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

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Replies

  • Jezreel12
    Jezreel12 Posts: 246 Member
    I need to try MTS.
  • Syneea
    Syneea Posts: 451 Member
    Thank you so much for the plethora of information! I'm still making my way through all of the pages. Question: Obviously you are highly educated on fitness and nutrition; who are your "go to" authors/websites to stay informed of RELEVANT information for both areas and not the crap that can be found in half of the online sources/mags?? Thank you!
  • quickfin
    quickfin Posts: 78 Member
    Fantastic results!
  • MoHousdon
    MoHousdon Posts: 8,723 Member
    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!
    fat+skinny+fit.jpg

    Add me as a friend on here too!

    This was 3 years ago, what do you look like now?! Inquiring minds want to know!
  • iuliuscezar59
    iuliuscezar59 Posts: 1 Member
    how many hours a day do you workout? or worked out in the begining ? did you do cardio and weights? how many hours of each?
  • MoHousdon
    MoHousdon Posts: 8,723 Member
    edited August 2016
    vismal wrote: »
    Syneea wrote: »
    Thank you so much for the plethora of information! I'm still making my way through all of the pages. Question: Obviously you are highly educated on fitness and nutrition; who are your "go to" authors/websites to stay informed of RELEVANT information for both areas and not the crap that can be found in half of the online sources/mags?? Thank you!
    There are a lot of good people in the fitness industry that are science based. Lyle McDonald's website (http://www.bodyrecomposition.com) is the holy grail of fitness. His topics range from beginner to extremely advanced and cover just about every aspect of diet and exercise I can think of. Alan Aragon (https://alanaragon.com/) is another trustworthy fitness author. Both Alan and Lyle have written a number of books and all of them are great resources. Eric Helms and the rest of the 3d Muscle Journey crew are also great resources. Eric's Muscle & Strength training pyramid and Nutritional Pyramid books both great resources for beginners. If you are interested in intermittent fasting Martin Berkham's website http://www.leangains.com is excellent. Most of the articles are older but it's still a tremendous resource for IF. Finally I have a YouTube site www.youtube.com/feedingfitness that has tons of useful videos from a multitude of topics.
    MoHousdon wrote: »
    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!
    fat+skinny+fit.jpg

    Add me as a friend on here too!

    This was 3 years ago, what do you look like now?! Inquiring minds want to know!

    If you go back 1 page there is an updated progress picture.

    *runs off to check previous page*

    Nice. Also, sweet 311 tattoo by the way! :star:
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
    iuliuscezar59 wrote: »
    how many hours a day do you workout? or worked out in the begining ? did you do cardio and weights? how many hours of each?
    Originally I did only cardio, it was running 3-6 days a week. I regret not lifting from the start. Now I do no "real" cardio but I do regularly go on walks and occasionally go hiking. For lifting I never train much more than an hour. Most decent lifting programs can be completed in that time frame. Some 3x a week full body routines take a little longer but spending hours in the gym usually means you're spending you time inefficiently...

  • Unknown
    Unknown
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  • danelutza19
    danelutza19 Posts: 2,025 Member
    Hi, long term fan and reader here :)
    I have been doing IF for over 400 days now, strength training properly for over 2 years (mostly fasted) minimal cardio, very small deficit these days ( 200-300 calories) and regular 2 week maintenance breaks every 2,3 months. I have lost over 90 lb, no loose skin and pretty proud of my body. For the last 5,6 months recovery from workouts sucks and strength progress isn't moving up. I decided to follow Martin B.'s advice and use his BCAA's regiment. I looked everywhere to see if he changes dose recommendations for women. What's your opinion? Should I just try the 10g before the workout and 10g two hours post workout?
    Thanks a bunch and congratulations on the baby girl!!!
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
    danelutza19 wrote: »
    Hi, long term fan and reader here :)
    I have been doing IF for over 400 days now, strength training properly for over 2 years (mostly fasted) minimal cardio, very small deficit these days ( 200-300 calories) and regular 2 week maintenance breaks every 2,3 months. I have lost over 90 lb, no loose skin and pretty proud of my body. For the last 5,6 months recovery from workouts sucks and strength progress isn't moving up. I decided to follow Martin B.'s advice and use his BCAA's regiment. I looked everywhere to see if he changes dose recommendations for women. What's your opinion? Should I just try the 10g before the workout and 10g two hours post workout?
    Thanks a bunch and congratulations on the baby girl!!!

