Is a fast transformation even possible?
liquid_romscelot
Posts: 10 Member
How do most of those people see such results so quickly in those legit transformation videos (4-6 weeks type)?. For a year ive surrounded myself with nothing but good food and cheat day once or twice weekly. Its been about a year since I started, ive lost 70Ibs (230Ibs - 160Ibs) or so and knocked off 18% (from 35%) body fat during that. I look and feel better but im literally getting tired of it at this point just putting in hard work and not seeing what I want. Im looking just skinny fat after all of this transformation and have random nice tone in select areas.
I mean, feel free to take a look at my days.. a good majority of days are strictly appropriate choices of food and I also drink about +3L of water on top of 61/2-9hrs of sleep. I accurately measure my foods legit training days and on cheat days its mostly a rough estimate.
Are cheat days hindering me? Are most of those transformations just bs or whats the secret? Are my food choices just terrible?
Feel free to take a look and give me feedback. Just getting real tired of not really make legit progress. Any other questions ill let ya kno.
I mean, feel free to take a look at my days.. a good majority of days are strictly appropriate choices of food and I also drink about +3L of water on top of 61/2-9hrs of sleep. I accurately measure my foods legit training days and on cheat days its mostly a rough estimate.
Are cheat days hindering me? Are most of those transformations just bs or whats the secret? Are my food choices just terrible?
Feel free to take a look and give me feedback. Just getting real tired of not really make legit progress. Any other questions ill let ya kno.
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Replies
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Ummmm, 70lbs is Legit progress. Ok maybe you could have done it a smidge quicker but hey, you arnt a commercial so cut yourself some slack and celebrate you fantastic accomplishment. As far as the random tone. I get where you are comming as we want the picture in our head right now ! A few things to consider. 1. Perhaps you still have a few pounds to go, skin and your other connective tissue takes a bit more time to tighten up after fat loss, adding some muscle mass when you are done losing may be the finishing touch you are looking for. Congrats on your very legit accomplishment so far. Keep it going, your almost there !0
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Photoshop, lighting, make-up, camera angles
There's a great video of a transformation video in 4 hours, hope someone posts it
It's basically down to tricksy little hobbitses
You however have got is in the RL0 -
Photoshop, lighting, make-up, camera angles
There's a great video of a transformation video in 4 hours, hope someone posts it
It's basically down to tricksy little hobbitses
You however have got is in the RL
Is it this one?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M957dACQyfU 0 -
That's the boy
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liquid_romscelot wrote: »How do most of those people see such results so quickly in those legit transformation videos (4-6 weeks type)?. For a year ive surrounded myself with nothing but good food and cheat day once or twice weekly. Its been about a year since I started, ive lost 70Ibs (230Ibs - 160Ibs) or so and knocked off 18% (from 35%) body fat during that. I look and feel better but im literally getting tired of it at this point just putting in hard work and not seeing what I want. Im looking just skinny fat after all of this transformation and have random nice tone in select areas.
I mean, feel free to take a look at my days.. a good majority of days are strictly appropriate choices of food and I also drink about +3L of water on top of 61/2-9hrs of sleep. I accurately measure my foods legit training days and on cheat days its mostly a rough estimate.
Are cheat days hindering me? Are most of those transformations just bs or whats the secret? Are my food choices just terrible?
Feel free to take a look and give me feedback. Just getting real tired of not really make legit progress. Any other questions ill let ya kno.
1) If you want a nice and not just a thin body, you need to focus on exercise at this point. And if it feels like hard work to do it, honestly you are doing the wrong exercise. What is your exercise routine right now? Especially at such a young age, it should be something you enjoy, something that is fun and something you are looking forward to, not something that will get you to the goal of losing X pounds. If it feels like a chore, find something else. You might need extra work for specific goals, but your main exercise should be something you like and can commit to, without feeling like you are doing a chore. Do not compare with others, or wonder how they got there. Anyone with weight in the healthy range who is doing some sort of exercise, will look good in the end. Think about what you like first, then add a bit of extra work if needed to address specific goals, like a bit of extra cardio or extra resistance training, dependign on what you main exercise is. Especially at 19, your options are pretty much endless, so there must be somethign that makes you feel good.
2) At this point and since you have lost a lot, if your diet is so restrictive that you need cheat days, you are still in a "diet" mindset, not a lifestyle mindset. You cannot live the next several decades like this. And the moment you stop the diet, the weight will start creeping up. You need to start adjusting your eating plans to something you cal live with, without feeling like you are doing hard work. Instead of skipping dinner so you can have a big snack or starving your self one day so you can eat double your calories the next (which is what your diary shows), start making plans that allow you reasonable portions of your favourite treats every day. It cannot be all or nothing, not on the long run.0 -
I agree with Aggeliklik on both points.
