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

vismal

shepd1999 wrote: »

Tips for getting started at the gym? I really struggle with this. I am intimidated by of how to start lifting weights. I am a lot bigger then you were when you started but seeing this gives me some hope. I know this is a long process and there are many bumps along the way. Right now the big bump is to just start moving. Just like anything else when something is at rest it take more force to start moving but once it is moving momentum can start to take over. Just give you quick Idea of where I am starting. I am 6'3" and weigh about 450 lbs.

Just find a good beginners program and stick to it. Don't change things up for at least 3 months. Often times beginners want to change what they are doing frequently. This makes it hard to get in to a rhythm. Don't be intimidated. Everyone starts somewhere, and no one is strong when they first start. The weight on the bar is only important as it relates to how much was on the bar last time you were at the gym. It's meaningless how it compares to what others are lifting. The Ice Cream Fitness 5x5 is my favorite beginners routine.

mspianomistress

I'm so glad I found this thread. You look amazing. I'm going to keep some weights in my office and do some reps at work throughout the day.

200lb2go

Vismal, I just spent whole day reading through the thread. Thank you for your time and all the amazing info and inspiration you have shared. You are AWESOME!

Before asking too many questions, I will watch the you-tube videos first.

Would you friend me on here as well... I am new and not sure how to do it yet... I have a long road ahead of me, 200+ lb to lose, and I need to do it right this time.

I'm 6'0 female, and was 439 lb as of Aug. 1 this year. I am an even 400 as of last Monday, but at this weight I am not sure what type of exercise I can do safely without damaging joints etc. It is hard to even walk fast... To complicate the issues, I have a pretty large abdominal hernia. The doctor suggested to lose weight prior the surgery to increase chances of successful outcome... Is the weight lifting even safe in my condition?

Thank you for your kindness here in the thread!

nuvimi

Lena4greenscapes wrote: »

Vismal, I just spent whole day reading through the thread. Thank you for your time and all the amazing info and inspiration you have shared. You are AWESOME!

Before asking too many questions, I will watch the you-tube videos first.

Would you friend me on here as well... I am new and not sure how to do it yet... I have a long road ahead of me, 200+ lb to lose, and I need to do it right this time.

I'm 6'0 female, and was 439 lb as of Aug. 1 this year. I am an even 400 as of last Monday, but at this weight I am not sure what type of exercise I can do safely without damaging joints etc. It is hard to even walk fast... To complicate the issues, I have a pretty large abdominal hernia. The doctor suggested to lose weight prior the surgery to increase chances of successful outcome... Is the weight lifting even safe in my condition?

Thank you for your kindness here in the thread!

I can't answer our medical questions, but I just wanted to say keep pushing forward. It will be a long journey for you, but you can do this, and you'll be very happy once you do.

glitznglamour15

Your really hot

vismal

Lena4greenscapes wrote: »

Vismal, I just spent whole day reading through the thread. Thank you for your time and all the amazing info and inspiration you have shared. You are AWESOME!

Before asking too many questions, I will watch the you-tube videos first.

Would you friend me on here as well... I am new and not sure how to do it yet... I have a long road ahead of me, 200+ lb to lose, and I need to do it right this time.

I'm 6'0 female, and was 439 lb as of Aug. 1 this year. I am an even 400 as of last Monday, but at this weight I am not sure what type of exercise I can do safely without damaging joints etc. It is hard to even walk fast... To complicate the issues, I have a pretty large abdominal hernia. The doctor suggested to lose weight prior the surgery to increase chances of successful outcome... Is the weight lifting even safe in my condition?

Thank you for your kindness here in the thread!

I can't specifically give you advise about what you can, and cannot do. I would speak to your doctor and let them know exactly what you plan on doing, and see if they deem it safe. Fortunately, you will be able to lose a good deal of weight at first through diet alone. Any physical activity would be good, but again, you should be able to lose through diet alone for now.

mseslee

that's amazing!! congrats!! So when you first started dieting, all you were doing was eating healthy and running? How long and how many days were you running?

slowly_changing12

awesome job!!!!!! I am very impressed

pmm7692

Great job! Impressive!

tomg33

I strongly approve of your approval of ICF 5x5
Glad this thread wasn't full of broscience, preach the facts

sallymariek

Awesome work, you are a inspiration!!
I have a question to ask.
I have a sedentary job and worry that im not doing enough exercise.
I do at least 1-2 gym classes (attack, pump step etc.) a night and a 45 minute power walk at lunch as well as getting about 16,000 steps in. I make a effort to use the stairs and never the lift and get off a bus stops outside of the cbd to walk into work.
Is this enough??
also im feeling super guilty for going over 1200 calories as im super hungry.
often because im exercising I guess.
I've gone from 85kgs to now 62 and wanting to get under 60 by January 2015 and then maintain. Im 2 kgs away from healthy bmi
many thanks

bumblebeez86

Excellent job you!!!

stjanki

Did you have any trouble with excess skin?

