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

PwrLftr82

Richterchuk wrote: »

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.

I've discovered that you can't find time, you have to make it. If you really want to work out and don't have the time, you have to sacrifice something--for me it's an hour of sleep.

2023AF

Thank you for the replies!! It's funny how you posted that video about not eating back your calories. I had that bad mindset my first few days of starting to work out and thought, oh, okay I'll just exercise my butt off and be able to eat some pizza. Now, although I always knew this, even if you stay under your calorie range but eat bad food, the food still has negative effects on your body. Too much sugar, too much fat can cause all sorts of health problems even if you are smaller or loosing weight. Now I'm just trying my best to make healthier decisions and cut down on my junk food eating. Moderation!!! I'm not doing it cold turkey though cause that was what really messed me up when I tried to loose weight in the past. Just cutting down on how much soda, cakes, etc. I eat daily and I'm getting much better. Hopefully soon I will only eat junk food once a month.

A question though, from watching your video about the calories, I weigh around 295 now so if I wanted to loose weight, multiple by let's say 8, I should eat 2360 calories a day even when I exercise?? Or is it when I don't? Or both? Thanks for the tips

ccmzone2013

You are the MAN!!!
Congratulations!

I'm down 200lbs, but not like that ....keep it up!

#NeverGiveUp

erichegwer

I just read all 25 pages, start to finish. Thanks so much for taking so much time to FULLY document everything you do, and went through.

I'm just starting out, 265 pounds, 6'1 - Vegetarian - 44 years old. Would like to hit my goal weight of <200 by next new years, 2015 - your plan makes it seem entirely possible.

I have a lot of reasons to do it: for my health, to be more active with my kid, and to look good in a suit.

Which brings me to my question - what size were you when you started, and what are you now? I'm guessing a 40+ inch waist, before and now?

Thanks in advance
E

vismal

erichegwer wrote: »

I just read all 25 pages, start to finish. Thanks so much for taking so much time to FULLY document everything you do, and went through.

I'm just starting out, 265 pounds, 6'1 - Vegetarian - 44 years old. Would like to hit my goal weight of <200 by next new years, 2015 - your plan makes it seem entirely possible.

I have a lot of reasons to do it: for my health, to be more active with my kid, and to look good in a suit.

Which brings me to my question - what size were you when you started, and what are you now? I'm guessing a 40+ inch waist, before and now?

Thanks in advance
E

I didn't ever measure my waist before but I worse a size 44-46 jeans and now I wear a size 32 and my waist is around 35in measured at my bellybutton.

Runningmischka

You look amazing! No questions, just very sincere congrats on your terrific transformation! (*)

elisa123gal

WanderingPomme wrote: »

Completely off topic but I keep coming back to this thread to check all your answers to people's questions and every single time I see your pics I think you visually belong in some Greek or Roman epic as one of the warriors. They wouldn't even have to paint on your abs.

:laugh:

He looks angrier now though compared to his old pic. :frown:

Smile OP! :flowerforyou:

Totally going to paint abs on myself.

Nothing is worse than someone who tells another person to "smile." Offensive and controlling remark. The world doesn't owe you smiles on demand.

liftncycle

You look great! good job!

laurenz2501

ETA posted in wrong place

laurenz2501

BUMP for....no words!! Fantastic works I guess!! Stunning.

codyf5611

So I'm trying to lose a good bit of weight right now. You said that you wish you would have did weight training from the beginning. What type of program/split would you suggest for losing weight? Also, what was your calorie deficit every day?I've just started working out again and I've focused on the compound excercises to get my muscles going again since I haven't worked out in a long time. Sorry if you've mentioned it already, I've searched through quite a few pages.

Adventure9

Thanks - great thread. I'm on page 20 and will come back and read the rest later. A few of your wisdoms that stood out to me so far.:

-Track calories on MFP all as one meal. (I like this better, plus it stores all my individual foods in one place for adding to future diaries.)

-Use a calorie estimate and just pick a number. Calculators are just estimates anyway. Then track and adjust. If not losing weight after 3 weeks, adjust calories down by 10%. So simple - thank you.

-Track food accurately - use a scale for solid foods. Accurate tracking is probably more of the issue vs. calorie target when weight loss is not happening.

-Weigh Daily and average the measurements over increments of time (like a week).

-Don't deprive yourself of foods you love - eat them in moderation. (I love ice cream also!)

-Take a diet break week every 8-12 weeks. Break being defined as eating maintenance calories, not binging.