If you view this process as some sort of temporary ordeal which is torturing you, you are going to struggle maintaining your weight when you get there. There is not going to be a moment when you can say "Yay! Now I can eat what I want like those lucky skinny people!" Nobody, no matter how skinny, gets to eat what they want, if what they want means giant portions which their bodies do not require. When you say you are tired of it, it sounds as though you think there is a finish line that if you just reach, you can give up all the deprivation.
There is no deprivation, there is only moderation and weight control is a chronic condition - you have it for life.0 -
I love doing this both diet and exercise but at the end of the day im just not getting the results I want. problem is nowadays im working full time 12pm-9pm with no gym in my area so for the past couple of weeks its been home routines. I used to live near a Y and rock it like 2hrs a day, but all I got now is my home and dumbbells which is why im trying to work the diet even more. I workout monday - thursday (thursday and tuesday being an exception specifically this week to go out with some friends). During those days typically I just make a routine..
example Home Arm Day
Supersets
Standing DB Curl 4x15,12,12,12,15
Hammer DB Curl 4x15,12,12,12,15
Seated DB Curl 4x15,12,12,12,15
Pushups 20,15,15,12
Standing DB Extension 3x 20,15,20
Close Tri Position Pushup 3,15,15,15
Sometimes 200 reps of abs or whatever if its on tuesday thursday.
What my main concern generally is that im givin er on most days (4-5 solid days most weeks with a cheat day or two) with a solid eating regime, 3L a water and a +7hr sleep to finish it off and im not seeing any significant weight loss. I've been at 165Ib-160Ib range since late December. Ive barely changed any of my methods tbh but im not seeing any change. Being a 5'5 guy I wanna be in the 145Ib-150Ib range.
Just wondering how I go about expected to eat 1300cal without dying lmao. Last time I did that for a couple of weeks and I felt in pain.
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liquid_romscelot wrote: »I love doing this both diet and exercise but at the end of the day im just not getting the results I want. problem is nowadays im working full time 12pm-9pm with no gym in my area so for the past couple of weeks its been home routines. I used to live near a Y and rock it like 2hrs a day, but all I got now is my home and dumbbells which is why im trying to work the diet even more. Typically I workout monday - thursday (thursday and tuesday being an exception specifically this week to go out with some friends). During those days typically I just make a routine..
example Home Arm Day
Supersets
Standing DB Curl 4x15,12,12,12,15
Hammer DB Curl 4x15,12,12,12,15
Seated DB Curl 4x15,12,12,12,15
Pushups 20,15,15,12
Standing DB Extension 3x 20,15,20
Close Tri Position Pushup 3,15,15,15
Sometimes 200 reps of abs or whatever if its on tuesday thursday.
What my main concern generally is that im givin er on most days (4-5 solid days most weeks with a cheat day or two) with a solid eating regime, 3L a water and a +7hr sleep to finish it off and im not seeing any significant weight loss. I've been at 165Ib-160Ib range since late December. Ive barely changed any of my methods tbh but im not seeing any change. Being a 5'5 guy I wanna be in the 145Ib-150Ib range.
Just wondering how I go about expected to eat 1300cal without dying lmao. Last time I did that for a couple of weeks and I felt in pain.
TMI and didn't read - but say the last part
no guy anywhere is expected to eat 1300 cal
fuel your body appropriately - the minimum for a male is 1500 plus exercise cals0 -
1500-2000cal which is what ive been eating consistently on training days and not a change in sight so far in regards to weight loss. Problem is im sedentary working at a mangy call center which is why I think under 1500 is only suitable method.. just how do I go about doing it?0
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liquid_romscelot wrote: »1500-2000cal which is what ive been eating consistently on training days and not a change in sight so far in regards to weight loss. Problem is im sedentary working at a mangy call center which is why I think under 1500 is only suitable method.. just how do I go about doing it?
tighten up your logging, I would almost bet you're eating more than you think you are but I've only looked through the last few days on your diary
You need to weigh on a digital scale and log it carefully
You have a lot of portion estimates (I assume from eating out) in your diary - can you prepare food at home and weigh and log rather than hitting a kebab shop? Just until you get a better idea
Although if you cut to below 1500 calories and lose weight it is probably because it makes up for these estimation errors - so no point worrying unduly I suppose0 -
I might be wrong, but I looked into your food diary and noticed your sodium intakes. For me, if I eat over 900mg I start to retain excess water and look worse. I would suggest, try maybe a week to watch your sodium intake and lower it to minimum?0
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I might be wrong, but I looked into your food diary and noticed your sodium intakes. For me, if I eat over 900mg I start to retain excess water and look worse. I would suggest, try maybe a week to watch your sodium intake and lower it to minimum?
