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

Hi! You are such an inspiration I have lost 22lbs and have another 100 to go, but I'm confident I can get there! My question is this: my target calories to lose 2lbs/week is 2100 but lately I only get to about 1500 by 8pm (about half of my TDEE and 500 below my BMR) but I'm not starving so should I eat more to get closer to 2100? So far I have good energy but will super low cal (for someone of my size) be detrimental in any way? Thank you so much!

I never like to eat any less then I can get away with while still hitting my goals. You will inevitably have to cut calories further as you go. When you have a long way to go you will want as much buffer room to do that as possible. If you eat 1500 calories now you will have little room to remove calories later. I would reduce calories only if I stalled on weight loss for a few weeks in a row.

You look amazing! congratulations!

My biggest problem is eating things I shouldn't (more because I have IBS and am sensitive, than because of McDonalds- I can't stand fast food). Did you have that problem and (if so) how did you get over it?

For the most part I am fortunate enough to not have any dietary intolerances. I am a big advocate of eating what I want within moderation so I don't really consider there to be any food I "shouldn't eat". Sorry if that isn't much help but I don't really have any experience with needing to totally avoid any particular food.

You look great! Congrats! What an inspiration!

Someone must have asked this, but Im not going through all 18 pages, I was just wondering, how did you deal with urges to binge or cravings for junk early on? I have such a hard time stopping myself from sitting down to a bunch of sweets or other junk foods and pounding it even when im not hungry. Any advice you have would be great.

I was certainly a binge eater before I lost all my weight. Not on any particular food but food in general. Buffet's were my favorite place in the world. It would not be uncommon for me to be in an "all you can eat" setting 5 or more times a week. I simply had to eliminate that completely. I just didn't go to buffets. To this day I still cannot go to a buffet without binge eating. Unless it is a super special occasion (vacation, birthday, etc) I just won't go to them. I went from 5 times a week to less then 5 times a year.

If you find yourself starting to binge eat my advice is usually to just stop the binge as soon as you realize it's happening. It's the mentality of "I've already messed up so I might as well mess up big time" that gets you into trouble. The key is to focus on your goals. You are never pleased with yourself after a binge. It nearly always comes along with guilt and regret. Meeting your goals usually comes along with feelings of accomplishment and self pride. In the long run, the temporary feeling of pleasure you get from eating that something doesn't even come close to being as satisfying as accomplishing your goals. Binge on accomplishment!

Another personal one - if you don't mind answering

Has your new look and lifestyle affected your closest friendships - good and bad?
Do you think some of your male friends resent you because they miss having a 'fat friend'?
And, have you run into an ex or someone who rejected you romantically, what was their reaction to you?
Well done!

Friends can take your extreme weight loss a number of different ways. I wouldn't say it actually caused me to lose any friends. Some of them became motivated or joined in. Some of them were genuinely happy for me. Some might have resented me to a degree, but people who resent others for achievement aren't the best kind of friends anyways. I had many instances where women who probably never thought of me in a romantic/sexual manner before my weight loss all of a sudden become extremely interested in me. I wouldn't say they were shallow for only showing interest after my change in appearance because my attitude also changed just as much as my looks. I feel that women are, above all other things, attracted to confidence. I can safely say my confidence level is ten fold what it was prior to losing the weight. I think that fact actually outweighs any boost to appearance.

I went through all the 18 pages and didn't saw the question I want to ask...

How bad is it to eat the same everyday? I've been on my diet for 10 days and I have for breakfast always the same thing... Toast with peanut butter (no sugar added), diced raw apple and honey, (around 272 cal). I love it!

Sometimes I'm like a little kid who enjoys certain food "seasonally" and right now I'm on that lol. Next time is going to be with goat cheese lol.

You are truly an inspiration and thanks for taking time to answer. Thank you in advance

You can be repetitive in your eating if you want too. I go through phases. I am currently in a potato phase. Take a peek and my diary and potatoes occur almost every day. Chicken breast shows up more often then not as well. I will sometimes just copy and paste a whole day if it sounds appealing to me. I generally do that if I'm working 2 12's in a row plus going to the gym in between. So long as your diet is balanced that's okay. But that is a far cry from eating the exact same foods, 7 days a week for months on end. That is going to get incredibly boring and could become unhealthy.I tend to be more repetitive when in a fat loss phase. When I have lots more calories to work with when I am bulking, my diet is much more varied.