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

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  • 150_lbs_by_2019
    150_lbs_by_2019 Posts: 19 Member
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    Damn dude, you got hawt! Congrats. That's a huge accomplishment.

    1. When you first started to lose weight, what kind of exercises did you do?
    2. Did you have any loose skin that had to be removed, or did you tone it all up while losing?
    3. If you did have loose skin, how much did it cost you to remove it?
    4. How long has it been since you hit your goal weight?
    5. After all this time, do you still find it hard to avoid certain foods and eat healthily?
    6. Do you still log and count calories?
    7. How often do you exercise a week, and how many hours?
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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    VeronicaA76 wrote: »
    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    VeronicaA76 wrote: »
    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    vismal wrote: »
    VeronicaA76 wrote: »
    Where do you find jeans that fit your waist and quads??? Seriously, I'm starting to have this issue.
    Annoyingly enough I usually have to buy expensive jeans. Things like Bigstar, Buffalo, Buckle and the like make so many different styles and sizes that you eventually find one that has a small waist with room for your legs. I wear a 31 or 32 waist and if I try on a pair of most jeans I can't get it past my quads.

    Can I jump on your thread, @vismal? Barbell Apparel has jeans for lifters. They're spendy, $150, but they're supposed to fit. Haven't tried them yet, because I can still fit into anything with some Lycra. Hoping I'll need them someday. ;)

    Again, I don't mind spending extra to not look funny because my jeans are super tight on my quads, but I can smuggle a small child in the extra room on the waist. $150 for a good pair, that fits right isn't that expensive.

    If you buy some, please let us know how you like them!

    @quiksylver296 Better solution:. Turns out barbell apparel are made with Lycra. Might as well buy jeggings. Now, one of my neighbors is a lovely lady in her 90's. I was pulling weeds and we got to talking: she told me how to get 100% cotton demins to form (before spandex was in everything, this is how they got fitted jeans). Buy 100% cotton demins about 2 sizes too big (Levi's 501's are 100% cotton). On a hot sunny day: take a warm shower in them, then go outside in the sun & heat to let them dry. It takes 2 or 3 times doing this, but they'll shrink where you need them to and form nicely to the rest of your body. If you want them to shrink faster on a certain area, blow dry that area while you wear them.

    Now this I am definitely going to try. Levi's are much better priced too! But, this only works with 100% cotton jeans.

    Interesting. I cannot see myself doing all that work on a pair of jeans.
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
    edited August 2017
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    140_lbs_by_2019 wrote: »
    Damn dude, you got hawt! Congrats. That's a huge accomplishment.

    1. When you first started to lose weight, what kind of exercises did you do? At first just running but I wish I would have also done weights
    2. Did you have any loose skin that had to be removed, or did you tone it all up while losing? You can't tone skin. Loose skin is largely based on how much total weight you lose and your genetics. I didn't do anything special to prevent loose skin and there really isn't anything anyone can do. I just got lucky, no surgery for me.
    3. If you did have loose skin, how much did it cost you to remove it? I heard it's very expensive and insurance almost never covers it.
    4. How long has it been since you hit your goal weight? I never set a goal weight. I go by how I look, not the scale. I've been between 190-220 for the last 5 or so years now
    5. After all this time, do you still find it hard to avoid certain foods and eat healthily? Why avoid any foods when I can work them into my everyday diet? Moderation, not elimination is the key.
    6. Do you still log and count calories? Yes
    7. How often do you exercise a week, and how many hours? Depends on if I'm in a fat loss phase or muscle building phase but typically 3-4 times a week for 45 minutes to an hour each weight training session. I don't do formal cardio but I do walks and hikes fairly often because I enjoy them

    Answers in bold

  • VeronicaA76
    VeronicaA76 Posts: 1,116 Member
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    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    VeronicaA76 wrote: »
    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    VeronicaA76 wrote: »
    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    vismal wrote: »
    VeronicaA76 wrote: »
    Where do you find jeans that fit your waist and quads??? Seriously, I'm starting to have this issue.
    Annoyingly enough I usually have to buy expensive jeans. Things like Bigstar, Buffalo, Buckle and the like make so many different styles and sizes that you eventually find one that has a small waist with room for your legs. I wear a 31 or 32 waist and if I try on a pair of most jeans I can't get it past my quads.

