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

BigT555

Good chance you already answered this question but i didnt see it in after skimming through the thread, how did you decide when to start your first bulking phase?

im at 203 now, around your height, but nowhere near your middle pic in terms of fat loss (from my perspective at least). i have my goal set at 185 right now (originally was 200, moved it down 5 lbs 3 times since) but i doubt ill be satisfied even at that point. did you wait until you got to a certain bf% or what?

rainbowunicorns720

Lots of great information! But a few things were extra encouraging! I also have fat placed evenly so I'm hoping I can achieve at least something CLOSE to what you have with the loose skin! I've never heard anyone say that the skin will tighten over time on it's own....also encouraging! Although, I HAVE had three kids so I'm sure that's going to make it harder for me to have a tight stomach. I've already been lifting some but I'm going to kick it up a notch after this post! I have been in an aggressive deficit for about six months now and should probably take a dieting break...but it's so hard to make myself do that! Does it really make THAT big of a difference in your metabolism for it to be worth doing (i still have at least 70 pounds to lose)? Or do you just recommend it for a mental break...because I can do without that lol. Thanks so much for answering all these questions and you look amazing! I bet it's so nice to look in the mirror now and see a six pack staring back at you! Great work!!

Unknown

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felonebeats

Don't want to ask you anything,just want to say good job

looseseal

FWIW, this guy's transformation is totally possible for everyone on here. I followed his instructions to a T and have ended up losing around 115 pounds myself. He was one of my groomsmen in my wedding so when I saw the initial results, I immediately wanted to do the same thing. Again, we both were around 315 pounds when we started, both offensive linemen at the same high school. I just wanted to drop my $.02 here for those who are kind of skeptical about their own abilities in weight loss. I do not have any transformation pictures like him, but he could throw up one of the two of us from my wedding. Also, I wish I would have listened in the beginning and lifted more, as I am now recovering a lot of muscle lost through dieting.

Thanks so much Vismal for your help! Only two questions.

1. Looking to readjust my goals and aiming to bench 250 and squat 350-375. I cannot seem to squat and get my running miles in the same week due to intense soreness. Any advice?

2. When are we brewing some more beer?

Chris has been the biggest success of anyone I have helped with diet or weight loss! We both helped each other get fat (Denny's, Chinese buffet, and Golden Corral on the reg!) so it would only make sense that we motivate each other to stay in shape!

As far as getting your squat up while keeping up with your running miles, they will somewhat be competing goals. I would try and time squatting as far away from your longest run of the week as possible. Also you might have reduce squatting volume and frequency a bit. 3x5 instead of 5x5, twice a week vs 3 times a week.

Beer must be brewed soon! Something for summer!

From buffet marathons to actual marathons! This **** works people! It takes time and dedication but it really does work!

Chris, you look FANTASTIC!! omG! Keep up the fantastic work and thanks for posting pics. You and Nick are both great inspirations for the rest of us!

looseseal

Hello! Question-- I drink a LOT of water on a daily basis. As in, probably around 12-16 glasses of water a day. I do not do this consciously I just am always thirsty. Is this inhibiting weight loss?

No. Hydration and water intake may cause short term shifts in weight but this is just due to how much water the body is retaining. Drinking lots of water actually helps ward off water retention. None of this prevents fat loss in any way, it can simply make the scale stay put even though fat is being lost. Sometimes it takes a few weeks for the scale to reflect the fat lost because the body wants to hang on to h20.

What kind of exercise would you recommend for someone who doesn't have equipment. I can neither afford equipment or pay for a gym membership at this time. I walk 4 miles 3x a week and 8 miles 3x a week with one day off on Wednesdays. I would like to do strength training, but don't know what to do. I want to possibly tighten up the loose skin that is hanging around my belly.

Do you live near a YMCA. They will generally cut you a discount on a membership or even let you join for free if you cannot afford to join. They have a policy (at least the ones near me) never to turn people away due to finances. If that is not an option, you could get p90x or something similar from a public library and run those.