VegnStrong

Congrats! Amazing transformation.

Luvofone

Wow! This is very motivating!

coffeerose55

WOW that is wonderful CONGRATS to you and yes breakup can be a motivator . No questions to you just that if you stay on your journey you will reach your destination

mclenithan

I started at 265 about 4 months ago, at 211 as of today, very similar body type. Just curious if you drank any booze while losing weight? I love my booze, but its obviously not helping weight goals, just wondering if you had to give it up for a while.

rgauthier20420

mclenithan wrote: »

I started at 265 about 4 months ago, at 211 as of today, very similar body type. Just curious if you drank any booze while losing weight? I love my booze, but its obviously not helping weight goals, just wondering if you had to give it up for a while.

I read through most of the posts here and I'll say that removing all bad things from your diet is not what, from what I can tell, the OP did. You need to understand what your eating/drinking and be sure to log it to be held accountable. Know where you calories are coming from and make adjustments as needed. For instance, if I know I'm having a couple beers that night I'll be sure to eat a little lighter throughout the day or I'll be sure that it's a cardio day so I'll have that 400 calories or so to eat back just to get to my deficit number (1620). For me, I love food, and I can still love food but eat a couple bites of ice cream instead of a bowl full.

vismal

sallymariek wrote: »

Awesome work, you are a inspiration!!
I have a question to ask.
I have a sedentary job and worry that im not doing enough exercise.
I do at least 1-2 gym classes (attack, pump step etc.) a night and a 45 minute power walk at lunch as well as getting about 16,000 steps in. I make a effort to use the stairs and never the lift and get off a bus stops outside of the cbd to walk into work.
Is this enough??
also im feeling super guilty for going over 1200 calories as im super hungry.
often because im exercising I guess.
I've gone from 85kgs to now 62 and wanting to get under 60 by January 2015 and then maintain. Im 2 kgs away from healthy bmi
many thanks

It's impossible to tell any one person if a certain level of activity is "enough" or not. Too many factors come in to play. It sounds like you are losing weight so then I would guess that "it's enough". If stalls occur then always remember to look to see if your tracking and weighing foods is accurate before reducing calories. More often then not, the tracking of the calories, not the calorie goal, is the issue.

mseslee wrote: »

that's amazing!! congrats!! So when you first started dieting, all you were doing was eating healthy and running? How long and how many days were you running?

At first I did the couch to 5k program so 3 times a week. At the most I was running 3-4 miles 3 times a week. I ultimately quit running because I did not enjoy it and I learned it wasn't necessary to lose weight (the only reason I started doing it).

stjanki wrote: »

Did you have any trouble with excess skin?

This was asked a few times in the thread, look back for a more detailed answer but basically I ended up with a very mild case of loose skin that gets better with each passing year.

vismal

mclenithan wrote: »

I started at 265 about 4 months ago, at 211 as of today, very similar body type. Just curious if you drank any booze while losing weight? I love my booze, but its obviously not helping weight goals, just wondering if you had to give it up for a while.

I would drink occasionally throughout the process. I treated alcohol like anything else, I logged it and worked it into my calorie goals. Usually the alcohol itself is not the issue for most people, it's the loss of control and food they eat while under the effects of alcohol that sabotage a diet. I never struggled with that though. I also either drank low calorie per ABV beers or liquor with zero calorie mixers.

onelentilatatime

vismal wrote: »

onelentilatatime wrote: »

Did you experience a rebound - your body reacting to weight loss by demanding you overeat? Why do you think so many dieters relapse? And why didn't you?

Your body cannot demand that you overeat. You can get hungry, sure. Everyone gets hungry from time to time. Some people get hungry all the time. You personally have to choose to overeat. I think many dieters relapse because they lose weight in a manner not sustainable in the long run either because it is too restrictive or time consuming, or mentally taxing, or whatever. They are able to stick with it for however long because the motivation from the results make all the restriction, or time commitment, or hunger pains worth it. They ultimately crack. It either becomes too hard to restrict foods they enjoy, or results slow/stop and they lose motivation. This is why I always recommend a sustainable strategy for losing weight, combined with maintenance breaks every 8-12 weeks of dieting.

