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

mca90guitar

Impressive, congrats.

shannonmae696

I did a body composition test & went up 6% in body fat in the last year & am the heaviest I've ever weighed at 153 pounds with height of 5'3''. I'd love to see myself at 120. I decided that I'm going to start 100% paleo tomorrow for a month. I'll see how that goes and possibly add in other foods here and there after the month is up. I'm starting a group training session this week that meets once a week for the next 6 weeks. I've done this before and I've made it my goal to go the schedule time and then two other times per week. I've made goals to get in 10,000 steps per day and drink 100 oz of water daily. I don't want to start with too many goals at once, but do you have any other recommendations on what I should be doing?

vismal

lemonychild wrote: »

I know the key to weight loss is deficit, but what's a LEGIT fat burner that's out there?

There isn't one. Fat burners are gimmicks. The most effective one that is no longer available in its pure form was ephedrine and studies showed at best it could cause a 5% increase in metabolism. So if your maintenance is 2000 calories per day, the best and banned fat burner would burn you about 100 calories per day, or a banana's worth. Fat burners "work" because many of them are packed with stimulants that simply suppress your appetite causing you to eat less. They aren't really doing anything to burn fat. My advice is aside from coffee (or whatever your favorite method of ingesting caffeine is) just save your money.

brandontaylorcmm wrote: »

Wow awesome job brother... Trying to get in shape like that... Did you have to do excessive skin removal surgery or did it just tighten up naturally? I went from 265 to 195 and have loose skin, and don't know how to get rid of it...

No surgery for me, just luck. Here are my thoughts on loose skin:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVddgtwaC1A

NC2001 wrote: »

Hi! I'm just now starting my weight loss journey, and I was wondering what is a good starting point for meal plans? What do you recommend for meals one should eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner? I'm 5'7" and 250lbs. I would love to drop down to 175lbs. I already have started working out for the last three weeks doing cardio and some weight training 3x a week. Should I focus on more cardio then weights till I lose more pounds, or just go for an even mix?

I loathe meal plans. They are impractical IMO. You can only keep eating the same foods over and over again for so long. What happens when you start to break the plan? I much prefer to set calorie and macronutrient goals and eat whatever foods you enjoy to meet those goals. Meal plans are inflexible. In order of importance for fat loss and body recomposition I rank things this way: Diet is more important than lifting which is more important than cardio. All of them are important but in that order.

lemonychild

Thanks for the answer! Can you explain BCAA or other supplements that are good?

richardpkennedy1

I am just a little jealous

lemonychild

richardpkennedy1 wrote: »

I am just a little jealous

Lol hard not to be, but he's so helpful ... follow his advice, ull find success

vismal

hcdo wrote: »

Hi there! I'm curious what you think about the amount that metabolism plays into weight loss. What I mean by that is we all know people who seem to be able to eat nothing but high-caloric food and tons of it and yet stay really lean, (I'm thinking jealously of a coworker right now), while many of us eat an extra donut and our bodies hold on to it for dear life. I'm exaggerating, of course, but I swear it seems like that sometimes. Other than the fact that life simply isn't fair, what are your thoughts?

(Oh, and sorry if that's already been discussed, I've only made it through page 7 of the thread so far, which is awesome BTW! Thanks so much for having kept it up!!)

It's less important than I think most people think it is. Outside of diagnosable metabolic conditions like hypothyroidism and the like, most people's metabolisms aren't that different. There are outliers but they are the exception, not the rule. Most people have an average metabolism. The person who can seemingly eat nothing but junk and stay lean might be one of those outliers but in all likelihood they aren't. We don't follow people around 24/7, we don't know how much they eat (or don't eat) when they are at home, and we don't know how active they are via exercise or if they are simply someone who's always moving. People exaggerate about what they eat all the time (either about eating a lot or hardly anything). I had a friend who came to me complaining that he couldn't gain weight no matter what he did. I told him to eat more (the only real solution). He said "I eat a ton". I then had him tell me an entire day's worth of eating. What sounded like "a ton" to him turned out to be a little over 2000 calories. Now don't get me wrong, there are some people, the outliers, who might have a 10-15% "faster" metabolism then average and some of us are on the slower side. There isn't anything you can do to change it unless there is a disease process contributing. If you happen to be on the unlucky side you simply have to work harder by either learning to be satisfied eating even less than most others, or burn more calories from exercise compared to the average person. You can get you metabolism tested if you're terribly curious but again, you can't change it so it would only settle that curiosity. I guess it will give a few people the excuse they are looking for but will ultimately deprive a great many people of the excuse they've been using.