    Can I jump on your thread, @vismal? Barbell Apparel has jeans for lifters. They're spendy, $150, but they're supposed to fit. Haven't tried them yet, because I can still fit into anything with some Lycra. Hoping I'll need them someday. ;)

    Again, I don't mind spending extra to not look funny because my jeans are super tight on my quads, but I can smuggle a small child in the extra room on the waist. $150 for a good pair, that fits right isn't that expensive.

    If you buy some, please let us know how you like them!

    @quiksylver296 Better solution:. Turns out barbell apparel are made with Lycra. Might as well buy jeggings. Now, one of my neighbors is a lovely lady in her 90's. I was pulling weeds and we got to talking: she told me how to get 100% cotton demins to form (before spandex was in everything, this is how they got fitted jeans). Buy 100% cotton demins about 2 sizes too big (Levi's 501's are 100% cotton). On a hot sunny day: take a warm shower in them, then go outside in the sun & heat to let them dry. It takes 2 or 3 times doing this, but they'll shrink where you need them to and form nicely to the rest of your body. If you want them to shrink faster on a certain area, blow dry that area while you wear them.

    Now this I am definitely going to try. Levi's are much better priced too! But, this only works with 100% cotton jeans.

    Interesting. I cannot see myself doing all that work on a pair of jeans.

    Found an option. Target's Mossimo "Boyfriend" cut jeans are cut loose around the thighs. They are having thier end of summer/back to school sale. Picked up 2 pairs (all they had in my size) for $30. They are also plain jeans, no distressing, no sparkly stuff, just plain jeans. They are designed to fit "midrise", but with glutes, they fit pretty good right above the glutes, but don't leave 2" of buttcrack showing when you sit down. They are a pretty good overall fit.
  • orangegato
    orangegato Posts: 6,570 Member
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    vismal wrote: »
    5. After all this time, do you still find it hard to avoid certain foods and eat healthily? Why avoid any foods when I can work them into my everyday diet? Moderation, not elimination is the key.

    ^^^Words to live by
  • Jezreel12
    Jezreel12 Posts: 246 Member
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    I love Vismal wisdom and clarity about this !
    orangegato wrote: »
    vismal wrote: »
    5. After all this time, do you still find it hard to avoid certain foods and eat healthily? Why avoid any foods when I can work them into my everyday diet? Moderation, not elimination is the key.

    ^^^Words to live by

  • philfinallyfit
    philfinallyfit Posts: 20 Member
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    Vismal, I have used your thread as my tutorial into my fitness objectives, started this summer with a bout of spondylolesthesis. After consulting with my orthopedic surgeon and taking pregnizone for 5 days, I went from hardly walking to working out. My weight was fluctuating between 218-228, way too much for my 5'9" frame, at 60 years old. Part of the problem was eating Low_carb, which is fool's gold to me. I lose, then gain through craving stuff that was not low-carb. Anything but sustainable...plus the running was not good for my back issue.

    On July 17th I went on a 1700 calorie daily regimen, having lost a lot of weight back in 2012 that way, using MFP for the diet monitoring. I set my activity so that it would not factor into my calorie objective, and have been pretty darn faithful on that front, with the lower calories allowing for not measuring food for exactness. (hence maybe I am at 2000 some days) I have lost down to 205 as of yesterday.

    Based primarily on this great thread, which I have read all 75 pages of, I took your advice and started lifting (SL 5x5 faithfully, and am finishing the 5th week there. My physique has changed noticeably in terms of musculature. I've never been a big weights guy, but have an athletic base. (albeit fat) I want to get down to 180, for health reasons related to my age, height, etc.

