I went from morbidly obese to 6 pack abs! Ask me Anything
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Awesome response Vismal! Thx!0
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Hi Vismal, you're a legend for answering everybodys questions. Great work. Mine are...
1. I have lost 17 pounds in 6 weeks (from 15.5 stone to 14 stone 3 pounds. Being 6ft tall male i still have lots of fat to lose. I would like to end up with a flat stomach and a chest and no masses of fat on my hips like i have. Do you think i can lose weight to reach my goal of having say 12% fat (currently 25%) by putely eating a calorie deficit? I am a postman so i walk a fair distance every day usually over a 4 hour period. I have set my calculated my TDEE as 2550 and taking 1000 calories off this (and not counting work as extra exercise). Will i eventually get there on this plan assuming I recalculate my TDEE every time i lose weight? As i am worried about plateuing.
2. Not being overly concerned about building muscle, is eating any food pretty much okay aslong as i stay under my calorie goal?
3. Im thinking of running 3 times a week to go along with my daily walking for work, is running good for fat loss? Also im considering investing in a rowing machine, im assuming any of these are good for weightloss assuming i stay under a calorie deficit?
4. Is it inevitable that i will stop losing weight despite sticking to a calorie plan? In your photo you got really skinny from being soo big, were there months where you didn't lose weight and how did you break the barrier to start again? Is it ever necessary to drastically cut down your calories even further if your not seeing results?
5.Sorry last one. I don't drink much water at all, one or two glasses a day, what effect will this have my weight loss and will drinking lots more water (normal recommendations of 4-5 glasses say) accelerate my weight loss.0 -
Feeding Fitness!!0
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Where did you find your motivation day in and day out especially in the beginning! I seem to get through a week, then struggle so I feel like I'm constantly at the beginning.0
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Answers in boldmarty_smith wrote: »Hi Vismal, you're a legend for answering everybodys questions. Great work. Mine are...
1. I have lost 17 pounds in 6 weeks (from 15.5 stone to 14 stone 3 pounds. Being 6ft tall male i still have lots of fat to lose. I would like to end up with a flat stomach and a chest and no masses of fat on my hips like i have. Do you think i can lose weight to reach my goal of having say 12% fat (currently 25%) by putely eating a calorie deficit? I am a postman so i walk a fair distance every day usually over a 4 hour period. I have set my calculated my TDEE as 2550 and taking 1000 calories off this (and not counting work as extra exercise). Will i eventually get there on this plan assuming I recalculate my TDEE every time i lose weight? As i am worried about plateuing.
I think your TDEE is off if you do 4 hours of walking each day. 2500 seems very low for someone that active. To take 1000 calories away from that puts you at 1500 calories which is way too low for a 6'0 man. I must also warn you that you will likely still have fat in the hips or "love handles" at 12% body fat. This area is notoriously the very last place the majority of men store fat. I have never gotten lean enough to remove the fat from this area. For me, it's not worth it. As far as weight loss stopping, the only way long term weight loss will ever stop is if you are not in a calorie deficit. If you stall for a longer than a month, you are very likely eating too much. More often than not, it's not because your goal is too high, but because tracking of calories is off. You need to make sure you weigh everything you eat on a food scale and account for things like eating out and cheat days/meals.
2. Not being overly concerned about building muscle, is eating any food pretty much okay aslong as i stay under my calorie goal? Even if you aren't concerned with building muscle, you'll want to do some weight training in order to preserve the muscle mass you have. When people lose weight to near single digit body fat and do not do any kind of resistance training, they often look "skinny fat" which is usually undesirable from an aesthetic point of view. If that doesn't bother you, then yes, eating in a calorie deficit will produce weight loss regardless of what kind of exercising your do.
3. Im thinking of running 3 times a week to go along with my daily walking for work, is running good for fat loss? Also im considering investing in a rowing machine, im assuming any of these are good for weightloss assuming i stay under a calorie deficit? Running, rowing, biking, swimming, and any other type of cardio are all about the same as far as fat loss is concerned. They all burn a certain number of calories per hour based on the intensity in which you do them. The best type of cardio is the type you enjoy the most (or hate the least).