Questions:

You don't log exercise, don't know cals burned from it, basically create your cal deficit via food, any extra you may burn from exercise is just a boost. So ... net calories are not relevant? (net calories continue to confuse me, as I've never considered them before reading about them at mfp).

How did you determine your calorie deficit number?

Do you always eat the exact same number of cals/day? Don't you ever have days where you're less hungry or more hungry? Wouldn't eating within a range (zig-zagging cals), as long as your average for the week was your cal deficit #, also work for losing weight?

I've been focusing on cardio the past 7 weeks, mostly because I was a lead weight (see my profile page for why). I am ready and able to move beyond this. As a female, 53, with 30 lbs to lose ... where/how do I start with weights? I have 5, 8, 10, 15 lb dumbbells, 10 lb kettlebell, have no problem adding to this. Hubs has a Total Gym that is collecting dust. Any advice is appreciated.

I watched some of your youtube vids ... you write exactly as you speak! Lots of great info, looking forward to learning a lot from your experience. Thanks for this thread!

Net calories still confuse me. The concept is great. If our polar watches and step counters were 100% accurate and we knew exactly what our BMR was and what our thermic effect of food was, you could literally determine exactly how much your output was. Unfortunately we can only guess our bmr, we can only guess our TEF, and those fancy devices we wear or the read out on the cardio machine are all just estimates. Further more, while you might burn 500 calories doing an hour of cardio, you'd have still have burnt around 150 calories doing an hour TV watching. So do you count your cardio as 500 calories, 350 calories? Too many questions, too much guessing. I find it far, far, easier to not try and guess output.

I simply set a calorie limit that has worked in the past. I know from trial and error I can lose weight eating in or around 2500 calories. I found this number simply by starting high, and seeing if weight dropped. When it did not, I reduced calories by 10%. Even to this day, if I stall for 3 or more weeks, I simply reduce calories by 10%. I eat the same every day simply for simplicity. Some days I feel much hungrier then others. If I'm getting towards the end of my calories and I'm still rather hungry, I use my remaining calories for more satiating choices, If I'm not all that hungry I eat sweets or junk I've been craving. Also you need to just flat out accept that sometimes you will have to be hungry. It's just a feeling and it won't kill you. As far as kettle-bell workouts, I don't know much about them as I don't use them often but I'm sure there's a total body kettle-bell workout out there somewhere.

Thanks, appreciate you taking the time to answers all of our questions! Am def checking out the ICF 5x5, this seems like a great starting place for me.

(MFP needs a 'thanks' button)

juliemouse83

bump for later....

pnkpoodlkiss

Congratulations on your amazing transformation, you look fantastic! I apologize if this has already been asked but I didnt see it. Were you able to get the muscle definitition change from the second picture to the third only from doing compound type movements (deep squats, bench press, overhead press, deadlifts, etc) or did you also train individual muscles like bicep curls etc?

I am a female 5 ' 2" and used to be an athlete. I am within 5 pounds of my goal weight but have recently started doing stronglifts 5x5, I care more about how I look than the number on the scale. It just feels weird not training the individual muscles

vismal

I am enjoying reading your questions/answers. Thank you so much for sharing your journey and your knowledge! It is such a refreshing post. Also, thank you for leaving your food journal open. I LOVE potatoes! Of course many weight loss gurus would state that you shouldn't eat potatoes, they turn straight to sugar, so they say? So you can eat potatoes??? Also how do you prepare them? I noticed you eat alot of chicken as do I. How do you prepare it? Grilled? And the infamous bread! It's a supposed no-no but I love eating a sandwich for lunch. I eat the "healthy" bread from Bountiful Baskets. I noticed that you eat bread, so this isn't a huge NO, NO? It's so hard with all of the advice/myths out in this big bad world of fitness!!!! Trying to decyfer it all is exhausting!!! I think we get caught up on trying to have a huge variety of foods to eat, where we don't really need alot of different foods, just the right foods. It seems that you eat the same foods?? Also, I do cardio, 45 min to an hour a day. My problem only started when I hit my 40's, grrrrrrr it's been freaking hard. So, in your experience does one need to do long hours of cardio to first get rid of that weight, especially around the mid section? I notice you are a big fan of weights. I have a pretty nice home gym so I will for sure look for some weight exercises. Thanks again for sharing your journey and more importantly your time to answer long winded questions like mine! If you are not a personal trainer, why not? You have shared more good info on fitness with this post then I have seen! Good luck to you and congrats on your weight loss!!!