    I would appreciate your general comments on what you read above, as I think you've got a good head on your shoulders, not to mention the training, and even a sense of calling, with regard to helping others in these matters.
    Plus I have two questions:
    1) I have hit a bit of a plateau the last 2.5 weeks, only losing 1 lb. That is a victory, in that I am sustaining my previous losses, plus feeling like I am committed to this program. But I have no room to reduce my calories 10%, per your advice, in that I started so low already. I did this because of the past success in 2012, but am wondering how to manage the sense of stalling, which I guess could be water or maybe muscle, which I am seeing in the mirror, how clothes fit, etc.
    2) Yesterday I did "Workout B", which was squats (done every workout), deadlift, and overhead press. On the squats, along with bench and rows from "Workout A", I see no stopping the addition of 5 lb. increments per exercise. But I am reaching the point where I am maxed out on the overhead press. Prior to yesterday, I even stayed with the same total as the time before...not adding 5 lbs. again until yesterday. That actually worked. But then when went to the deadlift, I could hardly do that lift at the new weight. Just holding on the weight (my grip) was even more problematic than the weight itself being lifted, and I will buy gloves for that. But the question is: how do I manage hitting my max, given the 12 week nature of this program (also Bonus Question: what to do after 12 weeks, which for me is October 21st?)

    Thank you, as one who shares your heart and calling in the helping professions, for being great help to so many!
  • VeronicaA76
    VeronicaA76 Posts: 1,116 Member
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    Question:
    Probably an obvious answer... But;
    When lifting sometimes I go to failure on a lift but not for the main part I'm working, but associated muscle. Example on a barbell or T-bar row, my biceps give out well before my back. Recently, what I've been doing is increasing bicep work from twice a week to three times with a day off in between for rest to help catch my arms up to my back. Any advice? Is this okay? Should I be doing something else?

    Thank you.
  • okohjacinda
    okohjacinda Posts: 329 Member
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    vismal wrote: »
    okohjacinda wrote: »
    Hi and congrats on the weight loss!

    Sorry if this has been asked before but how fast is too fast for weight loss? Or is this too slow?

    I am down 24lbs in 2 months. So right now I am averaging 3lbs a week (I am 250lbs at the moment down from 274lbs) I don't eat under 1200 that much (like maybe 2 days out of the week). In fact, on average I am usually over 1500-1600 cals. I just do a lot of cardio...averaging 450-500 minutes a week.

    Also, if I start strength training now, will that impact my rate of loss?

    I noticed in your post you mentioning you wish you had started early on and I have read articles on the benefits of starting out with cardio as well as strength training as you lose weight. I am just afraid of the weight loss slowing down a bit once I start but more afraid to have a lot of loose skin by the time I reach maintenance phase.
    Lifting weights will not affect the rate of your fat loss at all. It might cause you to retain water which will slow your weight loss but that's not really important. Fat is what we want to lose, not water. Plus it's only a temporary thing and losses will resume. I will caution that losing 3 lbs a week is not going to be sustainable anyways as you lose more weight so be prepared for that too. Normally 1-2 lbs of loss per week is a good goal. If you have a lot to lose, 2-3 is fine but just know as you lose more and more and become smaller, your rate of loss is going to decrease.

    Thanks!
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
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    VeronicaA76 wrote: »
    Question:
    Probably an obvious answer... But;
    When lifting sometimes I go to failure on a lift but not for the main part I'm working, but associated muscle. Example on a barbell or T-bar row, my biceps give out well before my back. Recently, what I've been doing is increasing bicep work from twice a week to three times with a day off in between for rest to help catch my arms up to my back. Any advice? Is this okay? Should I be doing something else?

    Thank you.
    This is a common occurrence. Many times our accessory muscles are the limiting factor in increasing weight on more compound lifts. Doing more accessory work to bring up these weak points is a fine idea. I will note that at a certain point too much accessory work actually exacerbates the problem rather than correcting it. How much accessory work to do will depend on your overall program, goals, and calorie intake.

