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

UrnAsh_

Congrats

carolcocodiggs

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!

That is so wonderful!

kwill323

What exercises should I do to tone my stomach more? That little pouch on the lower belly is evident and I'm trying to minimize me. Help!!!

Congrats on your progress. Hard work pays off

vismal

kwill323 wrote: »

What exercises should I do to tone my stomach more? That little pouch on the lower belly is evident and I'm trying to minimize me. Help!!!

Congrats on your progress. Hard work pays off

You cannot tone a muscle. Muscles do not tone, they either grow or shrink. For a muscle to look "toned" two things must exist. You must have built up the muscle enough so that it will show, and you must lose enough fat so that it is not covered. The abdomen as a muscle group will not grow a dramatic amount. 9 times out of 10, if you abs aren't showing, it's because there is fat covering them. The only way to fix this is to lose fat overall. Just as you cannot tone a muscle, you cannot spot reduce fat.

mgajmama

No questions but just wanted to say great job!

jules92761

Well, apparently I'm a little late coming to the party... but if you are still taking questions, I have one. Did you strictly count calories according to what MFP assigned you, or did you follow a specific diet or track macros? In other words, did you do something such as say low carb, or keep track of your carbs (or whatever macros) that are tracked in MFP? Congratulations on your success!! Great job!!

vismal

awarreningermany wrote: »

Thanks so much for the post and so much info!

My question for you...

I am about 5'10 with a large build. I started using mfp and training with weight in the gym 3 times a week as well as pilates once and cardio 2-3 times in July 2014. I have lost about 10 kilos so far and weight loss has slowed down a lot for me now (was made worse by using a non digital kilo scale until recently!). I am having trouble with getting a goal weight idea for myself / knowing when to try to switch to muscle gain for a time. I was 93 kilos when I started (110 at my heaviest) and am now just over 82. I still have some fat to loose, especially in the horrible last to go tummy area! What do you recommend about choosing weight goal and at what point you start with cutting/bulking cycles, would it still be a bit too early for me?

Congrats on your progress so far. Unfortunately it's difficult to set an hard target at which point it will be a good idea to switch from losing fat to muscle gain. The best bet is to simply reevaluate things every 5kg or so. I would try dropping 5kg, then determine if dropping an additional 5 would be reasonable, further your goals. I'm guessing 72kg might be about right for you, but until you get there, it'l be hard to tell. The good news is, if you look lean enough before you get that low, you can just make the switch earlier.

jules92761 wrote: »

Well, apparently I'm a little late coming to the party... but if you are still taking questions, I have one. Did you strictly count calories according to what MFP assigned you, or did you follow a specific diet or track macros? In other words, did you do something such as say low carb, or keep track of your carbs (or whatever macros) that are tracked in MFP? Congratulations on your success!! Great job!!

I never used the MFP guidelines. They base their recommendations off the RDA which I feel is fundamentally flawed for me people's goals. As far as setting calories, I take the simplest of approaches. I just pick a reasonable starting number, maybe 10-11 calories per lb I weigh. I then eat that many calories for a few weeks. If weight comes off, I continue, if it does not, I reduce calories slightly and give it more time. I can repeat this process any time I stall as well. As far as macro nutrients go, I have a video to explain how I do that: http://youtu.be/7cc18wLJW3k

lorisavage13

That video is very helpful! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us.

sydneybmurphy

Wow! Congrats!

jules92761

Great video! Thanks!

clacoste0102

Holy crap....you look awesome! Congrats! what kind of diet did you do?

vismal

clacoste0102 wrote: »

Holy crap....you look awesome! Congrats! what kind of diet did you do?