Potatoes, bread, or anything for that matter, won't make you fat in and of themselves. Never look at individual foods as good and bad. Look at how foods fit together in a whole. You can basically eat any food you like if it fits your total calories and macros. A slice of bread should fit anyone's total calories a loaf probably won't. This is true about any food. Most people can find enough calories for a piece of pie, but not an entire pie. Just eat what you enjoy and make it fit into your goals. Anytime weight loss stalls don't single out a particular food, that is never the issue, the issue is total calories consumed.

Lots of great information! But a few things were extra encouraging! I also have fat placed evenly so I'm hoping I can achieve at least something CLOSE to what you have with the loose skin! I've never heard anyone say that the skin will tighten over time on it's own....also encouraging! Although, I HAVE had three kids so I'm sure that's going to make it harder for me to have a tight stomach. I've already been lifting some but I'm going to kick it up a notch after this post! I have been in an aggressive deficit for about six months now and should probably take a dieting break...but it's so hard to make myself do that! Does it really make THAT big of a difference in your metabolism for it to be worth doing (i still have at least 70 pounds to lose)? Or do you just recommend it for a mental break...because I can do without that lol. Thanks so much for answering all these questions and you look amazing! I bet it's so nice to look in the mirror now and see a six pack staring back at you! Great work!!

You really should take the two week breaks. They are more then just mental breaks! It does allow hormones to return to normal levels and takes stress off the body. You can do the breaks a little less often but do take them!

Yo, have you thought about bringing a copy pasta of the latest calorie counting 101 over here.

I have. It wouldn't get a sticky here so I'm not sure if I should post it or put it in a blog or something and just refer people to it. What do you think?

vismal

Congratulations on your amazing transformation, you look fantastic! I apologize if this has already been asked but I didnt see it. Were you able to get the muscle definitition change from the second picture to the third only from doing compound type movements (deep squats, bench press, overhead press, deadlifts, etc) or did you also train individual muscles like bicep curls etc?

I am a female 5 ' 2" and used to be an athlete. I am within 5 pounds of my goal weight but have recently started doing stronglifts 5x5, I care more about how I look than the number on the scale. It just feels weird not training the individual muscles

Isolation lifts are more important in a muscle gaining phase then in a fat loss phase but I don't think they should be neglected entirely no matter what. This is why I prefer the ice cream fitness 5x5 to stronglifts. It's still mostly focused on heavy compounds but throws in what I consider just enough isolation work for the body parts that respond best to that kind of activity.

Koldnomore

No Questions, just wanted to mark my place in the thread and say what an awesome job you have done.

I've been on this road for 2 years, lost most of the weight last year, so far this year I 'might' be down 5 lbs if I am lucky but I have been working on a very slow re-comp and I'm dropping body fat but not weight - my muscles are definitely showing more and I am still dropping sizes. I would love to get there faster but I'm just not dedicated enough to stop eating out and blowing my tiny deficit

I'm so happy to see when people who have had awesome transformations take the time to try and debunk some of the mis-information spread around here. It seems that new folks (and lot of older ones) refuse to listen to good advice when it does not come from someone with a 6 pack and at least 100 lbs lost. So thanks for reinforcing the GOOD messages and GREAT work on your transformation! I hope to get there myself eventually.

missdibs1

What are the changes you made once you had to drop that last bit of jiggle? to your nutrition and exercise? What made the difference?

