1 year progress - 125 lbs lost.

angbak60 · March 2013

Good for you! I can no longer complain about having to lose 40 lbs! I'm impressed with your success and would love to have you as a friend. I enjoy adding people who have walked down a road that I need to walk down and need to add new people to my MFP friends as some have taken a break. I want to inspire, encourage and motivate my MFP friends and to likewise be inspired, encouraged and motivated by them. Young or old; male or female, black, white, asian - doesn't matter to me. What matters is that you take your health seriously and have been doing this long enough (whether 1-2 weeks or 1-2 years) to learning something along the way.

Add me please!

Peace & Blessings,
Angela

MindyG150 · March 2013

I'm very impressed, great job, you could be the poster child!

I so agree with your statement about feeling great when you have been heavy your whole life, I struggle with that on a daily bases.

Great Journey!

SlimDown4Good · March 2013

What a wonderful transformation. You are certainly an inspiration to many of us!

GREAT JOB

leahloves2run · March 2013

That is so amazing!!!!! well done!

GloMash710 · March 2013

Wonderful transformation! Really inspiring. Great job you look amazing!

concettaannperry · March 2013

Congrats on all your hard work, it definetly paid off!!!! I have to tell you that you have a beautiful smile and when you smile you look even more awesomely handsome. Wow, you are truly an inspiration, thank you, keep smiling.:blushing:

Kathylouhoo · March 2013

You look amazing!!

livingongraceandmercy · March 2013

Excellent job with time, effort, determination you know the stuff that makes dreams come true, you look amazing , Good job

daybehavior · March 2013

Posting in a mind-blowing thread. Wow.

lseed87 · March 2013

Damn. Doing it right

dymasc · March 2013

HOLY CRAP!

I definitely didn't expect this post to blow up and get this big. I was extremely busy with work and school so I wasn't able to get to a computer after I posted this until now. Almost fell out of my chair when I saw all these replies. I'll try my best to reply to all the questions in this topic. Might not get to answer them all tonight since there's quite a few, but I'll try!

Thank you for the support and positive comments. It really does mean a lot to me, you guys have no idea.

dymasc · March 2013

Do you know what your current body fat percentage is? Just curious since how you look now is the kind of physique I'm looking to get to eventually.

I wish I did, but I have no idea, I'm sorry. Calipers are too inaccurate for me to bother with them and I can't afford bodpod/similar testing methods.

Fantastic!!! I think my hot flashes came back full force!!! Whew! I'm just wondering... do you have to beat the women off with a stick now? You were really cute before, but now.... those poor women! lol

Without a doubt, I definitely get more attention from women than I did before. I even had a girl ask me for my number while I was at work, which NEVER would have happened before!

Congratulations in a big way! You do not even look like the same person, complete transformation! You should be extremely proud of yourself! You are and will be an inspiration to a lot of people. Please keep everyone updated on your maintenance phase. Thanks for sharing, you are truly amazing!

The big question? What did you treat yourself to after such a life altering transformation? New wardrobe? Trip? New Exercise Equipment?

I bought myself a couple of clothes. All were Small or Medium, which felt amazing. I loved being able to give away my old "fat" clothes. Knowing I don't own any more XXL shirts is a great feeling.

:-(

Where did all your hair go......

LOL Great Job, you look fantastic, but I prefered the hair HA HA HA

I try to shave it several times a week. There's way too much and it grows too quickly

Boy what are you talking about you don't like what you see? Well I see a handsome, suave and attractive young man who is super sexy. Look at that body!

I guess I have low self esteem after being overweight my entire life. But damn, hearing so many people compliment me definitely does wonders for my self esteem, thank you! Each day that goes by, I feel better about myself.

what an incredible transformation!
My "before" weight/body shape was similar to yours, I'm 67 pounds down with 33 left to lose.
How do I get to your "after" physique? What's your training regimen? Do you supplement?

