I went from morbidly obese to 6 pack abs! Ask me Anything
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Where can I meet good looking, fit guys like you?! That's my question haha.
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That's amazing and motivational work you did bro.
I am new to calories counting. I started about 12 days ago with 4 to 5 times cardio a week 20 mins treadmill, 20 mins elliptical, and 20 mins stationary bike. I was 113.8 kg when i started and I am 181 cm. I so far lost 3.6 kg and i am not sure if it all are fat or that i have lost some muscles too. My food target is 20% fat, 40% protein and 40% carbs. Is that a good plan?
My important question is do you advice me to start weight lifting now or after i lose some fats?0 -
Ohio of course! loliwillsucceed0444 wrote: »Where can I meet good looking, fit guys like you?! That's my question haha.
Start weight lifting immediately. It will help ensure that lean mass is retained while you are losing fat. As far as macro ratios, I don't use them. They aren't as good as basing macros off your weight. This is the method I use:That's amazing and motivational work you did bro.
I am new to calories counting. I started about 12 days ago with 4 to 5 times cardio a week 20 mins treadmill, 20 mins elliptical, and 20 mins stationary bike. I was 113.8 kg when i started and I am 181 cm. I so far lost 3.6 kg and i am not sure if it all are fat or that i have lost some muscles too. My food target is 20% fat, 40% protein and 40% carbs. Is that a good plan?
My important question is do you advice me to start weight lifting now or after i lose some fats?
http://youtu.be/7cc18wLJW3k
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Hi I'm around 285 and 6'0", my BMI is 38.6. My current goal is to get down to 220 lbs so my BMI will then become just "overweight" but my ultimate goal is to atleast get around the 180-199 range. Currently I'm I'm limited to 2400 calories a day, and I try to do moderate walking 5 days a week just starting off about 35 minutes a day, but increase 5 minutes every week. Weekends I rest and cheat alittle but I don't overdo it and I stay away from McDonalds' at all costs! I'm planning to start weight lifting in a about 2 weeks. Trying to lose atleast 1-2 pounds a week, I avoid processed foods and sodas. I try not to overdo it by following strict diets because I get burned out fast with it and I lose all motivation which has happened several times in the past.
I'm here to ask if you have any suggestions for me so I can make any changes without going through yet another burn out phase. Also I take a multivitamin every morning before exercising.0 -
Congrats on your amazing transformation. Thank you also for taking the time to post a reply to as many questions as you have. I have learned a great deal from this thread. One of which is - it's time to increase my weights/step up my routine with adding more lifting. In the past week since I saw this thread and changed up to your 5x5 suggestion, I've already lost 2 pounds. With any luck the next 15 will come pouring off.
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Amazing!!! V--how did you learn to believe in yourself?0
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30-something year old male who has been motivated to do things like buy a kitchen scale, make protein fluff and stay motivated by tracking your progress and the original "So you want a flat stomach" post from @usmcmp. Thank you both.
I was hoping you'd post your current lifting program or link back to it in this (went back 10 pages, might have missed it) thread.
I think you mentioned 4x day, upper/lower body split?
Thanks and continued successes you to.0 -
I'd stop trying to avoid things. While processed foods rack up your calories quickly, its okay to have them in moderation. I find that many people try very hard to avoid them at all costs and end up binging on them. I much prefer to work them into my daily calories. I also would do away with the cheat day. If you don't ban foods through the week, they are not needed. 1 or 2 cheat days a week can ruin the entire weeks worth of weight loss if they are bad enough. I save true cheat days for special occasions only.Hi I'm around 285 and 6'0", my BMI is 38.6. My current goal is to get down to 220 lbs so my BMI will then become just "overweight" but my ultimate goal is to atleast get around the 180-199 range. Currently I'm I'm limited to 2400 calories a day, and I try to do moderate walking 5 days a week just starting off about 35 minutes a day, but increase 5 minutes every week. Weekends I rest and cheat alittle but I don't overdo it and I stay away from McDonalds' at all costs! I'm planning to start weight lifting in a about 2 weeks. Trying to lose atleast 1-2 pounds a week, I avoid processed foods and sodas. I try not to overdo it by following strict diets because I get burned out fast with it and I lose all motivation which has happened several times in the past.