Sodium affects water weight - so if you suddenly take a huge burst of sodium you'd take on a lot of water to deal with it - but if you're regularly at a similar level I don't see it causing that much of a flucatuation tbh0 -
I might be wrong, but I looked into your food diary and noticed your sodium intakes. For me, if I eat over 900mg I start to retain excess water and look worse. I would suggest, try maybe a week to watch your sodium intake and lower it to minimum?
Sodium affects water weight - so if you suddenly take a huge burst of sodium you'd take on a lot of water to deal with it - but if you're regularly at a similar level I don't see it causing that much of a flucatuation tbh
Maybe it is different for me, because when I started reducing salt intake I feel and look much better. And my intake used to be same for long periods of time.
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I might be wrong, but I looked into your food diary and noticed your sodium intakes. For me, if I eat over 900mg I start to retain excess water and look worse. I would suggest, try maybe a week to watch your sodium intake and lower it to minimum?
Sodium affects water weight - so if you suddenly take a huge burst of sodium you'd take on a lot of water to deal with it - but if you're regularly at a similar level I don't see it causing that much of a flucatuation tbh
Maybe it is different for me, because when I started reducing salt intake I feel and look much better. And my intake used to be same for long periods of time.
Yes when you reduce you'll lose water weight .. that wasn't the point I was making .. I was saying if his sodium levels were regularly around the same intake then he has a level including that kind of intake.
Of course if he drops his sodium he'll see a scale-weight change .. doesn't affect BF though
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My days of meal plans are strictly measured by scale tablespoons and measuring cup. Only days I do rough estimates are cheat meals or restaurant outings if there not registered. I'll go back to the drawing board Monday and consider smaller portions then.. MaYbe use the small plate portion method and start tracking sodium intake for fun0
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I had a friend who got hired for these. The preferred out of shape college athletes because they would be able to recondition swiftly!0
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Join Crossfit. Quit complaining.0
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First of all, once you get to the stage where you are (the last few vanity pounds and trying to look fit rather than just lose weight) I would argue that most people do not see results quickly at all.
You averaged 2150 calories per day for the past week. Yes, some days you eat more like 1500, but there are a lot more days where you completely blow your calorie goal. That's assuming your logging is accurate, which it likely isn't. For one thing you eat out a lot, which leads to inaccuracies. For another thing you're choosing "generic" database entries which likely aren't correct. Or at least, you have no way of knowing whether those generic meat entries you use are for raw or cooked meat. Things like "6 drumsticks" are not going to be as accurate as choosing the "Chicken- drumstick, meat only, raw" entry with no asterisk and then weighing out exactly how much meat you ate. That's the USDA entry.
You don't have any exercise logged. What lifting routine are you following? From what you have said it seems to be completely focused around isolation exercises. I'd find a routine that focuses first on whole body movements-- squats, deadlifts, bench, OHP, rows.
My personal advice to you is to structure your diet in a way where you don't feel like you need to cheat. Those "cheat" days are raising your average calorie goal for the week. You're down to the last little bit now so you have to really tighten up if you want to get the rest of the way there. Your margin of error for your calorie deficit is smaller than it was when you started out. Maybe that means raising your goal to say, 1800 calories, and then sticking to it without having those huge blow out days. Or if you need to feel like you're eating more some days, plan it out so that Monday through Friday (or whatever) you stick strictly to 1500 and then have 2200 on Saturday and Sunday, which would bring your weekly average to 1700.
You could also try making an effort to be more active outside of exercise. I exercise the same amount all the time, but I have a Fitbit and there's a huge difference in what I can eat between days where I come home from work, cook dinner, and sit in front of the computer and days where I clean house before work and go for a walk after dinner.
