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

saarhanina1 wrote: »

First of all congrats!! That's really fun to see that your hard work and dedication paid off:)

I read in one of your comments that you feel bad about eating some types of food and I feel the same way so I'd like to know if you had cheat meals during the process or even now? and if so how often and how much calories?

Thank you!

Because I never ban foods from my day to day diet regardless of my goals, cheat days aren't needed often. I never know how many calories I have on a cheat day because that's the part of the day I consider cheating. Since I can eat donuts and ice cream any day I want, simply eating certain foods does not constitute a cheat day to me. A cheat day is when I eat whatever I want, in whatever amount I want. I do this probably less then 10 times a year. It's usually on vacation, or on a holiday. There are also days I don't track but I mentally keep calories "in check". Probably another 10-15 days a year. These days typically happen on vacation as well, or on days I do far above my normal level of activity. For instance, if I hike for 6-8 hours in a day, I might not count calories that day but as long as I don't go HAM I'll be hard pressed to go much over maintenance. The key here is that it's 20-25 days per YEAR that I don't know exactly what I'm eating. That's only around 5% of the time.

megganjeninngs69 wrote: »

Im on my 3 week of 5x5 i really like is it normal for the scale not to move in the begining im just now gettin my cals under control so im aware i cant expect miracles but im gettin it together

When you first start heavy lifting you can retain some water. That combined with just starting to get your calories under control is why you haven't seen consistent results. If you track diligently and keep up with the exercise, you should start to see some losses. If after a few weeks you do not, you probably need to reduce calories.

ashleigharmour wrote: »

well done on your amazing weight loss you look amazing!
i was wondering whats the best exercise routine to help burn fat?

A good diet! To lose fat you need to create a calorie deficit. You do this by eating less then you burn in a day. Exercise will cause you to burn more calories but generally diet will create the bulk of your deficit. As far as good exercises to do while losing fat, weight lifting! It will ensure that less muscle is lost during the weight loss process so that more of what you use is fat. Cardio can create some additional calorie burn, but unless you are doing tons of it, diet will still be the most important factor in losing fat.

LR11036 wrote: »

I am going for a larger weight loss myself. I have lost 13 lbs already and going strong. Did you have any loose skin after you dropped the weight? And if yes, what did you do to tighten it up?

I've answered this question several times in the thread. Go back a few pages, there's even a video I posted on the topic.

hayner78 wrote: »

Been a big fan of yours for awhile! Dropped from 380ish to 240ish now, just wish I discovered your YouTube channel long before! Quick question...

I've been doing StrongLifts since January 1 but will be switching up to ICF next week. I'm still cutting, so would you recommend the cutting version of the program or just man-up and do the full thing?

Thanks in advance!

hayner78 wrote: »

Been a big fan of yours for awhile! Dropped from 380ish to 240ish now, just wish I discovered your YouTube channel long before! Quick question...

I've been doing StrongLifts since January 1 but will be switching up to ICF next week. I'm still cutting, so would you recommend the cutting version of the program or just man-up and do the full thing?

Thanks in advance!

If you were a complete newbie I'd say do the 5x5 but since you've been lifting since January, I'd do the cutting version.

Feeltheburn808 wrote: »

I'm trying to gain muscle for summer in a few months. I'm 5'7 and 161 lbs with 30% body fat. Due to your huge success, you know what you're talking about. So I have a few questions:
Do you know the military diet? I'm on it Rn and I hear a lot of success stories but with a few critics saying its starvation and just water weight loss. What is your opinion on it if you know it?

What is the best weight training workout routine for a beginner to gain as much muscle possible in a healthy way for this summer? I'm assuming I have to eat lots of protein along with it.

The military diet is a 3 day diet. Any 4 day diet, IMO, is worthless. You will lose mostly water. Even if you fasted for 3 days, the most you'd lose in fat is a few pounds. You'd lose lots of water, but not a lot of fat. It offers nothing in the way of long term weight loss of maintenance. It certainly will not work as a muscle building diet.

As far as gaining muscle, you need to do 3 things. Eat in a calorie surplus (more food per day then you burn), get in adequate protein, and lift weights. Eating in a surplus will cause you to gain weight. Building muscle is an anabolic process and requires excess fuel to work efficiently. While some beginners can make very small muscles gains while losing weight, it's not a lot and it's only for a short period of time. To gain muscle optimally, you need to be gaining weight. As far as protein, eating about 0.8 grams/lb you weigh should be plenty. For a weight lifting program, I always recommend beginners do a total body, 5x5 program. ICF 5x5 is my favorite. Just know that when you gain muscle, you will also be adding some fat. This is why most people interested in muscle gains must do bulk/cut cycles. It where we gain muscle (with some fat gain) for a period of time and then switch to a fat burning phase for a while. The idea is to build as much muscle as possible while keeping fat gains minimal in the bulking phase, then to lose as much fat as possible while keeping muscle losses to a minimum in the fat burning phase. For a female, gaining about 1 lb a month is usually optimal. It will keep muscle gains high relative to fat gains. Gaining any quicker will result in unnecessary fat gains, and any slower will result in sub optimal muscle gains.

dr_annebg wrote: »

Wow, I have just started about a month ago and losing weight dramatically. I have wanted to train lifting but people are discouraging me to do it. They say I am still too heavy and I might injure myself. Why did you say you wish you started lifting at day 1? Would it make a difference as far as loose skin is concerned? That is my biggest fear now.

Don't listen to them. You are never to big to lift weights. Many of the strongest men in the world (elite strongmen and powerlifters) are obese. The reason I wish I would have started lifting earlier is that I would have retained a bit more muscle mass then I did. I'd have also had a 6 month head start on strength training. Loose skin is ganna happen if it's ganna happen. Nothing is going to prevent it. Just don't focus on it. Loose skin and healthy is WAY better then fat and unhealthy. Trust me!