    The other thing to consider is your form. How you actually move the weight can affect how much of what muscles you use. On rows keeping your chest forward and shoulder blades pinned back can sometimes help keep the weight on the back muscles. Part of it is mental too. Focusing on the muscles you want activated helps. As with most lifts, when the weight gets heavy, form degrades. It's actually quite difficult to maintain perfect form on max or near max effort so it's extra important to make sure form is great when effort is not at maximum. It takes 100's of 1000's of reps to ingrain good form into your brain.

  • VeronicaA76
    VeronicaA76 Posts: 1,116 Member
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    vismal wrote: »
    VeronicaA76 wrote: »
    Question:
    Probably an obvious answer... But;
    When lifting sometimes I go to failure on a lift but not for the main part I'm working, but associated muscle. Example on a barbell or T-bar row, my biceps give out well before my back. Recently, what I've been doing is increasing bicep work from twice a week to three times with a day off in between for rest to help catch my arms up to my back. Any advice? Is this okay? Should I be doing something else?

    Thank you.
    This is a common occurrence. Many times our accessory muscles are the limiting factor in increasing weight on more compound lifts. Doing more accessory work to bring up these weak points is a fine idea. I will note that at a certain point too much accessory work actually exacerbates the problem rather than correcting it. How much accessory work to do will depend on your overall program, goals, and calorie intake.

    The other thing to consider is your form. How you actually move the weight can affect how much of what muscles you use. On rows keeping your chest forward and shoulder blades pinned back can sometimes help keep the weight on the back muscles. Part of it is mental too. Focusing on the muscles you want activated helps. As with most lifts, when the weight gets heavy, form degrades. It's actually quite difficult to maintain perfect form on max or near max effort so it's extra important to make sure form is great when effort is not at maximum. It takes 100's of 1000's of reps to ingrain good form into your brain.

    Thank you. I will take note.
  • philfinallyfit
    philfinallyfit Posts: 20 Member
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    Vismal, you never disappoint...not that I can see anyway. Thank you for great suggestions here on trendweight.com, going from 5x5 to 4x5 or 3x5, monitoring calories accurately, plus the all-important logic of what it is that I am doing at present: cutting fat vs. gaining strength.

    Going forward, it's been a few days since I checked in here, and this morning I broke the plateau I had been on. It's just as you said, really, and the fact is, the trend these last three weeks now shows 1 lb per week, which while slower than before, something that I will gladly take!

    I will be even more exacting on my calorie intake measuring, and otherwise keep doing what I am doing. It's working, as I am about to get under 200 lbs. for the first time in many years.

    Three questions:
    1) Along with your idea of increasing with 1.25 fractional plates, do I hurt myself with repeating the same weight 2) and not increasing? (given the reality of my fat loss vs. strength gain mode at present)
    2) My big challenge being the deadlift (where I am either stuck or going backwards on the 10 lb/week increase if not even going backwards), do I sacrifice grip strength for the overall body comp workout you teach by using either a hex bar, or straps, or a pronated right and supinated left-hand grip? (helicopter danger!)
    3) How do I know when I have gone far enough on the weight? My instincts are to go back to what I weighed in college when I was at my fittest, but that was 160 lbs.

    Thanks for this Vismal.
  • fabulous1690
    fabulous1690 Posts: 44 Member
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    You look really great! It's very inspiring to read about real people who haven't cheated with surgery but worked hard to get the body they have. Thank you for sharing
  • nikkie482
    nikkie482 Posts: 26 Member
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    vismal wrote: »
    I've always wanted to do an AMA so I thought I'd set one up here. The basics about my story are that I went from 315lbs to 195 and have been making small gains in muscles/losses to fat ever since. Ask me anything, anything at all!
    fat+skinny+fit.jpg

    Add me as a friend on here too!

    How do I get rid of this belly fat. I already do cardio every day so anything in addition to that will be appreciated.
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
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    philfinallyfit wrote: »
    Vismal, you never disappoint...not that I can see anyway. Thank you for great suggestions here on trendweight.com, going from 5x5 to 4x5 or 3x5, monitoring calories accurately, plus the all-important logic of what it is that I am doing at present: cutting fat vs. gaining strength.