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liquid_romscelot wrote: »My days of meal plans are strictly measured by scale tablespoons and measuring cup. Only days I do rough estimates are cheat meals or restaurant outings if there not registered. I'll go back to the drawing board Monday and consider smaller portions then.. MaYbe use the small plate portion method and start tracking sodium intake for fun
if you want more accurate calorie estimation, you need to use a scale and throw away your cups0 -
Really appreciate all the feedback, will definitely go back to the drawing board with all of these suggestions!0
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liquid_romscelot wrote: »How do most of those people see such results so quickly in those legit transformation videos (4-6 weeks type)?. For a year ive surrounded myself with nothing but good food and cheat day once or twice weekly. Its been about a year since I started, ive lost 70Ibs (230Ibs - 160Ibs) or so and knocked off 18% (from 35%) body fat during that. I look and feel better but im literally getting tired of it at this point just putting in hard work and not seeing what I want. Im looking just skinny fat after all of this transformation and have random nice tone in select areas.
I mean, feel free to take a look at my days.. a good majority of days are strictly appropriate choices of food and I also drink about +3L of water on top of 61/2-9hrs of sleep. I accurately measure my foods legit training days and on cheat days its mostly a rough estimate.
Are cheat days hindering me? Are most of those transformations just bs or whats the secret? Are my food choices just terrible?
Feel free to take a look and give me feedback. Just getting real tired of not really make legit progress. Any other questions ill let ya kno.
I think you've done fantastic! You're losing at an appropriate speed. Just Keep up what you're doing! Congrats 0 -
liquid_romscelot wrote: »I love doing this both diet and exercise but at the end of the day im just not getting the results I want. problem is nowadays im working full time 12pm-9pm with no gym in my area so for the past couple of weeks its been home routines. I used to live near a Y and rock it like 2hrs a day, but all I got now is my home and dumbbells which is why im trying to work the diet even more. I workout monday - thursday (thursday and tuesday being an exception specifically this week to go out with some friends). During those days typically I just make a routine..
example Home Arm Day
Supersets
Standing DB Curl 4x15,12,12,12,15
Hammer DB Curl 4x15,12,12,12,15
Seated DB Curl 4x15,12,12,12,15
Pushups 20,15,15,12
Standing DB Extension 3x 20,15,20
Close Tri Position Pushup 3,15,15,15
Sometimes 200 reps of abs or whatever if its on tuesday thursday.
What my main concern generally is that im givin er on most days (4-5 solid days most weeks with a cheat day or two) with a solid eating regime, 3L a water and a +7hr sleep to finish it off and im not seeing any significant weight loss. I've been at 165Ib-160Ib range since late December. Ive barely changed any of my methods tbh but im not seeing any change. Being a 5'5 guy I wanna be in the 145Ib-150Ib range.
Just wondering how I go about expected to eat 1300cal without dying lmao. Last time I did that for a couple of weeks and I felt in pain.
That's a lot of reps. I'd suggest going for progressively higher weights and fewer reps. You are probably conditioned to the point where all those reps aren't taxing your muscles too much anymore. Go heavier and heavier and take proper rest days in between, with adequate sleep and protein for rebuilding. I suspect you will be pleased with the results.0 -
Ditto that, I measured the 3/4 cup of loosely packed vegetables which should have been 84g according to the package, and it weighed in a 95g when I put it on the scale. And that was something small and 'harmeless', but if it was something much more calorie or nutrition (fat/sodium/protein/etc) packed and larger in size, that can be a big difference. Scale trumps cup.liquid_romscelot wrote: »My days of meal plans are strictly measured by scale tablespoons and measuring cup. Only days I do rough estimates are cheat meals or restaurant outings if there not registered. I'll go back to the drawing board Monday and consider smaller portions then.. MaYbe use the small plate portion method and start tracking sodium intake for fun
if you want more accurate calorie estimation, you need to use a scale and throw away your cups
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I think you have made fantastic progress. You should be proud of what you have achieved so far, not beating yourself up about it. It's always easier to lose when you are heavy. The last few pounds are always tougher. Muscle weighs more than fat, so don't get hung up on numbers on your scale anyway. I think I would agree with Swole Sister, shorter sets with heavier weights is what builds bulk if that us what you are looking for.
I used to get sucked in by those transformation photos too, especially those Body for Life ones. Then I saw a few exposes of how they are done - like drinking water to bloat the belly, slouching, lighting etc. A really fit guy can be made to look like a bloated couch potato pretty easily. Likewise TV diet shows. There have been a couple of instances where competitors have said they were encouraged to bulk up before the first weigh in and then drink no liquids before the next weigh in to give a huge weight loss.
The fact is that permanent changes come from constant good habits, not quick fixes. Some people can transform in weeks, but for 99% of us it will be a gradual journey to weight loss and good health.
Comparing yourself to others will just drive you nuts anyway. Be the best 'you' that you can be and don't worry what anyone else is doing.0
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