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

mfm143 wrote: »

Is it possible to gain muscle while in a calorie deficit? Sorry if this has already been asked.

This is a very simple question with a somewhat complex answer. For the majority of people, the answer is no. The body requires excess fuel in order to build muscle. If you are in a caloric deficit, the body uses stored fuel (some of which is fat) for energy. Unfortunately, the body is far too efficient to both use fuel for the creation of muscle whilst using fat for energy. If this was the case, a little weight lifting and a little cardio and everyone would look like a bodybuilder. While that sounds great, from an evolutionary perspective, it's terrible. In times of famine the body does not want to waste precious energy on building unnecessary muscle. Now this is all in regards to net creation of muscle and loss of fat. The body constantly is building up and breaking down muscles, as well as burning and storing fat, but all we really care about is net gains and losses.

Now there are some exceptions. Those going through puberty have a hormonal advantage geared towards growth. For teens, some fat loss along with simultaneous muscle gain is quite common. This is why, unless they are overweight/obese, I almost never recommend a teenager specifically do a fat loss phase. They can lose fat staying around maintenance and put on muscle as well. People who use PEDs are similar to teens. They have a hormonal advantage geared towards growth. They can certainly put on muscle and lose fat simultaneously. Those new to weightlifting can do both for a brief period of time. Depending on genetics, some can do it more efficiently than others. This lasts anywhere from about 6 months to a year, and even in this case, the muscle gains are not dramatic. There is more potential for muscle gain if the new lifter is obese as the body has quite an excess of fat stored for fuel. Finally, there are the genetic freaks of nature. They might as well be on PEDs because their bodies perform as if they are. There is no use using them as a reference point for anything because to the vast majority of people, they simply produce results we are not capable of.

This is why for almost all people, it is FAR FAR more efficient to choose one goal or another. While some people with average genetics can do a recomp diet and over the course of time lose a little bit of fat and gain a little bit of muscle, it would have been much more efficient for them to focus on a muscle gaining phase followed by a fat loss phase. The net fat loss and muscle gain would be greater.

So the TL/DR of this is no, unless they are a teen, on drugs, a new lifter, or a genetic freak.

Horsepital wrote: »

Hi Vismal, thank you for the keeping up this post, it's been very informative.

I've been working out with a trainer for the last few months. It's been very helpful in motivating me to get in to the gym, but it's not something I can continue to afford. I am planning on starting Strong Lifts next week, and I'm having trouble deciding what weight I should start with. On his site, he suggests that beginners start with the bar, but that seems too light considering I've already been working out. Today I did 3X10 sets of 95lbs bench press for instance. I think my form is pretty good on all of the exercises involved with strong lifts, thanks to my trainer.

I am a male, 5'8", 195lbs, if that makes a difference. Thanks in advance!

Starting weight isn't very important. Just pick a weight where you can complete all 5 reps of all 5 sets with good form. The first week shouldn't be "easy" but you also shouldn't have to grind to hard to get your reps in. Because the program is built around progression, you'll constantly be adding weight each week until it becomes difficult. If you are doing 95 for 3x10, you can probably do a little more for 5x5, but you could even start at 95 if you want.

saralthrash wrote: »

I've been wanting to lose 50 lbs. I really need to lose 90 to be in the "normal range." Anyway I've been lifting and I was wondering about how much of an impact heavy lifting would have on the way my body looks and my overall weight loss. As of now I bench about 70lbs and squat only 100lbs. I want to lift heavier but I'm nervous lol Do you feel like lifting heavy improved your losses or do you credit it mostly to diet? And when lifting heavy for weight loss do you still eat a large deficit? I'm curious because I've read that in order to build muscle you have to eat more.

Lifting will greatly impact how you look once the weight is lost. You will not really lose weight any faster from lifting as it doesn't burn all that many calories, nor will you gain much muscle while in a deficit, but lifting does help your body preserve lean tissue while you lose weight. For this reason alone it is extremely impactful on how you look in the end. Diet will still be the main factor with regards to fat loss, but lifting IMO is still extremely important.

justinelouise10 wrote: »

Did you follow macros or just nutrition on this app? Confused and want to loose water and fat and tone up and strengthen muscles.any tips on all ?