I'm here to ask if you have any suggestions for me so I can make any changes without going through yet another burn out phase. Also I take a multivitamin every morning before exercising.
Heavy weights is truely the way to go! Congrats on your success so far and keep up that hard work.nladopoulos wrote: »Congrats on your amazing transformation. Thank you also for taking the time to post a reply to as many questions as you have. I have learned a great deal from this thread. One of which is - it's time to increase my weights/step up my routine with adding more lifting. In the past week since I saw this thread and changed up to your 5x5 suggestion, I've already lost 2 pounds. With any luck the next 15 will come pouring off.
I never doubted myself. It wasn't a question of believing. It was more a matter of actually putting in the work. Diet and weight loss isn't all that hard on paper. Believing it will work isn't hard either because so many have done it before. The hard part is staying consistent with the methods needed to lose weight. It's very easy to believe eating less and moving more will cause weight loss. It's much harder to actually do it day in and day out for months and years.christina9661 wrote: »Amazing!!! V--how did you learn to believe in yourself?
Lately I've been doing a powerlifting routine. It's Jonnie Candito's 6 week strength program. It's free on his website. Prior to that I was doing Lyle McDonald's generic bulking routine, also free. Both routines are upper/lower splits.30-something year old male who has been motivated to do things like buy a kitchen scale, make protein fluff and stay motivated by tracking your progress and the original "So you want a flat stomach" post from @usmcmp. Thank you both.
I was hoping you'd post your current lifting program or link back to it in this (went back 10 pages, might have missed it) thread.
I think you mentioned 4x day, upper/lower body split?
Thanks and continued successes you to.
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I recently discovered that if I heat up a sweet potato in a microwave oven at night and eat it, somehow it kills the cravings for something sweet that can kill my diet. Do you have any advice like this for a healthy food that can be substituted for an unhealthy food?0
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I don't really view foods as healthy or unhealthy. I prefer to look at foods for their macro and micronutrient content. I do understand what you are getting at though. There are a lot of substitutions I make to save on calories. 1 thing I do is in recipes I replace some if not all of the butter called for with no added sugar apple sauce. Rather then using sour cream I use Greek Yogurt. Salsa or sriracha instead of ketchup. Rice cakes over chips. There are a million of these substitutions!I recently discovered that if I heat up a sweet potato in a microwave oven at night and eat it, somehow it kills the cravings for something sweet that can kill my diet. Do you have any advice like this for a healthy food that can be substituted for an unhealthy food?
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Hey Nick, How important do you think the old "8 glasses of water a day" is? Did you have a regime for water?0
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Hydration can be very important. Being dehydrated can lead you to think you are hungry when you are actually thirsty. I don't specifically track my water intake but it's probably around a gallon a day, maybe a little less. It's extremely hard to drink unsafe amounts of water so I'd error on the side of too much vs. too little. Remember, things like tea, carbonated water, etc all count towards your fluid intake. That being said, 75% or more of my daily intake is just plain h20.craigmc1960 wrote: »Hey Nick, How important do you think the old "8 glasses of water a day" is? Did you have a regime for water?
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Wow! !!! You look AMAZING! Thanks for sharing your inspirational story. How has your journey been for you mentally?0
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Absolutely amazing. You look awesome. No questions because I've been reading through what everyone else has been asking.0
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Hey Vismal,
I noticed your skinny and fit images are both at 195 lbs. So did you cycle between bulking and cutting to get there?
If yes, how long do your cycles last?
I am curios to know what would happen if you lift at your maintenance. (For a beginner).
A video by Scooby's says you can gain muscle and shape simultaneously with losing fat at marginal cuts (say 5%) with heavy lifting and good diet. Your thoughts?
P.S. My aim is to lose belly fat, I'm 165 pounds and have a skinny fat look because of the abdomen. 3 weeks into SL and my chest, arms and thighs are doing great.0 -
Bump for future use
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You are awesome!!0
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It's quite taxing at times but always worth it. At this point all the counting calories/weighing foods is second nature but there were times when it wasn't. Fortunately my results kept coming which kept me motivated. Making short term, obtainable, goals made that easier. When your goals are long term you sometimes feel like the end is never in sight. It's okay to have a few long term goals (I still do) but you should always have some 3-6 month goals so that you have something more tangible to focus on.HopeClavon123 wrote: »Wow! !!! You look AMAZING! Thanks for sharing your inspirational story. How has your journey been for you mentally?
