Effects of going from Obese to healthy

Peanutmanak47
Peanutmanak47 Posts: 75 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I didn't know if this was the right place to post and it's hard putting this thought into words so please bear with me, but here it goes.

I've been wondering what kind of effects are there from going from obese to a healthy weight from a strength and cardio aspect.. I basically carry around an extra person so I would have to believe that it's added strength to my muscles during all my time being obese. Am I going to be naturally stronger when I finally get down to my goal weight?

Does being able to run a mile(which i can't do yet) while being fat change anything for when you finally get down to weight?

Sorry if this doesn't make sense. My brain is having trouble putting thought to words.

Replies

  • wannabeskinnycat
    wannabeskinnycat Posts: 205 Member
    I know exactly what you mean!! No idea to the answer but I'd like to know too for my own situation. Cheers x
  • martinel2099
    martinel2099 Posts: 899 Member
    This is a good place to post this topic actually, and welcome!

    Right now you have a lot of muscle, you might not realize it when comparing to others but you are a bigger man carrying around a lot of weight, I'm in the same boat so we can relate.

    As you lose weight you will lose muscle in addition to fat, it's unavoidable. However, to mitigate muscle loss there's two things you should do. 1. Pick up a beginners heavy lifting program like strong lifts 5x5 (which is what I'm doing) and 2. make sure you are getting enough protein in your diet. 1 gram to .8 grams per pound of body weight is a good goal to shot for.

    By lifting heavy weights and consuming adequate amounts of protein you will mitigate muscle loss. One common trend that I see from people who went from obese to low fat is that they wish they picked up heavy lifting from the very beginning. I highly recommend that you check out this guy's youtube channel. His name is Vismal in this community and he went from obese to looking pretty good. He has lots of good videos and advice for losing weight and proper nuitrition.

    HOpe it helps!

    https://www.youtube.com/embed/9CO2kzur_cU?list=UUXDX5yHGUm5xIKv46yxm9JA
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
    This is a good place to post this topic actually, and welcome!

    Right now you have a lot of muscle, you might not realize it when comparing to others but you are a bigger man carrying around a lot of weight, I'm in the same boat so we can relate.

    As you lose weight you will lose muscle in addition to fat, it's unavoidable. However, to mitigate muscle loss there's two things you should do. 1. Pick up a beginners heavy lifting program like strong lifts 5x5 (which is what I'm doing) and 2. make sure you are getting enough protein in your diet. 1 gram to .8 grams per pound of body weight is a good goal to shot for.

    By lifting heavy weights and consuming adequate amounts of protein you will mitigate muscle loss. One common trend that I see from people who went from obese to low fat is that they wish they picked up heavy lifting from the very beginning. I highly recommend that you check out this guy's youtube channel. His name is Vismal in this community and he went from obese to looking pretty good. He has lots of good videos and advice for losing weight and proper nuitrition.

    HOpe it helps!

    https://www.youtube.com/embed/9CO2kzur_cU?list=UUXDX5yHGUm5xIKv46yxm9JA
    This. Great answer.
  • Unknown
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  • Great_Mazinga
    Great_Mazinga Posts: 214 Member
    Regarding strength, when I started, my legs were very stout, and upper body was no better than average, probably worse due to low activity prior.

    After a few weeks of lifting, I was maxing out every leg press type machine. I was only using free weights [dumbells] on upper body, as at my size [397] I was very concerned with injury and the heavy weights needed for legs.

    I did not keep this up, however, and only just started back. At 97lbs down, I'm noticing I was NOT able to max out the machine. I know it sounds obvious, but I was still surprised. I hadn't been carrying aroud all that extra while not strength training. Naturally my muscles atrophied to accomodate size and activity.

    That said, I really wish I had maintained strenght, as I'd likely have preserved more muscle, and retained a higher respective metabolism.
  • fidesfit
    fidesfit Posts: 6
    As far as positive effects of once being obese and then going to healthy I've only noticed one in the gym. Calves, the guys that used to be fat, myself included have great calves but the guys that have always been lean have legs like 13 year old girls no matter how many calf raises they do.
  • tsimblist
    tsimblist Posts: 206 Member
    This is a good place to post this topic actually, and welcome!

    Right now you have a lot of muscle, you might not realize it when comparing to others but you are a bigger man carrying around a lot of weight, I'm in the same boat so we can relate.

    As you lose weight you will lose muscle in addition to fat, it's unavoidable. However, to mitigate muscle loss there's two things you should do. 1. Pick up a beginners heavy lifting program like strong lifts 5x5 (which is what I'm doing) and 2. make sure you are getting enough protein in your diet. 1 gram to .8 grams per pound of body weight is a good goal to shot for.

    By lifting heavy weights and consuming adequate amounts of protein you will mitigate muscle loss. One common trend that I see from people who went from obese to low fat is that they wish they picked up heavy lifting from the very beginning. I highly recommend that you check out this guy's youtube channel. His name is Vismal in this community and he went from obese to looking pretty good. He has lots of good videos and advice for losing weight and proper nuitrition.

    HOpe it helps!

    https://www.youtube.com/embed/9CO2kzur_cU?list=UUXDX5yHGUm5xIKv46yxm9JA
    This. Great answer.

    I agree.
  • ftrobbie
    ftrobbie Posts: 1,017 Member
    SInce Feb I have gone from Type II obese to just above overweight (33kg shed). Normal weight is 6 kgs away. I tried doing cardio and strength training at the same time. Both suffered. Legs just got too much of a workout. I enjoyed the running more than the lifting and so have dropped the lifting. I was weedy and heavy, I am still weedy just not as heavy. Other than beginners gains, the general advice is that it is almost impossible to gain muscle while on a calorie deficit. You need to make a choice, muscle or weight loss. Given my medical condition, being at normal weight, is more important to ME, than being strong. So at some point over the next 12 months, I will return to SL5x5 to improve strength but I always need a motivation, doing something for the sake of doing something just does not float my boat. I am running a half marathon in the new year.

    Back to your original point, given that I have shed 25% of my bodyweight, I can move faster, am I stronger? I don't think so, other than the overload from the 11 weeks of SL5x5 I did, after a few weeks I was not adding weight session after session. The training got me stronger I was not naturally strong through lugging excess bodyweight around.

    YMMV but good luck on whatever course of action you choose to take.
  • congruns
    congruns Posts: 127 Member
    I spent my entire 30s obese and finally broke through the high end of the normal zone last May. Though, I haven't tested if I am stronger, but I never really tested on weights before.

    One physical improvement is that my I've gained almost 2 inches on my vertical but that might be because I am jumping with less weight.

    Negative effect of the weight loss is that my platelet count has gone down from 230 to 180. The hospital I donate platelets is unsure it is due to weight loss or diet, but they advise me to take a break and come back in 6 months to see if my platelet count goes back up.

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