Just keep at it and don't quit. It's basic math. If you eat less calories than your body burns, you're going to lose weight. It might not appear on the scale instantly, but fat is being burned for energy.

I didn't really take any supplements. Multivitamins whenever I remembered (Almost never), creatine rarely (I keep forgetting to take it, all the time), and for a few weeks I tried Ephedrine, but it did nothing for me so I stopped.

As far as training, I lift three times a week. I do Chest/Triceps on Monday, Back/Biceps/Core on Wednesday, and Shoulders/Legs on Friday. Biggest thing is consistency. Sometimes it'll feel as if you're not making progress, but don't stop!

Oh My God! Please please come and be my personal trainer!!! Thats incredible a big big well done you! :drinker: any secrets tips you would like to share?

I really wish I could give you guys any secret tips or advice, but there really isn't any - at least not that I'm aware of. Just work hard, follow what you know works, and never give up. You'll get there eventually. Remember, it's a marathon not a sprint. This should be a lifestyle change not a temporary quick-fix diet.

You actually achieved what you wanted it seems and did a great job keeping up with it at all times. I am in the same boat you were. Except I am quite older then you are (44) and I am at 254 lbs wanting to get down to about 200-210. That's my goal now. I have been storming the internet on if i should lose weight first to get to my goal weight, then start building mass. I see you went to the gym while losing. From forums and sites I have read, they say to lose the weight first, then start lifting to build. What is your outlook on the issue? I know if I start lifting now it will build muscle and add weight and will be harder to lose and get where I want to be. But I admire your determination on what you have done for your transformation. Just trying to get different ideas from different folks that have lost weight. Keep up the good work and keep achieving what goals you have.

If I had to go back and do it all over again, I would do the same exact thing. By not lifting while losing weight you're handicapping yourself and your progress. You're losing the opportunity to burn extra calories by exercising and to add muscle to fill in your frame. If you look at people who lost a large amount of weight without working out, they look "skinny-fat". Where they're not fat per se, but due to having absolutely no muscle, they still look overweight and unaesthetic. Your body burns more calories per pound of lean body mass (muscle) you have. Granted, it's not a massive number, but every bit of muscle raises your BMR and makes you lose more weight in the long run.

I'm not sure why you say building muscle will make it harder for you to lose and get where you want to be. Let the mirror be your guide, not the scale. When losing weight, the goal is to lose FAT, not WEIGHT. For example, if I had no muscle, I could weigh less than 160 pounds. But I'm pretty sure most people would discourage me to go that low, even though that's considered a "healthy" weight range for my frame.

Would you rather weigh 150 with absolutely no muscle or weigh 170 and be extremely muscular? 9/10 people would agree with weighing more, but having more muscle

Why did you wax off all that gorgeous chest hair? :sad:

Gorgeous? Oh my, I don't think I've ever heard someone refer to my chest hair as gorgeous. Are we looking at the same picture?!

what was you workout schedule like?

I do Chest/Triceps on Monday, Back/Biceps/Core on Wednesday, and Shoulders/Legs on Friday. If you're asking about actual exercises, I've changed my routine a bit since I've started, can't say I have a concrete routine. Not every single week is identical.

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Thank you again for the extremely motivating messages folks. Hearing all these compliments makes me feel like a million bucks. Definitely made me much happier

AA1ex · March 2013

Drop the towel! Drop the towel! Uhhhhh....I mean... awesome job! :bigsmile:

lol that was thinking too! Seriously man you have done amazing job.

LuvMyBoys2 · March 2013

Wow! What a handsome gentleman you are!

ScratchMj · March 2013

My mouth just dropped! You look absolutely amazing!

tammymusic1 · March 2013

wow awesome transformation

annepage · March 2013

Awesome job!

Deloresbolt · March 2013

WOW

bkelley32148 · March 2013

Great work!

danielleeu · March 2013

Wow! You look amazing! What a far way you've come in a matter of one year! Very impressive and motivational for those of us that hope to have even a fraction of your success!