Same stuff different day. Fighting the good fight just like you. One day fitness will be dominated by scientific facts. Until then, people like us will be around to try and keep things honest!I have a question..........sup bro?
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I did several bulk/cut cycles. I don't exactly remember how long they respectively were but I feel like my first bulks were short 3-4 month ones which made my cuts quicker too at probably 2-3 months. A beginner can make decent progress eating maintenance and lifting. It's a good strategy if you have say, 20 or less lbs to lose. Other wise, a cut is probably better. I would also only do it for about 6 months. After that time, bulk/cut cycles will be more efficient.abhisheksengupta wrote: »Hey Vismal,
I noticed your skinny and fit images are both at 195 lbs. So did you cycle between bulking and cutting to get there?
If yes, how long do your cycles last?
I am curios to know what would happen if you lift at your maintenance. (For a beginner).
A video by Scooby's says you can gain muscle and shape simultaneously with losing fat at marginal cuts (say 5%) with heavy lifting and good diet. Your thoughts?
P.S. My aim is to lose belly fat, I'm 165 pounds and have a skinny fat look because of the abdomen. 3 weeks into SL and my chest, arms and thighs are doing great.
Unless you are an absolute beginner you won't make significant muscle gains in any kind of a deficit. Also, keeping to a 5% deficit is extremely hard. Calorie counting, no matter how obsessive compulsive you are at it, has a big margin of error. Even if your weighing/tracking was 100% (which nobody is), it still leaves lots of variables. The FDA allows for a fair bit of rounding, also not all foods are the same every time. For instance steak. While you can have the average calories for a top sirloin steak, each steak will have have different levels of fat. This is the kind of variance that you simply can't control. If you are in a 20% deficit, you have a huge margin of error. If you are in a 5% deficit, you have a tiny margin of error. This is always why I firmly believe successfully cutting is much easier then bulking. You have half the margin for error in a 10% surplus then a 20% deficit.
I know everyone wants to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time. It's the unicorn of fitness. People go so far as to inject drugs into their bodies to accomplish it. Here's the thing though, if it was possible, and there was a method that achieved it efficiently, it would be what everyone did. But if you look at people who are lean with a decent amount of muscle mass, mostly all of them did bulk/cut cycles. The ones who didn't probably had some genetic advantages that the rest did not.
So are youaladdinaalvarado391 wrote: »You are awesome!!
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Amazing. Good job!0
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Amazing job vismal! You said AMA so what are your lifts on bench/squat/deadlift? 0
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Great, informative answer, thank you very much. I've shred 52 pounds and now I am striving for a sculpted mid-section (and everything else really!) like you.
I did several bulk/cut cycles. I don't exactly remember how long they respectively were but I feel like my first bulks were short 3-4 month ones which made my cuts quicker too at probably 2-3 months. A beginner can make decent progress eating maintenance and lifting. It's a good strategy if you have say, 20 or less lbs to lose. Other wise, a cut is probably better. I would also only do it for about 6 months. After that time, bulk/cut cycles will be more efficient.abhisheksengupta wrote: »Hey Vismal,
I noticed your skinny and fit images are both at 195 lbs. So did you cycle between bulking and cutting to get there?
If yes, how long do your cycles last?
I am curios to know what would happen if you lift at your maintenance. (For a beginner).
A video by Scooby's says you can gain muscle and shape simultaneously with losing fat at marginal cuts (say 5%) with heavy lifting and good diet. Your thoughts?
P.S. My aim is to lose belly fat, I'm 165 pounds and have a skinny fat look because of the abdomen. 3 weeks into SL and my chest, arms and thighs are doing great.
