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

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Replies

  • ncfitbit
    ncfitbit Posts: 1,058 Member
    vismal wrote: »
    Congratulations, that's an amazing transformation. What do you think are the top 5 things that led to your success?
    1. Myfitnesspal of course. It wasn't until I began tracking my intake that my success really started to take off
    2. Understanding that "eating clean" is meaningless and that in order to have true life long success I had to eat foods I enjoyed (ice cream, cookies, etc) on a regular basis but in moderation
    3. Lifting heavy weights
    4. Not listening when people say "you lost enough already" or "you are getting too skinny"
    5. Learning as much about the science behind nutrition and dieting as possible. There is more pseudoscience and myths in this field then any other on earth! So much BS to cut through to find the truth.

    Love it! Congratulations and thanks for sharing your story. :)
  • kmtbeaulieu
    kmtbeaulieu Posts: 33 Member
    Amazing transformation! thank you for the post!
  • mrskristinlang
    mrskristinlang Posts: 22 Member
    So inspiring! Way to go!!!
  • cafeduus
    cafeduus Posts: 31 Member
    First you look totally amazing!!!! I know that diet is a huge part of staying fit and healthy, but I was curious what your thoughts were on a Paleo diet. Do you think it is a good idea? or do you think it's another kind of fad diet?
  • mizroxy13
    mizroxy13 Posts: 466 Member
    BEAST. :)

    You look fantastic!

    Also, I'm sorry if you've answered this already, but how much did you run in the beginning...and do you still run now, or strictly weights? Thank you for your inspiration!!
  • Sabrina161616
    Sabrina161616 Posts: 2 Member
    You look sexy! Congrats on your success.
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
    cafeduus wrote: »
    First you look totally amazing!!!! I know that diet is a huge part of staying fit and healthy, but I was curious what your thoughts were on a Paleo diet. Do you think it is a good idea? or do you think it's another kind of fad diet?
    It's a complete and total fad diet. It has all the markings of a traditional fad diet. It creates and arbitrary restriction of food, in this case a rather large one. Most people will initially lose weight because the arbitrary food restriction should reduce calories enough to create a deficit. A deficit equals weight loss. The problem is that it restricts foods that many people consume quite regularly. Eventually people grow tired of the restriction, then they either binge, or quit the diet all together. With the restriction gone, the calories come back, and so does the weight. Most all fad diets function somewhat along these lines. It's far easier, and more sustainable to just eat the foods you like in moderation while counting calories to ensure a deficit.
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
    mizroxy13 wrote: »
    BEAST. :)

    You look fantastic!

    Also, I'm sorry if you've answered this already, but how much did you run in the beginning...and do you still run now, or strictly weights? Thank you for your inspiration!!
    In the beginning I did the couch to 5k program and never ran much further then that. I no longer run at all mostly because I do not enjoy it.
  • mbcaldwell123
    mbcaldwell123 Posts: 79 Member
    vismal wrote: »
    Congratulations, that's an amazing transformation. What do you think are the top 5 things that led to your success?
    1. Myfitnesspal of course. It wasn't until I began tracking my intake that my success really started to take off
    2. Understanding that "eating clean" is meaningless and that in order to have true life long success I had to eat foods I enjoyed (ice cream, cookies, etc) on a regular basis but in moderation
    3. Lifting heavy weights
    4. Not listening when people say "you lost enough already" or "you are getting too skinny"
    5. Learning as much about the science behind nutrition and dieting as possible. There is more pseudoscience and myths in this field then any other on earth! So much BS to cut through to find the truth.

    #5!!!!! where did you or how did you finally cut through so much BS???? This is my current struggle.
  • TossaBeanBag
    TossaBeanBag Posts: 458 Member
    Congrats Vismal! You've inspired me, too. So, you may have answered this question for someone else, but I am trying to keep the muscle I have and just lower my body fat percentage. As far as exercise, I am alternating days for upper/lower body (lifting pretty heavy with short rests between sets and not over-training) and recently cut back on cardio (as I think I was losing muscle). Dietwise, I am keeping a deficit by only eating to my resting metabolic rate with 50% protein,30% carbs, and 20% fat. Should this suffice to maintain muscle and maximize body fat loss?