TeinyWinehouse wrote: »

I only have one question.
Will you marry me?

You'd better take that one up with my wife

shannonmae696 wrote: »

I did a body composition test & went up 6% in body fat in the last year & am the heaviest I've ever weighed at 153 pounds with height of 5'3''. I'd love to see myself at 120. I decided that I'm going to start 100% paleo tomorrow for a month. I'll see how that goes and possibly add in other foods here and there after the month is up. I'm starting a group training session this week that meets once a week for the next 6 weeks. I've done this before and I've made it my goal to go the schedule time and then two other times per week. I've made goals to get in 10,000 steps per day and drink 100 oz of water daily. I don't want to start with too many goals at once, but do you have any other recommendations on what I should be doing?

Count calories. Paleo is fine if you really want to do it but it's nothing more than an arbitrary list of banned foods. It won't cause any added fat loss compared to a diet that uses the banned foods if calories are equal. You can overeat doing paleo just the same as any other food restriction diet (keto, atkins, vegan, etc). If weight loss is the goal calorie counting is the more effective way to make sure you'll reach your goal. Exercise goals are great too but won't be enough if calories aren't controlled.

vismal

lemonychild wrote: »

Thanks for the answer! Can you explain BCAA or other supplements that are good?

The very short answer, which is also the only one you get from supplement companies and those pushing BCAAs is yes, they are very useful and there is a lot of scientific data to support their usefulness. That is technically true but at the same time incredibly misleading. The long answer is what matters here. Studies will show that BCAAs help with muscle recovery and muscle growth but there's a catch. These studies are always conducted on folks who are not eating adequate protein for the day. If you are protein deficient BCAAs are beneficial, but what's more beneficial is to simply not be protein deficit. Additionally, if you are protein deficient why supplement with BCAAs when supplementing with whey protein (contains all the BCAAs) is cheaper and better and solving the problem of protein deficiency. This is one of those cases where supplement companies can technically be truthful but at the same time be incredibly deceitful.

eblyth00

Thank you for this thread, I have it bookmarked because there is always so much helpful information here and it is always being added to. This is honestly one of the best threads on Mfp. Your answers are concise easy to understand and always full of useful information.

hkspwrsche

vismal wrote: »

I starting lifting maybe 6 months into my weight loss. Originally it was just diet and running. I wish I would have started lifting from the get go though. That would be what I consider my number 1 mistake. As for the type of lifting, I did it wrong at first by doing a typical "bro split" where you do a body part a day with high reps and low weight. I later switched to 5x5 training which is what I would have started with day 1 if I had to go back and do it again. I currently do a upper/lower 4 day a week split for intermediate lifters.

I do the 5x5 but what is the 4 day per week lifting system? Is that some other 5x5 series?

I've been doing it for over a year and saw some gains but hurt my shoulder being ambitious and took 3 months off so be careful.

amiraammora

eblyth00 wrote: »

Thank you for this thread, I have it bookmarked because there is always so much helpful information here and it is always being added to. This is honestly one of the best threads on Mfp. Your answers are concise easy to understand and always full of useful information.

True!!

vismal

hkspwrsche wrote: »

vismal wrote: »

I starting lifting maybe 6 months into my weight loss. Originally it was just diet and running. I wish I would have started lifting from the get go though. That would be what I consider my number 1 mistake. As for the type of lifting, I did it wrong at first by doing a typical "bro split" where you do a body part a day with high reps and low weight. I later switched to 5x5 training which is what I would have started with day 1 if I had to go back and do it again. I currently do a upper/lower 4 day a week split for intermediate lifters.