4. Is it inevitable that i will stop losing weight despite sticking to a calorie plan? In your photo you got really skinny from being soo big, were there months where you didn't lose weight and how did you break the barrier to start again? Is it ever necessary to drastically cut down your calories even further if you're not seeing results? No, humans will continue to lose weight until they die if they eat less per day then they burn. If you are eating in a deficit, you will lose weight. You may find as you get leaner and leaner the losses become less linear (weeks go by with no losses) and requires you to eat less calories (due to your body requiring fewer calories). That being said, when dieting it is best to do a "diet break" every 8-12 weeks. During the diet break, you eat maintenance calories for 2 weeks then go back to the deficit. This helps mentally as well as with water retention and any small metabolic slowing that might occur.
5.Sorry last one. I don't drink much water at all, one or two glasses a day, what effect will this have my weight loss and will drinking lots more water (normal recommendations of 4-5 glasses say) accelerate my weight loss.
I don't know the exact effect this will have for you personally, but you should try and drink 8-10 glasses per day minimum. Your body simply functions better when it is properly hydrated0 -
The motivation must be internal. External motivators like a weight loss challenge, friends/coworkers, and even family/children will only get you so far. I found that once motivation shifts from external factors to internal motivation is when change becomes much more likely to stick. I got my motivation from within. I wanted to lose weight for no other reason than because I knew I needed to do it. While external motivation is okay and can be a tremendous help, it cannot be the only motivating factor. I believe the same is true about any behavioral change, not just overeating.Where did you find your motivation day in and day out especially in the beginning! I seem to get through a week, then struggle so I feel like I'm constantly at the beginning.
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First off you need to consider the context in which I said the statement. The question pertained to a female worrying about becoming bulky while eating in a deficit. Additionally, I do not really agree with Menno in this article. First look at his examples. The first study was overweight, untrained individuals. This group is certainly an exception to the rule. Both the overweight and the untrained can for a short period of time gain muscle whilst losing fat. Also, in that study, body fat was measured by 4 point caliper testing which is far less accurate than something along the lines of a dexascan so I would argue that could have contributed to the results as well. His N=1 example using his own client is utterly worthless to the discussion. N=1 tells us nothing that we can apply outside of the sample population of the 1 individual. Also, we have no idea what drugs this individual may or may not have been taking or any other factors which can contribute to his results. This is why unscientific, N=1 examples aren't useful. He then goes on to cite studies on elite athletes. This is a terrible population to use. Elite athletes are just that, elite. If there is a population with the genetic ability to both gain muscle and lose fat after years of training, it's the athletic elite. Using this population to make generalizations about the non elite seems foolish. Also, the question of drugs again arises with elite athletes, a group known to utilize PEDs for athletic advantage. Finally he makes this statement "Gaining muscle on a weight loss diet is not only possible, it should be expected for most people on a serious program". This is just simply not true for the vast majority of people. Throw out those on PEDs, the genetic elite, teenagers, the obese, and the untrained, the rest of us (average people) just aren't seeing this happen. Regardless of any of this, it is still best to focus on one goal at a time. If you are overfat, your goal should be fat loss. If you manage to gain some muscle along the way because you are untrained or have elite genetics, then that's wonderful, but your goal and training should still be geared for fat loss. If your goal is muscle gain, you should focus on just that, gaining muscle. Doing so while also attempting to lose fat is going to severely limit your muscle gaining potential and thus very inefficient compared with conventional lean bulking.Microscopes wrote: »
You will not gain muscle if you are eating in a caloric deficit. Further, without some muscle gain you will never look toned. Gaining muscle takes an excruciatingly long time, especially for women. Women who are able to look "bulky" at a low body fat percentage likely spent many years purposefully training to look that way. You should do any proven beginners weight lifting program that focuses on heavy compound lifts, even if your goal is to simply be lean and fit. I usually recommend the ICF 5x5, stronglifts, or starting strength. For fat loss macros, this video explains how I set them up:Wow! You're seriously amazing! What do you recommend for women? I'm a 24 y/o and I went from a diet that made me loose a lot of weight making me be under weight (but probably because of muscle loss, not fat loss) to binge eating and a little overweight; I feel like IIFYM is the only way of eating that would work for me, but I'm confused about the amount of macros I have to consume, also about how to train. I wanna burn fat and have a Very lean BF % (20-22, I'm currently in 28,5%) but I'm not looking forward to build muscle or look bulky as for bikini competitions or anything like that, I just wanna be lean and fit, a little toned but that's it... I don't know how to lift and how to distribute my macros (mostly the protein/carbs ratio) and I really want to figure it out!
I'm no expert.