    Thanks for being willing to answer so many questions from so many people.
  • lbrown1428
    lbrown1428 Posts: 116 Member
    You look great. I'm almost 8 weeks out and am starting lifting again this week. I have weight lifted off and on since high school, but am going to make it a priority and lift at least 3-5 days a week and do HIIT another few days a week along with walking/jogging.
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
    mbcaldwell123 wrote: »
    vismal wrote: »
    Congratulations, that's an amazing transformation. What do you think are the top 5 things that led to your success?
    1. Myfitnesspal of course. It wasn't until I began tracking my intake that my success really started to take off
    2. Understanding that "eating clean" is meaningless and that in order to have true life long success I had to eat foods I enjoyed (ice cream, cookies, etc) on a regular basis but in moderation
    3. Lifting heavy weights
    4. Not listening when people say "you lost enough already" or "you are getting too skinny"
    5. Learning as much about the science behind nutrition and dieting as possible. There is more pseudoscience and myths in this field then any other on earth! So much BS to cut through to find the truth.

    #5!!!!! where did you or how did you finally cut through so much BS???? This is my current struggle.
    It's difficult. You must find people who support their claims with peer reviewed evidence. Anytime an article or video talks about losing weight fast, gaining muscle fast, losing fat while gaining muscle, or seeks to sell any kind of product be it a supplement, or workout, consider it HIGHLY SUSPECT.

  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
    jbach2 wrote: »
    Congrats Vismal! You've inspired me, too. So, you may have answered this question for someone else, but I am trying to keep the muscle I have and just lower my body fat percentage. As far as exercise, I am alternating days for upper/lower body (lifting pretty heavy with short rests between sets and not over-training) and recently cut back on cardio (as I think I was losing muscle). Dietwise, I am keeping a deficit by only eating to my resting metabolic rate with 50% protein,30% carbs, and 20% fat. Should this suffice to maintain muscle and maximize body fat loss?

    Thanks for being willing to answer so many questions from so many people.
    I would say 50% protein is almost never necessary, and unless you have a whole lot of weight to lose, eating your rmr is probably way to little. I would need more information on what you weigh, what you want to weigh, your totals calories eaten per day, etc. Muscle loss should not be a huge concern for most people. If you lift weights, eat moderate amounts of protein, have a reasonable deficit, and especially if you are not already fairly lean, muscle loss just isn't a huge concern.
  • Angurla
    Angurla Posts: 159 Member
    No questions just a congrats!
  • TossaBeanBag
    TossaBeanBag Posts: 458 Member
    vismal wrote: »
    jbach2 wrote: »
    Congrats Vismal! You've inspired me, too. So, you may have answered this question for someone else, but I am trying to keep the muscle I have and just lower my body fat percentage. As far as exercise, I am alternating days for upper/lower body (lifting pretty heavy with short rests between sets and not over-training) and recently cut back on cardio (as I think I was losing muscle). Dietwise, I am keeping a deficit by only eating to my resting metabolic rate with 50% protein,30% carbs, and 20% fat. Should this suffice to maintain muscle and maximize body fat loss?

    Thanks for being willing to answer so many questions from so many people.
    I would say 50% protein is almost never necessary, and unless you have a whole lot of weight to lose, eating your rmr is probably way to little. I would need more information on what you weigh, what you want to weigh, your totals calories eaten per day, etc. Muscle loss should not be a huge concern for most people. If you lift weights, eat moderate amounts of protein, have a reasonable deficit, and especially if you are not already fairly lean, muscle loss just isn't a huge concern.