I track my macronutrients using MFP but I do not use their macro recommendations. You cannot "tone" a muscle. That look is achieved by a combination of things. I talk about it here:

Scamd83 wrote: »

vismal wrote: »

Scamd83 wrote: »

@vismal Hi, was directed here by someone after I posted about being frustrated/bored with weight lifting. In 2012 I did a crazy amount of cardio, about 2-3 hours a day, 7 days a week. Ate very little, did minimal weight lifting after cardio and with all of that I got down from over 15 stone in January to below 10 stone in November. In 2013 I got more into weights and drastically cut back the cardio, put on a little bit of muscle later that year and got to about 10 stone 7 lbs. But since then I've sort of stalled, diet adherence has been hit or miss where I've done a lot of compensating for over eating just to remain below 11 stone. Strength gains have been minimal, I'm a horribly weak on upper body movements. Right now I am (I think) about 17-20% bodyfat which I've been led to believe is not great for going on a bulk. But I'm completely bored and frustrated with cutting and stalling with lifts but still feeling like I need to cut. I guess I was wondering what you would do in my position?

My entire answer would be contingent on what your goals are. I'm happy to give you my opinion if you can fill me in on your ultimate goals.

@vismal My goal is to lose fat. After that I want to put on muscle, strength and improve performance.

If your goal is fat loss, you must simply continue with the calorie deficit. It is boring training in a deficit as strength gains are slow and sometimes non existent. Fighting hard only to maintain strength is not nearly as rewarding as training to make gains, but it is a necessary part of the process. I would not advise a bulk until you reduce some more body fat. Also, hit or miss adherence to diet is going to only make the length of your cut longer. I try to take VERY few free days while in a cut. My goal is to get the cut done as fast as possible while still keeping calories at a tolerable level.

Scamd83 wrote: »

@vismal Whilst fat loss is what I want more than anything, I should say I have been attempting what should be a brief cut for a couple of years now and failing every time and now get so hungry and tired it makes my whole existence quite stressful. I don't think a couple of more years of trying unsuccessfully to cut is going to work.

Dieting sucks. There are ways to make dieting suck less, but it sucks. You simply have to get through that part of the process. Sticking to mostly minimally processed whole foods helps. Vegetables add a lot of bulk for the calories they contain. Additionally, I find that eating a lot of protein to be satiating as well. While it's far more than I need to maintain muscle mass, I often eat 2-3 grams of protein per kilogram I weigh. This helps with the hunger. But at the end of day with over 100 lbs lost and kept off for years, dieting still sucks for me every time I have to do it. Eventually I accepted that while hunger sucks, it won't kill you and it's just a temporary feeling that will eventually go away. In your situation, bulking simply won't help you achieve your goals. Even if you bulk, you'll still have to do a cut, and it will be a longer cut because of the added fat that will come with the bulk. So basically do whatever you can with your food choices to make the dieting easier, and after that, it's simply a matter of desire.

HungryasFuark wrote: »

Great job man! , just wondering how many cut/bulk cycles did u do in the year period from pic 2 to 3 ? And how big was ur surplus on ur bulk ?

It was a while ago, I think 2 but it may have been 3. My first few bulks were a 3-400 calorie surplus but these days it's closer to 250-300

Spliner1969 wrote: »

vismal wrote: »

To lose the last 30 lbs before picture 2 probably took 4 months. I couldn't tell you exactly.

I'm somewhat in the same boat at the moment. I'm 6'1" to 6'2" (lost a little height over the years from some back surgeries and spinal compression injuries) and hoping for 190-195 as a final goal along with the promise that when I hit 50 I want to be in the best shape of my life (I am 46 now, so gave myself plenty of lead time for that lol). I'm currently at 201ish and doing well again after some injuries late last summer to my back but can no longer lift. I have some spinal problems in my lower back that prevent me from dead lifting or putting anything over about 25-50lbs of weight on my lower back, and currently have a bulging disc in my neck that is causing some pain in my right arm. For the longest time I was able to bench lift (barbell presses, free weights) to work on upper body strength, but can no longer do that due to the neck issues. I manage push ups though, just not a lot each day before aggravating the nerves. I also have started body weight exercises for abs and legs (squats) which seem to be helping. I'm likely going to be stuck with body weight exercises until at least the neck improves (it's been since December).

No real questions, just wondered if you had any recommendations for body weight exercises? I'm still in deficit until I hit at least 195 this spring, then I intend to ramp up to maintenance calories slowly (very slowly) and keep up with cardio and body weight exercises. Once I hit maintenance and can maintain the 195 weight I plan on adding calories and attempting to slowly build more muscle.

I started this journey last February at 305 lbs, so I've managed to lose almost 105 lbs to date, and also enjoy the hell out of ice cream - I buy tons of the no sugar added stuff. Anyway, I enjoy reading your posts and wish you luck on your continued journey!

As far as body weight exercises go, my favorite are chinups and dips. Those two moves will work the majority of you upper body muscles.