when you started lifting? MFP & Scooby are giving me mixed recommendations & I have not been seeing results at 1600-1700 calories, but I’ve chalked it up to the weights not being heavy enough.

Did you have specific Macro goals while cutting? What were they? Once again, I’ve seen various recommendations from 40% protein, 40% Carb, 20% fat (Scooby) to 40-50% Protein, 30-40% fat and 10-20% carb (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/macro-math-3-keys-to-dialing-in-your-macro-ratios.html) Specific numbers based on body type, I’m endomorph.

SL5X5 is recommended to try for 12 weeks. How long did you do ICF5x5 for? When/if did you switch programs and if so, to what?

Did you still get stronger as you lost weight, or was lifting exclusively for you to not lose muscle mass while cutting?

That’s all I have for now, thanks again for doing this!

2400 calories should be way low enough for you to be seeing weight loss. If you are not I would look very hard at the accuracy of your calorie counting. Don't estimate portion sizes, weigh everything on a scale. You can make progress on ICF for a year or more, no need to switch it up. For macros I don't do ratios, I try and hit a protein minimum, a fat minimum and then use remaining calories for whatever I prefer. At first I got stronger while losing fat but it eventually stalled as it does in everyone. I eventually switched to a 4 day a week upper/lower program and still do it for bulking phases. For cutting I do 3x5 as at this point in my progression 5x5 is too demanding when calories are low. This is just something that happens as you progress. You can accomplish more with less.

leasorath

No questions on my end, but in to read the answers to other's questions later.

Just wanted to thank the OP for taking the time out of his day to respond to everyone's questions. You have a lot of good information to share and I appreciate that you are willing to do so. Congrats on your success! :drinker:

vismal

Thank you for the AMA! You look absolutely fantastic. All of your responses have been so insightful and motivational.

Out of curiosity, did you injure yourself at any point during your process? If so, what worked well for you to stay on track and reach your goals?

I herniated a disc between l5 and s1. I couldn't walk, it hurt to sit, it hurt to lay down. It was pure hell. It happened because I let my ego take over in the weight room. I will probably never be able to heavy deadlift again due to the injury though I am slowly trying to rework the movement. It set me back big time and I learned a very valuable lesson the hard way. It took a full calendar year for the pain to go away. I mostly had to do workaround exercises for anything that put tension on my lower back.

Thanks for taking all the time to answer all of these questions I'm definitely going to hold onto them for my future weight loss. Also you should consider your own YouTube series "Weight Loss- Myth Busters" lol.

I do have a question, when is the best time to take protein? I've heard in the past within 30 minutes or so after a workout, what's your recommendation?

I actually already have my own youtube channel where I discuss fitness myths at length. You can find a link in my profile!

MagnumBurrito

I herniated a disc between l5 and s1. I couldn't walk, it hurt to sit, it hurt to lay down. It was pure hell. It happened because I let my ego take over in the weight room. I will probably never be able to heavy deadlift again due to the injury though I am slowly trying to rework the movement. It set me back big time and I learned a very valuable lesson the hard way. It took a full calendar year for the pain to go away. I mostly had to do workaround exercises for anything that put tension on my lower back.

What exercise were you doing when you injured yourself, and how much weight was it out of your comfort zone?

aylajane

In for awesome advice

goldenbeautyxo

Hello!

My Stats : female 5'6 127 lbs 30% body fat 20% muscle mass

I don't want to keep losing weight, however, i'd like to lower body fat to about 20%. Also I'd like to gain muscle. I'm starting to incorporate weight lifting to my workout routine and less cardio. Do I keep eating at a deficit since my body fat is so high? or eat at maintenance to build mass?

I still have some belly fat, and I'm worried that eating more will put more fat on my tummy. but i dont want to be eating too little while lifting more weight each session.

Thanks for your help!!!

There is no way to reduce fat while gaining muscle. They are competing goals. Even though you don't want to lose any more weight, you're going to have to in order to reduce fat. The best strategy is to focus on fat burning until you are as lean as you want to be, then very slowly gain weight in the form of muscle. Any attempts to try and lose fat while gaining muscle will usually be met with frustration.

Thank you for your advice, you good lookin' kind person !!!!