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

My question: I'm on MFP to lose weight myself which is encouraging my BF to do the same. Hes starting about the same place you did. How do I encourage him without nagging? I want us to both be healthy, but I know its a personal choice.

I just started strong lifts 5x5 last week. I am doing it 3 days a week as recommended in the program(MWF). How much cardio should I incorporate, and when?

I am 29yo male currently at 282, started at 293 four weeks ago, so obviously my current goal(and for a very long time) is to drop weight but try to hold on to as much lean muscle as I can during the process.

vismal wrote: »

I work in health care and no long feel like a hypocrite when I tell my patience about the risk factors associated with obesity. I love being able to pull out old fat picture when someone says something to the effect of "You don't understand because your in shape" or "you don't get it, you've never been fat".

I have congenital heart problems, and our "patient educator nurse" is this thin girl who looks like she's never been overweight, and doesn't come across as having empathy. It's all "drink more water" and "eat less salt" and it simply isn't that straightforward. I'd really love if someone in my string of healthcare providers could show me an old photo and say "look, I've been there and it was rough, but I know you can do what I did."

But I think another thing that hurts is the assumption that because I'm overweight, I don't take care of myself at all, and don't know anything about nutrition. I have low/normal blood pressure, excellent cholesterol levels, and no signs of diabetes. Now, of course that doesn't mean my weight is healthy, but given my family history I don't think I can attribute these stats to genetics. I think the food choices I make are generally good, and all these suggestions to "choose low fat dairy" and the like are problematic. I don't have to eat the way my nutritionist or that nurse does to have a healthier weight. I have to find a method that's right for my body and my lifestyle.

Anyway, keep doing what you're doing - and if you can, use your achievements to inspire people. There are so many conflicting stories and opinions in the medical world, and sometimes we just need to hear someone say "look, this is a real thing you can achieve, and I believe in you."

incredibly amazing transformation.
I love reading AMAs on reddit. This one has been equally informative and enlightening.
MFP could use more of you

Wow, what an amazing transformation!

You said that you lost weight initially with running. Did you have any trouble with joint or ankle pain? If so, how did you prevent it or deal with it?

Op great story do you have any guides to for starting weights what sort of routeine you stuck to

Thanks

Wow you look amazing.

Thanks for this! Congratulations on the absolutely Amazing results!!

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.

Great testimonial and commitment to answering these questions. Terrific effort Vismal. While I'm also a lifter, I was encouraged to run by my daughter. I would also mention about running that your shoes are CRITICAL. Buy a good pair from a running store. Until my daughter encouraged me to go to a running store, I always had knee and back pain while running. Now I can run for miles without a hint of an issue.