This is really fantastic advice. Thank you. I like the idea of maintenance breaks. I have been thinking of this as a "ratchet" diet. Pass one milestone, pause and take a break, and make sure you have the mindset never to go backwards over the milestone again before you concentrate on trying to lose yet more weight. Your comments on intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation were also really helpful. Thank you for taking the time to answer everybody's questions (even the silly ones). You are really generous with your time!

opalsqueak007

Vismal - Your story is a real inspiration! Congratualtions.

I am 51 and 5'7" currently down to 158lb from 194lb. I have a hard, physical job and do no exercise at all apart from that. I wanted to ask you this: I want to build muscle for strength - not for the way I look. I want to be as physically strong as possible. Does it make any difference what lifting programme to do if you want to be strong rather than asthetically have a great looking body? Or are they the same thing? Am I realistically too old to achieve a great deal more strength than I have now? This is the state of me now, pictured below. Thank you

kierranclarke

Assuming you followed the IIFYM / Leangains protocols from what i can see?

vismal

opalsqueak007 wrote: »

Vismal - Your story is a real inspiration! Congratualtions.

I am 51 and 5'7" currently down to 158lb from 194lb. I have a hard, physical job and do no exercise at all apart from that. I wanted to ask you this: I want to build muscle for strength - not for the way I look. I want to be as physically strong as possible. Does it make any difference what lifting programme to do if you want to be strong rather than asthetically have a great looking body? Or are they the same thing? Am I realistically too old to achieve a great deal more strength than I have now? This is the state of me now, pictured below. Thank you

If strength is your primary goal then a power lifting program is probably going to be your best bet. Jonnie Candito has some free ones on his website and Wendler's 5-3-1 is a great book you can look in to.

vismal

kierranclarke wrote: »

Assuming you followed the IIFYM / Leangains protocols from what i can see?

IIFYM, yes. I do not do the leangains protocol. I tried it and found all the carb cycling annoying and useless. I still do intermittent fasting when on cuts but not during mass gaining phases mostly because I have enough calories to spread throughout the day without feeling hungry.

opalsqueak007

vismal wrote: »

opalsqueak007 wrote: »

Vismal - Your story is a real inspiration! Congratualtions.

I am 51 and 5'7" currently down to 158lb from 194lb. I have a hard, physical job and do no exercise at all apart from that. I wanted to ask you this: I want to build muscle for strength - not for the way I look. I want to be as physically strong as possible. Does it make any difference what lifting programme to do if you want to be strong rather than asthetically have a great looking body? Or are they the same thing? Am I realistically too old to achieve a great deal more strength than I have now? This is the state of me now, pictured below. Thank you

If strength is your primary goal then a power lifting program is probably going to be your best bet. Jonnie Candito has some free ones on his website and Wendler's 5-3-1 is a great book you can look in to.

Thank you very much

Slimdownmb

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!


Add me as a friend on here too!

Wow - that is an amazing transformation - go you! whoopie! really happy for you :-) xxx

2023AF

Awesome transformation!! You are such an inspiration Can I ask you some questions please as someone who is starting (again) on her weight loss journey. I'm 25 years old, 5'8'', weigh 300 lbs and have been doing jilean michaels 30dayshred + 30 day squat challenge + nilea rey's 30 day fighter's codex. I have dumbell pairs in my dorm 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and use them when I workout as well as 1lb hand weights. I've only been working out for a week and 2 days so far and have noticed a change in my energy and love it. Here are a few of my questions:

1. Do you take break days from exercising? Like once a week and how do you go about your day? I took a break day on Sunday and I just didn't feel right. Almost guilty I wasn't working out. Is a break day needed in your weight loos journey?
2. Do you eat back your exercise calories? MFP says I should be eating 1700 calories a day, but when I exercise, I usually burn around 300-600 calories per workout? Not sure if I should just eat the 1700 or go what MFP recommends when I exercise. I do log in my food most of the time.
3. Is it lazy of me to just want to concentrate now on fitting in workouts, watching what I eat, watching portion sizes, etc. and not research all these special diets like the one you mentioned? I do look up exercises and different healthy food options (on a low budget cause of school ), but I don't really have a diet plan. I'm just trying my best to make healthier choices, portion my food, and don't go over my calorie plan. I dunno if it's bad that I don't research all these special ways you can eat and the macro diet and stuff. I mean I know like basic stuff, like getting your protein in, low sugar, low sodium, reading the nutrition label for serving size and ingredients, and like I said I do count my calories (watch how much fat, protein, sodium, sugar, and carbs I take it with MFP's guidelines). I just don't do anything extra =/
4. Ever since I gained weight, I started getting a more exaggerated curvature in my back. I've always had a bigger bum, but it sticks out wayyyy more then at any point in my life and I have a little belly. Will loosing weight help this go away or will it never get corrected?
5. I hopefully am going to join a gym once I can start saving money and paying off my tuition, but do you think home exercises can help with weight loss (programs on befit, youtube, bodybuilding.com, insanity, chaleanextreme, turbofire, jilean michaels, etc.) since I also have weights at my disposal? I just don't have kettlebells (would love to have), a barbell and machines.
6. What products would you recommend to help prevent loose skin and help with stretch marks?
7. How long did it take you to loose 100 pounds?

