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

Colleen118 · 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 · November 2014

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 · November 2014

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 · November 2014

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 · November 2014

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 · November 2014

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 · November 2014

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 · November 2014

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 · November 2014

Congrats! u look great!

shepd1999 · November 2014

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.

vismal · November 2014

shepd1999 wrote: »

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.

Just find a good beginners program and stick to it. Don't change things up for at least 3 months. Often times beginners want to change what they are doing frequently. This makes it hard to get in to a rhythm. Don't be intimidated. Everyone starts somewhere, and no one is strong when they first start. The weight on the bar is only important as it relates to how much was on the bar last time you were at the gym. It's meaningless how it compares to what others are lifting. The Ice Cream Fitness 5x5 is my favorite beginners routine.

mspianomistress · November 2014

I'm so glad I found this thread. You look amazing. I'm going to keep some weights in my office and do some reps at work throughout the day.

200lb2go · November 2014

Vismal, I just spent whole day reading through the thread. Thank you for your time and all the amazing info and inspiration you have shared. You are AWESOME!

Before asking too many questions, I will watch the you-tube videos first.

Would you friend me on here as well... I am new and not sure how to do it yet... I have a long road ahead of me, 200+ lb to lose, and I need to do it right this time.

I'm 6'0 female, and was 439 lb as of Aug. 1 this year. I am an even 400 as of last Monday, but at this weight I am not sure what type of exercise I can do safely without damaging joints etc. It is hard to even walk fast... To complicate the issues, I have a pretty large abdominal hernia. The doctor suggested to lose weight prior the surgery to increase chances of successful outcome... Is the weight lifting even safe in my condition?

Thank you for your kindness here in the thread!

nuvimi · November 2014

Lena4greenscapes wrote: »

Vismal, I just spent whole day reading through the thread. Thank you for your time and all the amazing info and inspiration you have shared. You are AWESOME!

Before asking too many questions, I will watch the you-tube videos first.

Would you friend me on here as well... I am new and not sure how to do it yet... I have a long road ahead of me, 200+ lb to lose, and I need to do it right this time.

I'm 6'0 female, and was 439 lb as of Aug. 1 this year. I am an even 400 as of last Monday, but at this weight I am not sure what type of exercise I can do safely without damaging joints etc. It is hard to even walk fast... To complicate the issues, I have a pretty large abdominal hernia. The doctor suggested to lose weight prior the surgery to increase chances of successful outcome... Is the weight lifting even safe in my condition?

Thank you for your kindness here in the thread!

I can't answer our medical questions, but I just wanted to say keep pushing forward. It will be a long journey for you, but you can do this, and you'll be very happy once you do.

glitznglamour15 · November 2014

Your really hot

vismal · November 2014

Lena4greenscapes wrote: »

Vismal, I just spent whole day reading through the thread. Thank you for your time and all the amazing info and inspiration you have shared. You are AWESOME!

Before asking too many questions, I will watch the you-tube videos first.

Would you friend me on here as well... I am new and not sure how to do it yet... I have a long road ahead of me, 200+ lb to lose, and I need to do it right this time.

I'm 6'0 female, and was 439 lb as of Aug. 1 this year. I am an even 400 as of last Monday, but at this weight I am not sure what type of exercise I can do safely without damaging joints etc. It is hard to even walk fast... To complicate the issues, I have a pretty large abdominal hernia. The doctor suggested to lose weight prior the surgery to increase chances of successful outcome... Is the weight lifting even safe in my condition?

Thank you for your kindness here in the thread!

I can't specifically give you advise about what you can, and cannot do. I would speak to your doctor and let them know exactly what you plan on doing, and see if they deem it safe. Fortunately, you will be able to lose a good deal of weight at first through diet alone. Any physical activity would be good, but again, you should be able to lose through diet alone for now.

mseslee · November 2014

that's amazing!! congrats!! So when you first started dieting, all you were doing was eating healthy and running? How long and how many days were you running?