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

clacoste0102 wrote: »

Holy crap....you look awesome! Congrats! what kind of diet did you do?

I counted calories.

ahmednegm1991 wrote: »

I'm was 150 kilograms, now I'm 95 kilo just by diet people around me told that "you are very good look now" don't lose weight any more , in my opinion I see that I have to lose extra couples of kilograms , what's your opinion ? , my problem in fats around my top of legs , if you have way to lose this fats tell me how

Without looking at you, I cannot tell you personally if I think you should lose more weight or not. Also, my personal opinion is far less important than your opinion as to whether you like your look or not. As to losing fat in your legs, you cannot spot reduce fat. You must just lose fat overall until it comes from problem areas.

wishiwasarunner wrote: »

Thank you so very much for this thread. You have been so polite and helpful. I especially appreciate how you have continued to firmly support BMI standards. BMI is not always the absolute best way to determine if someone needs to gain or lose weight, but it is a very good standard for the vast majority and the number of people who think it does not apply to them because they are "muscular" or have a "big build" is disconcerting.

I have read through the entire thread and browsed through some of your other sites, but I am finding it difficult to figure out what you have done with fasting. In one place, I thought you said you did not really do that, and then in others you talk about IF. I don't want to make you repeat yourself, but I just can't seem to find the discussion.

I used intermittent fasting for a decent portion of my initial loss and still use it during diet phases now. I do not use it when I am in a bulking phase as it's somewhat counterproductive towards that goal.

nesian_twin wrote: »

Wow what an amazing transformation and achievement. BTW I didnt think you looked morbidly obese in your before pic and I totally agree with what you said here for number 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"

I have one question, did you also use intermittent fasting?

Morbidly obese is simply a medical category one falls into at a certain height and weight. Looks are irrelevant to the term. You either fit the criteria or not, and I did.

sixpacklady wrote: »

Congratulations on your transformation!!

I have few questions which you could please help me with:

1. I am female, 36yrs, 135 lbs, 5'3". I have my intake set to 1500(90g protein, 190 carbs, 42 fat) on weekdays and 2000 on weekends. I am hypothyroid as well. What do you think of my macros? I workout 5 - 6 times/week and have been losing very slowly with this intake. I increased my thyroid medication and is hoping to see at least 0.5lb/week loss.

2. I know that heavy lifting is the way to go, but I see better results , weight loss/inch loss with circuit type workouts like Jillain. Whenever I do heavy lifting type workouts ( under 12 rep range), i don't see any change even after 6 weeks, causing me to go back to JM type of workouts. Is there any advice for me? I love heavy lifting, but hesitant to start until I lose more weight.

I'd increase protein slightly, maybe around
110. Other than that, the macros are okay. Calories might be too high for someone your height and weight especially if you also have thyroid dysfunction but this is a better question for your doctor, not me.

This has got to be coincidental. I would say other factors are causing your results to stop when doing heavy lifting. Circuit training does burn more calories then heavy lifting, but not so much so that one yields results and the other yields none. Not losing weight/inches is a problem with diet, not exercise routine. If you aren't losing weight/inches you are eating too much. When doing heavy lifting what is your program like? Is it a proven beginners program that has you hitting all body parts 2-3 times a week?

londoncpecial01 wrote: »

vismal wrote: »

Did you stop losing when you started using weights? As Ive been successful for 4 months losing 55 odd lbs and am wandering what the immediate effect will be if I lift

No. Weight lifting does not halt weight loss. That's kind a rumor. People think they start gaining muscle rapidly when they lift and it's why the scale stalls. That's not true at all. Gaining muscle is hard and takes time. If you stop losing weight, 9 times out of 10 it's because you are eating too much.

What if you don't eat all you calories

You need to be more specific. I'm not sure what you're asking

Bahamabeachbody wrote: »

I'm 387 lost 67 pounds so far and took a break my goal weight is 220 any suggestions on how I should tackle this?

You lost 67 lbs already. How did you manage that? The answer, whether you know it or not, is you ate less calories per day then you burned. Doing that will take you to whatever goal you set.

Eileen_T wrote: »

I just love your attitude, kindness, and dedication. You certainly deserve this result. Just started mfp and I have started to exercise, after years of inactivity, to help lose my padding ,
( about 40+ pounds). I am walking, and doing some stretching, but at 64 with arthritic knees I am limited as to what I can do.14 years ago, I lost 20 kilos because of NHL and the treatment. Any muscles I had - melted then. When I regained the weight it was flab! I havent really researched weight training but would be willing to try anything within my ability. Any ideas? You have inspired me. Thanks for that.

With arthritic knees and your medical history, a physical therapist might be a good choice for you. They can personally assess your individual needs and help design an exercise routine that you can complete safely. Normally I tell people to just do a 5x5 routine but this might not be appropriate for you.

nouriapolis wrote: »

Hiii, congrats, of course, on being very freaking amazing and accomplishing what you have.
I was hoping you could demystify everything around a caloric intake below 1000. My BMR is of 1878 and MFP says I should be eating 1350 but more often then not I get full on 700-900 calories. I feel like there's a lot of information on this but not as much as misinformation. I just dont know what to really believe. I'm not really on board with the starvation mode thing. But does it slow down your metabolism?
Thanks you for answering! What you're doing, the support you're offering, is cool af.

Starvation mode, as many people tout it, does not exist. When you eat very low calories, for a long period of time, you do see metabolic slowdown. Not enough to stop losing weight though. The idea that you body stores everything because it thinks it's starving sounds like it makes sense, but when you look at the physiology side of things, it's simple not possible. Your body requires fuel to function. Humans get that fuel from food. When we don't eat enough fuel, we used stored fuel (glycogen, fat, muscle tissue). If the body started storing the little fuel we were taking in while eating very low calories, what would it use to function. The body cannot run on unicorn tears, good intentions, or rainbow kittens. The starvation mode people forgot this fact. In some of the most extreme studied examples of starvation, a slowdown of around 15% in bmr occurred. While significant, it's not enough to halt weight loss. Not even close. And that degree of slowdown was from an extreme case.

To your personal situation, 7-900 calories is not enough food. However, I question how accurate that count is. I'd say the majority of people would be incredibly hungry eating so little after just a few days. After a week or two most people would crack and binge or have to increase calories. Are you weighing everything you eat on a scale (not using measuring cups or estimating portion size)? Cheat days? Eat out at restaurants? All these things need to be considered. If you are indeed eating that little, its a bad idea. Not because of starvation mode, but because of recovery. You will be unable to get in good workouts or have decent energy if you keep your intake that low for too long. There are certain situations where eating that low can be appropriate for short periods of time, or when monitored by a physician, but it should not be the norm. Again, I would examine your calorie counting methods extremely closely first.