Thank you!! Love your pictures! You are amazing and I hope one day I can reach the same goals you have. So pumped up to continue exercising tomorrow!

vismal

beginsnow wrote: »

Awesome transformation!! You are such an inspiration Can I ask you some questions please as someone who is starting (again) on her weight loss journey. I'm 25 years old, 5'8'', weigh 300 lbs and have been doing jilean michaels 30dayshred + 30 day squat challenge + nilea rey's 30 day fighter's codex. I have dumbell pairs in my dorm 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and use them when I workout as well as 1lb hand weights. I've only been working out for a week and 2 days so far and have noticed a change in my energy and love it. Here are a few of my questions:

1. Do you take break days from exercising? Like once a week and how do you go about your day? I took a break day on Sunday and I just didn't feel right. Almost guilty I wasn't working out. Is a break day needed in your weight loos journey?
2. Do you eat back your exercise calories? MFP says I should be eating 1700 calories a day, but when I exercise, I usually burn around 300-600 calories per workout? Not sure if I should just eat the 1700 or go what MFP recommends when I exercise. I do log in my food most of the time.
3. Is it lazy of me to just want to concentrate now on fitting in workouts, watching what I eat, watching portion sizes, etc. and not research all these special diets like the one you mentioned? I do look up exercises and different healthy food options (on a low budget cause of school ), but I don't really have a diet plan. I'm just trying my best to make healthier choices, portion my food, and don't go over my calorie plan. I dunno if it's bad that I don't research all these special ways you can eat and the macro diet and stuff. I mean I know like basic stuff, like getting your protein in, low sugar, low sodium, reading the nutrition label for serving size and ingredients, and like I said I do count my calories (watch how much fat, protein, sodium, sugar, and carbs I take it with MFP's guidelines). I just don't do anything extra =/
4. Ever since I gained weight, I started getting a more exaggerated curvature in my back. I've always had a bigger bum, but it sticks out wayyyy more then at any point in my life and I have a little belly. Will loosing weight help this go away or will it never get corrected?
5. I hopefully am going to join a gym once I can start saving money and paying off my tuition, but do you think home exercises can help with weight loss (programs on befit, youtube, bodybuilding.com, insanity, chaleanextreme, turbofire, jilean michaels, etc.) since I also have weights at my disposal? I just don't have kettlebells (would love to have), a barbell and machines.
6. What products would you recommend to help prevent loose skin and help with stretch marks?
7. How long did it take you to loose 100 pounds?

Thank you!! Love your pictures! You are amazing and I hope one day I can reach the same goals you have. So pumped up to continue exercising tomorrow!

1: You absolutely should take rest days. My current lifting protocol has me lifting 3-5 days a week and I do very sporadic cardio. For beginners I usually recommend lifting 3 times a week and cardio 2-3 times a week. Pretty much everyone, regardless of skill level, should take at least a full rest day each week.
2: I do not, this is why

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTb7lEs_6BU

3:What you have described is essentially what I do. I count my calories and macro nutrients (protein carbs and fats). That's all you need to do for success. Most diets that require lots of research are garbage.
4: It will probably get better but there's no way to know for sure unless you lose the weight and find out.
5: Any program is better then no program. I prefer gym workouts myself but home workouts can be plenty effective.
6: I've got a video for this as well

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

7: About 1 year.

Hope that helped

Richterchuk

vismal wrote: »

Congratulations, that's an amazing transformation. What do you think are the top 5 things that led to your success?

1. Myfitnesspal of course. It wasn't until I began tracking my intake that my success really started to take off
2. Understanding that "eating clean" is meaningless and that in order to have true life long success I had to eat foods I enjoyed (ice cream, cookies, etc) on a regular basis but in moderation
3. Lifting heavy weights
4. Not listening when people say "you lost enough already" or "you are getting too skinny"
5. Learning as much about the science behind nutrition and dieting as possible. There is more pseudoscience and myths in this field then any other on earth! So much BS to cut through to find the truth.

I could have wrote this - applies to where I'm at right now - especially #4 and #5! Congrats on your transformation. I am struggling with #3 at the moment, finding time to workout is my biggest challenge.