    Going forward, it's been a few days since I checked in here, and this morning I broke the plateau I had been on. It's just as you said, really, and the fact is, the trend these last three weeks now shows 1 lb per week, which while slower than before, something that I will gladly take!

    I will be even more exacting on my calorie intake measuring, and otherwise keep doing what I am doing. It's working, as I am about to get under 200 lbs. for the first time in many years.

    Three questions:
    1) Along with your idea of increasing with 1.25 fractional plates, do I hurt myself with repeating the same weight 2) and not increasing? (given the reality of my fat loss vs. strength gain mode at present)
    Not at all. You want to do everything you can to not reduce weight on the bar, even if that means staying at the same weight or even reducing volume and frequency. For muscle retention, intensity (weight on the bar) is the most important factor.
    2) My big challenge being the deadlift (where I am either stuck or going backwards on the 10 lb/week increase if not even going backwards), do I sacrifice grip strength for the overall body comp workout you teach by using either a hex bar, or straps, or a pronated right and supinated left-hand grip? (helicopter danger!)
    Straps are fine. Eventually most people find that their deadlift strength exceeds their grip strength. Only use them when you absolutely need them so that you continue to build grip strength but don't let your hands limit the many, many, muscles utilized in a deadlift.
    3) How do I know when I have gone far enough on the weight? My instincts are to go back to what I weighed in college when I was at my fittest, but that was 160 lbs.
    Impossible to answer. Basically once you achieve a healthy weight it's all about aesthetics after that. Aesthetics have a lot to do with personal preference. When you are as lean as you want to be, or you feel like getting leaner will actually make you look worse (scrawny, skinny-fat, etc), then a transition to a bulking phase is indicated. I can't tell you what that number will be. Just use the mirror.

    Thanks for this Vismal.

    Answers above in bold
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
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    nikkie482 wrote: »
    vismal wrote: »
    I've always wanted to do an AMA so I thought I'd set one up here. The basics about my story are that I went from 315lbs to 195 and have been making small gains in muscles/losses to fat ever since. Ask me anything, anything at all!
    fat+skinny+fit.jpg

    Add me as a friend on here too!

    How do I get rid of this belly fat. I already do cardio every day so anything in addition to that will be appreciated.
    You cannot target any specific region of the body for fat loss. Fat is lost systemically. To lose belly fat you must simply lose fat. Eventually it will come from your belly. Cardio is fine but it is not the most important factor to fat loss, diet is. The only way to lose fat is to consume less calories per day then you burn. Cardio helps increase the burn number but unless you are an endurance athlete it doesn't increase it by a ton. Carefully monitor your calorie intake and if you are not losing fat/weight over the long run (weeks and months, not day to day) then you are eating more then you are burning. The only solution to that problem is to burn more (increase activity), eat less, or a combination of both.

  • ahmshaki
    ahmshaki Posts: 37 Member
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    I watched one of your videos on Feeding Fitness you tube channel about supplements. I started taking multivitamin, vitamin D3 and fish oil. Does it matter if I take them all together or separately and is it OK to take them with empty stomach first thing in the morning or take them with meals?
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
    edited September 2017
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    ahmshaki wrote: »
    I watched one of your videos on Feeding Fitness you tube channel about supplements. I started taking multivitamin, vitamin D3 and fish oil. Does it matter if I take them all together or separately and is it OK to take them with empty stomach first thing in the morning or take them with meals?
    Taking them together is fine but I'd take the vitamins with a meal for better absorption. I will also note that since I made that video, I'm no longer sold on multivitamins necessarily being worth the money. Unless you have a specific deficiency, there isn't any evidence that a multivitamin is of any value whatsoever. If you do have a deficiency, it's probably better to just supplement what that deficiency is. Many people say they take a multi "just in case" so that they don't develop a deficiency, and multi's tend to be pretty inexpensive, so I guess that is fine, but I would advise against taking expensive multi's and if budget is a concern, I'd make the multi the first thing to cut. I'll also note that if you are a female planning on having a child or pregnant, there is evidence to support taking prenatal vitamins.

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