I counted calories.

ahmednegm1991

vismal wrote: »

I starting lifting maybe 6 months into my weight loss. Originally it was just diet and running. I wish I would have started lifting from the get go though. That would be what I consider my number 1 mistake. As for the type of lifting, I did it wrong at first by doing a typical "bro split" where you do a body part a day with high reps and low weight. I later switched to 5x5 training which is what I would have started with day 1 if I had to go back and do it again. I currently do a upper/lower 4 day a week split for intermediate lifters.

vismal wrote: »

I starting lifting maybe 6 months into my weight loss. Originally it was just diet and running. I wish I would have started lifting from the get go though. That would be what I consider my number 1 mistake. As for the type of lifting, I did it wrong at first by doing a typical "bro split" where you do a body part a day with high reps and low weight. I later switched to 5x5 training which is what I would have started with day 1 if I had to go back and do it again. I currently do a upper/lower 4 day a week split for intermediate lifters.

ahmednegm1991

I'm was 150 kilograms, now I'm 95 kilo just by diet people around me told that "you are very good look now" don't lose weight any more , in my opinion I see that I have to lose extra couples of kilograms , what's your opinion ? , my problem in fats around my top of legs , if you have way to lose this fats tell me how

wishiwasarunner

Thank you so very much for this thread. You have been so polite and helpful. I especially appreciate how you have continued to firmly support BMI standards. BMI is not always the absolute best way to determine if someone needs to gain or lose weight, but it is a very good standard for the vast majority and the number of people who think it does not apply to them because they are "muscular" or have a "big build" is disconcerting.

I have read through the entire thread and browsed through some of your other sites, but I am finding it difficult to figure out what you have done with fasting. In one place, I thought you said you did not really do that, and then in others you talk about IF. I don't want to make you repeat yourself, but I just can't seem to find the discussion.

nesian_twin

Wow what an amazing transformation and achievement. BTW I didnt think you looked morbidly obese in your before pic and I totally agree with what you said here for number 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 have one question, did you also use intermittent fasting?

nesian_twin

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

I dont think he looks angry. I see determination in his face

vismal

ahmednegm1991 wrote: »

I'm was 150 kilograms, now I'm 95 kilo just by diet people around me told that "you are very good look now" don't lose weight any more , in my opinion I see that I have to lose extra couples of kilograms , what's your opinion ? , my problem in fats around my top of legs , if you have way to lose this fats tell me how

Without looking at you, I cannot tell you personally if I think you should lose more weight or not. Also, my personal opinion is far less important than your opinion as to whether you like your look or not. As to losing fat in your legs, you cannot spot reduce fat. You must just lose fat overall until it comes from problem areas.

wishiwasarunner wrote: »

Thank you so very much for this thread. You have been so polite and helpful. I especially appreciate how you have continued to firmly support BMI standards. BMI is not always the absolute best way to determine if someone needs to gain or lose weight, but it is a very good standard for the vast majority and the number of people who think it does not apply to them because they are "muscular" or have a "big build" is disconcerting.

I have read through the entire thread and browsed through some of your other sites, but I am finding it difficult to figure out what you have done with fasting. In one place, I thought you said you did not really do that, and then in others you talk about IF. I don't want to make you repeat yourself, but I just can't seem to find the discussion.

I used intermittent fasting for a decent portion of my initial loss and still use it during diet phases now. I do not use it when I am in a bulking phase as it's somewhat counterproductive towards that goal.

nesian_twin wrote: »

Wow what an amazing transformation and achievement. BTW I didnt think you looked morbidly obese in your before pic and I totally agree with what you said here for number 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 have one question, did you also use intermittent fasting?

Morbidly obese is simply a medical category one falls into at a certain height and weight. Looks are irrelevant to the term. You either fit the criteria or not, and I did.

NekoneMeowMixx

Much congratulations, that is AWESOME! I'm personally looking to get a similar physique, (lean muscle) I'm currently 5' 6", and 133 pounds. My BMI is about 21.6, and I'm looking to get around 18. What would you suggest for someone who doesn't have a lot of weight to lose, but needs to get rid of some of that "fluff" and build up some muscle?

Congrats again, that is seriously some baller progress!!

nesian_twin

Morbidly obese is simply a medical category one falls into at a certain height and weight. Looks are irrelevant to the term. You either fit the criteria or not, and I did.

Yes I know that. It was meant as a compliment.