    Thank you for your reponse. I will PM you, and if you can respond many thanks; if you can't, many thanks, anyway. I was thinking my protein is sure high.
  • alexisdc
    alexisdc Posts: 117 Member
    Well, I'm so late to the party, lol. But can you let me know how you mentally did this:
    "Understanding that "eating clean" is meaningless and that in order to have true life long success I had to eat foods I enjoyed (ice cream, cookies, etc) on a regular basis but in moderation"
    You mention this as top 5 things that helped you. I struggle with this part big time. After just reading your answers I do know I need to start loggin again. Thanks For your response :) your looking Fab!!
  • melimomTARDIS
    melimomTARDIS Posts: 1,941 Member
    holy moses!
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
    alexisdc wrote: »
    Well, I'm so late to the party, lol. But can you let me know how you mentally did this:
    "Understanding that "eating clean" is meaningless and that in order to have true life long success I had to eat foods I enjoyed (ice cream, cookies, etc) on a regular basis but in moderation"
    You mention this as top 5 things that helped you. I struggle with this part big time. After just reading your answers I do know I need to start loggin again. Thanks For your response :) your looking Fab!!
    Mentally I simply decided that this goal was more important to me then just about anything else in my life. I decided that food was no longer more important then my goal. I learned that being hungry from time to time wouldn't kill me. I made the gym a habit and nothing short of illness would keep me from going. It's easy to say "I am stronger then food" or "I won't let my cravings get the better of me". Putting it in to practice while a pizza stares you down and all your friends are eating it is another story all together. At that point you have 3 choices: Eat the pizza while counting it towards you daily calories knowing full well you will be hungry because its not very filling compared to it's caloric content, skip the pizza and deal with it, or eat the pizza and forget about your goals. It's all a choice, and it all comes down to personal accountability. No one is force feeding you and no one has a gun to your head. You simply have to choose what is most important to you.
  • sarabig2fit
    sarabig2fit Posts: 274 Member
    congratulations. your transformation is incredible.
  • kshannon72
    kshannon72 Posts: 4
    I am probably repeat asking you but I am at work trying to read all of your wonderful posts :) Your transformation is amazing and a huge inspiration. My biggest problem is STICKING with ANYTHING. I know health, I know nutrition, I know what to do I just feel like I can NEVER stick to it. My biggest downfall is once I try to cut out the snacks here and there. I feel the need for something salty crunchy so my go to snack is chips or pretzels and i have tried the carrots or cucumbers etc and while those are GREAT and I love them they do not satisfy the crunch i am looking for. AND exercise while I LOVE going to the gym and exercising I just never seem to find time for it or always have a reason why I can't........... ANY THOUGHTS, TIPS, etc would be great :)
  • Colleen118
    Colleen118 Posts: 491 Member
    edited November 2014
    How did you keep your motivation up through this? I'm down 63 pounds in 6 months. People say i'm looking great but with a starting weight of 310 I still see myself as still just being fat and feel like this is never ending....
    I accepted the fact that the journey is never ending. I can always be better. When there is no end point, there's no rush to get there![/quote]


    This is an excellent statement. Well said, Sir. Congratulations on your success.