Unknown

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Confuzzled4ever

I didn't know how to do the cable crunches, so I used google.

There are images of people doing them facing the weights and facing away from the weights..

Does it make a difference which way you do them?

TheIrish1981

I'd like to know what your feelings are on carbs. My nutritionist has me on a 200 grams of carb a day diet and so far I have lost almost 10 pounds in 2 weeks. She told me that carbs are irrelevant in my journey for weight loss and that the only think that matters is a caloric deficit. She actually went as far as to say that carbs are a good fuel source for the body.

Would you tend to agree or disagree?

Also, since we started at roughly the same weight and we look to be about the same age...Do you remember how long it took you to shed your first 30 pounds? I'm down 10 but have now slowed because obviously much of that was water weight. I would just like a realistic time frame of how long it will take to get that first 30 pounds off because that will take me in to a new size clothing and I want to be ready financially to go out and buy some new things

vismal

What are the changes you made once you had to drop that last bit of jiggle? to your nutrition and exercise? What made the difference?

In theory the principles remain the same. Eat in a deficit and the weight will come off. When you are lean going to very lean lots of things make it more difficult. You typical have some kind of slowdown to your metabolism causing you to need to eat a little less then the math would suggest is needed. Water retention becomes wicked as well. You may go 3 or 4 weeks with no weight on the scale coming off then BOOM 3 lbs overnight. Training is harder. You have to fight as hard as you can in the gym simply to maintain strength. It's daunting but ultimately worth it. The biggest advice I can give is to STAY ACTIVE. I'm not talking cardio either, I'm talking general physical activity. One of the things the body can do when it is attempting to preserve the last bits of fat is to lower your NEAT (non exercise activity thermogenesis). This is the activity you do throughout the day. Your body can unconsciously make you want to just be a slug. People find themselves going to the gym to train and then sitting the rest of the day. This will greatly reduce your total calories burned. If you find this happening to you, fight it. Get up, do stuff, be active. I think changes in NEAT is why people think starvation mode is real (which it is not). It also accounts for what I said earlier about needing to eat a little less then the math would suggest is needed.

You're right it wouldn't get sticky but it should and then you also know it would turn into 20 pages of people debating on how the are snowflakes and it doesn't apply to them. You could try it and see how it goes, should be interesting.

I think the blog approach would be a great idea though. It could help so many people.

I think I'll post it and then blog it for later reference. Hopefully it doesn't become a sh*tstorm of debate! lol

I didn't know how to do the cable crunches, so I used google.

There are images of people doing them facing the weights and facing away from the weights..

Does it make a difference which way you do them?

When I did them I always faced the cable machine. Like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fbujeH3F0E

vismal

I'd like to know what your feelings are on carbs. My nutritionist has me on a 200 grams of carb a day diet and so far I have lost almost 10 pounds in 2 weeks. She told me that carbs are irrelevant in my journey for weight loss and that the only think that matters is a caloric deficit. She actually went as far as to say that carbs are a good fuel source for the body.

Would you tend to agree or disagree?

Also, since we started at roughly the same weight and we look to be about the same age...Do you remember how long it took you to shed your first 30 pounds? I'm down 10 but have now slowed because obviously much of that was water weight. I would just like a realistic time frame of how long it will take to get that first 30 pounds off because that will take me in to a new size clothing and I want to be ready financially to go out and buy some new things

Your nutritionist is correct. No matter how many carbs you eat, if you burn more calories in a day then you consume you will lose weight. Carbs are the preferred energy source for the body. I lost the first 30 lbs in probably 2 months. 15 lbs a months sound like a lot but so much of it was water weight when I first got started.

bschoo01

You are just simply amazing!

MelodyandBarbells

Gah!!! I can't stop stealing quotes from this thread! Too many gems in one spot, I can't take it anymore!

Congrats Mr. Vismal! And FYI, whenever I feel you said something here better than I think I can, I just copy and paste with reference to you as a named poster. I hope that's okay!

vismal

You are just simply amazing!