    Congrats on your progress! BCAA's might help you though there's not a lot of scientific evidence to support their use, especially if you already get in adequate protein for the day. 10 grams is a fine dose for men or women but I'd suspect the reason your strength gains have stalled is the prolonged deficit. There comes a point where strength really doesn't increase anymore while in a calorie deficit and you have to settle for maintenance of strength. How much more weight are you looking to lose? Eventually to keep getting stronger you'll need to go on a muscle gaining phase where you eat slightly above maintenance.
  • danelutza19
    danelutza19 Posts: 2,025 Member
    vismal wrote: »
    danelutza19 wrote: »
    Hi, long term fan and reader here :)
    I have been doing IF for over 400 days now, strength training properly for over 2 years (mostly fasted) minimal cardio, very small deficit these days ( 200-300 calories) and regular 2 week maintenance breaks every 2,3 months. I have lost over 90 lb, no loose skin and pretty proud of my body. For the last 5,6 months recovery from workouts sucks and strength progress isn't moving up. I decided to follow Martin B.'s advice and use his BCAA's regiment. I looked everywhere to see if he changes dose recommendations for women. What's your opinion? Should I just try the 10g before the workout and 10g two hours post workout?
    Thanks a bunch and congratulations on the baby girl!!!

    Congrats on your progress! BCAA's might help you though there's not a lot of scientific evidence to support their use, especially if you already get in adequate protein for the day. 10 grams is a fine dose for men or women but I'd suspect the reason your strength gains have stalled is the prolonged deficit. There comes a point where strength really doesn't increase anymore while in a calorie deficit and you have to settle for maintenance of strength. How much more weight are you looking to lose? Eventually to keep getting stronger you'll need to go on a muscle gaining phase where you eat slightly above maintenance.

    Thank you for the quick response!!!
    I'm pretty much down to the last 10lb. Body fat is around 25%-26%.
    I'm glad you addressed the prolonged deficit issue because it's giving me mixed feelings. On one hand, I feel pretty drained ( especially CNS) on the other, I feel like I should keep pushing to reach my goals.

    I want to hit low 20's on bodyfat and increase reps on chin-ups and pull-ups. I'm happy with my squat, deadlift and bench press PR's so I can can live with those for now.
    I started doing pretty much what you recommended, increased calories to slightly above maintenance and see how progress goes.
    Thank you so much for everything!!!!
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
    danelutza19 wrote: »
    vismal wrote: »
    danelutza19 wrote: »
    Hi, long term fan and reader here :)
    I have been doing IF for over 400 days now, strength training properly for over 2 years (mostly fasted) minimal cardio, very small deficit these days ( 200-300 calories) and regular 2 week maintenance breaks every 2,3 months. I have lost over 90 lb, no loose skin and pretty proud of my body. For the last 5,6 months recovery from workouts sucks and strength progress isn't moving up. I decided to follow Martin B.'s advice and use his BCAA's regiment. I looked everywhere to see if he changes dose recommendations for women. What's your opinion? Should I just try the 10g before the workout and 10g two hours post workout?
    Thanks a bunch and congratulations on the baby girl!!!

    Congrats on your progress! BCAA's might help you though there's not a lot of scientific evidence to support their use, especially if you already get in adequate protein for the day. 10 grams is a fine dose for men or women but I'd suspect the reason your strength gains have stalled is the prolonged deficit. There comes a point where strength really doesn't increase anymore while in a calorie deficit and you have to settle for maintenance of strength. How much more weight are you looking to lose? Eventually to keep getting stronger you'll need to go on a muscle gaining phase where you eat slightly above maintenance.

    Thank you for the quick response!!!
    I'm pretty much down to the last 10lb. Body fat is around 25%-26%.
    I'm glad you addressed the prolonged deficit issue because it's giving me mixed feelings. On one hand, I feel pretty drained ( especially CNS) on the other, I feel like I should keep pushing to reach my goals.