However, there have been several (like 10) recent studies that show people gaining 10+ pounds of lean muscle while shedding over 10+ pounds of fat.
http://bayesianbodybuilding.com/gain-muscle-and-lose-fat-at-the-same-time/
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I loved your breakdown of whatever article you were explaining to someone Vismal ! And yes motivation should always come from the inside and the rest will show on the outside. Your advice is impeccable Vismal0
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How many calories did u eat daily what was ur diet routine and food choices?0
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Bump...just love this thread and don't want to lose it...congrats on your success and thank you for all of the advise. Just trying to take it all in.
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Hi Vismal, I haven't visited here in awhile. I've lost about 45 pounds in the last two years. I've gained quite a bit of lean muscle. I've done several lifting programs from 5x5 to Strong Curves. I'm in "maintenance" at the moment but I would like to lean out another 5 lbs by this summer. I'm only 5'2 1/2 so 5 lbs is like a whole pant size for me. I recall about a year ago you mentioned intermitten fasting (IF). Are you still doing IF? If so, please guide me to a link or resource you trust. I want to learn more about it to see if it is a good fit for me but I'm overwhelmed with so many opinions about it. I trust yours0
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i like the dedication to help others....says a lot...!0
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So in a nutshell intermittent fasting is nothing more than restricting the period of time when you eat to a mostly arbitrary eating window. There are many variants but arguably the most popular (and method I use) is 16 hours of fasting followed by 8 hours of feeding. More than anything, IF is a compliance tool. It makes it easier for some people to maintain the calorie deficit as well as spend less time focusing on preparing and eating food. Basically your calorie and macronutrient goals do not change for IF. IF will not cause fat loss in the absence of a deficit nor will it cause faster fat loss than a different eating pattern if calories and macronutrients remain constant.ShapingTheLaw wrote: »Hi Vismal, I haven't visited here in awhile. I've lost about 45 pounds in the last two years. I've gained quite a bit of lean muscle. I've done several lifting programs from 5x5 to Strong Curves. I'm in "maintenance" at the moment but I would like to lean out another 5 lbs by this summer. I'm only 5'2 1/2 so 5 lbs is like a whole pant size for me. I recall about a year ago you mentioned intermitten fasting (IF). Are you still doing IF? If so, please guide me to a link or resource you trust. I want to learn more about it to see if it is a good fit for me but I'm overwhelmed with so many opinions about it. I trust yours
If you wish to try IF and see if it fits your lifestyle, I encourage you to do so. Pick a feeding window that seems appropriate for your lifestyle. Since I work nightshift I eat from 4pm-12am but people on a more regular schedule might like 10am-6pm or noon until 8pm. Whatever you pick, try and be consistent as this helps with adjusting to the new schedule. I choose to train fasted and have my first meal relatively soon after fasted training. If you want to have a meal before you train that is fine too but I'd encourage you to try fasted training a few times. I was surprised how much I like it. Give yourself at least a week or two to adjust. The first week of IF was rather difficult for me but after I adjusted it was very easy. I used to do IF year round but now I only choose to do it in weight loss phases as I didn't like cramming 3000+ calories into an 8 hour window. Any other specific questions about IF I can address?
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Congratulations on your weight loss. You look awesome.1
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So in a nutshell intermittent fasting is nothing more than restricting the period of time when you eat to a mostly arbitrary eating window. There are many variants but arguably the most popular (and method I use) is 16 hours of fasting followed by 8 hours of feeding. More than anything, IF is a compliance tool. It makes it easier for some people to maintain the calorie deficit as well as spend less time focusing on preparing and eating food. Basically your calorie and macronutrient goals do not change for IF. IF will not cause fat loss in the absence of a deficit nor will it cause faster fat loss than a different eating pattern if calories and macronutrients remain constant.ShapingTheLaw wrote: »Hi Vismal, I haven't visited here in awhile. I've lost about 45 pounds in the last two years. I've gained quite a bit of lean muscle. I've done several lifting programs from 5x5 to Strong Curves. I'm in "maintenance" at the moment but I would like to lean out another 5 lbs by this summer. I'm only 5'2 1/2 so 5 lbs is like a whole pant size for me. I recall about a year ago you mentioned intermitten fasting (IF). Are you still doing IF? If so, please guide me to a link or resource you trust. I want to learn more about it to see if it is a good fit for me but I'm overwhelmed with so many opinions about it. I trust yours
If you wish to try IF and see if it fits your lifestyle, I encourage you to do so. Pick a feeding window that seems appropriate for your lifestyle. Since I work nightshift I eat from 4pm-12am but people on a more regular schedule might like 10am-6pm or noon until 8pm. Whatever you pick, try and be consistent as this helps with adjusting to the new schedule. I choose to train fasted and have my first meal relatively soon after fasted training. If you want to have a meal before you train that is fine too but I'd encourage you to try fasted training a few times. I was surprised how much I like it. Give yourself at least a week or two to adjust. The first week of IF was rather difficult for me but after I adjusted it was very easy. I used to do IF year round but now I only choose to do it in weight loss phases as I didn't like cramming 3000+ calories into an 8 hour window. Any other specific questions about IF I can address?