-Lift weights regularly to maintain or build lean muscle.

squatmami

How or did you measure your body fat percentage whilst on your journey ? Its hard to know if were doing it right with weight training when we have fat to loose as the scales can move very slowly if at all

Adventure9

removed post.

cali8_love

Wow u look great

vismal

codyf5611 wrote: »

So I'm trying to lose a good bit of weight right now. You said that you wish you would have did weight training from the beginning. What type of program/split would you suggest for losing weight? Also, what was your calorie deficit every day?I've just started working out again and I've focused on the compound excercises to get my muscles going again since I haven't worked out in a long time. Sorry if you've mentioned it already, I've searched through quite a few pages.

Compound exercises work just fine. I usually recommend 5x5 routines to beginners. ICF 5x5, and stronglifts are both decent choices.

vismal

squatmami wrote: »

How or did you measure your body fat percentage whilst on your journey ? Its hard to know if were doing it right with weight training when we have fat to loose as the scales can move very slowly if at all

I don't measure body fat percentage. There is no reliable way (that is also affordable) to do it. It to me is also a meaningless number. Most people care about how they feel, or how they look. The number will change nothing. If at my leanest you said I was 10% body fat, or 13% body fat, it would not have changed how I felt physically or what I looked like. You know if you are lean, and you know if your aren't by looking in a mirror. If your before and after pictures don't look different after a couple months, you don't need a number to tell you that something in your program isn't working...

brayfamily586

Inspirational! Thank you for sharing…..

Torontonius

Wow. Awesome. Good of you to put yourself out here for everyone's benefit.

Topsking2010

Keep up the good work!!!

mgorham13

Quick question with ICF 5X5 do you add 5 lbs to compound movements just like SL until you need to deload? What about the accessory exercises how often to you increase the weight?

msno1978

Keep up the good work man.

Running_In_Circles

I am absolutely clueless about lifting weights. I find it intimidating. It hurts and I am worried about hurting myself.

How do I incorporate weight lifting or resistance training into my exercise routine? Do you have any advice? Running was so much easier. I just followed Hal Higdon's program and that was that.

vismal

mgorham13 wrote: »

Quick question with ICF 5X5 do you add 5 lbs to compound movements just like SL until you need to deload? What about the accessory exercises how often to you increase the weight?

Basically, yes. If you are doing this in a caloric deficit, after a while, gaining strength consistently will be impossible. When that happens, it's a good time to think about reducing volume and frequency and think more about maintaining strength rather then building. The amount of time it takes for this to happen varies greatly. I gained strength pretty consistently in a deficit for around a year. Some people can do it longer, others find stalls occur after 6 months.

vismal

Running_In_Circles wrote: »

I am absolutely clueless about lifting weights. I find it intimidating. It hurts and I am worried about hurting myself.

How do I incorporate weight lifting or resistance training into my exercise routine? Do you have any advice? Running was so much easier. I just followed Hal Higdon's program and that was that.

Unfortunately running, while beneficial, does not accomplish the same things that resistance training does. My best advice if you are completely clueless is to either find a friend who is experienced or seek out a trainer. This can also become an issue because there are so many people, many of them with decent physiques, who don't understand the fundamentals of weight lifting. I would recommend either buying or renting from the library, a copy of starting strength by Mark Rippetoe. It's a good primer on weight lifting. After reading it, you should be able to tell if a trainer is full of it or not.

RHPSgirl1984

You look amazing! Congratulations!

kananm

Hi,
Your transformation is really inspiring! Just wanted to know if alcohol can be included in the diet or does one completely need to refrain? Also, were you following mfp's recommendation for calories and carbs?

Breannamcknight6

Hi. I'm 5'6 and weigh 210. I'm supposed to be around 130 pounds for my height. I had a baby in December of 2013. So I have the annoying pouch. What were the ab workouts that worked best for you?

JazzFischer1989

If you had stretchmarks from being obese, did they fade significantly after you lost weight and got into better shape?

I know it's a weird question, but my boyfriend's stats are similar to yours pre-weightloss and this is something he's hoping will happen so I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask.

jyogit

ive just spent 2hrs reading this thread of yours and i must say .. what a transformation and what a great guy you are for replying to so many peoples questions. This is what i thought mfp would be about .. people helping others and taking the time out to alleviate confusion.
Unfortunately the real world dictates that some folk who have the knowledge dont want to part with it without money changing hands or making it "their way is the only way".
Congrats on breaking the mold, and inspiring so many of us members.