Why thank you!

Gah!!! I can't stop stealing quotes from this thread! Too many gems in one spot, I can't take it anymore!

Congrats Mr. Vismal! And FYI, whenever I feel you said something here better than I think I can, I just copy and paste with reference to you as a named poster. I hope that's okay!

Feel free to quote me any time you like

Confuzzled4ever

I didn't know how to do the cable crunches, so I used google.

There are images of people doing them facing the weights and facing away from the weights..

Does it make a difference which way you do them?

When I did them I always faced the cable machine. Like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fbujeH3F0E

Thanks. They are harder facing the machine. So I will go with that one as well.

Koldnomore

In theory the principles remain the same. Eat in a deficit and the weight will come off. When you are lean going to very lean lots of things make it more difficult. You typical have some kind of slowdown to your metabolism causing you to need to eat a little less then the math would suggest is needed. Water retention becomes wicked as well. You may go 3 or 4 weeks with no weight on the scale coming off then BOOM 3 lbs overnight. Training is harder. You have to fight as hard as you can in the gym simply to maintain strength. It's daunting but ultimately worth it. The biggest advice I can give is to STAY ACTIVE. I'm not talking cardio either, I'm talking general physical activity. One of the things the body can do when it is attempting to preserve the last bits of fat is to lower your NEAT (non exercise activity thermogenesis). This is the activity you do throughout the day. Your body can unconsciously make you want to just be a slug. People find themselves going to the gym to train and then sitting the rest of the day. This will greatly reduce your total calories burned. If you find this happening to you, fight it. Get up, do stuff, be active. I think changes in NEAT is why people think starvation mode is real (which it is not). It also accounts for what I said earlier about needing to eat a little less then the math would suggest is needed.

That's a good bit of information and sounds very much like what I'm dealing with - though I wouldn't consider myself 'very lean' I've been having a really hard time trying to progress any further with my weights and on some of them I've backslid a LOT. I can relate to that sluggy feeling for sure.

I'm trying to do another cut phase after sitting at practically maintenance all winter (I've lost about 5 lbs since December 2013) but lately I've been really struggling to do anything, I just feel wiped all the time. I started doing some TRX training about 5 weeks ago twice a week to try something different but other than that it's the same old same old routine.

I was thinking about trying out the ice cream fitness 5x5 on my non-TRX days. I'm frustrated with my inability to keep adding weights with what I WAS doing. Do you think it would help to try a slightly different routine?

eganita

Just another person that wanted to say -- GREAT job with your progress. You look fantastic! And thanks for taking the time to give all of this good information. I don't have any questions in particular, but I've benefited from reading some of the other Q&As.

missdibs1

What are the changes you made once you had to drop that last bit of jiggle? to your nutrition and exercise? What made the difference?

In theory the principles remain the same. Eat in a deficit and the weight will come off. When you are lean going to very lean lots of things make it more difficult. You typical have some kind of slowdown to your metabolism causing you to need to eat a little less then the math would suggest is needed. Water retention becomes wicked as well. You may go 3 or 4 weeks with no weight on the scale coming off then BOOM 3 lbs overnight. Training is harder. You have to fight as hard as you can in the gym simply to maintain strength. It's daunting but ultimately worth it. The biggest advice I can give is to STAY ACTIVE. I'm not talking cardio either, I'm talking general physical activity. One of the things the body can do when it is attempting to preserve the last bits of fat is to lower your NEAT (non exercise activity thermogenesis). This is the activity you do throughout the day. Your body can unconsciously make you want to just be a slug. People find themselves going to the gym to train and then sitting the rest of the day. This will greatly reduce your total calories burned. If you find this happening to you, fight it. Get up, do stuff, be active. I think changes in NEAT is why people think starvation mode is real (which it is not). It also accounts for what I said earlier about needing to eat a little less then the math would suggest is needed.

You're right it wouldn't get sticky but it should and then you also know it would turn into 20 pages of people debating on how the are snowflakes and it doesn't apply to them. You could try it and see how it goes, should be interesting.