I do the 5x5 but what is the 4 day per week lifting system? Is that some other 5x5 series?

I've been doing it for over a year and saw some gains but hurt my shoulder being ambitious and took 3 months off so be careful.

The 4 day a week program I did was not a 5x5. It was an upper/lower/upper/lower split.

LucifiersLittleLady

You look incredible! Good for you!

If this is the goal for anyone on this discussion, feel free to add me! I'm recently enrolled in a year-long personal training journey and have found a love for lifting heavy things for fun!

Happy journies xx

hkspwrsche

vismal wrote: »

hkspwrsche wrote: »

vismal wrote: »

I starting lifting maybe 6 months into my weight loss. Originally it was just diet and running. I wish I would have started lifting from the get go though. That would be what I consider my number 1 mistake. As for the type of lifting, I did it wrong at first by doing a typical "bro split" where you do a body part a day with high reps and low weight. I later switched to 5x5 training which is what I would have started with day 1 if I had to go back and do it again. I currently do a upper/lower 4 day a week split for intermediate lifters.

I do the 5x5 but what is the 4 day per week lifting system? Is that some other 5x5 series?

I've been doing it for over a year and saw some gains but hurt my shoulder being ambitious and took 3 months off so be careful.

The 4 day a week program I did was not a 5x5. It was an upper/lower/upper/lower split.

Ok. Anymore detail on the split? Where did you find the program? I'm almost up to where I was in weight before my shoulder injury. I want to switch to something that is 4-5 days.

Thanks,

vismal

hkspwrsche wrote: »

vismal wrote: »

hkspwrsche wrote: »

vismal wrote: »

I starting lifting maybe 6 months into my weight loss. Originally it was just diet and running. I wish I would have started lifting from the get go though. That would be what I consider my number 1 mistake. As for the type of lifting, I did it wrong at first by doing a typical "bro split" where you do a body part a day with high reps and low weight. I later switched to 5x5 training which is what I would have started with day 1 if I had to go back and do it again. I currently do a upper/lower 4 day a week split for intermediate lifters.

I do the 5x5 but what is the 4 day per week lifting system? Is that some other 5x5 series?

I've been doing it for over a year and saw some gains but hurt my shoulder being ambitious and took 3 months off so be careful.

The 4 day a week program I did was not a 5x5. It was an upper/lower/upper/lower split.

Ok. Anymore detail on the split? Where did you find the program? I'm almost up to where I was in weight before my shoulder injury. I want to switch to something that is 4-5 days.

Thanks,

A 4-5 day lifting program won't help with weight loss. The routine is also designed for a weight gain phase not a deficit. I rarely had great success using a 4 or 5 day a week program in a deficit as recovery becomes a big issue. That would be extra important if you are healing from an injury. The routine is called the "generic bulking routine" by Lyle McDonald but again, I don't personally like 4 day a week programs for a deficit.

Brandie43

I know that you have covered so much material on here and that is so incredibly fantastic of you! I would like to loose 30+ lbs and i'm 49 years old. You have probably covered this over and over again but i'm getting confused, I was wondering if you might say again the best strategy for a woman at my age to loose weight to be in your opinion? I am watching my calorie intake by using weight watchers as it is so easy to keep count. would you recommend cardio mainly at this point or weights or both and how many days? Thank you so much for your time..

hcdo

What type of lifting program do you do when you're in a deficit?

hcdo

Edit to my previous post: I'm currently doing PHUL, which is a 4-day upper/lower split. I need to cut a bit, and in a previous answer you mentioned that a 4-5 day lifting program wouldn't help with weight loss, so I'm just wondering what you'd suggest. More cardio? Do you have another lifting program that you do specifically when you're in a deficit?

mcbeanstr

Jesus dude teach me