    I want to hit low 20's on bodyfat and increase reps on chin-ups and pull-ups. I'm happy with my squat, deadlift and bench press PR's so I can can live with those for now.
    I started doing pretty much what you recommended, increased calories to slightly above maintenance and see how progress goes.
    Thank you so much for everything!!!!
    Yeah, the last 10 lbs can be tricky. I wouldn't be surprised if strength gains don't really return until you enter a muscle building phase with some increases to calories. This happens to almost everyone outside of the genetic elite and rank beginners.

  • minusblindfold25
    minusblindfold25 Posts: 23 Member
    Awesome work
  • TylerWhiite
    TylerWhiite Posts: 108 Member
    What would be your best advice for someone looking to get to 9-10% body fat? Count calories?
  • aki7861
    aki7861 Posts: 3 Member
    Hey I want to lose body fat and gain muscle any suggestions ??
  • Gotrek1
    Gotrek1 Posts: 64 Member
    Good job man, I just started the same path but now I see I should hit the weights right away. I've just been walking/watching what I eat 325 -> 273 right now. I was planning on getting back on the dumbells later then sooner :)
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
    TylerWhiite wrote: »
    What would be your best advice for someone looking to get to 9-10% body fat? Count calories?
    The best advice I can give is to make sure you have built enough lean muscle mass to support a low body fat first. While calorie counting and eating in a caloric deficit will certainly take anyone to a low body fat level, many people find well before they reach their goal that they are not going to look like what they had in mind. I have met very few individuals who were happy with the result of achieving single digit body fat and never undergoing a few "bulking" cycles in order to build lean mass. This is goal dependent and if your goal is simply the number a calorie deficit will work. If aesthetics are the real motivation for the low body fat then I would approach it differently. I would lose enough fat to be relatively lean (ambiguous term I know but I feel like most people know when they are "relatively lean"). At that point I would do a slow and controlled muscle gaining phase of at least 6 months, possibly an entire year. A calorie deficit can be reintroduced after that to achieve the low body fat percentage goals. It's a very lengthy process to achieve single digit body fat and gain the appropriate amount of lean mass to look good there. A quality weight lifting routine that focuses on progressive tension overload is needed throughout the entire process.
    aki7861 wrote: »
    Hey I want to lose body fat and gain muscle any suggestions ??

    Pick one goal to focus on. Trying to do both at once usually leaves people spinning their wheels. Most people will benefit from fat loss first unless you are naturally lean. To lose fat you must eat in a caloric deficit. Keep protein relatively high and use resistance training to maintain muscle mass. If gaining muscle is your goal you must eat in a small calorie surplus. Protein can be a bit lower but should still be moderately high. Attempt to gain around 2 lbs a month in order to keep fat gains at a minimum. Again, a lifting program that focuses on progressive tension overload is necessary in order to build muscle. Alternate these two phases and the net result is muscle gained and fat lost. I usually never do a muscle building phase lasting less than 12 weeks, though I typically stretch them out to about 6-8 months. Fat loss phases can be as long or as short as they need to be to achieve the desired level of leanness.
  • siemonbk
    siemonbk Posts: 1 Member
    Im on a similar journey. But i have been lifting heavy the whole way so far. I mix it up but focus on gaining strength. Or at least maintaining strength. I try to measure my calories in a weekly basis and if i have a super weak day i will add in a little more calories. Im losing 1.8lbs a week average since march 2016. Last 2 months i started a one meal eating style and it has really helped me with calories and snacking.

    I have 77 pounds to go to reach 200 down from my starting weight of 328. Its a long road, wish i could fast forward a bit. Trying to find some more entertaining outlets as i go.

    I post my results on facebook and then i will post a delicious recipe. People comment that they thought i was dieting and couldnt eat that haha. Its all in moderation. Once you break the calorie code and learn to weigh everything its super easy plus, eating once a day has really opened my mind to what my body needs and doesnt need.

    So here is a question. Any entertaining hints to keep you distracted as you journeyed? To help the year go by. And what was your average weekly loss over the whole period? Wondering how much it will drop as i close in on my goal weight.