I think the blog approach would be a great idea though. It could help so many people.

I think I'll post it and then blog it for later reference. Hopefully it doesn't become a sh*tstorm of debate! lol

I didn't know how to do the cable crunches, so I used google.

There are images of people doing them facing the weights and facing away from the weights..

Does it make a difference which way you do them?

When I did them I always faced the cable machine. Like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fbujeH3F0E

Thanks

I know exactly what you mean about the scale/stalls/and energy fluctuations Are you saying to drop calories further i am already eating at a deficit ?

I know my nutrion needs to be tweaked! Any guidance would be appreciated

Ali_momof2

You look great and I love that you are doing this. So my question is if I don't eat the 1200 calories MFP as alotted me will it affect my weight loss negatively?

vismal

That's a good bit of information and sounds very much like what I'm dealing with - though I wouldn't consider myself 'very lean' I've been having a really hard time trying to progress any further with my weights and on some of them I've backslid a LOT. I can relate to that sluggy feeling for sure.

I'm trying to do another cut phase after sitting at practically maintenance all winter (I've lost about 5 lbs since December 2013) but lately I've been really struggling to do anything, I just feel wiped all the time. I started doing some TRX training about 5 weeks ago twice a week to try something different but other than that it's the same old same old routine.

I was thinking about trying out the ice cream fitness 5x5 on my non-TRX days. I'm frustrated with my inability to keep adding weights with what I WAS doing. Do you think it would help to try a slightly different routine?

I wouldn't do both ICF 5x5 and trx training. The whole idea of a total body 5x5 is that it is all the strength training you need. The rest of your days should be devoted to either cardio or recovery. Any time someone does a 5x5 and then something else strength based, I feel like it's too much.

Thanks

I know exactly what you mean about the scale/stalls/and energy fluctuations Are you saying to drop calories further i am already eating at a deficit ?

I know my nutrion needs to be tweaked! Any guidance would be appreciated

If you stall for 3-4 weeks then you are not in a deficit and 1 of 2 things needs to change. Either reduce calories, or increase the accuracy of your calorie counting. I feel like most people should start with the later.

You look great and I love that you are doing this. So my question is if I don't eat the 1200 calories MFP as alotted me will it affect my weight loss negatively?

Not at first, you will lose weight quite rapidly, BUT and this is a big but, you will ultimately be setting yourself up for failure. 1200 calories is too low for most people to begin with, less then 1200 is even worse. You will not recover from workouts right, you will feel like garbage, you will increase the chances of losing muscle, you will be more prone to binge, you will be much more likely to burn out and give up. What is your height and weight why do you feel like 1200 calories is too much?

ironanimal

Just chiming in to say it's appreciated that your staying away from the broscience and being realistic. Keep up the good work. Too often the forums are muddled with personal agendas.

Koldnomore

Thanks for the reply Vismal. I just thought of another one..

I'm starting a cut phase after about 8 months of very nearly maintenance, I was eating around 2000 - 2400 cals / day (net 1400). I'd like to start cutting again and have decided that 1200 NET should be good. I was wondering about the Macros.. I 'heard' that carbs are not good for cutting? I would think that a 'cut' is just weight loss no? Do I need to do something special with my macros? I normally shoot for 200g carbs/ 60 fat & 110 protein. I had a trainer at the gym suggest that I look into some 21 day cleanse / sugar fast but it seemed a little odd to me. Thoughts?

tmj4477

Okay first congrats on your health progress that is amazing! I have a question I have been walking 5 miles a day playing tennis and swimming twice a week, and trying to do T25 in the mornings or evenings. Yesterday I felt so tired and fatigued that I almost didn't make my swim class till I sat in the whirpool and felt tons better. My question for you is how do I get my body to recover better, I really need to lost this weight but I am so fatigued.

Lastly, can I add you as a friend? Then you can view my diary and see what I am doing wrong.

liamrose

bump