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

Must be nice to be able to sit down and not have your pants digging into your fat stomach underneath.

I sometimes have that problem and I'm not even that fat lol

Never really had that problem. My *kitten* was so fat I had to buy size 44 pants and wear a belt with them!

So do you not put in any exercise at all? I'm curious, because my fitness class doesn't fit anything specific, I just took an average of what machines I used in cardio for the time period I'm on them.. added them together to get a decent estimate.

No, I don't log any exercise at all. It isn't necessary. I lift 3 days a week do yoga once a week, and almost never do formal cardio. I go on walks and hikes frequently but rarely do things like biking, jogging, etc. I couldn't tell you how many calories any of that stuff burns but it doesn't matter. Because I am consistent, whatever the number is, it doesn't change much from week to week. Because of that I only need to worry about my intake. I'm losing roughly 1 lb a week eating 2500 calories. If I stall I will simply reduce calories. This way, even though I have no idea how much my body is burning from exercise or how much it burns from simply functioning, I still lose weight.

I also work in healthcare as an ICU RN doing 12 hour shifts. I went from nights to days a while ago thinking "Oh, I'll lose weight so easily with all of the energy I'll have." How wrong I was :-).

1. Any advice on how you get your meals in when working 12 hr shifts? I want to eat when hungry but rarely can - I have to go when I can go, when my roommate can cover my patients, whenever that is. I know you'll understand this. I often go way too long without eating in the afternoons and then am starving when I get home (which leads to overeating a bunch of sugar).
2. I also find that with an hour commute I am dead tired on my work days. I cant even imagine working out on work days. Do you?
3. Do you really truly get more energy from exercising? I have never exercised consistently enough to notice that positive change. It usually gives me temp energy, and then I need a nap. I almost dont even care if I lose the @ 30 lbs I need to lose, I just want more ENERGY!

Fyi 42, female, 2 kids, always tired

Thanks in advance! :-) You're very inspiring.

Because I work nights I usually eat one meal before I go in and one meal at work. I pack my lunch and only eat what I pack. So even if I go several hours of being hungry from not getting a chance for a break (all too common an occurrence in our profession) I still will only eat what I've packed. So no matter what, what I consume will be the same. The only thing that varies is when I consume it and that doesn't make a difference. I am physically unable to workout effectively after a shift. I usually get home at 8am, sleep until 2pm, go directly to the gym, then eat and prepare for a shift. I do not have children though so I probably have more free time then you. You really only need to hit the gym 3 days a week for an hour each day to get a decent lift in. If you can only do it on days off that should be fine. Exercise doesn't give you immediate energy. You don't all of a sudden go "Hey! I've got tons of energy". It's a subtle change over time. But now in comparison to when I was obese, my energy level is WAY HIGHER! Coffee helps with all this! I drink too much coffee! I drink it before and during shifts, before the gym, when I wake up, literally all the time. I would fear for my patients if they took our french press away!