Unless you are an absolute beginner you won't make significant muscle gains in any kind of a deficit. Also, keeping to a 5% deficit is extremely hard. Calorie counting, no matter how obsessive compulsive you are at it, has a big margin of error. Even if your weighing/tracking was 100% (which nobody is), it still leaves lots of variables. The FDA allows for a fair bit of rounding, also not all foods are the same every time. For instance steak. While you can have the average calories for a top sirloin steak, each steak will have have different levels of fat. This is the kind of variance that you simply can't control. If you are in a 20% deficit, you have a huge margin of error. If you are in a 5% deficit, you have a tiny margin of error. This is always why I firmly believe successfully cutting is much easier then bulking. You have half the margin for error in a 10% surplus then a 20% deficit.
I know everyone wants to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time. It's the unicorn of fitness. People go so far as to inject drugs into their bodies to accomplish it. Here's the thing though, if it was possible, and there was a method that achieved it efficiently, it would be what everyone did. But if you look at people who are lean with a decent amount of muscle mass, mostly all of them did bulk/cut cycles. The ones who didn't probably had some genetic advantages that the rest did not.
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Hi vismal,
Just wanted to echo everyone else's sentiments and say what an inspiration you are - it was definitely refreshing to see you talk at such length about dieting sensibly based on scientific principles and common sense things that have worked in your own experience.
Flexible dieting seems like a winner for me. I have always had a complicated relationship with food and it of course makes perfect sense to have a little of what you like as long as it fits into your daily goals.
I'm 32 years old, 5'6" and 187lb with a BMI of just under 31, so I'm inside the obese category but carry it well enough that people wouldn't really say that I'm overweight (although I am very clear that I am and I've struggled with it my whole life). I'm pretty healthy, having run a half marathon September last year but I am most assuredly the poster-boy for 'cardio doesn't burn fat efficiently, if at all'.
I've just started a full-body dumbbell workout (3-5kg) to do at home three times a week and this is literally my first time lifting anything. My gym has only one power cage which is always occupied and I don't want to be 'that guy' who ends up squatting the Olympic bar with no weight on it their first time out while there's a queue behind me. I fully intend to book a training session to help with my form and start on a 5x5 in a couple of months, after I have built up a bit of strength but I hope to see a little progress with the dumbbells in the meantime. Am I simply wasting my time or should i see some minor gains and fat loss with this simple routine for now?
Additionally, as of yesterday I have started to try and get 1g of Protein per lb and HOLY MACKEREL is that TOUGH (and I can see not going to be cheap either!)
With IIFYM, it's great that you can be flexible but do you find that by necessity you end up eating a lot of 'clean' food like chicken/eggs/shrimp rather than pizza and snacks for the simple reason that you just can't get enough protein intake otherwise? I had to eat three packs of lean turkey slices yesterday just to get up to 180g by the end of the day. It's not a problem because I find that I'm satisfied after I eat, but do you have any tips? Any issues with getting a sneaky extra 20g from whey? Also I've seen some info which talks about 1g protein per lb of 'lean' body mass - any thoughts on that?
Thanks in advance for any insight and thank you for being so cool with everybody on the thread - your help has been invaluable.0 -
What would you consider heavy weights? I am doing max 8 lb dumbbells. Do I need to go heavier?0
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I don't really view foods as healthy or unhealthy. I prefer to look at foods for their macro and micronutrient content. I do understand what you are getting at though. There are a lot of substitutions I make to save on calories. 1 thing I do is in recipes I replace some if not all of the butter called for with no added sugar apple sauce. Rather then using sour cream I use Greek Yogurt. Salsa or sriracha instead of ketchup. Rice cakes over chips. There are a million of these substitutions!I recently discovered that if I heat up a sweet potato in a microwave oven at night and eat it, somehow it kills the cravings for something sweet that can kill my diet. Do you have any advice like this for a healthy food that can be substituted for an unhealthy food?
I saw in your food diary that you make homemade quest bars. Do you have a link that you make them from? They sound great.0 -
Wow! Very impressive. Gives me hope0
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Wow! Your success story is truly inspirational. I have 6kg to loose but most importantly I would like to change my lifestyle. Recently, I did a body pump class and I loved it. I would like to get into weight lifting! I would love to read up about it before I start though as I am a complete novice. Can you recommend any good source? Thank you in advance! Have a LOVEly day today!0
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How hard was it to run at 315?1
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