    Last thought if you wanna lose fat lift weights, if you wanna look skinny and loose do cardio. Lifting weights will not make you look bulky just 100% more sexy.
  • TylerWhiite
    TylerWhiite Posts: 108 Member
    Now when you say controller bulk, would you advise I go about 200 cals above TDEE?
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
    siemonbk wrote: »

    So here is a question. Any entertaining hints to keep you distracted as you journeyed? To help the year go by. And what was your average weekly loss over the whole period? Wondering how much it will drop as i close in on my goal weight.
    This is actually a really good question. Eventually you reach a point where pretty much everything is locked in. You understand the process, you have your diet and training in place, and you must simply put in the time. There really isn't a way to accelerate the process beyond a certain point. At my heaviest I probably lost weight around 3-4 lbs a week and it slowed to 2, then finally 1 lb a week as I got closer to my goal. While eating in a huge calorie deficit could have made the process quicker there is also the chance that it would have been to difficult to maintain and that I would have gotten off track. I basically try and stay busy. When staying busy also means staying active, it's like a double bonus. Do things you enjoy. I loathe formal cardio but I love hiking. Staying busy around the house and yard was also a good way to pass time and stay active. These days I'm working, in graduate school full time, and I have a 7 month old so busy isn't a problem!

  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
    TylerWhiite wrote: »
    Now when you say controller bulk, would you advise I go about 200 cals above TDEE?
    To start, yes. You may find that your TDEE rises a bit in a calorie surplus so try and target in a 2lb a month gain in weight. You may find that you need to add calories as the months go.

  • StrongGirlFitGirl
    StrongGirlFitGirl Posts: 183 Member
    Have you ever tried Lyle McDonald's RFL, or any kind of PSMF plan?
  • Jezreel12
    Jezreel12 Posts: 246 Member
    edited October 2016
    Congratulations Vismal !!
    You're a dad ! Welcome to a new life of raising a child. It's rewarding.
  • r_rana7
    r_rana7 Posts: 3 Member
    Hi Vismal,

    I've been following ICF since May, on a cut as I am skinny fat. Since September, I have began a bulk, gradually increasing my surplus to 500 above my maintenance and ensuring I hit my macros. I have increased pretty much all my lifts since the bulk began but seem to have hit a plateau over the past 10 days. Since my bulk began, I have gained 2.5kg, presumably muscle.

    My question is how long would you suggest I continue ICF for before moving onto an intermediate lifting program? Also, the plateau I have currently hit - should I be concerned? (Or increase my surplus?!)
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
    doggerland wrote: »
    Have you ever tried Lyle McDonald's RFL, or any kind of PSMF plan?

    No. I've read the book and understand the diet but Lyle himself will tell you how difficult the diet can be. It's safe, the science behind it is sound, and if you can adhere to it, it works. I would struggle greatly with compliance. I think after the first few days I would no longer be able to keep up the steep calorie deficit and I'd either binge or abandon the diet. That's not to say someone else wouldn't be able to have great success with RFL.
  • butcher494
    butcher494 Posts: 5 Member
    Congratulations on your success you look incredible I'm on a journey myself to get lean I have been in the past but then I met a man and got comfortable relaxed my eating and training slowly iv gained 20lbs!! over 1 year I was always able to eat what I wanted and stay lean however iv been over eating due to meals out ect and drinking more wine than I should with less exercise. I want to ask you, do you think when it comes to fat loss it's calories that matter most? at least untill your below say 20% for a woman? iv got a decent amount of muscle and don't really need to gain any for the past two weeks iv been doing body weight cardio/ plyo with ankle and wrist weights on to make it harder will this help me shed fat? Thanks from Hannah
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
    butcher494 wrote: »
    Congratulations on your success you look incredible I'm on a journey myself to get lean I have been in the past but then I met a man and got comfortable relaxed my eating and training slowly iv gained 20lbs!! over 1 year I was always able to eat what I wanted and stay lean however iv been over eating due to meals out ect and drinking more wine than I should with less exercise. I want to ask you, do you think when it comes to fat loss it's calories that matter most? at least untill your below say 20% for a woman? iv got a decent amount of muscle and don't really need to gain any for the past two weeks iv been doing body weight cardio/ plyo with ankle and wrist weights on to make it harder will this help me shed fat? Thanks from Hannah
    Calories matter most no matter what your body fat percentage is. The only way to lose body fat is to consume fewer calories per day then you burn. Paying attention to things like macronutrients and micronutrients are also important but if a calorie deficit is not in place, you simply will not lose fat.

  • butcher494
    butcher494 Posts: 5 Member
    thankyou

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