Hi Vismal!
Thanks SO much for getting back to me on this. I tried to go without eating when I lift (I work out in the mornings) but it negatively impacts my strength. It's weird but I only eat a protein rich "snack" but it makes a big difference in my performance. Although, honestly, I haven't tried to give it a whole week. I'm going to try it. Maybe it is just a matter of adjusting for me...As I mentioned, I just want to lean out another 5 lbs and you nailed my reason for wanting to give it a try when you said, "It makes it easier for some people to maintain the calorie deficit." That's EXACTLY where I'm struggling for these last 5 lbs. I've lost a total of 45 pounds which, when you're short like me, equates to 25 percent of my total mass is gone! My youngest weighs 45 lbs so I lost a whole child! It took me about 18 months of consistent strength training and logging meticulously to maintain a deficit.... As for more questions, I have a few: 1. When you started IF, did it negatively affect your lifting performance? 2. How long did it take your body or mindset to adjust? 3. What do you think about my starting out in baby steps? For example, currently I'm eating from 7 to 6 p.m. but I thought about moving it tomorrow 8 to 6 p.m. then 9 to 6 pm. the next day etc. until I work myself to an 8 hour feeding window. 4. I want to learn more about it. Can you steer me to a trusted online resource? (I want to better understand the science behind it).
Thanks for all your help!
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IF didn't affect my lifting performance any more than a typically calorie deficit did. I always stall or slow way down in strength gains during a deficit and IF did not stop this from happening. That being said, it also was not detrimental in any way. I adjusted to IF in about a week and a half. By the end of two weeks fasted training was going great and sticking to the fast was mostly effortless. I will not that I never ate much before training to begin with so going fasted was not a huge change for me. As far as baby steps, I'd not do that. I'd jump right in knowing full well that the first week or two might be difficult. The quicker you begin to maintain the new eating times, the quicker you will adjust. The single best resource for intermittent fasting is still www.leangains.com. Martin Berkhan popularized fasting several years ago and that is his blog. The articles are science based and well cited. Martin makes a pretty convincing case that fasting is at worst no different than a regular calorie deficit and and best has a host of health benefits. Take note that doing leangains and doing IF are not the same. Leangains is the Martin's full diet and training regime and involves not only IF but macronutrient cycling as well as reverse pyramid training. You do not have to do all of those things to be successful with IF (though you could if you wanted. I LOVE reverse pyramid training but not so much macronutrient cycling).1
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IF didn't affect my lifting performance any more than a typically calorie deficit did. I always stall or slow way down in strength gains during a deficit and IF did not stop this from happening. That being said, it also was not detrimental in any way. I adjusted to IF in about a week and a half. By the end of two weeks fasted training was going great and sticking to the fast was mostly effortless. I will not that I never ate much before training to begin with so going fasted was not a huge change for me. As far as baby steps, I'd not do that. I'd jump right in knowing full well that the first week or two might be difficult. The quicker you begin to maintain the new eating times, the quicker you will adjust. The single best resource for intermittent fasting is still www.leangains.com. Martin Berkhan popularized fasting several years ago and that is his blog. The articles are science based and well cited. Martin makes a pretty convincing case that fasting is at worst no different than a regular calorie deficit and and best has a host of health benefits. Take note that doing leangains and doing IF are not the same. Leangains is the Martin's full diet and training regime and involves not only IF but macronutrient cycling as well as reverse pyramid training. You do not have to do all of those things to be successful with IF (though you could if you wanted. I LOVE reverse pyramid training but not so much macronutrient cycling).
Thanks Vismal... I will definitely look up leangains and forget about the baby steps0
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