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

Scrntn wrote: »

I am a female, 5'1 and 135lbs. Most of it is fat though. I am going to start following a PPL routine but am not sure how many calories I should be eating. I do need to lose fat. Should I eat at maintence, or lower? Any suggesstions for TDEE - a certain number of cals?

Knowing whether fat loss or muscle gain should come first is hard to determine without seeing pictures of your physique. My guess based solely on height and weight would be fat loss first, but again, I'd need to see your physique to give a more informed opinion. I'd also have to take your long term goals into consideration. Calories to eat per day would totally depend on whether or not fat loss or muscle gain was the goal. I would not run a PPL routine as a novice. They are better suited for intermediate/advanced lifters. While It's better then a single body part split, something like a proven beginners program would be better.

Eskay11 wrote: »

I want to lose weight and I would like to consider myself as very dedicated haha .... but I don't want to sell myself dreams. I currently weight 160 pounds and I am exactly 5 ft tall

Losing weight doesn't have to be a dream. If you utilize proper diet and exercise, you can reach any reasonable goal you set.

Kimgreen27 wrote: »

When u started did u just eat daily cals or did u eat daily cals and workout cals?

I never ate back workout calories. It's confusing and most people underestimate what they eat and overestimate what they burn. I find it easier to just pick any reasonable calorie number for a goal, eat that number for a few weeks, then adjust based on actual results.

realcamillecannon wrote: »

" 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.[/quote]

What/Where do you recommend reading to learn about the latest research in nutrition and weight loss?
Thanks and amazing job!
[/quote]Most of the sticky threads on MFP are good stating points. For more advanced reading I like Lyle McDonald's website (www.bodyrecomposition.com) and Alan Aragon's website (www.alanaragon.com)

sjb5577 wrote: »

I'm feeling very frustrated! Started exercising and counting calories (1200 cal) the Monday after Easter. Not only have I not lost any weight, I've gained 2 lbs. 5'1 158. Three days a wk spin class, 2 days a week Body Pump. Drinking lots of water. What am I doing wrong?

I'd say there's a 0.01%chance you have a metabolic disorder that causes your body to burn very few calories per day dispute exercise, and a 99.99 % chance you are simply eating more than you think. It's extremely common, especially among beginning calorie counters. Go to the general weight loss section of the forum and read my pinned post called "calorie counting 101". It should be helpful.

HarrisonAR wrote: »

What would you suggest for a female that wants to start getting into lifting weights? what program would you suggest? im 5ft3 159lbs.. 27.2% bmi 43lbs fat.. and I want to get that down!

The best advice for female beginning lifters, is that they should think of themselves in the same way as male beginning lifters. Both men and women should who are new to lifting should choose a proven beginners program that emphasizes heavy, compound, barbell movements. My favorite beginners program is the ICF 5x5. Stronglifts, and Starting Strength are also good choices.

xRiverX wrote: »

I see that you eat equal amounts of protein and carbs with a low fat of 80g or lower.

Would you say this ratio contributes much to your success? or doesn't it matter?

I find you an amazing inspirational person to achieve this thank you so much for posting this.

This isn't usually what I eat at all. During weight loss phases I usually have around 220 protein, 300 carbs, 60-70 fats. For muscle gaining phases I eat around 200 protein, 70-80 fat, and 450+ carbs. There is no ratio that is right for everyone. You should base your macro nutrient intake on your weight and your goals.