  • karenkasbi
    karenkasbi Posts: 216 Member
    Congratulations, you look great!
    My question is, did you reach a plateau? how did you lose the last 15 pounds? That's where I'm stuck, eating 1200 calories a day and doing intense cardio/bodyweight training for about 40 minutes a day. It's been a month since the last time I lost weight and even if I lose, the estimated weight is 0.4 kg on MFP. Any suggestions? I'd like to hear what worked for you in the last phase.
  • FitHappyMe
    FitHappyMe Posts: 6
    Congrats on your continued success! I subscribed to you YouTube channel and have watched most of your videos. i've learned soooo much and putting much of your advice to work! My question for you, how much water do you drink on a daily basis? I know one should stay hydrated and 8 glasses is the usual recommendation. However, I sometimes read that some individuals while trying to shed body fat are drinking upwards to a gallon a day! Seems excessive to me but curious on your thoughts?
  • jawad_seehar
    jawad_seehar Posts: 5 Member
    Hi Vismal, I have been trying to lose weight, but i have made no progress by now, i try to stay within NET 1200 calories diet, I spend about one hour in walking and jogging everyday, 20 minutes jog and rest is walking, I feel better and stronger but i have not been able to move my scale, i am still 80 KG,, :(
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
    kshannon72 wrote: »
    I am probably repeat asking you but I am at work trying to read all of your wonderful posts :) Your transformation is amazing and a huge inspiration. My biggest problem is STICKING with ANYTHING. I know health, I know nutrition, I know what to do I just feel like I can NEVER stick to it. My biggest downfall is once I try to cut out the snacks here and there. I feel the need for something salty crunchy so my go to snack is chips or pretzels and i have tried the carrots or cucumbers etc and while those are GREAT and I love them they do not satisfy the crunch i am looking for. AND exercise while I LOVE going to the gym and exercising I just never seem to find time for it or always have a reason why I can't........... ANY THOUGHTS, TIPS, etc would be great :)
    You can lose weight and still have snacks you enjoy. Simply log them and count them against your calories. Now snacks can add up quickly so know that it will mean eating less of other things if you eat lots of snacks through the day. As far as exercising, there's always time. 3 is less then 2% of the total time in a week. Watch more then 3 hours of TV a week? Everyone can find 3 hours a week if they try hard enough.
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
    karenkasbi wrote: »
    Congratulations, you look great!
    My question is, did you reach a plateau? how did you lose the last 15 pounds? That's where I'm stuck, eating 1200 calories a day and doing intense cardio/bodyweight training for about 40 minutes a day. It's been a month since the last time I lost weight and even if I lose, the estimated weight is 0.4 kg on MFP. Any suggestions? I'd like to hear what worked for you in the last phase.
    The last few lbs don't require anything special other then keeping extremely consistent with your deficit. Things slow down for sure and you simply need to stay the course. Water retention can get pretty bad close to goal and it's not uncommon to lose no weight for 3 or more weeks then all of a sudden lose a few lbs in a few days. This video I recently made might be useful:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szwmvtcguyc

  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
    FitHappyMe wrote: »
    Congrats on your continued success! I subscribed to you YouTube channel and have watched most of your videos. i've learned soooo much and putting much of your advice to work! My question for you, how much water do you drink on a daily basis? I know one should stay hydrated and 8 glasses is the usual recommendation. However, I sometimes read that some individuals while trying to shed body fat are drinking upwards to a gallon a day! Seems excessive to me but curious on your thoughts?
    There isn't concrete evidence that drinking a gallon of water a day does anything beneficial for you at all. Staying hydrated is important for a variety of reasons and it's much easier to drink too little then to drink too much. Technically you can drink enough water to cause harm but it's a difficult thing to do. I feel like the "gallon a day rule" came about because for the vast majority of people, a gallon is more then enough to keep them properly hydrated and not nearly enough to harm them. I think most people probably need less then that but again, the research isn't concrete. Personally, I drink when I am thirsty and 90% of the time what I'm drinking is water or coffee (which is mostly water).
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
    jawad_seehar wrote: »
    Hi Vismal, I have been trying to lose weight, but i have made no progress by now, i try to stay within NET 1200 calories diet, I spend about one hour in walking and jogging everyday, 20 minutes jog and rest is walking, I feel better and stronger but i have not been able to move my scale, i am still 80 KG,, :(
    The most likely thing here is that you are eating more then you think. I would feel safe saying 99% of men should be in a caloric deficit eating 1200 calories a day. It's far more likely to miscount then to have a metabolism so slow that 1200 calories doesn't create a deficit.

  • MarySH1969
    MarySH1969 Posts: 11
    Congrats! u look great!
  • shepd1999
    shepd1999 Posts: 40 Member
    Tips for getting started at the gym? I really struggle with this. I am intimidated by of how to start lifting weights. I am a lot bigger then you were when you started but seeing this gives me some hope. I know this is a long process and there are many bumps along the way. Right now the big bump is to just start moving. Just like anything else when something is at rest it take more force to start moving but once it is moving momentum can start to take over. Just give you quick Idea of where I am starting. I am 6'3" and weigh about 450 lbs.

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